“This book brings new focus to the rich history of ideas and strategies shown to improve student learning, helping educators at all levels see not only the value of using proven strategies, but the importance of integrating those strategies into purposeful improvement efforts.”

—Thomas R. Guskey, Distinguished Service Professor

Georgetown College

“This is a book of action. The author calls for leaders in school communities to be bold, courageous, committed, and aggressive in the actions required to achieve desired increases in student learning.”

—Charles Patterson, Educational Consultant

Former President, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Dramatically raise student achievement by engaging educators in collaborative curriculum design and professional development!

Teachers, teacher leaders, principals, and staff developers can build a collaborative culture and improve staff and student performance with this content-focused, step-by-step model that ties curriculum design to teacher growth. Kay Psencik provides a powerful process whereby teachers work together in teams to examine standards, gain a deep understanding of content, create curriculum maps, and design common formative assessments. Professional development leaders can inspire and challenge teachers to:

Confront assumptions about learning and professional development; Clarify and establish complex standards; Embed conversations about the curriculum into daily work

With hands-on tools, templates, and resources, readers can help teachers become more skilled in their instruction, create a school-based curriculum that is tied to standards, and accelerate the learning of both students and staff.

Determining Complex Curriculum Standards and Concepts

Determining complex curriculum standards and concepts

Curriculum design helps teachers see the connections, find resources, and make multidisciplinary curricula happen in their own classrooms. The process empowers educators to decide how and what to teach rather than allowing the curriculum to evolve accidentally. Curriculum design helps teachers see the bigger picture that students experience.

In 1860, British philosopher and sociologist Herbert Spencer asked, “What is worth knowing?” As the amount of information and the technology to access information has exploded world wide, this question remains one of the most important we ponder as educators.

—Linda Hummel Fitzharris, “Making All the Right Connections”

Herbert Spencer's question is certainly compelling for the community of learners: “What is worth knowing?” This question challenged the just born United States early in the 1800s. Thomas Jefferson responded with the belief that

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