Elementary Curriculum Improvement


Book Description

Contents: Aristotle and the Curriculum, Immanuel Kant and Education, Johann Pestalozzi and the Curriculum, The Student and the Psychology of Learning, Grouping Pupils in the Elementary School, Providing for Individual Differences, Reading and the Language Arts, Microcomputers in the Reading Curriculum, Which Words Should Pupils Learn to Spell?, Spelling in the Curriculum, Handwriting: Issues and Problems, Teaching Mathematics in the Elementary School, Psychology of Learning in the Mathematics Curriculum, Designing the Mathematics Curriculum, Issues in the Mathematics Curriculum, Science in the Curriculum, Trends in Elementary School Science, Social Studies in the Elementary School, Issues in the Social Studies Curriculum, Discipline in the School, Reports Pupil Progress to Parents.




Curriculum Development in Elementary Education


Book Description

The curriculum of elementary schools is a very important factor in the education of children. Students need to understand and express themselves in a language which can be the Mother Tongue only at the elementary level. Curriculum development is an important part of the education process, ensuring that classes at all levels, from early childhood to post-secondary, are best designed to help students be successful in learning the material and gaining the skills needed to continue to advance. Evaluation essentially is the provision of information for the sake of facilitating decision making at various stages of curriculum development. This information may pertain to the program as a complete entity or only to some of its components. Evaluation also implies the selection of criteria, collection and analysis of data. It includes obtaining information for use in judging the worth of a programme and procedure. It is a comprehensive term and transcends standardized tests covering all means of ascertaining the results of construction. A curriculum framework is an organized plan or set of standards or learning outcomes that defines the content to be learned in terms of clear, definable standards of what the student should know and be able to do. The supporters of learner-centered Curriculum give importance to individual development and they wants to organize the curriculum according to the needs and interest of learners, there are fundamental differences in this approach and the subject-centered design. The curriculum framers for elementary schools should also associate the parents and specialists while developing the curriculum for elementary education.




Curriculum Development


Book Description

Curriculum and curriculum issues are at the heart of current debates about schooling, pedagogy and learning. This book will enable practitioners, scholars and academics to understand how to re-design or to suggest changes to curriculum structure, shape and content. Grounded in theory and philosophy, the book also offers practical help in grasping this controversial area. Inside, the authors: provide practical planning templates support and provoke analysis, discussion and experimentation include definitions of key terms and reflective questions incorporate practical examples and case material based on their work worldwide on curriculum design and evaluation.




Leading Curriculum Improvement


Book Description

This book offers clear guidance for facilitating curriculum improvement at the building level. It includes real-life scenarios that principals encounter, accompanied by strategies to help schools sustain focus on student learning and continuous organizational development. It is aimed at current and prospective administrators looking to update or refresh their understandings of curriculum leadership fundamentals. Its actionable ideas and useful examples can be applied across multiple school subjects and grade levels. Its practical overviews center on seven questions essential to planning, coordinating, overseeing, and supporting collective improvement efforts: Which big ideas set the stage for curriculum leadership? How can leaders help focus the curriculum? When is curriculum mapping useful? What are other curriculum support strategies? Where do more integrated models come in? What about alternatives to standardized curricula? and Why do philosophy & political leadership matter? Though principal is used as shorthand, the concepts and tools highlighted are equally relevant to the work of teacher leaders, instructional coordinators, central office personnel, and others interested in PreK-12 curriculum improvement.




The School Improvement Planning Handbook


Book Description

Developing and updating school improvement plans is an annual ritual for virtually all school principals and their school improvement committees. Still, large numbers of schools continue to produce disappointing outcomes. The authors believe that part of the problem is the result of plans that focus on the wrong targets and that rely on ineffective strategies for improvement. To help principals and their school improvement committees develop and implement plans with a greater likelihood of success, the authors offer a step-by-step process for school improvement planning. They go on to pinpoint specific school improvement goals, including raising reading and mathematics achievement, building robust school cultures, addressing the needs of English language learners, improving instruction, and reducing absenteeism and dropouts. For each goal, a variety of objectives and proven strategies is presented along with sample school improvement plans. The book addresses the differences in planning to turn around a low-performing school, planning to sustain improvements over time, and planning to move a good school to a great school.




Curriculum Improvement


Book Description




Curriculum 21


Book Description

"What year are you preparing your students for? 1973? 1995? Can you honestly say that your school's curriculum and the program you use are preparing your students for 2015 or 2020? Are you even preparing them for today?" With those provocative questions, author and educator Heidi Hayes Jacobs launches a powerful case for overhauling, updating, and injecting life into the K-12 curriculum. Sharing her expertise as a world-renowned curriculum designer and calling upon the collective wisdom of 10 education thought leaders, Jacobs provides insight and inspiration in the following key areas: * Content and assessment: How to identify what to keep, what to cut, and what to create, and where portfolios and other new kinds of assessment fit into the picture. * Program structures: How to improve our use of time and space and groupings of students and staff. * Technology: How it's transforming teaching, and how to take advantage of students' natural facility with technology. * Media literacy: The essential issues to address, and the best resources for helping students become informed users of multiple forms of media. * Globalization: What steps to take to help students gain a global perspective. * Sustainability: How to instill enduring values and beliefs that will lead to healthier local, national, and global communities. * Habits of mind: The thinking habits that students, teachers, and administrators need to develop and practice to succeed in school, work, and life. The answers to these questions and many more make Curriculum 21 the ideal guide for transforming our schools into what they must become: learning organizations that match the times in which we live.







Teaching and Learning in the Elementary School


Book Description

This comprehensive, realistic view of teaching and curriculum development in the contemporary elementary school, uses an interactive, reflective, and research-based approach supported with numerous practical explanations, examples, and illustrations. Written in easy-to-understand language, it 1) covers the historical, philosophical, social, and psychological background of teaching and curriculum development, 2) outlines the steps and strategies for planning, implementing, and assessing the curriculum and for teaching throughout construction of traditional or thematic teaching units, and 3) offers an overview of the various subject areas taught in the elementary school (concepts, goals, resources, and tools). Practicing elementary school teachers.




Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement


Book Description

Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement provides a new definition of school improvement, away from a singular focus on compliance, toward a true commitment to excellence. This book is a call to action. It is about inspiring schools and school districts to commit to continuous school improvement by providing a framework that will result in improving teaching for every teacher and learning for every student through the comprehensive use of data. A culmination of over 30 years of doing the hard work in schools and districts both nationally and internationally, Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement shares new, evidence-based learnings about how to analyze, report, communicate, and use multiple measures of data. The updated edition provides a wealth of tools, protocols, timelines, examples, and strategies that will help schools and districts become genuine learning organizations.