Welcome to #admin2b! The principal is the instructional leader of the building. Tonight, we will discuss curriculum alignment! Please take a minute to introduce yourself and your favorite thing to study!
Evening all. I'm a coordinator of English learners and world languages. My favorite thing to study outside of my field, is the brain and memory. #admin2b
Vertical alignment helps continued growth and horizontal alignment helps ensure rigor and fullness of learning for students. It also helps teachers to best support each other’s initiatives. #admin2b
#admin2b A1 - it is important to be horizontally aligned to ensure collaboration and consistency.
It is important to be vertically aligned to build on previously learned skills and to understand where our students have been and where they are going.
A2: Some obstacles of curriculum alignment: curriculum, instruction and assessment are not always well aligned. Assessment data is not well analyzed. Formative assessments might be infrequent. Teams don't have enough time to meet and align curriculum. #admin2b
A2: Saying “we all teach common core” gets in the way. If you are in the classroom, you know this doesn’t lead to true alignment. There are too many standards to teach to mastery. We have to decide on the essentials and create logical progression #admin2b
A2: Teacher autonomy may get in the way of proper curricular alignment. Instruction must coincide with mutually agreed upon (and board approved) curriculum, regardless of personal preference. However, the methods used may be chosen based on individual preference/skill. #admin2b
a3: Leaders need to provide staff development and common planning time to support and advance curriculum alignment. During those meetings, teachers are to plan using a backward design/best strategies for reaching all learners in delivering instruction & assessments. #admin2b
A3. Curriculum work must be facilitates by the building admin. However, if you hired the right teachers, lead your lead teachers in the work. They need to own it. #admin2b
A3: Leaders can support collaboration toward any team goal by providing common planning time and ensuring teams are able to function as one unit. Being present at these times to promote and/or model healthy team norms is essential to the collaborative process. #admin2b
