How is Curriculum Developed

It’s the time of the year where summer curriculum is posted for teachers to work on curriculum. I previously worked on curriculum during the summer for two years. One project was a brand new section of an existing course and the other was to modify the same existing course. These two projects were assigned to two other teachers and me. Here I was developing curriculum and never really understood what curriculum was. We designed curriculum based on three teachers opinions.

In my first masters course here at MSU, I never had to take a curriculum course. Now that I’m learning and earning a certification to become a principal or supervisor, I’m learning all about curriculum development. I wonder if current undergraduate students learn how curriculum is developed. I know I didn’t need to. I’ve been teaching special education in multiple content areas and I never questioned how curriculum was developed. I instructed from the curriculum guide and made modifications as needed for the students’ learning disability. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, why does it take so long for educators to be trained in curriculum development. I’m at the end of my training and I’m now challenging what I teach and why I teach what I teach.

We’ve had some heated discussions on whether the textbook is the curriculum; many districts use a textbook for their curriculum. I now know that the textbook can be a tool to develop curriculum but it shouldn’t drive the curriculum. Is it easier to use a textbook when developing curriculum, probably, but is it right for the students? I’m not so sure.

I can’t predict the future, but I realize that change will be difficult if I’m lucky enough to lead a school in the next few years. Shouldn’t we wonder and challenge what we teach and understand why we are teaching? Teachers should be the facilitators of learning for the students. If we can get the students to understand why they are learning, then our jobs will be a lot easier.