II had the opportunity to participate in an Authentic Education curriculum review project. It was an incredibly interesting, fun and powerful experience. In reflecting on this project, I’ve been pondering a number of questions, such as: How many educators get the chance to do in-depth curriculum reviews, either for their own school or for others? Do most schools regularly engage in curriculum reviews from an internal or independent team? What do schools do with the information from a curriculum review? As we think about how it might benefit our own teaching, our team or department, or our school as a whole, I’d like to share more about my experience leveraging the power of curriculum reviews.

One of the most important reasons for a curriculum review is to evaluate for mission and values alignment. Many schools have a clear mission, vision statements and/or core values. Looking for specific evidence that what happens in classrooms matches those elements is foundational and essential. Other focus areas of a review can differ depending on the kind of school and its specific needs. Below are just a few examples of curriculum review focus areas that can positively impact student learning.

Omissions and redundancies

An area educators may be familiar with is reviewing curriculum for omissions and redundancies across courses and grades. We know the value of building on prior learning. We know that this prepares students in a meaningful way for future courses or grades. Therefore, specific things to look for are:

• A meaningful progression of skills, content, and vocabulary across grades
• Revisiting topics with increasing depth and breadth (like spiraling)
• Multiple “entry points” into skills and content that honors the diverse range of students’ prior knowledge, experiences, and learning styles
• Strategic choices about what to revisit and what to omit

Best practices

Another valuable focus area is reviewing curriculum for pedagogical best practices. It would be great if all curriculum available to schools for purchase included best practices. Sadly, that is not always the case. There are often boxed curricula and/or materials promising to solve any number of educational woes. Looking for specific evidence of pedagogical best practices in the curriculum and implementation can be very eye-opening. For example, review curriculum for evidence of:

• Research-based strategies, approaches and assessments
• Pedagogy appropriate for specific grades/ages and specific content/courses (e.g. world language instruction)
• Developmentally appropriate use of student-led and/or teacher-led inquiry
• Transfer skills, essential questions and real world application

Integrating many kinds of materials

The materials we use can make learning come alive in powerful ways. But it can be a blessing or a curse to have access to so many kinds of materials. One way to ensure there is variety and quality is to conduct an audit. The goal would be to have developmentally appropriate materials for individual ages/grades in three key categories:

• Texts (articles, books, podcasts, stories, poems, genres, etc.)
• Sources (primary, secondary, “classic,” “modern,” etc.)
• Visuals (photos, art, video, film)

Diverse & inclusive narratives

Finally, one of the most powerful ways to leverage a review is by cataloging the narratives students encounter. Many schools talk about teaching kids how to think, not what to think. Students need to grapple with a range of experiences and viewpoints to form their own perspectives. Doing this well can include:

• Lessons and activities that ask students to make sense of a range of perspectives and viewpoints
• Navigating and considering multiple cultural perspectives
• A range of cultural narratives and linguistic expressions (e.g., stories from a range of Spanish-speaking countries and peoples)
• A range of voices in texts, speakers (e.g., community members, guests) and examples that are taught (e.g., stories, case studies, countries, regions)

These are all curriculum-related areas that most schools would benefit from reviewing. In my experience, a curriculum review is illuminating and well worth the time. What we do with that information can have a huge impact on student learning.

What curriculum focus areas would you be most interested in reviewing and why?
Please comment below and join the conversation!