As district leaders search for the best ways to improve student learning with the Common Core State Standards, California districts are leading the way as early implementers of the new standards. The ideas and lessons emerging from their work can help other educators maximize the effectiveness of their own implementation efforts. This brief…

The paper examines the implementation of an external written curriculum in the classroom. The study is based on observation of and interviews with 26 Israeli Bible teachers who followed a formal curriculum and used a teachers' guide. The study identified three types of curriculum narrative: the frame narrative, the task narrative, and the…

From the demise of numerous "New Social Studies" programs initiated 25 years ago have sprung some guidelines for revising curricula and promoting educational change. Some lessons: Avoid too many course offerings, involve teachers in early stages of projects, and design programs to meet major goals. Above all, such programs need to be relevant to…

This study sought to determine the degree of congruence between a planned curriculum and that actually being taught in one large midwestern suburban school district and the implementation tasks employed by teachers. In measuring curriculum congruence it was found that, while the district expects fidelity of its planned curriculum, adaptation by…

The Delphi technique for determining goals and objectives provides for the explicit articulation of the direction in which an institution, organization, or program should go. An example is given of planning a health education curriculum using the Delphi technique with maximum participation on the part of teachers. (JD)

Basic characteristics of the more influential curriculum development models in social studies are discussed. For a curriculum development model to be effective, it must provide for extensive teacher involvement. The most successful school practices are those that are school-based and collaborative. (RM)

Describes one district's struggle to implement Maine's Common Core of Learning, model of education that blurred subject area lines and moved toward integrated framework for curriculum and instruction. Common Core presented a set of outcomes divided into four interdisciplinary categories: human record, reasoning and problem solving, communication,…

Interviews were conducted with elementary secondary teachers, who used a new curriculum management system, to ascertain how the teachers perceived their work and the degree to which they reflected upon the purposes behind what they were doing. The perceived alienation of the teachers toward the new system is discussed. (CJ)

This paper presents findings of a case study that examined Australian primary teachers' perceptions of school-based curriculum development (SBCD). The study was conducted at Blackpool Primary School, a Catholic school in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Data were derived from participant observation, a teacher questionnaire, interviews with all…

A sample of curriculum projects representing the first generation of new curricula in Israel was analyzed, using an instrument developed to determine the implicit or explicit message regarding the teacher's role in curriculum development and use. Curriculum development in Israel is moving from a centralized approach to greater involvement of…

In 1992, Okanagan University College, in British Columbia (Canada), undertook a project to develop and implement an integrated curriculum in four participating health and human services programs. The project stemmed from findings in province-level reports on curriculum integration and on needs for health and human services programs. Specific…

Of the 110 public high schools in New York City, 11 are alternative high schools serving students who have been identified as "high risk," particularly dropouts and potential dropouts, as well as students who would benefit from learning environments and options not offered in comprehensive high schools. In 1984, the Curriculum…

This booklet presents a model for changing an elementary and secondary school curriculum. In the first section, forms and resources are provided for analyzing change at the local level. The second section offers the following step-by-step guidelines for curriculum development: (1) identify components of the existing curriculum; (2) focus on skills…

The overarching variable in this study is the effect of differing amounts of personal contact between teachers and a program coordinator on the degree of implementation of a consumer education curriculum innovation in fifth-grade classrooms. Other variables under study were inservice training, feedback mechanisms, and participation. The sample…

This paper examines the strategies involved in planning, organizing, developing, administering, evaluating, and providing materials for replication for a teacher-to-teacher network program. The data for this paper was collected as part of IMPACT II, a program designed to identify, support, document, and disseminate successful classroom-based…