Loma School District Case Study

a.) To what extent do you believe a written curriculum for the various disciplines plays a role in this case?

The simple definition of curriculum is that it is a written document and its purpose is to focus teaching within a common boundary and connect the work of classroom teachers across boundaries (English, 2010). In the case of Loma School District, a well-written and well-planned curriculum for the various disciplines is important in order to improve student’s achievement level. While curriculum in the schools has many recipients: students, teachers, parents, taxpayers, accreditation agencies, government bureaus, other political bodies, and even society as a whole; it is the teachers that are often times confronted with problems in attaining

While this may seem like a dismal situation, I believe that there is hope in improving the situation of Loma School District, including changing the attitudes of the staff and administrators. Ponte, Matos, Guimaraes, Leal, and Canavarro (1994) in a case study asserted that studying the views and attitudes of teachers is grounded in the assumption that these have a significant influence on their thinking and actions. Views and attitudes act as a sort of filter. They are indispensable in forming and organizing the meaning of things, but on the other hand they can block the perception of new realities and of the identification of new problems. While positive attitude towards a new curriculum may not be an accurate predictor of effective implementation, teachers’ attitude can be crucial in determining the success and failure of student achievement (Lee, 2000). To improve teachers’ receptivity to a new curriculum and support its development, school administrators need to explain the benefits and value of the new curriculum, particularly in terms of improving students’ achievement scores. Most importantly, the teachers should be actively involved in the process of curriculum development (Stabback, Male & Georgescu, 2011). While the role of a teacher and that of curriculum leader

Do you agree that Dr. Vineland should place an emphasis on mastery curriculum? Why? Mastery curriculum is based on a teaching method premised on the idea that student progression through a course should be dependent on proficiency as opposed to amount of time spent on academic work (Yu, 2011). Dr. Vineland should place an emphasis on mastery curriculum because of its key features: 1.) curriculum design revolve around assessments, 2.) assessments may take any form as long as they determine proficiency, 3.) moving to the next grade/level/topic is dependent upon successful completion of prerequisite assessment, 4.) curriculum is committed to the success of all students; students are not “allowed” to give up (Yu, 2011). Allocating 60% to 75% to mastery curricula during the curriculum development is essential because curriculum-referenced tests should focus only on mastery elements. According to Glatthorn, Boschee, Whitehead & Boschee (2012), the key to enriching curriculum is to involve students in real-life problem solving scenarios. Using real-life problem-solving scenarios assists in the process of developing the strongest brain networks that will be formed by actual experience. As a result, most schools are now using critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and strategies as a major part of the curriculum development process. Mastery curriculum involves: (1) basic learning,