At a Glance
The administrative director of Greene County Career and Technology Center (GCCTC) provided instructors with opportunities for professional development and coaching to help them plan and develop curriculum that meets the requirements of the Danielson Group Framework for Teaching.
Overview
At Greene County Career and Technology Center (CTC), the administrative director created and implemented a plan to help teachers develop and apply effective curriculum and instructional practices in the classroom. Instructors received professional development and coaching throughout the process. The administrative director gave extra support to those teachers who needed additional assistance with curriculum development.
To kick off the initiative, the administrative director met with instructors to describe what proficient curriculum documents should look like and how these documents satisfied the requirements for Planning and Preparation as part of Domain 1 of the Framework for Teaching. The Framework for Teaching is a research-based set of components of instruction, divided into 22 components. Using planning templates and examples, the administrative director explained to instructors how to develop a syllabus and a unit plan with supporting curriculum components, such as active engagement strategies based on MAX Teaching and assessments. Instructors from each CTE program received this professional development.
After the professional development, the instructors had to apply what they learned by creating a program syllabus using a provided template. The administrative director reviewed each syllabus and provided teachers with constructive feedback.
Once teachers created an acceptable syllabus, they developed unit plans. Again, the administrator director followed the same process of teach, coach, provide feedback and remediation to them as they worked on the plans. The syllabi and unit plans become part of the educator effectiveness evidence for the PDE 82-1.
Origin / Implementation
While reviewing the written curriculum used by instructors, the Greene County CTC administrative director noticed that the curriculum often did not align to what was taught and tested. In order to address this misalignment, the administrator director implemented the curriculum initiative during the 2012-2013 school year.
The purpose of the initiative was to align the written, taught, and tested curriculum for each CTE program and to teach instructors how to create this type of alignment. To achieve this goal, the administrative director provided teachers with professional development and resources. Teachers received direct instruction on the curriculum development practice they were expected to implement. Then, as they worked on developing their curriculum, they received additional coaching and remediation as needed. The final phase of the process focused on holding teachers accountable for producing expected results.
Results / Impact
As a result of the initiative, the administrative director reports that instructors are more confident in their curriculum preparation and produce unit plans that they implement in the classroom. They understand the expectations for evidence under Domain 1 of the Framework for Teaching. Teacher morale appears higher because of the clear expectations that the administrative director set and the support made available to teachers in need of assistance.
In the future, the administration plans to continue implementing professional development initiatives. Teachers understand they are expected to apply the initiatives and that the extent to which they implement them will be used as teachers evidence in the Framework for Teaching domains.
The administration reports that NOCTI scores continue to increase since implementing the curriculum initiative.
Contact
Greene County Career and Technology Center
Karen Pflugh, Administrative Director
Email: kpflugh@grvt.org