Case Study

Please read these directions carefully. You will need a total of three posts that follow the guidelines and are posted by the specific due dates throughout the week!

Case study for discussion:

Principal Dan Matthews had worked successfully with a task force of committed teachers to build support for the professional learning community concepts among the staff of Khan High School. They drafted and approved a new vision statement, endorsed their collective commitments, and established school improvement goals. Principal Matthews then asked department chairs to help teachers work together in collaborative teams to clarify the most essential learning for students by asking, “What knowledge, skills, and dispositions should each student acquire as a result of this course and each unit of instruction within this course?”

After a few weeks, the department chairs proposed modifications to the principal’s request. the math chair reported that the teachers felt that the state standards had already clarified what students were to learn and saw no point in addressing a question that had already been answered. The English chair informed Principal Matthews that several teachers from her department had worked very hard on the committee that wrote the district’s language arts curriculum a few years ago and they felt that their work was being dismissed as irrelevant or ineffective. The head of the social studies department complained that the teachers in her department were unable to agree on the most essential learning for students because so many were personally invested in particular units they refused to abandon. After discussion, the principal abandons the work of establishing a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (GVC) and accepts the recommendation of the department chairs:

1. Every teacher would be provided with a copy of the state standards and district curriculum guide for their subject.

2. Teachers would be asked to adhere to state standards and the curriculum guide.

3. Teacher teams would no longer be required to clarify the essential learnings of their courses.

Consider Principal Matthews’ efforts and the efforts of the task force to engage teachers in establishing a GVC by clarifying the essential outcomes of their courses and units. In your first post, please share your thoughts about how to proceed. Your narrative can include but is not limited to the following issues:

Why principals need to more than just deliver curriculum documents to teachers.
Suggestions for the principal that would both honor the arguments made by the teachers AND create the conditions necessary for the development of a GVC including essential learnings.
Suggestions that may help the department chairs understand the importance of a guaranteed and viable curriculum.
A connection from your personal work or school that the staff may find helpful

DO NOT TREAT THESE QUESTIONS AS A WORKSHEET! THESE QUESTIONS ARE INTENDED TO GET YOU STARTED AND NOT AS THE ONLY ISSUES THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED! Effective discussion posts are narratives that weave these questions into a variety of points that are made.

Your first post must be made by Tuesday, January 26th at 11:59 pm. Create a new thread labeled with your last name and “post #1” For example, the title of my post would be “Raschen – post #1.”

In your second post, you will reply to one of your classmates’ threads. Your job is to add to their ideas and push back. Posts that simply agree with their classmates’ ideas will not receive points. You can discuss aspects of their plan that you think need further development and your ideas that will make those ideas more viable, aspects of their plan you think will not work, and new ideas for them to consider. Important – please self regulate in your groups to make sure every person has a response. In other words, if someone has already responded to a group member, choose someone else for your response.

Your second post must be completed by Friday, January 29th by 11:59 pm.

Your third and final post will be a reply to your initial post in which you consider all that you have read from your classmates and offer a comprehensive plan for the principal that will result in the development of a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum for each department in the school.

Your third post must be completed by Sunday, January 31st at 11:59 pm.

IMPORTANT -each of your posts should include at least one reference to course materials! Please proofread all posts and run them through Grammarly.com if necessary!