American History Curriculum in the Mesa Public School District in Arizona - Case Study Example

Curriculum Inception Curriculum Inception Society is changing rapidly. Every year brings new innovations that require people to be re-trained and re-tooled in order to remain competitive in a shrinking job market. Add to this all the pressures and demands of keeping up with family, professional and personal lives, and it is little wonder that many are concerned about what the future holds. Educational organizations are one segment of society that must keep current with these changes. These institutions are charged with the responsibility of training society to enter a workforce that is drastically different that that of a mere decade ago. With all of the advances in technology and other mediums of communication, schools must develop new curriculum that addresses the changes being made. One definition of curriculum describes the process as an, “Interrelated set of plans and experiences that a student undertakes under the guidance of a school” (Marsh & Willis, 2013, p. 30). It is through these experiences that society is shaped. As such, it is imperative the curriculum currently in place in our schools be examined and updated as needed and as frequently as is feasibly possible. In order to gain a better understanding of what this process would look like, it has been decided that a new American History curriculum should be piloted within the Mesa Unified School District in Mesa, Arizona. What follows is a brief examination of these documents as well as the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the prescribed curriculum currently being used. District Demographics The school district that this will be referring to is an extremely large unified educational institution consisting of 58 elementary schools, 13 junior high schools, and 7 high schools. Because of the complexity of this particular district, curriculum articulation and alignment is particularly important. Due to the size of this suburb of Phoenix, school boundaries are changing and families move every year to different parts of the district. It is important that the district provide a fluid curriculum for every student as the progress from elementary to junior to high school. Curriculum alignment is the process of developing a course of study that every child in the district will follow through 12 years of schooling. In essence, it is the process of learning material in elementary school, then building upon that same information in junior high and high school by adding new material and concepts. Benefits of the New Curriculum to the Students The study of American history promotes pride in the country. Students benefit directly by understanding their heritage and how we have evolved as a nation. It is also important to build a foundation in history, as this encourages students to become critical and creative thinkings. Finally, the benefit of the new curriculum is to point out weak points in our nation’s history in order to not only avoid such occurrences in the future, but also to learn how to move beyond failures and become successful. The proposed curriculum will be designed to cover historical events through the end of the Civil War during the first semester and covers reconstruction through present day during the second semester of the year. The curriculum that will be implemented will be posted on the Internet in order to encourage family and community involvement, which is a further rationale for this pilot program. At first glance, it may appear that this curriculum is fairly basic and mirrors that of other social studies courses in similar schools around the country. A second purview, however, will show that this is far from the case. The curriculum that will be put into use by the Mesa Public School System will be both unique and innovative. Instructional Goals of the New Curriculum In accordance with recently passed legislation, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, the curriculum for American History will be developed to reflect standards that are applicable to both state and federal guidelines. As one looks at this particular curriculum, it is easy to determine what specifically each student will be expected to learn. To begin, each section of the curriculum document will contain a column that aligns specifically to relevant state standards, which encompasses the first instructional goal. Second, any instructor can easily gauge their lessons standard by standard to ensure that the required material is taught. This is essential, especially in the state of Arizona, because each student must learn the expected material in such a manner as dictated by current legislation. These important elements of instruction will be described in the mastery section of the curriculum and the instructor can then develop lessons designed to enable their students to master that particular portion of American History (Nussbaum, 2011). Another instructional goal for this curriculum is to spell out, in detail, the importance of one historical event within the context of others. Drawing parallels to other historical events, for example, is a great way to help students master a particular area of history. Instructors concerned, however, with meeting the demands of state imposed standards may feel that this falls out of the boundaries of the approved curriculum, but this issue is solved by this new pilot curriculum by giving more control over instructional guidelines to the teacher. Thirdly, this curriculum will work to encourage critical and creative thinking skills on the part of students who will soon be entering college. An example of this would be one of the master elements sections that state, “List the events that signaled the end of the Revolutionary War”. This requires students to analyze why those events happened in the first place. If a teacher merely follows the curriculum, they will ensure that their students measure up to the standards of the state, but they will have done little to teach students the significance of those same historical events. Any good curriculum keeps the needs of the community in the forefront of their minds. Gordon (2014) states, “Curriculum development is the cornerstone of school improvement” (p. 237). If we are to begin the process of improving that state of our nations schools, we must begin with the curriculum we are implementing. The fourth instructional goal for this curriculum is that we must begin teaching students to work through the issues of the past and learn how they impact the way we live in the present. We must couple this with teaching them the importance of using this newfound historical information they are given to make wise choices in the future that will impact the communities in which they live. Re-developing this curriculum to take into account the needs of the community would be one way in which to improve upon this particular curriculum document. Diamond (2012) claims that a curriculum should contain, “Goals specific to the community that the [educational] institution serves” (p. 74). For the Mesa Public School System, this would entail implementing a curriculum that taught students the significance that American History played in the development of their particular community. Curriculum development does involve the creation of material to be presented to our students that are relevant to them and where they are in life. Just teaching historical facts does little to motivate students to learn about their heritage. By looking at the specific needs of the community, a history curriculum can do much more than merely teach facts. It can teach young people to make a difference in their community. It can teach them to appreciate the young history of our country and the even younger history of our state (Arizona). This begins by implementing critical and creative thinking components into the curriculum. It is imperative that the factual information remains, but the curriculum must be re-written to place more emphasis on the above-mentioned ideas. Conclusion In conclusion, the American History curriculum that is currently in place in the Mesa Public School District in Arizona is a great beginning, but this pilot curriculum will go much further. It contains in-depth standards that are currently being met by students in the district. Teachers are able to ensure that they are teaching the necessary material in their classes by closely following the document readily available to them, their students, and their parents. This writer would like to see, however, more emphasis placed on critical and creative thinking skills. There is little in this curriculum to show that a student can truly analyze the significance of historical events that are presented to them in class. We must learn from history, not merely study it. Social studies scholars point out that, “A consistent and cohesive approach to social studies practice is essential and should be reinforced through professional development and a supportive school environment” (Rocca and Zacholod, 2014, p. 6). If the curriculum in the Mesa School District will implement these ideas, they will go a long ways towards being on the cutting edge of social studies curriculums. By learning to analyze historical facts, students will learn to appreciate their surroundings and will become a more diverse learning population that is able to embrace the world of tomorrow. References Diamond, R. M (2012). Designing and assessing course and curricula (2nd ed.). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass. Gordon, S. P. (2014). Professional development for school improvement: Empowering learning Communities. Boston: Pearson. Marsh, C.J., & Willis, G. (2013). Curriculum: Alternative approaches, ongoing issues (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Nussbaum, Martha. (2011). The enduring significance of John Rawls. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 21(7), 7. Rocca, Al, and Zachlod, Michelle. (2014). The changing classroom world. Social Studies Review, 44 (1), p. 5-8. Read More