Session 4
Implementing Curriculum Change
1
Issues
The hard part in bringing about curriculum
change is implementing it. Too often most effort
is put into planning and very little into
implementation
There is often little attempt to systematically
monitor a curriculum change
Teachers and students inevitably experience
implementation difficulties
Teachers receive little praise for persevering with
the problems of implementation
Support for staff learning during implementation
is usually haphazard, poorly timed and impractical
2
Providing effective implementation
support
continuously monitor what is happening
sustain a positive climate
ensure appropriate involvement of key players in
discussions about any modifications
give special attention to providing support for
staff learning
sustain organisational support using mentors and
informal networks
have reflection – in-action to identify problem
areas
3
Intellectual work of implementing change
It involves tough thinking about educational
changes and what these changes mean or
look like in classrooms
4
Emotional work of implementing
change
Teachers make heavy emotional
investments in their relationships with
children, parents and other teachers
Many of the rewards of teaching are
emotional rewards. They want to provide
safe, secure, caring learning environments
Teachers’ emotional connections to
students energise what teachers do
5
Teachers as Learners in implementing
curriculum changes
Teachers, like their students, are learners. Making
changes in teaching practices always requires new
learning. In particular:
teachers have to solve complex curriculum and
classroom problems associated with change
extract workable ideas from complex curriculum
documents
make judgements about what to use
anticipate the implications of their
implementation decisions
evaluate their implementation achievements in a
critical way
6
Some special tips for change agents
keep communications simple and heartfelt
do your homework before communicating,
especially to understand what teachers are
feeling
speak to anxieties, confusion, anger and distrust
think creatively about how particular problems
might be resolved
keep up-to-date in one or more teaching areas
to demonstrate high levels of teacher expertise
keep a sense of humour
7
If problems occur, find out the real
causes
This can be done by using a range of
techniques such as informal conversations,
surveys, focus groups, networks
To ensure that potentially relevant factors are
not overlooked it is useful to use a checklist
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Checklist to diagnose problems in
implementing change
1. the goals, objectives and outcomes
2.
3.
4.
5.
selected
the content material selected
the modes of instruction
the assessment methods
school culture
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Checklist to diagnose problems in
implementing change continued…
6.
7.
8.
9.
leadership patterns
communication systems
administrative support procedures
mechanisms for identifying and
disseminating good practice
10. mechanisms for monitoring the quality of
what happens
11. document and record-keeping procedures
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Short-term successes
It is essential to achieve some early successes with
your curriculum change, because:
successes provide feedback about the validity of
a specific vision
successes give those working hard a pat on the
back, an emotional uplift
successes build faith in the effort, attracting
those who are not yet actively helping
successes take power away from cynics and
resistors
successes give visibility to what you are trying to
achieve
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