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What do teachers need from curriculum guides? This question was posed in the September Educational Leadership column, “Among Colleagues.” Five of the 2010 ASCD Annual Conference Scholars got the ball rolling with their answers. What are your thoughts?Question:As a curriculum specialist, I’ve learned to begin with the end in mind: What do I want students to understand when teachers have finished instruction? I also have to account for research, standards, scientific evidence, and diverse student needs. With so many priorities to address, the curriculum guide sometimes becomes the “everything bagel”—full of pages of information surrounding each skill. I don’t want teachers to put these guides on the shelf because they don’t have the time or energy to dig into them. What’s the best way for me to provide the materials and lessons teachers and principals need without creating monster guides that no one will use?—Tracy Broccolino, Manager, Connections Virtual Academy, Baltimore, Md.Comments:A good curriculum is more about what gets left out than what gets put in. The greatest curriculum gift I ever received was in my first year as a teacher, when I asked my 8th grade language arts partner, Cheryl, what I was supposed to teach. She replied, “Teach whatever you want. Just make sure they pass the test.” Then she shared some of her units as well as some savvy advice about the skills kids needed to meet the North Carolina standards.I learned more from that freedom than I ever did from the many overstuffed curriculum binders that came my way. Everyone under the sun wants to tell teachers what to teach and how to teach it. But paint-by-number curriculum guides that specify every lesson from day one to the end of the school year are not the way to grow good teachers.My advice is to err on the side of Cheryl. Less is more. Give teachers a guide, not an “everything bagel.” You might have a sample unit or two, maybe lots of examples, but stick to the big ideas. What we need is not the perfect curriculum guide, but teachers who are able to take the reins and design their own curriculums to meet the needs of the diverse students they teach.—Jen Morrison, Teacher Educator, Newberry College, Newberry, S.C.As a teacher of the gifted and talented, I’ve been writing curriculum for my department for the last five years. During the summer, I freelance as a facilitator, and I was recently hired to present new curriculum enhancements to 275 teachers and instructional specialists for four days. Participants were given a three-ring binder filled to capacity with strategies, lesson plans, learning standards, research articles, and data. As I was showing the attendees how to navigate through the binder, I looked out over a sea of despondent faces and decided that I had to change gears or I would lose their attention and focus. We built the remainder of the session on the question, “What does this look like in my classroom?” By slowing down and learning the teachers’ perspectives, we made the workshop much more useful.I take two lessons from this workshop experience. First, if we cut to the chase and focus on showing teachers how the curriculum would look in their classrooms, maybe we could chop the first 150 pages out of curriculum guides. Second, the staff development that supports the new curriculum is just as important as the curriculum itself. We have to address teachers’ comfort level with the material. If we can make it happen for them in their minds, they can make the magic happen in their classrooms.—Michelle Neely, Teacher, Henry B. Gonzales Elementary School, Dallas, Tex.As a high school English classroom teacher, I sympathize with your dilemma. At times, the amount that we need to cover in one semester seems overwhelming. What’s most important is identifying 5–10 key learnings that students should demonstrate. As you said, you must “begin with the end in mind” and start with these objectives. Once you establish the key learnings, you can group the skills and sample products associated with these learnings under their headings. This focused approach means that beginning teachers can feel in control of the content, intermediate teachers can begin the refine their practice, and expert teachers can go deeper. The curriculum becomes a working document that is much more usable in the classroom.—Joanne Eliuk, Teacher, Iroquois Ridge High School, Oakville, Ontario, CanadaAs a teacher who has had experience in curriculum planning, I’m familiar with your dilemma. When I’m using a teaching guide, I personally find it useful for the objectives and teaching points to be right on top of the page. Important curriculum information should be written in bite-size pieces that teachers can access easily; information that is not essential but good to have should be placed in a section for additional reading.Jon Saphier’s book The Skillful Teacher recommends that teachers should have some experience in writing and planning the curriculum. Hence, it is in the interest of the school or institution to provide some professional development in this area to help the teachers make more sense of their curriculum guides. By teaching them to fish rather than giving them the fish, you reduce the amount of text needed to explain the curriculum in detail.—James Han, Teacher, St. Anthony’s Primary School, SingaporeYou certainly have hit the “sweet spots” related to the challenges that curriculum developers face in providing vital information without overwhelming teachers. I think your reflection, “I’ve learned to begin with the end in mind,” is a logical place to begin.It’s important to acknowledge that developing and then delivering a high-quality course is arduous work. Teachers must analyze the course documents, synthesize the information, and vicariously walking through how it will look in practice. This requires time, patience, and the acceptance that there will be occasions in which lesson delivery may not go well right out of the gates.Curriculum guides should start by distilling the most essential elements from state standards and benchmarks documents, as well as the assessments that have thus far been developed and administered. It’s ideal if teachers can jointly examine these and develop possible lessons to help students meet the curriculum’s goals and benchmarks. Beginning teachers can benefit from working with experienced peers, who can help them with lessons from their lesson bank that have worked well in helping students meet learning targets.It’s also important that teachers have the guides to help monitor and reflect on all aspects of the course. Keeping notes on what works, what doesn’t, and what tweaks were effective can serve as a vital source of information about the efficacy of the course in meeting the stated goals and thereby set the stage to begin the cycle of continuous improvement.—Dana Paykos, Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction, Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Roebling, N.JHope this helps!!!!Please do Upvote & Share if you like !!!!Also Follow me for more such answers.

Every industry has a plethora of conferences and assemblies where educators are encouraged to go, learn about the latest in news and tech, and talk about their experiences. While many of these are little more than a reason to talk and network, some conferences stand out as offering a lot more to educators than a gathering.If you are interested in attending a highly beneficial edtech conference in 2017, the following ten meetings are something you should consider at least following (even if you ultimately decide not to attend).TCEA Convention & Exposition – February 6 to 10, Austin, TexasThis is the 37th annual convention and exposition for educators at every level. You can register to visit just the exhibit hall, or you have a choice between a basic and premium badge. This is one of the most well-established and well-attended educational conferences of the year, with more than 900 sessions and 450 exhibitors. You can network, learn about the latest technology, and find out where your particular area of focus is going. It is the kind of event that you must attend to get a real understanding of the scope and breadth of knowledge that is on display.For more details, you can download their app (TCEA mobile app), or you can follow the event on Twitter @TCEAThe Science of How We Learn – February 17 to 19, San Francisco, CaliforniaOne of the most important things to understand about education is that everyone learns differently, but there are some universal truths. This conference takes a look at some of the newest learning methods, how they work, and why they work. The focus is to help educators provide a more effective educational experience for their students, regards of the student’s age. The following are just a few of the areas being explored to help you give your students more motivation and a desire to learn:Using Effective Instructional StrategiesBrain Benefits of Exploring and ExplainingDeveloping Expertise and SkillsPromoting Effective Student FeedbackCreating Curious, Creative, Self-ExplorersYou can review their brochure on the event, but if you want to attend you will need to move quickly as they have already begun posting warnings that they require an overflow room to cover all of the current participants at the keynotes session. To keep up to date on the events and the latest news from Learning & the Brain, you can follow them on Twitter at @learningandtheb/#latb46.2017 International Conference on Education – March 12 to 16, San Diego, CaliforniaThe Clute Institute is hosting an international conference for both faculty and administrators to get together and talk about both proven and potential methods of teaching. Whether you are teaching Kindergarten or at a university, there is information for every level. The following are just a few of the topics that will be discussed during the presentations being held from March 13 to 15:AccreditationContemporary Issues in EducationCurriculumESLE-learningInternational EducationK-12 EducationTeaching MethodsTenureThe last day you will have the option of taking a tour of the beautiful Maui, Hawaii, just to help you recalibrate after a few days of learning. To keep up with the latest news on the event or other events from the Clute Institute, you can follow them on Twitter @CluteInstitute.Empower17 – March 25 to 27, Anaheim, CaliforniaSponsored by ASCD, this conference is designed for anyone within the education field, whether a teacher, professor or administrator. Instead of the typical conference style presentations, they have several different events, such as panels for discussion and debates. They also offer a broad range of interactive opportunities. This is the first conference of its kind, giving you a chance to be part of something new and innovative in the education field.To learn more about the conference, you can follow ASCD on Twitter @ASCD.Positive Student Minds – April 7 to 9, Arlington, VirginiaAnother conference sponsored by Learning & the Brain, this conference examines ways you can inspire students to take a positive approach to learning. It does not target a particular set of students either, as it can be difficult to maintain a positive mindset no matter how far you have gone in your education. One of the biggest keys to a student’s success is that student’s ability to keep trying, and that requires a positive outlook on education. The purpose of this conference is to give educators the necessary tools and methods to help keep students inspired. The following are a few of the presentations that will help you build a better mindset in the classroom:Ways to Develop Positive Schools, Behaviors, and School ClimateApplying Brain/Behavior/Positive Science to Help Children ThriveEffects of Stress, Adversity, Poor Environments on AchievementInterventions for Depression, Negative Behaviors, and BullyingYou can review their brochure on the event. If you want to keep up with the latest news from this unique educational provider, you can follow them on Twitter at @learningandtheb/#latb46.SUA GSV Summit 2017 – May 8 to 17, Salt Lake City, UtahToward the end of the school year, ASU is hosting its annual summit. The three-day event is open to all educators and includes many innovators and businessmen as well. While there is an extensive list of speakers, some of the most notable are Andre Agassi (the famous tennis player) and Luis von Ahn (one of the geniuses behind crowdsourcing).If you would like to learn more about the event, you can follow the latest discussions and news on Twitter @asugsvsummit.Distance Teaching & Learning Conference – July 25 to 27, Madison, WisconsinThis is one of the few dedicated conferences to make the list, but with more schools moving to a technical heavy, online presence, it is a timely meeting to attend. It gives you a consider what the current technology is for working with students over a distance, and what you are likely to start seeing emerge in the near future. The technology covered is helpful to every level of education, from kindergarten through college and military training.If you want to keep up with the latest news and information, you can follow the event on Twitter @UWdtl.The iNACOL Symposium – October 15 to 18, Charlotte, North CarolinaThe iNACOL Symposium is sponsored by the nonprofit organization iNACOL, and it focuses on the education of children in grades K through 12. In addition to the opportunity to develop your network, the symposium offers a broad range of topics to help you explore new ways of teaching. There are over 200 sessions covering a wide variety of issues that fall one of the following foci:Personalized learningPoliciesCompetency educationBlended and online learningiNACOL national quality standardsYou can check out the areas being highlighted at the symposium to see if they are covering a particular field. If you are interested in setting up an exhibition, they are still accepting applications.While there are still months before the event, there are already several hashtags associated with it. You can post some of your own ideas or look up what others are saying with the hashtags #Policymakers and #Edleaders. You can also follow details about the symposium and other news and events by iNACOL by following @nacol on Twitter.DevLearn 2017 – October 25 to 27, Las Vegas, NevadaIf you are actively involved in using technology to help students learn, this is a conference you need to add to your calendar. The entire event is dedicated to different learning technologies and how they can best be used to enhance the learning experience. Sponsored by the eLearning Guild, you will have three days devoted to technology in education. You can speak with some of the leaders in the industry or share ideas with others who are enthusiastic about what technology can do to help students perform better both in the classroom and outside it.You can follow the latest news and information on Twitter @eLearningGuild.ExcelinEd’s National Summit on Education Reform – November 29 to December 1, Nashville, TennesseeTo round out the year, you can go to the National Summit hosted by ExcelinEd for a look at ways to improve and reform the American education system. The focus goes beyond the classroom and examines how state and local policymakers and advocates can keep up with the latest trends to help students get ahead in their education. Some of the conference’s primary focus include the following:Holding schools accountable for learningCreating incentives for students to achieve moreUsing technology to improve and customize education based on the studentExpanding the options for students and parentsBy focusing on these details before the holiday season, you can establish some resolutions to help improve the way you, the local government, and the state approach education. To stay current on the latest news and changes to the event, you can follow the event on Twitter @ExcelinEd.Final ThoughtsWell, that’s the end of our list. How did we do? If you would like us to consider adding your education conference to the list, let us know.