Degree Name

Education Specialist (EdS)

Semester of Degree Completion

1980

Thesis Director

Donald W. Smitley

Abstract

This project is divided into five areas. The first four areas are Sections I through IV, with the fifth area being the Appendices. Within this abstract the content of Sections I through IV will be discussed, followed by the purpose of the content of the Appendices.

Section I describes both the State and local conditions in which this two-year field study was developed. My project goal was to involve parents, teachers, administrators and Board of Education members in a systematic development of Curriculum on a kindergarten through twelfth grade basis.

I recommended we use an adoption cycle, which is a multiple year study of curriculum, focusing on one or two areas of curriculum each year. The curriculum development through an adoption cycle should include the development of goals and objectives, as well as the selection of textbooks and materials necessary to facilitate these goals and objectives.

Section II is a detailed log of my activities in the role of Chairman of the Curriculum Committee at Northwestern C.U.S.D. #2, Palmyra, Illinois. The primary importance of this section is to present in an orderly manner the flow of activities involved in preparing for and meeting specific deadlines inherent in an adoption cycle.

In Section III is a detailed description of three major components of curriculum development through an adoption cycle. They are: Formation of the Curriculum Committee and Adoption Cycle; Development of the Curriculum Committee Handbook and Science Goals; selection of the Science Textbooks and Materials/Preparation of the Science Budget Proposals. These three components were chosen because I felt they were key areas of the two-year project and representative of the work involved in curriculum development.

Section IV is a conclusion containing a financial summary of the project including a list of major accomplishments of the Curriculum Committee. Also included are suggestions for possible improvements upon the adoption cycle being used at Northwestern C.U.S.D. #2.

The Appendices included in Section V are representative samples of the work of the Curriculum Committee during my two-year field study.

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