How do I Choose the Best New Curriculum?

Educators and school officials, whether involved in elementary education or higher education, have the important task of choosing the best new curriculum to add to their classrooms. This is such a big decision because the sole job of an educator on any level is to prepare students for the future in the next grade level or in a new career. If you find yourself trying to decide on the best new curriculum for your students, there are a few things to consider that can make the job easier.

The best curriculum will challenge students to reach their full potential. Of course, you will need to start by choosing subject matter that adheres to government guidelines and regulations. There are generally certain topics, chapters, or books that must be used at a minimum during specific school years. This does mean that you can’t raise the bar though, and you are generally not limited to using only the school guidelines.

Read through various course books and guides and find which publishers and authors offer the most thorough information or innovative approach. If budget and time permit, choose the best lessons from each book and make copies of passages for students to study.

You can also develop new curriculum yourself by using life experiences to enforce a lesson or to create a whole new lesson. This is especially important in higher learning environments like colleges or trade schools where students will expect their professors and instructors to have real world experience in the field of study. Make a list of the biggest challenges you faced first years on the job, as well as your greatest triumphs and achievements throughout your career. Use this information to help students avoid the mistakes you made and give them something good to aim for in their careers.

As long as you are complying with government regulations, you may choose to check the lesson plans and schedules written by several academic publishers to choose the right one. They may all offer much of the same information, but often one will rise above the rest in terms of how that information is presented. Which seems to give the best examples? Which will be easiest for your grade level to understand?

It may also help you to find the best new curriculum for your classroom by speaking with other teachers, principals and professionals who have taught your grade level. What have they found to work the best? How did they handle students who weren’t catching on as quickly as they would have liked? The answers to these questions may help you choose the best curriculum to meet the needs of a specific grade level or achievement level.

If you are bound by school policy in terms of the textbooks you use and the subjects you cover, it is still possible to enrich the program with books, worksheets, and stories that you add in yourself. If there is a game the class can play to help reinforce a point, add it in. You can even visit websites created just for educators that list various games, worksheets, and lesson plans to help your students better understand the new curriculum.