Dr.

Tony Evangelisto

Changing Institutions Through Curriculum

Changing Institutions Through Curriculum: The Evangelisto Model

Presented at the Learning Conference Institute of Education University of London (17 July 2003) Presenter: Dr. Tony Evangelisto The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ [USA]

ABSTRACT Administrators must provide leadership for institutional change; the Evangelisto Model guides such change through curriculum development. The curriculum is the repository of the collective insights, beliefs, and decisions of those who design it. It is through the curriculum that institutional change is best accomplished, for it addresses all aspects of the educational enterprise. The Evangelisto Model is a comprehensive curriculum planning model that helps administrators to effect needed changes in the institution in a systematic and thorough manner.

Effective schools typically are institutions that have a very clear sense of mission and are well-organized in their efforts to accomplish that mission. The administrators shoulder the primary responsibility of leading the efforts of the entire staff in the accomplishment of that mission. This is clearly no easy task, because so many variables must be managed adroitly and efficiently. What must effective administrators be able to do in order to lead their institutions to the level of excellence that is so often, if not always, expected? To identify only the more obvious administrative responsibilities, successful school leaders must: 1. Provide the vision that is so necessary if many individuals are to work collaboratively and effectively together. 2. Orchestrate the efforts of persons who perform highly specialized tasks in an academic and social environment within the school community. 3. Monitor the activities and maintain the focus of the entire staff on the schools mission. 4. Manage the resources to assure that the goals of the institution are accomplished in the most cost-effective manner.

Dr. Tony Evangelisto

Changing Institutions Through Curriculum

5. Assess and evaluate the results of the collective efforts of the staff and plan for program modifications to correct deficiencies and to enhance performance. A fundamental challenge to the administrator is to formulate a clear sense of the schools mission and to manage the process by which that mission is achieved. This is not so easy to do. Seasoned administrators know that it is too easy to become lost in a labyrinth of details that become so enormous and overwhelming that the goals become blurred or too obfuscated from day to day. The one entity that serves to provide a clear and consistent reminder of the schools mission, and the myriad activities that must occur in its accomplishment, is the curriculum. The curriculum is the plan by which the school functions. If the plan is clear and well-organized, it is the vital mechanism that supports and guides everyone in the school. If the curriculum is nebulous and somewhat fragmented or lacking in cohesion, it is not likely to be a positive contributor to the schools attempts to accomplish its mission. What are the elements or components of a curriculum? What sequence should be followed in planning and implementing a curriculum? How can administrators and other professionals plan and work together to assure that the schools curriculum, as planned, is actually being carried out effectively and efficiently? While there are many curriculum models that provide some guidance along these lines, the Evangelisto Curriculum Model presents a format which is clear, coherent, and quite useful in helping administrators to provide the leadership that is a sine qua non to effective schools. Once a school has a clear sense of its mission, the administrator may use the Evangelisto Curriculum Model as the planning format, much as an architect uses blueprints to oversee a building project. The Evangelisto Curriculum Model, below, identifies the curriculum components and the sequence in which they must be planned. The simple logic behind the model is that accomplishing the schools mission requires that the major factors which relate to that mission must be addressed sequentially and systematically. For instance, if the schools mission is expressed thus: Our mission is to help children develop their knowledge, skills, and values in the process of becoming effective, caring, productive, and responsible members of a global society. it is necessary to stipulate what it requires for students to emerge with these attributes and how to facilitate the development of such outcomes.

Dr. Tony Evangelisto

Changing Institutions Through Curriculum

AND VALI DATE D OR CORRECTED T HROUG H

EVALUATION

AND WHICH ARE IMPL E MENTE D B Y

ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS

WHICH ARE THE B ASIS FOR

PROG RAM OF STU DIES

PROG RAM OF ACTIVITIES

PROG RAM OF SERVICES

FRO M WHICH WE DERIVE

B ROAD EDUCATIONAL G OALS

FOR M OUR

PHILOS OPH Y

OUR PERCEPTIONS O F

NATURE OF SOCIETY

NATURE OF LEARNER

NATURE NATURE OF OF LEARNING KNOWLEDGE

THE EVANGELIS TO CURRICULUM MODEL

Dr. Tony Evangelisto

Changing Institutions Through Curriculum

Thus, administrator faces the responsibility of leading staff members in developing and pursuing a program that begins with clarifying perceptions and beliefs about: 1. The nature of society into which students will emerge as effective, caring, productive and responsible members. What are the realities that students will encounter when they assume their full roles as members of their society? What knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values will they require? How might the school provide for these? 2. What do we know about learners at the various stages of development? What are their major characteristics in terms of physical, intellectual, social, and emotional development at the various stages of development? How must the school respond to these factors in its attempt to provide instruction and educational environments that are developmentally appropriate? 3. What do we know about learning and the kinds of pedagogy that will most likely foster the knowledge and skills development that we are attempting to accomplish in our classrooms? 4. What must we teach over the course of the childs educational experience? What knowledge must children acquire and how will they be expected to apply what they have learned? Given the enormous amounts of knowledge that exist, how do we decide what to include in the curriculum and what to omit because of time constraints? When all of these items have been discussed, clarified, and decided, it is incumbent upon administrators to assure that all of this material be formulated into a clear, concise, and coherent philosophy statement which captures the highlights of the understandings and beliefs as to the nature of society, the nature of the learner, the nature of learning, and the nature of knowledge. In a nutshell, these are essential elements that pervade every aspect of the educational process and which must be accounted for as much as is possible on a constant basis. The administrator must then be sure that the school develops a clear set of goal statements which provide manageable focal points in designing the programs which are intended to accomplish those goals. The mission statement becomes more poignantly expressed and focused through the schools goals. Once the goal statements have been formulated, the task of designing programs to achieve them becomes the immediate concern. How does a school typically accomplish its mission and goals? Through programs of studies, activities, and services.

Dr. Tony Evangelisto

Changing Institutions Through Curriculum

In the Evangelisto Curriculum Model, there is an inherent and structural belief that goals are not simply accomplished through classroom instruction or through the courses or units of study provided in the school buildings. Achieving the goals requires that activities outside the classroom are provided to complement and extend the learning which is the focus of the classroom; it also requires that services be provided to students so as to enable them or empower them to learn what the school expects them to learn. This perspective derives from what we know about learners and about learning; i.e., that learning is a complex process and that individual learners may possess limitations that will impede their learning unless they are provided special assistance and support along the way. The programs of studies, activities, and services need to be developed in conjunction with each other so as to achieve the greatest degree of integration possible. The administrator must recognize that some students will learn more successfully through the combination of classroom instruction and out-of-class involvements than they might in the classroom alone. Administrators must also enlighten parents as to the pedagogical benefits that flow from the activities program in support of, and as a complement to, classroom learning. Administrative decisions, the next tier on the Evangelisto Curriculum Model, encompasses all of the budgetary, policy, and procedural decision-making that are intended to implement the programs which are designed to accomplish the schools mission and goals. It is an important aspect of the Evangelisto Curriculum Model that administrative decision-making follows the development of programs; this is because the very process of administrative is about assuring that the schools resources are managed effectively in accomplishing what the school is constituted to do. Administrative decisions encompass all the logistics and economic considerations that are pertinent to operating schools, as well as all the policies and procedures that spell out the details of what is expected of everyone in the school community and the means by which tasks are accomplished. Essentially, administrative decisions entail the kinds of specifics that are presented in parent and student handbooks, school policy manuals, and teacher handbooks as well. The final task in the sequence, according to the Evangelisto Curriculum Model, is the task of evaluation. Since administrators are held accountable for what transpires in the school, evaluation is essential. The administrators must be able to identify clearly the successes and accomplishments of the school. Administrators must also be able to indicate where improvement is needed and be able to plan for successful remediation or amelioration in areas where they are needed. Assessment data must be gathered systematically and analyzed carefully and accurately. Evaluation results must be factored into future planning efforts. It is important to note that the evaluation part of the Evangelisto Curriculum Model links each one of the tiers of the model and is a unifying part of the graphic. This is intended to suggest that evaluation is a formative, ongoing activity that must be

Dr. Tony Evangelisto

Changing Institutions Through Curriculum

accomplished all along the way as curriculum is being developed and delivered. If administrators pursue evaluation only as a summative event, they are likely to find out all too late that decisions are being made with imperfect or incomplete insights, data, or resources. In summation, administrators have an incredibly complex and overwhelming responsibility to provide effective leadership in schools that are preparing students for full and effective participation in society. In order to provide the kind of leadership and guidance that are imperative in successful schools, school leaders require a clear and effective curriculum design as a guideline. The Evangelisto Curriculum Model provides a means for planning and implementing a total curriculum. The Model incorporates the essential elements of a curriculum and presents them in a logical, sequential format.