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The head of school at Brookhaven Innovation Academy, Laurie Kimbrel has been working in the field of academic administration for close to two decades. The former superintendent of Tamalpais Union High School District, Laurie Kimbrel is extremely familiar with such areas as project management and curriculum development.
Curriculum development determines the type of information that is taught in schools, as well as how it will be taught, and who will teach it. The four basic stages involved in the curriculum development process are briefly discussed below:
1. Planning: during this stage, the specific development steps are laid out. The idea or issue that is being addressed is determined and a curriculum development team is formed. Once professionals are gathered, they look over changes in the content area and assess the needs of the students.
2. Content: as the team moves into the second stage, their focus turns to the intended outcomes of the curriculum, the program’s unifying framework, and the content they are focusing on. After that, new methods of teaching said content are created.
3. Implementation: finally, the new designs and methods are put into play. Facilitators must be carefully trained in the new curriculum and any revisions should be made based on how the new program is received. Not every plan results in the desired goals, so developers must be willing to change things.
4. Evaluation: as the curriculum’s use continues, it may require updates as the world progresses. New content may be added in while old content might be removed. Additionally, the curriculum may start to fail with newer groups of students, thus requiring another redesign.
Laurie Kimbrel's Blog 