The 4 Features of a High-Quality Curriculum
byConnections Academy
7 min to read
Ask any parent what they want out of a school and many will say “a good curriculum.” But what is a good curriculum? And how do you identify one?
To answer those questions, it’s helpful to define “curriculum” first. At its most basic, “curriculum” refers to the series of courses taught to students in a school. However, the term is more broadly understood to mean the totality of the educational experience offered by a school. In other words, a school’s curriculum isn’t just the courses, it’s also the staff, teachers, resources, and everything else that makes a school what it is.
With that in mind, it’s easier to answer the question: What is a quality curriculum? Simply, it’s an effective and rewarding educational experience. How does a school create a rewarding experience, and what makes an effective curriculum? That requires a more in-depth look.
There are four core aspects that come together to create a quality curriculum. If a school performs well in all four aspects, it’s safe to say it has a good curriculum. Here are the four aspects that schools with high-quality curricula share:
1. Expert-Designed Courses
If your initial answer to “what is a good curriculum?” focused on the quality of the courses at a school, you weren’t far off. Courses are the centerpiece of any curriculum and are essential to its success.
When looking at K–12 schools—whether they’re traditional brick-and-mortar schools or online schools—you want one that offers courses designed by education experts. Typically, this means the courses won’t just be a series of lectures or worksheets. They will be similar to what an online school like Connections Academy® offers.
With more than 20 years of online learning experience, Connections Academy knows what it takes to design an effective course. Their education experts look at every step of every lesson and ensure that each one leads students forward. This means courses are interactive experiences that help students build knowledge and allow them to apply that new knowledge to a project, paper, or other assignment.
These kinds of courses don’t only help students better master and retain information, they also help students build real-world skills. And experts around the world agree that modern school curricula need to build real-world skills, so students are better prepared for the future.
Important real-world skills include hard skills like computer literacy as well as soft skills like adaptability and resilience. Perhaps most importantly, the skill that students gain with a quality curriculum includes critical thinking.
Many employment experts cite critical thinking as vital to success in the workplace. But that’s not the only way critical thinking can help students. Critical thinking is also a key component to collegiate success. And, in these complex and fast-changing times, critical-thinking skills can help students navigate the world and find opportunity wherever—and whenever—it arises.
2. Caring, Certified Teachers
A course without a teacher is like a boat without a captain; even the best-designed courses will falter if a good teacher isn’t at the helm.
When determining the quality of a school’s teachers, the first step is to look for certification. Every state in the U.S. has a form of state certification that teachers must typically obtain before being allowed to teach at a public school in that state. However, there are other certifications, degrees, and credentials that the best teachers tend to earn.
For example, at Connections Academy, every teacher holds at least a bachelor’s degree and is certified in the subject and at the grade level they teach. Additionally, Connections Academy teachers are trained in online learning and know how to teach online school courses in a way that makes them highly effective.
That effectiveness is a product not just of teacher training, but of the sense of caring a teacher brings to every lesson. When a school employs teachers who care, courses are more engaging, student strengths are better identified, and struggling students receive the help they need as soon as they need it.
When asking what makes an effective curriculum, teachers are an essential part of the answer.
3. Student-Centered Learning
One aspect of curricula that’s easily overlooked is a school’s flexibility. Are all students expected to follow the same daily schedule and learning path, or does the school adapt its curriculum to fit each student’s individual needs?
In general, the more student-centered a curriculum is, the higher quality it will be. That student-centered philosophy is seen most prominently in two areas.
Flexible Schedules
When students have more freedom in their daily and weekly learning schedule, they can often learn better. This is because a flexible schedule lets them arrange their classes and schoolwork around their natural rhythms and other commitments.
At a school that offers flexibility, a student who is not a morning person can typically schedule their schooling for later in the day. Similarly, if they master math easily but struggle with their English course, they can arrange their day in such a way that they finish math quickly and spend longer on English.
At a truly flexible school like Connections Academy, students are not beholden to predetermined blocks of time for each class. In many cases, they aren’t even beholden to a specific weekly class schedule. It’s not uncommon for Connections Academy students to divide their coursework up so that they focus on half their subjects early in the week and half later. Plus, if they have a week with an unusual schedule due to family commitments, a doctor’s appointment, or other event, they can work around it without falling behind in their studies.
Empowering students and their families with a flexible schedule is a great way to ensure students are learning in the way that works best for them.
Individualized Learning Plans
Most schools allow students in higher grades to choose an elective or two every year and many have honors and special education programs available for the students who qualify for them. While these offerings are helpful, they are more properly considered part of a normal curriculum rather than a high-quality curriculum.
When determining what is a quality curriculum, it’s important to look for offerings that provide a higher degree of customization than what’s found in the typical school. After all, no two students learn the same way. The more their learning path aligns to their particular strengths and challenges, the better.
That’s why individualized learning plans play an important role in a quality curriculum. Connections Academy provides a good example of how individualized learning plans work.
At the online school, learning plans are formed in consultation with the student, their parents, and their teachers. Together, they review the student’s background, academic history, strengths, skills, and previous academic performance. Then the student completes a series of tests in core subjects. From this knowledge, the student, parents, and teacher set goals and put together a learning plan that includes the best series of courses and resources for the student and their unique needs and goals.
4. Parental Involvement and Support
All attentive parents are involved in their child’s learning to some extent. And that’s a good thing. Research has shown that there is a strong correlation between parental involvement and positive educational outcomes. However, there’s a difference between a school where parents can only help with homework and a school where parents are treated as educational partners.
Schools that invite parents into the learning process understand the value that parents bring. That’s why schools with the highest quality curricula are also the schools where parents play an important role in everything from creating a learning plan to setting daily schedules to assisting with their child’s learning. And, at the best schools, teachers and staff are by parents’ side the whole way.
Take Connections Academy. At the online school, parents serve as their child’s Learning Coach and receive plenty of support in the process. With guidance from an orientation, expansive resource center, parents’ groups as well as teachers and staff, Connections Academy Learning Coaches are empowered to guide their child forward.
When parents are treated as partners, they can help ensure their child is getting everything they need to learn in the way that works best for them. The opportunity for parent involvement makes a school’s curriculum truly extraordinary—and helps students succeed.
Clearly, a school with a high-quality curriculum can make a lot of difference in your child’s education. The good news is, schools with good curricula are more readily available than you might think—particularly when you factor in online school. To help you decide the next step for your child, take a look at our article about the difference between online school and traditional, in-person school.
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