How can you successfully pilot a new curriculum?

An existing curriculum is changed with a vision to prepare the students for their future role in society. The purposes of change in curriculum are to confront with: advancement of technology, societal shifts, new and improved methods of teaching, global competitiveness, inclusion, diversity and change in government policy. I have to define the goals and objectives of new curriculum and understand how new curriculum is better in accomplishing the overall objective of education. Piloting involves the measurement of the impact and effectiveness of the new curriculum.

Get perspectives from A LOT of people, not ONLY in the teaching/curriculum realm. When I made my ethnic studies curriculum, I interviewed ethnic studies professors, political science professors, ethnic studies teachers, reading teachers, math students, people in nonprofits, those working in community organizations, public health experts, etc. I think one of the trickiest things about developing curriculum is ensuring that it is intersectional, interdisciplinary, and practical.

Begin with a thorough needs assessment to understand learners' requirements and organizational goals. Continuously assess and refine the curriculum based on real-time data and participant performance.

A developed curriculum should always have a pending issue to address. The source of the curriculum content will determine the purpose and scope of the curriculum. A problem based curriculum for example is centered towards solving an already identified problem within the source scope. In most cases, there is no single fit curriculum for all issues. The issue at hand will be the major determinant of the purpose and scope of the curriculum. A curriculum for underdeveloped nations will be distinct from that of developed countries, this is mainly because of the goals and aspirations of the individual countries.

Certainly, before embarking on the pilot of a new curriculum, it's imperative to define your purpose and scope with precision. Begin by articulating why you are introducing the new curriculum and what specific objectives, outcomes, and standards it aligns with. Identify the gaps, issues, or opportunities that the new curriculum aims to address, and elucidate how it distinguishes itself from the existing one. Equally important is determining the metrics and methodologies for measuring the impact and effectiveness of the new curriculum.

Whenever you start something new, you need to have everyone on board. If curriculum is new, it means it is not perfect, and it will need adjusting. Due to this, the best approach is to trial it in one year group. At the moment, in my school, my year group is piloting a new curriculum, and we have constant communication with SLT and people in charge of the implementation to understand what works and what needs adjustment. Be flexible and communicate openly so that all involved parties can benefit from your feedback and resolve pending issues. The next step is to roll out to other year groups and eventually to the whole primary. In this case, you need to take a small step before you make the big step work.

Stakeholders also called key-players are major determinants of the success or failure of any curriculum. Key-players range from teachers to students to parents to publishers to host communities amongst others. The bias of individual players toward the curriculum will to a large extent decide if the curriculum will succeed or not. While some are agents of change, others may be resistant to change, hence it is essential to always integrate the key-players right from the onset of the curriculum planning and development process.