Breaking the Mold: How Backward Design Informed the Development of a New Curriculum for Principal Preparation

• In Event: Roundtable Session 18.
  In Roundtable Session: Innovation and Impact in Educational Leadership Preparation Programs

Abstract

This paper exams the redesign of the principal preparation program at a regional university in the Midwest and investigates whether and how the design procedure employed, the backward design approach outlined by Wiggins and McTighe (1998), influenced the outcome. The goal of the design process was to create a program that placed instructional leadership at the center of the principal’s role, while also meeting new state licensure requirements and accreditation standards. Results confirmed researchers’ hypotheses that (a) a backward design process, unlike a conventional approach, facilitated deep and meaningful change in the program; and (b) that it created a more coherent curriculum and better alignment between instructional methods and student learning outcomes.

Authors

• Charles L. Howell, Youngstown State University

• Jeffrey Schuler, Kaneland School District

• James Surber, Northern Illinois University