A Look Back
Possible Futures: A curriculum that promotes civic ends and meets developmental needs
By Carol D. Lee
November 2021, pp. 54-57
American life is increasingly complex. Navigating social, political, and ethical dilemmas requires an understanding of differing points of view and an ability to think clearly and critically. As such, our nation’s schools must redesign their curriculum to support students in gaining the skills, mindsets, and knowledge necessary for effective civic engagement and action, according to Carol D. Lee, a professor emerita in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. Lee made this assessment in a 2021 Kappan article published as part of a series of pieces reimagining American education.
In addition to solid academic and critical-thinking skills, “all students must develop a number of key intellectual dispositions and habits of mind, including an eagerness to engage with complex ideas, assess credibility of evidence, explore multiple points of view, sift through moral and ethical dilemmas, empathize with people from differing backgrounds, and appreciate the power of literature and the arts to teach about others’ experiences and worldviews.” Preparing students in such a manner would serve the public good, while also providing students with an education that continues to serve them long past graduation, Lees argues.
Just as importantly, the schools in which such a curriculum is delivered must change in accordance with the latest research on how students learn, Lee writes. Students must feel welcomed and supported. They must feel that what they are learning is relevant. And they must be confident their teachers believe they are “fully capable of learning, changing, and improving.”
Conversation Piece
This issue of Kappan focuses on current trends in curriculum. Use these questions to reflect on the topic with your colleagues:
- What changes would you make to your school’s curriculum? What benefits would these changes have for students?
- What are some of the challenges you’ve seen in changing and adapting school curricula to meet the needs of today’s students? How could schools surmount these challenges?
- What instructional methods have you found to be most effective? Why?
- What professional learning opportunities are most helpful to you when you are implementing a new curriculum or trying a new instructional approach?
- Multiple articles in this issue discuss the lack of time teachers have to adopt new approaches. What would you to do ensure teachers have the time they need to make appropriate changes?
PDK members have access to discussion guides related to specific articles in each issue of Kappan. Log in to the member portal and access the discussion guides at https://members.pdkintl.org/PDK_PLT_Member_Discussion_Questions.
Research Notes
Report details curriculum adoption practices in K-12 schools
New instructional materials are adopted at a steady clip inside American schools. RAND Corporation, a research organization, tracked educators’ use of instructional materials from 2019 to 2024. The findings show between 40% and 50% of K-12 teachers reported using a new curriculum in any given year. In addition, compared to the 2018–19 school year, the average teacher in 2023-24 used roughly two more instructional materials for their English language arts, mathematics, or science instruction.
Nearly all teachers reported modifying their curriculum. “Curriculum implementation with perfect fidelity is not a realistic goal. In fact, an emphasis on fidelity may restrict teachers from making otherwise thoughtful adaptations to their curriculum,” study authors note. Yet more research is needed to measure how well these practices serve students and what they indicate about the curriculum selection process. “Teachers who say that they need to add new materials to the mix may be signaling about inadequacies in the materials that are provided to them by their school or district (e.g., the existing materials do not properly scaffold content),” the report notes. “Teachers who pull in more materials may also be pointing to a need for more experience and training with their existing materials.”
SOURCE: Doan, S., Woo, A., Shapiro, A., Bellows, L., & Kassan, E. (2025, July 15). Teachers’ use of instructional materials from 2019-2024: Trends from the American Instructional Resources Survey. RAND Corporation.
“If we want to raise the bar on curriculum quality, we all must work together — school districts, publishers, and researchers. We need each other to help weed out the ineffective solutions and elevate the proven ones.” — Stacey Black, research manager at Reading Horizons, quoted in an August article on evidence-based curriculum published in The 74 Million.
Linking curriculum adoption and implementation
Too few schools have structures in place to ensure the successful implementation of new curricula, according to a 2025 survey of 254 district leaders from across the U.S. Results show that 40% of the districts surveyed did not pilot curricula before adoption and 41% percent had no process in place to access curriculum efficacy following implementation. “These findings suggest that despite strong intentions and commitment, underdeveloped early adoption stages contribute to later implementation challenges,” the report states.
Ideally, curriculum adoption and implementation should be considered part of the same process, the authors note. Overall, 48% of survey respondents reported struggling with implementation challenges. “These gaps suggest that districts need more comprehensive planning to connect early decision-making to classroom success,” according to the report.
SOURCE: EdReports & The Decision Lab. (2025). Beyond selection: Rethinking how districts adopt curriculum.
Big gains from 1-on-1 tutoring
Personalized attention goes a long way when it comes to boosting student performance. In a recent randomized control trial, researchers at Stanford University found that one-on-one early literacy tutoring was nearly twice as effective as two-on-one tutoring. Both interventions were conducted virtually, but slight nuances helped students in the one-on-one program excel.
“While tutors dedicate similar time to content instruction and relationship building across both formats, students receiving one-on-one tutoring receive more attention and personalized support,” researchers note. “To improve the effectiveness of two-on-one tutoring, it may be beneficial to equip tutors with strategies that engage multiple students simultaneously, thereby reducing downtime and minimizing the potential for disengagement.”
SOURCE: Hsieh, H., Gormley, D., Robinson, C.D., & Loeb, S. (2026). The power of personalized attention: Comparing pedagogical approaches in small group and one-on-one early literacy tutoring. Education Sciences,16 (1), 142.
AI and curriculum adaptation
The advent of artificial intelligence marked a turning point in the way teachers adapt curriculum, most notably helping educators extend learning for students, according to a 2024 study published in the British Educational Research Journal. The study involved 440 teachers in Turkey working with students at all grade levels from preschool to high school. In addition to answering survey questions, participants shared their insights with researchers through focus groups.
Overall, the study found teachers adopted a “balanced” approach to curriculum adaptation, the authors note. “Qualitatively, teachers reported positive experiences using AI, particularly ChatGPT, to make their lessons better fit students’ needs,” the report states. “The findings highlight AI’s transformative potential in curriculum adaptation, making education more engaging, relevant and personalized.”
SOURCE: Karataş, F.,Eriçok, B., & Tanrikulu, L. (2024, August 27). Reshaping curriculum adaptation in the age of artificial intelligence: Mapping teachers’ AI-driven curriculum adaptation patterns. British Educational Research Journal, 51, 154-180.
“All kinds of novels, short stories, and poems can be used to teach literary elements and literary criticism — so can song lyrics and screenplays. What matters most is that teens learn to enjoy reading.” — Erich May, superintendent of Brookville Area School District in Pennsylvania, in a January EdWeek op-ed.
‘Invisible Influencers’: Lesson-planning in the digital age
AI can prove a powerful partner for teachers looking to increase their productivity and plan lessons that resonate with their students. But in a new report, the nonprofit Common Sense Media urges educators to use AI to “build on high-quality curricula and materials — not replace them.”
AI is imperfect, the report notes, and used improperly, artificial intelligence tools “can act as ‘invisible influencers’ in students’ learning, shaping what they learn through content that may contain biases, inaccuracies, or one-sided perspectives.” Although AI tools aimed at assisting teachers have improved in how they address the most blatant stereotypes, “subtle but less obvious biases remain,” the report states. AI content in the classroom “can subtly shape students’ worldviews without teachers or students realizing it,” report authors warn.
SOURCE: Common Sense Media. (2025, August 14). Common Sense Media AI risk assessment: AI teacher assistants.
This article appears in the Spring 2026 issue of Kappan, Vol. 107, No. 5-6, pp. 5-7.
