Curriculum

Part I.

Three Versions of Curriculum

Subject CenteredTeacher CenteredStudent Centered

In my K-? Education, I have had….

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All teacher-cente... Some Subject-cent...

Some student-cent... An optimal blend ...

A blend that had ...

1. All teacher-centered experiences of curriculum

2. Some Subject-centered experiences

3. Some student-centered experiences

4. An optimal blend of these varieties

5. A blend that had little rhyme or reason to recommend it

What is the nature of curriculum?

Curriculum is something determined by experts and authorities.

There is no right curriculum. Curriculum should reflect the real world, be

practical, of use. There are many curricula we can learn and

negotiate

Please make your selection...

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1. Authorities /Experts Determine

2. There is no “right” curriculum

3. Curriculum should be the “real world”

4. There are many curricula we can learn

Definitions of Curriculum1. Curriculum is all of the

experiences children have under the guidance of teachers.

2. Curriculum encompasses all learning opportunities provided by school.

3. Curriculum is a plan for all experiences which the learner encounters in school.

4. Curriculum is subject to perspectives, debate, change

Discipline, Discourse, & Theory

Discipline – an area of study, with its own particular rules and expectations.

E.G., the discipline of Economics, or History Discourse – a system of statements that provide rules of

information and sets of practices within a social milieu (Grant & Gillette, 2006).

E.G. “discourse of free-market capitalism.” Theory– an argument about how to think about a discipline

or a discourse. Thinking about theNature of our thinking – “metacognition.”

E.G. Theory of the novel, or Theory of Evolution, or Marxist Theory of History

Who owns the curriculum?

A teacher in a public school is an employee of the district, which is an educational entity of the state.

It is the state, the governor, the legislature (the state dept. of education or state board of education) which has ultimate responsibility over the curriculum.

Curriculum…Thomas Popkewitz

“I view curriculum as a particular, historically formed knowledge that inscribes rules and standards by which we ‘reason’ about the world and our ‘self’ as a productive member of that world.”

“Curriculum is a disciplining technology that directs how the individual is to act, feel, talk, and ‘see’ the world and the ‘self.’ As such, curriculum is a form of social regulation.”

Curriculum and Power Relationships

Expert knowledge shapes our thinking about much in our daily life.

We think of it as “natural” but it is not…it is built from expert systems of thinking.

We assume expert knowledge to be true.

I know for certain that…

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1. The earth revolves around the sun

2. My friend loves me

3. It is below zero outside

4. There is truth in the world

5. My senses give me factual information

Curriculum Standards

Nothing new…in 1909 E.L. Thorndike developed handwriting standards measuring students’ penmanship performance

Standards consider content and performance and remove the need for teachers to guess or make inferences about what students need to know

Content standards specify what students should know and be able to do

Performance standards specify the evidence needed to demonstrate achievement

Tendency toward conservative visions of back to basics since 1983 A Nation at Risk Report

Tendency toward internationalism in curricular thinking

Standards and Curriculum

“Although most educators…argue that these standards are not the curriculum, standards do suggest the learning experience and opportunities that students should have under the guidance of the teachers.”

“…for many teachers, the standards have become the fusion of teachers’ public, professional, and personal knowledge that disciplines their choices and possibilities, and must therefore be thought of as the effects of power.”

The Overt Curriculum

The overt curriculum is the open, or public, dimension and includes current and historical interpretations, learning experiences, and learning outcomes.

Openly discussed, consciously planned, usually written down, presented through the instructional process

Textbooks, learning kits, lesson plans, school plays etc.

Overt Curriculum

Provides students with science, history, math, literature

Provides students with the knowledge society wants them to have…beyond the academics

Social Responsibility…the overt curriculum should be “society’s messenger” (Benjamin Franklin)

Society’s Messsenger

In the 1600s…for religious purposes…Old Deluder Satan laws (1642)

In order to organize what students should learn and teachers should teach, The New England Primer was published (1690)

In the late 1700s and 1800s, Americanization 1900’s Progressivism for Democracy in reforms

founded on thinking of John Dewey E.D. Hirsch, Cultural Literacy

The Invisible (Hidden)Curriculum

The processes…the “noise” by which the overt curriculum is transmitted

“they are also learning and modifying attitudes, motives, and values in relationship to the experiences…in the classroom.”

The nonacademic outcomes of formal education are sometimes of greater consequence…than is learning the subject matter….

Results of the Hidden Curriculum

Notions of truth, ways of thinking, unstated implications

Appraisals of self-worth Social Roles Middle-Class Perspectives Attitudes and Behavior Required for Work

I see myself

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1. As an “A” kind of person

2. As a future leader in my field

3. As a hard worker

4. As a solid middle class member

The “What Knowledge” Debate

Colonial – moral education 19th Century – “Americanization” Early 20th …The Scopes trial…before

Scopes, religious faith was the common, if not universal, premise of American thought; after Scopes, scientific skepticism prevailed.

A Nation at Risk (1983) return to the “basics”

The Null Curriculum

When a topic is never taught: “too unimportant…” “too controversial…” “too inappropriate…” “not worth the time…” “not essential…”

Extra or Co-curricula

Beneficial to self-esteem Improved race relations Higher SAT scores, grades Better health for females, gender stereotypes

undermined Higher career aspirations

The “Whose Knowledge” Debate

…our arguments over curriculum are also our arguments over who we are as Americans, including how we wish to represent ourselves to our children

The Canon…defining what is central and what is marginal

Curriculum Organization

Societal level…politicians, special committees, experts

Institutional level…set at the school, district, college…usually set along subject matter disciplines

Instructional level…teacher planning and teaching students

Ideological level…learning theorists and subject matter specialists

The Reign of the Textbook

Textbook adoption states Effects Economies of scale Censorship “Mentioning Effect…” Inauthentic text Timeliness

Standards Movement

Content Standards– Whose content?

– Traditional versus Progressive

– Today…debate over Scientifically Based Practices in education.

NCLB

Annual Testing Academic Improvement Report Cards Faculty Qualifications

Adequate Yearly Progress

AYP “Underperforming” by measurements Students and parents offered options Consequent Loss of Funding

Browse State Website?

State Standards and Test are…

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Desirable, as the... A mistake, they d...

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1. Desirable, as they create accountability

2. A mistake, they don’t measure real learning

3. Positive for unifying educational experience

4. Divisive and not representative of different groups’ experiences

Alfie Kohn

Individuals lost in sea of tests Learning as exploration, creativity stifled Use of threats and bribery counter to ethical

education. Shifting emphasis from real issues to surface

issues Detract from teacher autonomy

Topics in Curriculum / Know these in terms of philosophy topics?

Creationism versus Evolution Core Knowledge, the Canon, versus

Multiculturalism Multiple Intelligences Critical Thinking Skills Metacognition Critical Pedagogy (and literacy)