EDMU 523 Course Introduction:Curriculum Planning

Three Elements of Curriculum

“WHO?” The Learner

“WHAT?” The Content Subject Matter

“HOW?” The Process of Instruction Kinds of Planned Learning Opportunities

WHO?

WHAT? HOW?

From “Who Am I in the Lives of Children?”Feeny, Christensen, Moravick

Based on Vision of Society

Vision translated into Learning Experiences

What do you believe is worth knowing?

What do you know about the learners and their development?

What do you know about subject matter?

Feeny, Christensen, Moravick

Educational Pendulum Is emphasis on nature and interests of the

learner? OR Is emphasis on the subject matter to be

taught? Importance for you as an educator

Stand firm for what you believe in Emphasize developmentally appropriate

practice Today’s backlash shifts focus to less student-

sensitive practice Feeny, Christensen, Moravick

What is Curriculum? Experienced Curriculum

“Curriculum is what happens.” What the student experiences and

perceives during the day Planned or unplanned

Planned Curriculum Planned learning experiences Know what to teach – CONTENT Know how to teach it - PEDAGOGY

Feeny, Christensen, Moravick

Content - What Should be Taught?

Essential knowledge changes throughout history and culture

Dictated by social and political pressure Current California subjects considered

“CORE” English-Language Arts* Mathematics* History-Social Science Science* Visual and Performing Arts*Currently Tested!

Should weteach only

what’s tested?

Curriculum is Product of Time

Influenced by social and political forces Early 20th century

European immigrants arrived Emphasized acquisition of American

language, customs, values Today’s curriculum

Mirrors cultural diversity of current society Reflects importance of families and

culture in children’s learning Echoes concerns with violence and values

Feeny, Christensen, Moravick

Plato’s Academy Recommended Course of Study

“The exact sciences would first be studied for ten years to familiarise the mind with relations that can only be apprehended by thought.” Arithmetic Plane and solid geometry Astronomy Harmonics

Five years would then be given to the still severer study of dialectic - the art of conversation, of question and answer.

According to Plato, “dialectical skill is the ability to pose and answer questions about the essences of things.

“The dialectician replaces hypotheses with secure knowledge, and his aim is to ground all science, all knowledge, on some 'un-hypothetical first principle'.”

Different CORE Curriculum and

Instructional Strategies

John Dewey - 1897

“If education is life, all life has, from the outset, a scientific aspect, an aspect of

art and culture, and an aspect of communication. It cannot, therefore, be

true that the proper studies for one grade are mere reading and writing, and

that at a later grade, reading, or literature, or science, may be

introduced. The progress is not in the succession of studies but in the

development of new attitudes towards, and new interests in, experience.”

ScienceArt and CultureCommunication

Progressive Education of the Early 20th Century

Philosophy and Education are identical, both involving the practical, experimental attempt to improve the human condition.

Major impact on the concept of the democratic American education ideal.

Views the mind as a problem solver. People are naturally exploring, inquiring

entities and learn through direct experience. Student must master the scientific method.

Education for Democracy Value of knowledge resides in the ability to

solve human problems. Subject matter provides information and

methodologies for finding solutions. The teacher is an intellectual guide or

facilitator in the problem solving process. School is a democratic society in itself,

preparing students for community life. Group activities and group problem solving

to prepare for solving world problems.

What knowledge is important today?

“If knowledge doubles every year or two, we certainly cannot multiply the

number of hours or teach twice as quickly. Some choice, some decisions

about what can be omitted, is essential.”

The first dilemma: What should be taught?

Howard Gardner – 2001From Multiple Intelligences after Twenty Years

http://www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG_MI_after_20_years.pdf

Howard Gardner What should be highlighted: facts, information?

data? If so, which of the countless facts that exist? Subject matters and disciplines--if so, which ones? Which science, which history? Should we nurture creativity, critical thinking? If there is to be an additional focus, should it be

arts, technology, a social focus, a moral focus? If you try to have all of these foci, you would break

the backs of students and teachers, even given a demanding elementary and secondary school curriculum. (2001)

The Invention of EducationHoward Gardner (2001) One of the most magnificent of human inventions is

the Invention of Education--no other species educates its young as do we.

At this time of great change, we must remember the ancient value of education and preserve it— Not just facts, data, information, but Knowledge, Understanding, Judgment, Wisdom.

We must use the ancient arts and crafts of education to prepare youngsters for a world that natural evolution could not anticipate and which even we ourselves as conscious beings cannot fully envision either.

Global Responsibility“As the events of the last century remind us, a

Dark Age can always descend upon us.” In the past, we could be satisfied with an education

that: was based on the literacies that surveyed the major disciplines taught students about their own national culture

For our students’ futures we now must: Prepare our students for interdisciplinary work Prepare our students for life in a global civilization. Keep alive the important values of Responsibility and

Humanity Gardner (2001)

Curriculum: What do we teach?

Recommended Curriculum Standards as defined by experts in their

field Written Curriculum

State standards and frameworks, local goals and objectives

Supported Curriculum Available materials Textbooks and software

Curriculum Content in California?

Standards: What students need to know and be able to do http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/index.asp

Frameworks: Provide guidance for implementing the standards adopted by the State Board of Education http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/cf/allfwks.asp

Curriculum Planning Process

What standards will you be meeting in this unit of study?  

How will your learning objectives connect to overall curriculum content standards? 

What are the essential questions you want students to grapple with in this process? 

What enduring understandings do you want students to gain? 

Essential Questions and Curriculum Planning

Focus on a broad topic of study Have multiple answers and perspectives

Address “why” or “how” Help students see the “big picture” Answering such questions may take a lifetime! Answers may only be tentative Information gathering may take place outside of

formal learning environments Engage students in real life applied problem solving Essential questions lend themselves to

multidisciplinary investigations.Wiggins & McTighe

Essential Questions Spark students’ curiosity and sense of

wonder Desire to understand Something that matters to them

Answers to essential questions can NOT be found Students must construct own answers Make their own meaning from

information they have gathered Create insight

Answering essential questions can lead to “enduring understandings.”

Wiggins & McTighe

Enduring UnderstandingsWorth being familiar with

Important to know and be

able to do

EnduringUnderstanding

Wiggins & McTighe

The Big Picture

Big Ideas Core concepts Focusing themes On-going debates/issues Insightful perspectives Illuminating

paradox/problem Organizing theory Overarching principle Underlying assumption Enduring

Understandings

Wiggins & McTighe

Curriculum Planningfor Enduring

Understandings How will you know that students learned what you expected

them to learn? What types of assessment might be most reliable in

determining student understanding or level of proficiency?  What kinds of activities will result in students being able to

develop those skills and gain understanding?  What skills do your students need to develop in order to gain

enduring understanding?  How will you motivate students to think critically and explore

essential questions? How will you engage your students in this topic? How do you hook them in with your “anticipatory set”?

Understanding by Design:Backwards Design

Desired Results: What will the student learn?

Acceptable Evidence: How will you design an assessment that accurately determines if the student learned what he/she was supposed to learn?

Lesson Planning: How do you design a lesson that results in student learning?

Identify Desired Results

Determine Acceptable Evidence

Plan learning experiences

and instruction

Wiggins & McTighe

Identify Desired Results andDetermine Acceptable

Evidence Designing your Assessment

Desired Results: What will students say or do to show you objectives were met? (presentation, debate, research paper, essay, etc.)

Acceptable Evidence: What will you collect to show student’s learning? (papers, portfolios, observations, work samples, photographs, videos, etc.)

Assessments are the products or performances that demonstrate student learning

Assessments are what the student does (the actual product or performance), not the evaluation tool used to assess the product.

Planning InstructionHow do you plan your lessons?

Backwards Design to Lesson Planning How will you measure student learning? What is the overall purpose of the

lesson? Who will participate? What content standard will be met? What are your learning objectives? What are the activities that will get you

there? How can you engage students and keep

them motivated?

Planning Instruction What do you need to teach this unit?

Materials Space Time Resources

What do you do? How? When? Introduction – How do you get them interested? Procedure – What will you do and say (step-by-

step guide) Closure – How will you help students make a

transition to the next activity?

Skills and Learning Objectives

What skills do students need prior to this lesson or unit of study?

How will you scaffold your students and tap into their own prior knowledge?

What skills should students gain as a result of this lesson?

What key abilities and processes will students develop related to specific content?

Write skills as action verbs that are measurable through assessment.

http://www.sd104.s-cook.k12.il.us/ppt

Writing Measurable Instructional Objectives

Instructional objectives connect instructional planning with curriculum content as measured by assessment.

By participating in this activity students will: Learn about…? Gain greater understanding of…? Practice…? Develop an awareness of…? Express understanding of…? Develop skill in…? Begin to be able to…

How will you measure learning outcomes?

Reflective Practice How will your assessment guide your teaching

practice? Was your instruction effective in promoting student

learning? What might need to be “re-taught”? How can you teach it differently when assessment

demonstrates that some students did not learn the material?

Is there a better way to teach this material? What will you do differently next time? How could you extend this activity for another lesson?