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CD Unit 3: Curriculum design (Philosophical foundations of curriculum…
CD Unit 3: Curriculum design
Philosophical foundations of curriculum design
Perennialism
a whole, rational person through discovery of universal truths and law of nature
Purpose of education:
preparing students for the reality of life
Curriculum
:
subject-centred
with strong emphasis on language, literature, mathematics, and science
highly disciplined and structured teaching
teacher-centred approach
Socratic method is the most appropriate teaching method
uniform curricula
which typically based on liberal arts subjects
value intellectual meritocracy characterised by standardised testing, tougher academic standards and customised education for talented and gifted students
Idealism
value self-realisation and moral character development
close ties with religious belief especially Judaism and Christianity which are based on Greek philosophers such as Plato and St.Augustine
Purpose of education
: to contribute to the development of a person's mind, abilities and moral excellence of the student so that he or she is able to better serve society
Curriculum
: emphasise sharpening students' intellectual abilities to make moral and aesthetic judgements, and to nurture individual freedom, individual responsibility, and self-control. Subject: literature, history, philosophy and religion
knowledge is not to be taught, but to be discovered through skillful questioning
teachers are viewed as experts and exemplars of intellectual and moral excellence
teachers are responsible to stimulate students' discovery of knowledge, provide opportunities for reflective and logical thinking, and analysis of personal moral choices
teaching method: Socratic questioning method, lecture, discussions, and reading biographies of examplary people and heroes
Realism
people learn about the world around them through their sense and understanding of the logic behind their existence
Favour school subject such as mathematics and sciences, subjects that prepare students' survival in the real world
teaching should not just focus on memorisation of facts, rather understanding of how the facts are derived
John Locke, Maria Montessori
structured education and well-discipline classroom
teaching method: critical reasoning based on observations of natural phenomenon and the curriculum should be practical and useful for students
strong emphasis on the manipulatino of the real objects and the physical world, particularly the study of science and mathematics
also focus on the mastery of factual information and basic knowledge through demonstration or recitation
Experimentalism / Pragmatism
learning is constantly changing and occurs through one's experience with the real world
experience is the source of knowledge
change is the key concept to this philosophy, where learners need to identify and solve 'relevant' problems in an ever-changing society
John Dewey
curriculum: practical usefulness as well as real-world problems, including learning through social interactions and experiences with the focus on social change and moral values
Learners need to be open to change and face new situations or new problems
teacher' roles: guiding the learners as they discover new knowledge through social inquiry, problem-solving and critical thinking
exploratory teaching rather than explanatory, more on asking'why', 'how come', 'what if'
Existentialism
individual's self-awareness and how he or she interprets the world around them
focus on the sense of individuality and personal consciousness, where students are free to choose what and how they will learn
Maxine Greene, George Kneller, and Van Cleve Morris
Curriculum: allow children to be aware of their personal needs and choices, where they are allowed to choose from a variety of subject options according to their preferences
teacher focuses on learners' needs
DO NOT favour learning in groups methods because such method does not allow one to express him or herself
Psychological foundations of curriculum design
Curriculum design
Subject-centred design
subject design
oldest and most common
emphasis on the
mastery of specific content of a subject
and on
verbal actions
classroom activities: group discussions which could range from simple to complex tasks, progressing throughout the lessons
teacher: the role of knowledge provider and content specialist, responsible for presenting lessons directly to the students
student: considered learning when they are able to acquire knowledge of the subject matter
rely heavily on textbook
Henry Morrison
Criticism: lack of ability to acknowledge learners' needs, individuality, and learning styles. students are not able to choose what they are interested in, students being passive learners
broad-fields design (interdisciplinary design)
favour 'hybrid-type' knowledge in which subjects that are logically related are combined into one broad field of study
Broudy, Smith, Burnett(1978) suggested school curriculum can be organised into five categories
symbolics of information (English, foreign languages, and mathematics)
basic sciences (general sciences, biology, physics, chemistry)
developmental studies (evolution of the cosmos, of social institutions, of human nature)
exemplars (modes of aesthetic experience: arts, music, drama, literature)
'molar problems' which would address typical social problems
Criticism: issue of breadth and depth of knowledge
correlation design
relate the subjects, but maintain their distinct identities as individual subjects
provide linkage to separate subjects to avoid fragmentation of curricular content
allow teachers to work together in selecting appropriate content and assignments, and present it in innovative ways
Criticism: required advanced planing between teachers
process design
learning of general procedures or processes instead of focusing on a specific discipline or subject matter
emphasis critical thinking and aims to make children achieve meaningful learning
main focus:
learning process
students are encouraged to actively engaged in their learning
Criticism: lack of emphasis on content, because of its focus on the process of acquiring the knowledge. May lead to difficulty in having standardized learning content in schools and also in evaluating students' performance. Reliability and correctness as different individuals may perceive things differently from others
Learner-centred design
child-centred
children should remain the central focus
of the lesson and must
actively participate
in their learning environment
Children should be given freedom to explore the world around them in order to discover new skills and knowledge
Learning should not be constricted only to the classroom environment
Criticism: lack of focus on subject matter
experience-centred
children are the central focus
children's needs and interests cannot be anticipated, curriculum cannot be pre-planned for all children
teacher needs to be prepared to respond to spontaneous situations as responses from students cannot be expected
children's needs, interests, and creativity are main focus
teacher need to create a stimulating and engaging learning environment
learning occurs through social interactions and students take ownership of their own learning
John Dewey
humanistic design
stress on the learners' self-development and interpersonal skills with the aim of achieving the individual's full potential
Abraham Maslow's concept of self-actualisation
accepting of self, others, and nature
spontaneous, simple, and natural
problem-oriented
open to experiences beyond the ordinary
emphatic and sympathetic towards the less fortunate
sophisticated in interpersonal relations
favouring democratic decision-making
possessing a philosophical sense of humour
Aim: to produce 'self-actualizing' people / 'total human beings'
teacher: facilitators and motivators who are concerned with students' emotions and well-being
Criticism: teachers are required to have the skills and ability to face different types of individuals
Problem-centred design
life-situations design
life situations and experiences
Herbert Spencer
sustain life
enhance life
aid in rearing children
maintain the individual's social and political relations
enhance leisure, tasks and feelings
Ornstein and Hunkins
dealing with persistent life situations is crucial to a society's successful functioning and it makes educational sense to organize a curriculum around them
students will see the relevance of the content if it is organised around aspects of community life
having students study social or life situations will directly involve them in improving society
advantages
students can gain an insight about the issues that are happening around them, and they could find ways to contribute and help improve society
students could relate or find relevance about what they are studying with heir life, and apply their prior knowledge to the new situation
Criticism: DOES NOT contribute much towards students' knowledge in subject matter. It is difficult to set the scope of study due to wide range of social issues involved
reconstructionist design
believe curriculum should foster social actions aimed at reconstructing society and promote the society's social, political, and economic development
Aim: change the world to be a better place through education
George Counts and Theodore Brameld
3 theories of learning
behaviourism
stress on behaviours that are observable and measurable, ignore thought processes occurring in the mind
intended behaviours can be achieved through principles of 'stimulus-response' conditioning
Ivan Pavlov (Classical conditioning); B.F. Skinner (Operant conditioning: positive, negative reinforcements, and punishment)
cognitivism
concern with how people process knowledge into meaningful information and how they utilise the information to reason, solve problems and make conclusions
2 types of memories: short-term and long-term memories
knowledge is received through human's sensory (hand, eyes, ears, etc.)
information attention and retention
Maria Montessori, Jean Piaget, Robert Gagne
phenomenology and humanistic psychology
concern the affective aspects of human's learning
appreciate a person as
HUMAN
recognise human's thinking, attitudes, and acts
human psychology plays important roles in creating successful learning experiences
suggested by psychologists to apply concepts: motivation, self-awareness, self-actualisation, and freedom of learning
Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers
Factors affecting curriculum design
Social forces in society
Social forces can be reffered to as consensual actions among a number of members of a society who get together to bring about social action or social change
Communication is an example of critical social forces that influence curriculum design
Mass communication: radios, televisions, computers
curriculum redesign to include the use of various technological hardware and software that can assist teaching and learning of specific, especially abstract concepts in science
Treatment of knowledge
curriculum redesign to focus on the structure of information and skills of obtaining information rather than on the information itself
3 factors are put into consideration
In choosing the most current content and knowledge, the emphasis is on learning goals and objectives
curriculum designers need to acknowledge the learners' reactions to the information that they will receive
curriculum designers need to put into consideration the issue of language as well as the medium of delivery
Human growth and development
intelligence / cognitive aspect
Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor Period (Birth to 2 years old)
Preoperational Thought (2 to 6-7 years old)
Concrete Operational Stage (6-7 to 11-12 years old)
Formal Operational Stage (11-12 years old to adult)
social and emotional growth
knowing the subject matter alone is insufficient as children need to be able to learn how to control their own feelings and emotions, understand the feelings of their peers as well as teachers. Children need a mixture of skills such as intellectual, motivational and socioemotional skills
Learning as a process
Wiles and Bondi (1998)
behavioural approach
focus on achieving a certain goal or learning objective, where the changes in student's behaviour indicates the accomplishment of goals
drive theories
learning activities are planned based on human growth and development
environmental approach
acknowledge the uniqueness of each individual and aims to expose the potential that lies inside every student. Students are free to explore and share ideas in order to promote learning in this approach