Q.1 Describe categories of curriculum desing. What are the critical problems that need to be addressed while designing the curriculum?
Types of Curriculum Design
There are three basic types of curriculum design:
Subject-Centered Curriculum Design
Subject-centered curriculum design revolves around a particular subject matter or discipline. For example, a subject-centered curriculum may focus on math or biology. This type of curriculum design tends to focus on the subject rather than the individual. It is the most common type of curriculum used in K-12 public schools in states and local districts in the United States.
Subject-centered curriculum design describes what needs to be studied and how it should be studied. Core curriculum is an example of a subject-centered design that can be standardized across schools, states, and the country as a whole. In standardized core curricula, teachers are provided a pre-determined list of things that they need to teach their students, along with specific examples of how these things should be taught. You can also find subject-centered designs in large college classes in which teachers focus on a particular subject or discipline.
The primary drawback of subject-centered curriculum design is that it is not student-centered. In particular, this form of curriculum design is constructed without taking into account the specific learning styles of the students. This can cause problems with student engagement and motivation and may even cause students to fall behind in class.
Learner-Centered Curriculum Design
In contrast, learner-centered curriculum design takes each individual's needs, interests, and goals into consideration. In other words, it acknowledges that students are not uniform and adjust to those student needs. Learner-centered curriculum design is meant to empower learners and allow them to shape their education through choices.
Instructional plans in a learner-centered curriculum are differentiated, giving students the opportunity to choose assignments, learning experiences or activities. This can motivate students and help them stay engaged in the material that they are learning.
The drawback to this form of curriculum design is that it is labor-intensive. Developing differentiated instruction puts pressure on the teacher to create instruction and/or find materials that are conducive to each student's learning needs. Teachers may not have the time or may lack the experience or skills to create such a plan. Learner-centered curriculum design also requires that teachers balance student wants and interests with student needs and required outcomes, which is not an easy balance to obtain.
Problem-Centered Curriculum Design
Like learner-centered curriculum design, problem-centered curriculum design is also a form of student-centered design. Problem-centered curricula focus on teaching students how to look at a problem and come up with a solution to the problem. Students are thus exposed to real-life issues, which helps them develop skills that are transferable to the real world.
Problem-centered curriculum design increases the relevance of the curriculum and allows students to be creative and innovate as they are learning. The drawback to this form of curriculum design is that it does not always take learning styles into consideration.
Curriculum design is a rewarding process which enables teachers to have professional conversations about the intended and taught the curriculum. In addition to horizontal alignment, curriculum design provides educators with the opportunity to discuss what is essential at other grade levels and courses. My experiences with curriculum design and observing the work of teacher teams in other school systems have led me to identify the following barriers. With proper planning, budget allocations, scheduling, communication, and support from district administrators, each of these barriers can be removed.
The Absence of a Curriculum Framework
Curriculum design is complicated. Most teachers believe that they can write curriculum, because they write lesson plans, design formative assessments, and have spent their entire career planning curriculum and instruction. According to Fenwick English (2000), “Curriculum is any document that exists in a school that defines the work of teachers by identifying the content to be taught and the methods to be used” (p.2). The lines become blurred when a school district asks teacher leaders from twelve different elementary schools to write curriculum. Each teacher approaches the project from a different lens.
Barrier-Breaking:
There are multiple frameworks that support curriculum designers. Wiggins and McTighe introduced educators to Understanding by Design (1998). Heidi Hayes Jacobs has provided templates and online tools to support curriculum mapping. H. Lynn Erickson wrote Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction and outlined how to design a thinking curriculum. “Teachers in thinking classrooms understand how to use concepts to integrate student thinking at a deeper level of understanding – a level where knowledge can be transferred to other situations and times” (Erickson, 2007, p. 22). There are countless frameworks to choose from. The key to removing this barrier for educators is to select a framework.
Change
Change occurs in every facet of life. However, change can greatly impact curriculum design. When a superintendent resigns it can change the course of curriculum work. The new superintendent may select a different framework or abandon the existing curriculum documents. Standards have become a focus across the nation. When policymakers change standards, curriculum designers must align the curriculum with new standards and this often requires starting over. As school districts focus on new skills to emphasize or magnet programs highlight STEM or leadership themes, school staff will need to revise the curriculum to meet the program goals.
Barrier-Breaking:
School leaders are wise when they design an archive or a website that houses the district’s curriculum documents. Curriculum design requires constant change and moving parts. If a new principal is hired in the middle of the school year, he or she should be able to identify the district’s curriculum in a timely manner. While we cannot stop the forces of change, we can focus on organization, communication, timelines for curriculum revision, and storing curriculum units. Consistency in how we support teaching and learning allows all educators to have a clear understanding of the written curriculum. If the framework or template changes with each standards revision, then it will be an additional ingredient to throw into the change stew.
Communication Tools
A major barrier to curriculum design and implementation is a lack of communication. A school district may identify twelve – twenty teacher leaders to serve on a district curriculum committee. The committee may meet for twelve months or up to two years. At the end of the period, a curriculum document is distributed to all of the teachers in the school district. While months of conversations and deliberation went into the document, the experts are the committee members. Districts need to stop handing documents (hard copy with shrink wrap or electronic) to teachers and expecting the document to transform teaching and learning. The teachers who implement the curriculum need to be able to ask questions, post suggestions, and explain the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum. Curriculum deliberation should not be finished when the committee adopts the final edits.
Barrier-Breaking:
Online tools make it easy for curriculum leaders to remove this common barrier. Google Docs, Google Forms, LiveBinders, Padlet, Today’s Meet, Google Hangout, Web sites, and Voxer are among the tools that educators can use to communicate. Online programs are also available for purchase. The written curriculum is critically important. However, educators need to have an opportunity to discuss the implemented curriculum, even if they were not part of the original design team. Wiggins and McTighe (2007) wrote, “Schooling at its best reflects a purposeful arrangement of parts and details, organized with deliberate intention, for achieving the kinds of learning we seek” (p. 9). If the curriculum design is not reaching its desired intentions, classroom teachers need a mechanism to share observations and make recommendations. Continuous improvement is not possible if teachers are only able to communicate at face-to-face meetings or during the curriculum writing process.
Focus on the Product
When educators participate in curriculum development they often focus on completing the curriculum map. Curriculum design should be viewed as a process, rather than a product. If K-12 curriculum developers take the approach that curriculum will never be finished, then they will constantly strive to make the curriculum rigorous, relevant and differentiated. Continuous improvement should be valued more than finishing a curriculum document. Some principals and district administrators rush the process because there is an urgency to have an aligned curriculum. While the product should be aligned to the standards, teacher-friendly, and focused on the district’s priorities, the product should not de-emphasize the process.
Barrier-Breaking:
“Curriculum development is the essential function of school leadership. Whether the role is carried out by a principal, an assistant principal for curriculum, a team leader, a department head, or by leading classroom teachers, the curriculum defines all other roles in a school” (Wiles, 2009, p.2). The process should be made transparent to teachers, administrators, and stakeholders. Most school districts have board policies outlining how the curriculum will be designed and adopted. The policies are written in vague terms. School leaders should utilize websites and online tools to share the curriculum design process for each curriculum document. Finally, school leaders need to be careful about the message they send to curriculum designers. If the message is to complete this document in twelve months, then the focus will be on meeting the product deadline, rather than the design process.
Funding
Curriculum design comes with a price tag. Expenses include fees for substitute teachers, stipends for summer work, meeting spaces, printed documents, consultant fees, and implementation/professional development. A document for K-5 English Language Arts can cost thousands of dollars, depending on the size of the school district. Funding is a barrier but is necessary to support teaching and learning.
Barrier-Breaking:
School districts need to place curriculum design as a top priority in the annual budget. Aligning curriculum to the standards and determining what is essential at each grade level is important work. Most school districts follow a curriculum design and implementation timeline. In other words, they will design curriculum for science in 2016 and begin design work for math in 2017. Curriculum writing and revision is ongoing, but the budget can be allocated to specific content areas every five years. “One of the tasks of curriculum leadership is to use the right methods to bring the written, the taught, the supported, and the tested curriculums into closer alignment, so that the learned curriculum is maximized” (Glatthorn, 1987, p. 4).
Hidden Curriculum
The ‘hidden curriculum’ is the unintended curriculum. “It defines what students learn from the physical environment, the policies, and the procedures of the school” (Glatthorn & Jailall, 2009, p. 110). Most teachers and administrators don’t recognize the hidden curriculum, because it is ‘the way we do business.’ There are messages in every school that interfere with the written curriculum. The way that students are treated when they enter school is part of the hidden curriculum. The rules or lack of rules throughout the school sends a message to students. The ability of parents to voice their concerns and recommendations is part of the hidden curriculum.
In a school that administers common formative assessments on a regular basis, a student may ask the teacher, “Why do we have tests every three weeks?” If the teacher replies, “We want all of our students to be prepared for the End-of-Grade tests in the spring,” then the ‘hidden’ message will imply that the purpose for school is to prepare for a single test. The message educators want to send is that learning is an ongoing process and their intention is to develop lifelong learners. However, the answer that the teacher provided indicates that common formative assessments are intended to prepare students for a high-stakes test, rather than a method to assess students’ understanding of the current unit of study.
Reference:
https://www.thoughtco.com/curriculum-design-definition-4154176
https://inservice.ascd.org/8-barriers-to-curriculum-design/
Q.2 Why situational analysis is important, how is it carried out? Highlight the three domains of educational objectives
Following are the steps in a situation analysis. By completing them, you will be able to get a thorough understanding of the conditions surrounding your organization.
This should be the first step in a market situation analysis. Do thorough research on your target market to understand the demographics, locations, trends, interests, challenges etc. A customer profile can help you organize the information properly.
An in-depth customer analysis will help you discern market trends, customer behavior and needs and device effective strategies to reach them effectively.
Examine your current products and services and their ability to cater to the needs of your customers.
If you have distributors, you should also analyze them in terms of distribution channels, the needs of distributors, type and size of distributors and also the various benefits received by the distributors and the company itself.
In or to determine your competitive advantage, you need to identify your core competitors, their product positioning, their strengths and weaknesses.
Here’s how to conduct an effective competitor analysis with the help of some handy visual tools.
Investigate how internal factors such as available resources, skills of employees etc. and external factors such as economic and political trends, can affect the performance of your organization.
The PESTLE analysis as well as the SWOT analysis can serve as useful environmental scanning tools.
At the end of a proper environmental scan you will be able to identify the opportunities and challenges in the face of new development.
There are many tools used to do a situation analysis, and the following tools are the ones most typically used.
The SWOT analysis is a tool that can be used to scan the internal and external environment of an organization. It helps identify strengths you can take advantage of and weaknesses you can take action on, as well as opportunities and threats for success.
The SWOT analysis is also frequently used to assess the same factors about the organizations, products and services of your competitors.
Most college learning is designed to take place in the cognitive domain, developing mental skills and the acquisition of knowledge. However, depending on your subject, it may be necessary to offer learning experiences that target outcomes in the other domains.
Reference:
https://creately.com/blog/diagrams/what-is-a-situation-analysis/
https://www.buffalo.edu/ubcei/enhance/designing/learning-outcomes/domains-of-learning.html#:~:text=Additional%20resourcesLiterature-,What%20are%20domains%20of%20learning%3F,a%20different%20type%20of%20instruction.
Q.3 Analyze the criteria and procedure of content selection. Further elaborate the selection of teaching strategies
Content of the Curriculum
Curriculum Development Process
An effective educational program can only be successful if it is prepared appropriately.
Curriculum is the backbone of educational program which needs proper designing.
The curriculum process consists mostly of five elements or phases.
1 Situational analyses.
2 Formulation of objectives.
3 Selection of content/Scope and sequence.
4 Methods/ Strategies/Actives.
5 Evaluation.
Situational analyses
In order to develop a procedure of Curriculum Organization, one must keep in mind the realities of the situation. The curriculum is the mirror of the traditions, environment and ideas of the concern society. The main purpose of education system to prepare a curriculum to the actual needs of the society. The main functions of curriculum is to preserve and transmit the cultural heritage to next generation. Language, social needs of the society, political and religious situation must be considered while developing curriculum.
The identification of the areas mentioned here help the planner in curriculum development and the selection of objectives, learning material (learning) and appropriate evaluation procedure.
Important aspects of existing situation are as follows:
Ø Geographical condition of the country.
Ø National and international trends.
Ø Cultural and social needs.
Ø System of examinations etc.
Ø Economical conditions.
Ø Age, level and interests of the learners.
Ø Pattern of curriculum to be followed.
Ø Religious condition
Ø Teacher training programmes.
Determination and formulation of learning outcomes-sources of learning outcome
Formulation of Objectives Validation of Educational Objectives:
The work of the curriculum planners to identify such Goals and objectives which fulfill the desires of the society and according the need of national and international demands. In order to reach these goals the curriculum planners clearly state the aims which are related to various fields of studies or subject areas and even related to classroom management and teaching.
Teachers and learner are the first who have the responsibility to achieve the initial targets in class-room. The achievement of these objectives ultimately leads the learner to-wards various categories of life activities, such as:
Continued learning: motivation toward Learning and create thinking skills in learner
Citizenship: Prepare a good citizen who contribute in the economic, local, national, and international level,
Vocational effectiveness: To help the individual on the vocational aspect and made him an economic assets of society
Home responsibilities: Inculcate the sense of responsibility in the Learner to help each other, respect people, and take care of elders and other related experiences, such as food, social and individual activity.
Validation of Educational Objectives
General principles for stating valid objectives for curriculum.
Consistency with the ideology of a Nation
Every nation has certain beliefs and the philosophy of Pakistan is based upon Islam therefore the objectives of our educational system must be regarding the teaching of Islam. The validity and foundation of educational objectives in Pakistan depends upon Quran and Sunnah.
Fulfillment of basic human needs
Man Need the fulfillment of basic needs in life to maintain equilibrium. The objective must help in the attainment of these needs. E.g. Among the basic needs that have been identified are food, clothing, shelter etc...
Consistency and non-contradiction of education objectives:
Educational objectives must not be contradictory to each other. There should be consistency in the objectives at all levels. The objectives must inculcate certain Islamic value and skill in the individual to help him in the real life situation.
Behavioristic interpretation:
Objectives expressed in terms of student behavior are called as behavioral objectives. To create valid, clear and achievable objectives, the curriculum planners have to articulate these objectives for the development and integration of the personalities, economic efficiency, self realization, critical thinking, problem solving ability, understanding of rights.
The objectives that are not put in terms of human behavior are invalid.
Consistency with social conditions:
The objectives of an educational programme are always related to social and culture realities of a nation. In a develop society that is undergoing little or no change, objectives usually are closely related to conditions of that time (updated) , And when a society ideas and progress is slow in adopting new ways of doing things, because of the repaid advancements in the field of science and technology and inability of a society to cope with time.
The fact is that Mass media of communication has grown and Computers are replacing the manpower which is new social realities of life. The old objectives formulated on the basis of old realties now need a revisit and need modification according to the new social and scientific conditions.
Curriculum planners sometimes avoid the new conditions and they feel no need to improve educational objectives with changing time resulting put the development of a society in danger. Hence the curriculum developers have to formulate such type of objectives which are valid with respect to changing needs and the aspects of past culture which they feel essential to preserve as heritage.
Democratic ideals relationship:
Only the democratic ideology fulfills the basic needs of a society and this is the only one that can be used in validating educational objectives in Pakistan.
To apply the democratic values in a society the curriculum planners must relate the objectives and keep in view democratic values and principles.
As the principles of democracy are very difficult so no summarized statement of these can be used successfully in the justification of educational objectives.
But if the objectives are directly related to democratic principles based upon reasoning and critical thinking then they are also called valid.
Selection and organizing of Learning experiences
Selection of course content for a subject to teach. The subject should encompass all the possible experiences a learner need at that level. All the material which was taught in past and now should be the part of the subject. With the expansion in knowledge new topics emerged with time, they must be incorporated into each subject. With the expansion of knowledge the principle of complete coverage was replace with the principle of representative content because the attainment of total coverage became difficult.
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Effective teachers are always on the prowl for new and exciting teaching strategies that will keep their students motivated and engaged. Whether you’re a new or experienced teacher, you may feel inundated by all of the new educational buzzwords, theories, and new strategies that are out there.
With all of the information available, it’s hard to decide which teaching strategies are right for your classroom. Sometimes, the old tried-and-true ones that you have been using in your classroom just happen to work the best, and that’s okay. Teaching strategies that are considered “new” may just not fit into your teaching style.
Here are a few teaching strategies that are a staple in most classrooms. Depending upon your style, preference, and your students, choose the ones that suit your needs.
Differentiated instruction strategies allow teachers to engage each student by accommodating to their specific learning style. According to Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory, every person has a different mind, and therefore each person learns and understands information differently. Differentiating instruction offers a way to meet all students’ needs. One helpful strategy to differentiate instruction is learning stations. Learning stations can easily be designed to enable students with diverse learning needs to learn at their pace and readiness level. Teachers can set up each station where students will be able to complete the same task, but at the level and style that is specifically designed for them.
Cooperative learning gives students the opportunity to work with others and see different points of view. Students learn more effectively when working together rather than apart, and it is also known to improve self-confidence in students. The jigsaw method is especially effective because each student is responsible for one another’s learning, and students find out quickly that each group member has something equally important to contribute to the group in order to make the task a successful one. Students are exposed to and use many skills throughout this strategy: communication, problem-solving skills, cognition, and critical thinking — all of which are essential for a successful academic career.
Integrating technology into the classroom is a great way to empower students to stay connected in this technological era. Technology-rich lessons have been found to keep students motivated and engaged longer. Some examples of utilizing technology in the classroom are to create web-based lessons or multimedia presentations such as a video, animation, or some type of graphic, utilizing a tablet or an iPad, taking your class on a virtual field trip, participating in an online research project, or even creating a class website. Any of these technology integration strategies will have a positive impact on student learning.
Inquiry-based learning implies involving students in the learning process so they will have a deeper understanding of what they are learning. We are born with the instinct to inquire — as babies we use our senses to make connections to our surroundings. Inquiry-based learning strategies are used to engage students to learn by asking questions, investigating, exploring, and reporting what they see. This process leads students to a deeper understanding of the content that they are learning, which helps them be able to apply these concepts in new situations. In order for our students to be able to be successful in the 21st century, they need to be able to answer complex questions and develop solutions for these problems. The inquiry-based learning strategy is a great tool to do just that.
Graphic organizers are a simple and effective tool to help students brainstorm and organize their thoughts and ideas in a visual presentation. Simply put, they help students organize information so it is easier for them to comprehend. Graphic organizers can be used for any lesson, to structure writing, brainstorming, planning, problem solving, or decision making. The most popular organizers are the Venn diagram, concept map, KWL chart, and T Chart.
An experienced teacher knows that not every teaching strategy that you use will be an effective one. There will be some hits and misses, and depending upon your teaching style and the ways your students learn, you will figure out which strategies work and which do not. It may take some trial and error, but it doesn’t hurt to try them all.
Reference:
https://research-education-edu.blogspot.com/2014/08/curriculum-development-process.html
https://www.teachhub.com/teaching-strategies/2019/10/top-5-teaching-strategies/
Q.4 Design strategies for the evaluation of specific educational programmes and suggest means for their improvement
In every walk of life the process of evaluation takes place in one or the other form. If the evaluation process is eliminated from human life then perhaps the aim of life may be lost. It is only through evaluation that one can discriminate between good and bad. The whole cycle of social development revolves around the evaluation process.
In education how much a child has succeeded in his aims, can only be determined through evaluation. Thus there is a close relationship between evaluation and aims.
Education is considered as an investment in human beings in terms of development of human resources, skills, motivation, knowledge and the like. Evaluation helps to build an educational programme, assess its achievements and improve upon its effectiveness.
It serves as an in-built monitor within the programme to review the progress in learning from time to time. It also provides valuable feedback on the design and the implementation of the programme. Thus, evaluation plays a significant role in any educational programme.
Evaluation plays an enormous role in the teaching-learning process. It helps teachers and learners to improve teaching and learning. Evaluation is a continuous process and a periodic exercise.
It helps in forming the values of judgement, educational status, or achievement of student. Evaluation in one form or the other is inevitable in teaching-learning, as in all fields of activity of education judgements need to be made.
In learning, it contributes to formulation of objectives, designing of learning experiences and assessment of learner performance. Besides this, it is very useful to bring improvement in teaching and curriculum. It provides accountability to the society, parents, and to the education system.
Let us discuss its uses briefly:
(i) Teaching:
Evaluation is concerned with assessing the effectiveness of teaching, teaching strategies, methods and techniques. It provides feedback to the teachers about their teaching and the learners about their learning.
(iv) Parents:
Evaluation mainly manifests itself in a perceived need for regular reporting to parents.
In brief, evaluation is a very important requirement for the education system. It fulfills various purposes in systems of education like quality control in education, selection/entrance to a higher grade or tertiary level.
It also helps one to take decisions about success in specific future activities and provides guidance to further studies and occupation. Some of the educationists view evaluation virtually synonymous with that of learner appraisal, but evaluation has an expanded role.
Evaluation has its four different aspects namely:
Following are the few steps involved in the process of evaluation:
In the evaluation process first step is to determine what to evaluation, i.e., to set down educational objectives. What kind of abilities and skills should be developed when a pupil studies, say, Mathematics, for one year? What type of understanding should be developed in the pupil who learns his mother tongue? Unless the teacher identifies and states the objectives, these questions will remain unanswered.
The process of identifying and defining educational objectives is a complex one; there is no simple or single procedure which suits all teachers. Some prefer to begin with the course content, some with general aims, and some with lists of objectives suggested by curriculum experts in the area.
While stating the objectives, therefore, we can successfully focus our attention on the product i.e., the pupil’s behaviour, at the end of a course of study and state it in terms of his knowledge, understanding, skill, application, attitudes, interests, appreciation, etc.
It has been said that learning is the modification of behaviour in a desirable direction. The teacher is more concerned with a student’s learning than with anything else. Changes in behaviour are an indication of learning. These changes, arising out of classroom instruction, are known as the learning outcome.
What type of learning outcome is expected from a student after he has undergone the teaching-learning process is the first and foremost concern of the teacher. This is possible only when the teacher identifies and defines the objectives in terms of behavioural changes, i.e., learning outcomes.
These specific objectives will provide direction to teaching-learning process. Not only that it will also be useful in planning and organising the learning activities, and in planning and organising evaluation procedures too.
Thus, specific objectives determine two things; one, the various types of learning situations to be provided by the class teacher 10 his pupils and second, the method to be employed to evaluate both—the objectives and the learning experiences.
The next step in the process of evaluation is to select teaching points through which the objectives can be realised. Once the objectives are set up, the next step is to decide the content (curriculum, syllabus, course) to help in the realisation of objectives.
For the teachers, the objectives and courses of school subjects are ready at hand. His job is to analyse the content of the subject matter into teaching points and to find out what specific objectives can be adequately realised through the introduction of those teaching points.
In the fourth step, the teacher will have to plan the learning activities to be provided to the pupils and, at the same time, bear two things in mind—the objectives as well as teaching points. The process then becomes three dimensional, the three co-ordinates being objectives, teaching points and learning activities. The teacher gets the objectives and content readymade.
He is completely free to select the type of learning activities. He may employ the analytico-synthetic method; he may utilise the inducto-deductive reasoning; he may employ the experimental method or a demonstration method; or he may put a pupil in the position of a discoverer; he may employ the lecture method; or he may ask the pupils to divide into groups and to do a sort of group work followed by a general discussion; and so on. One thing he has to remember is that he should select only such activities as will make it possible for him to realise his objectives.
In the fifth step, the teacher observes and measures the changes in the behaviour of his pupils through testing. This step adds one more dimension to the evaluation process. While testing, he will keep in mind three things-objectives, teaching points and learning activities; but his focus will be on the attainment of objectives. This he cannot do without enlisting the teaching points and planning learning activities of his pupils.
Here the teacher will construct a test by making the maximum use of the teaching points already introduced in the class and the learning experiences already acquired by his pupils. He may plan for an oral lest or a written test; he may administer an essay type test or an objective type of lest; or he may arrange a practical test.
The last, but not the least, important step in the evaluation process is the use of results as feedback. If the teacher, after testing his pupils, finds that the objectives have not been realised to a great extent, he will use the results in reconsidering the objectives and in organising the learning activities.
He will retrace his steps to find out the drawbacks in the objectives or in the learning activities he has provided for his students. This is known as feedback. Whatever results the teacher gets after testing his pupils should be utilised for the betterment of the students.
Evaluation plays a vital role in teaching learning experiences. It is an integral part of the instructional programmes. It provides information’s on the basis of which many educational decisions are taken. We are to stick to the basic function of evaluation which is required to be practiced for pupil and his learning processes.
Reference:
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/statistics-2/evaluation-in-teaching-and-learning-process-education/92476
Q.5 What are the main problems and issues faced by curriculum developers? Discuss the implementation and modification of curriculum in the light of Algorithmic model.
Issues in curriculum development
Curriculum is outdated
Firstly, the curriculum is outdated, which does not meet the local needs of Afghanistan society. The curriculum problems, notes that our present generation is learning the same knowledge that previous two/or may be three generations have learnt.
As students from different parts of the world get difficult mathematical and scientific knowledge by activity-based learning, our students are forced to know scientific concepts through cramming.
For example, in school textbooks there are many scientific and factual mistakes. It is sad situation that experts designing school textbooks of sciences/mathematics at secondary level do not pay attention to the concept of scientific and factual correctly.
Involvement of government officials
Secondly, the involvement of government officers in the development of Afghani curriculum is proving harmful to our education system.
Someone could suggest that the current process of curriculum development is based on a uniform policy for the whole country that has its particular aims and goals, but I think that it is not possible to apply national educational policy to different regions of the country with equality.
For example, there are many underdeveloped areas of Afghanistan, where parents do not have adequate resources to send their children to schools. The drop-out rate from schools is high, because parents cannot afford the expense of education easily.
Hence, a new educational policy has to be made by government officers for poor students, so that their problems of education can be solved.
One way of doing this is to build schools, where students are allowed to study in evening time, and where books having basic knowledge about core subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science, Pashto, Dari and Islam as well as comparative studies are taught by trained teachers.
Lack of academic research
Thirdly, the problem that the process of curriculum development faces in Afghanistan is improper academic research for writing school textbooks. We can point out those experts sitting in the curriculum development boards use materials of their own choice for instruction in schools.
I must say that most of the times the chosen content is not up to the mark. This should go through textbooks approved by a board system in the country, it becomes clear that no suitable research/evaluation system is created to revise curriculum.
Absence of school teachers’ involvement
Fourthly, it is seen that the academic experience of teachers from different schools is also not considered in designing and revising school curriculum. Daniel Tanner and Laurel N. Tanner in their book, “Curriculum Development: Theory into Practice,” suggest that without intelligent participation of school teachers, meaningful curriculum development will not be achieved.
Tanner and Tanner say that teachers, who are involved in bringing out educational change, accept and adopt the new ideas more quickly than those teachers who are not involved in carrying out change.
Useful evidence suggests that in countries where well-educated teachers were not involved in the curriculum development process, they did not accept new changes in school textbooks.
Result of weak academic skills of researchers
With lack of academic skills in researchers responsible for designing curriculum for schools, the most important feature of curriculum, i.e. content suffers a lot. Students follow rote-learning process, because the content of their books does not match to their educational skills.
In order to make students problem-solvers, I would argue that our books must contain questions that relate to problems we face in our daily life. By answering those questions, students will learn to solve issues in difficult situations.
For example, while studying the concept of speed in science, students must be given questions related to real-life examples of speed such as speed of a car etc., so that they know the application of the concept.
MOE (Ministry of Education) must contribute to solve curriculum problems in our country Afghanistan. MOE should have developed a curriculum that provides activity-based learning to students and gives problem-solving skills to them.
The first couple of things that pop into my mind when considering curricula through an algorithmic lens are:
But let’s rewind and define our terms, including their etymology. First up, curriculum:
In education, a curriculum… is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student’s experiences in terms of the educator’s or school’s instructional goals.
The word “curriculum” began as a Latin word which means “a race” or “the course of a race” (which in turn derives from the verb currere meaning “to run/to proceed”).
…and algorithm:
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm… is a self-contained step-by-step set of operations to be performed. Algorithms perform calculation, data processing, and/or automated reasoning tasks.
The English word ‘algorithm’ comes from Medieval Latin word algorism and French-Greek word “arithmos”. The word ‘algorism’ (and therefore, the derived word ‘algorithm’) come from the name al-Khwārizmī. Al-Khwārizmī was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, geographer, and scholar. English adopted the French term, but it wasn’t until the late 19th century that “algorithm” took on the meaning that it has in modern English.
So my gloss on the above would be that a curriculum is the container for student experiences, and an algorithm provides the pathways. In order to have an algorithmic curriculum, there need to be disaggregated learning content and activities that can serve as data points. Instead of a forced group march, the curriculum takes shape around the individual or small groups - much like what is evident in Khan Academy’s Knowledge Map.
The problem is, as the etymology of ‘algorithm’ suggests, it’s much easier to do this for subjects like maths, science, and languages than it is for humanities subjects. The former subjects are true/false, have concepts that obviously build on top of one another, and are based on logic. Not all of human knowledge works like that.
For this reason, then, we need to think of a way in which learning content and activities in the humanities can be represented in a way that builds around the learner. This, of course, is exactly what great teachers do in these fields: they personalise the quest for human knowledge based on student interests and experience.
One thing that I think is under-estimated in learning is the element of serendipity. To some extent, serendipity is the opposite of an algorithm. My Amazon recommendations mean I get more of the same. Stumbling across a secondhand bookshop, on the other hand, means I could head off in an entirely new direction due to a serendipitous find.
Using services such as StumbleUpon makes the web a giant serendipity engine. But it’s not a curriculum, as such. What I envisage by curriculum as algorithm is a fine balance between: