REDEFINING CURRICULUM INSTRUCTION

WRITTEN RESPONSE

BY

SAMSON .B.  MAGARA.

ID L20005032 93 B

DEGREE PROGRAM:

Master in Education Curriculum and Instruction.

COURSE:

Curriculum Development in Theological Distance Education

MASTERS LEVEL

Reading Materials:

STIRRING THE HEAD, HEART AND SOUL,

Redefining curriculum and instruction.

By H. Lynn Erickson

Module two.

Task:       Read the designated pages for each section, type out each question, and provide a one to two paragraph answer for each question. The questions are based on information presented in

Stirring the Head, Heart and Soul: Redefining curriculum and instruction (pp94-193).

STIRRING THE HEAD, HEART AND SOUL: REDEFINING

Curriculum and instruction pp 94- 193

4. Designing interdisciplinary, integrated curricula (pg 94-144)

Q1.      Pick one subject area from biblical or theological studies. What would be

           the fine major organizing concepts you would identify for that discipline,

           and how would identify for that discipline, and how would you verify that

           the terms for chose are concepts?

Jesus Christ

The concepts are;

i.                     Baptism

ii.                   Teaching

iii.                  Preaching

iv.                 Healing

v.                   Training

Q2.     Define some of the topics that you consider to be “critical content” for the    

           concepts you identified in the previous question.

i. Time

ii. Place

iii.History

iv. Language

Q3.   How did you determine that the content is critical?

-By looking at my course contents and what’s of and the student to know and be able to do by the time they leave my course.

-         the content is or should be mandated by district or state curriculum frame work.

-         Because this is what I want them to know to progress to the next level of understanding is the discipline.

-         This is what I felt the students have aright to know to understand – discipline. 

Q4.   Is it critical for the 21^st century? explain your answer.

It is critical for the 21^st C because those generalizations are the essential learning’s “the big ideas” which are the answer to the “so what” of study. Also they synthesize the factual examples and summarize learning

Q5.   What criteria can we use to determine whether content is critical for the 21st century?

i. What the students need to know to be successful at the next level of learning

ii. What one knows as aprofessional, and feels that students need to know to understand the discipline.

Q6.    What value does concept- based curriculum design have over topically based curriculum design   in terms of the following?

       a) reducing the overloaded curriculum:

concept- based curriculum reduces the burden of content by intergrading subject matter in an appealing motivation. Concepts bring focus and depth to study and lead students to the higher level generalizations that have application to the life situations of today and tomorrow.

b)     focusing instruction to facilitate higher order thinking

When teaching conceptually, the focus shifts fro memorizing isolated facts to understanding the lasting generalizations and principles related to the organizing concept and the thematic topics.

       c) integrating content curriculum.

Integrated curriculum offers great value for teaching and learning. The integrated curriculum format draws from a wider information base than the single subject area textbook. This allows for the freedom and flexibility to learn and ensures that students take responsibility for answering questions rather than depending on the teacher for the correct information. Teachers find that the process of designing units facilitates their own development as learners. Integrated units provide pathways for creating new knowledge for teachers as well as for students.

d)       and highlighting the lessons of history through time?

They engage the students in learning activities that help them view the different perspectives of people, related to concept-based events through time.

Q7.     How can learning facilitators involve students in the designing of intergraded units?

By asking the students to plan the unit over view with them. They should find out what students know, from their background knowledge, about the concept and theme. They can help define topics to be studied related to the concept and theme, and can assist   developing the guiding questions.

Q8.     Give your response to the following statements:

“Learning facilitators don’t need to know all of the
    specific content information of a unit prior to student engagement. They learn along with the students who search out and construct knowledge. Learning does, however, need to think things the anticipated interplay of theme, concept and topic to determine some of the key generalizations or transferable learning that they expect students to derive.”

In integrated curriculum, the teacher finds himself learning along with his student. This is because the integrated curriculum format draws from a wider information base than the single subject area textbook. Here you will get that the teacher won’t have all the facts needed from all the subjects integrated. Therefore it is not possible for a teacher to know all the needed information prior to student engagement. In this process, the teacher learn along with the students which allows for the freedom and flexibility to learn and ensures that students take responsibility for answering questions rather than depending on the teacher for the correct information. In the process of learning, teachers challenge their thinking in defining the critical outcomes for content and process development and in anticipating essential content learning’s- the key generalizations.

Q9.    What is the dilemma between providing a traditional college preparatory curriculum and Work- preparatory curriculum?

The blending of traditional college preparatory curriculum and a work preparatory curriculum presents major curricular dilemma;

-how we can preserve the integrity of a liberal arts philosophy and at the same time provide a school program that prepares students for work as well as further education

-how we can develop the high-level performance skills outlined in the SCANS report through an integrated academic and vocational curriculum.

Q10.     How can both aims be accommodated through an integrated curriculum program that will alleviate the Traditional view of academic versus vocational training?

We need to design entirely new models for high schools, such as the career path models, that design integrated curricular programs meet outcomes drawn from at least three sources;

-         SCANS(the Secretary Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills)-to meet the needs of a quality workforce

-         The aims of the traditional view of academics, to preserve the lesson of discourse, culture, and humanity

-         Life skill curricula- to be prepared for daily living.

Q11.    Considering Reich’s four basic skills of valued “symbolic analyst” namely abstraction, system thinking, experimentation, and collaboration. Compare a lecture textbook approach to instruction and an integrated interdisciplinary approach.

An interdisciplinary, integrated curriculum takes the thinking process to the levels of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. It differs from coordinated multidisciplinary curricula in cognitive sophistication. To be integrated and interdisciplinary, there must be a conceptual focus for the study that takes thinking beyond the factual level. It is to be used as one form f curriculum design that helps students understand major concepts, themes, problems, or issues from multiple perspectives. The text-book/lecture approach is coordinated to a lower level topic and are fact and activity focused.

Q12     Which instructional approach would best facilitate the development of each skill, and how?

A form of process integration referred to as integrated language arts is used. This is a  coordinated language art application of the language skills of reading, writing, listening,  speaking, and thinking to a particular area of study, whether a piece of literature, an interdisciplinary content unit, or a motivational style topic unit focused on language development.

Q13.   What are the implications of the evolving definition of Depth of instruction: Depth of instruction   used to mean “teaching more facts about a single topic “; and depth of instruction today means “facilitating higher level thinking related to a significant concept and theme, problem, or issue by connecting ideas a cross discipline to extend understanding, find answers, foster generalizations, and create new knowledge”.

   5.  Assessing and reporting student progress (pg 145-174)

Q1.   How do traditional means reporting student academic progress need to change to reflect process development as well as content knowledge?

        The traditional means of assessing and reporting a student progress at school was designed to assess and compare mass populations of specific items of knowledge or skill. This are also used to measure the objectives taught in the classroom and intend to highlight a student’s strengths and weaknesses. They are influenced heavily by the use of multiple choice formats. But the assessment need to change and assess the students, ability to construct or create responses to given statements or conditions.

Q2.   If you were the public relations director for your school, how would you help the institutions    constituents recognize the value of performance assessment?

         In the front place, I would make the institutions constituents to fully understand the traditional means of assessment and then explain to them the performance assessment and how it works. I’ll give them examples of how performance assessment combines content and process.

Q3.   How would you address their concerns with standardized test scores?

                The standardized tests are influenced heavily by the use of a multiple choice format or machine scored instruments. These tests are used to place a student or group of in rank order compared with the other test takers in the same grade rage population.

         With the constituents concern of standardized tests, I will try to explain to them that these tests are not good enough to tell in what students are actually capable of doing. The alternative assessment, I will explain, require student to “construct” or create responses other than to simply react or respond to given statement or conditions. They support the recognized need to develop the interest process, or lifelong learning skills of each child.

Q4.    What is performance assessment?

           Performance assessment is a form of assessment that departs from the traditional multiple choice; normatively referenced tests. It combines content and process into format that shows what students know and what they can do with what they know it takes knowledge to the doing level.

Q5.     How can performance assessment assist you in meeting the educational needs of your students?

          Performance assessment, help the teacher to know how best a student can apply the knowledge acquired through learning. This will help the teacher to know how well students have mastered the skills learnt and how capable are they in “doing”. This helps very much for it calls for individual help according to their level of understanding. It provides teachers with developmental roadmap for helping students celebrate how far they have come and for showing the next steps.

Q6.    How does “self assessment” contribute to the development of independent learners?

         A Portfolio is a purposeful integrated collection of student work that shows student effort, progress or achievement in one area or more areas. The collection includes evidence of student self reflection and student participation in setting the focus, establishing the standards, selecting contents and funding merit. Self- assessment helps educators to document and define what independent learners can do,           in addition to what they have learned. This also enables the teacher to share information with the   learner and the student feels supported and encouraged Self-assessment is a positive approach to developmental growth rather than on a            comparative judgment of worth.

Q7.    What is the learning facilitator’s responsibility in teaching to a standard for each student?

           Standard is a set point for quality performance against which student growth can be measured developmentally and overtime. Teachers should view a standard goal for each student. This Means developing and implementing support strategies to help each child move along the continuum of progress. It also means that a facilitator refusing that has shown no Support. If means expecting the best effort and providing support to insure success.

Q8.     What happens in educational institutions what the standard is only assumed to be for the top 30% of   the student populations?

    In such a situation, the learning process is only benefiting a few which is not good. A standard should be a goal for each student which means developing and implementing support strategies to help each child move along the continuum of progress. These institutions should try to give support to the other population to ensure success.

6.     Stirring the head, heart and soul: creating a love of learning (pp175-193)

Q1.     What is brain –based learning, and why is it a key concept to understand with respect to learning facilitation?

    This is the learning based on complex and concrete activities that engage students’ minds, heart and emotions. It involves designing and orchestrating life like, enriching and appropriate experiences for learners and ensure that students process experience in such away as to increase the extraction of meaning.  Brain – based learning supports the current movement to integrate curriculum as an effective way to facilitate the brain’s search for patterns and connections. An integrated curriculum also develops depth of understanding by presenting a message through a variety of contexts and disciplines.  

Q2.     What is a learning environment built on traditional, control-oriented structures antithetical to the   engagement of reasoning creative minds?

           This is the learning environment whereby a learner is supposed to memorize facts and procedure.    Students are not given the chance to perceive relationships and patterns to make sense of   information. In this type of learning, the student controlled by the teacher. Therefore this learning environment is built on structures which are antithetical to the engagement of reasoning and creative minds.

Q3. Why are “thinking teachers” of prime importance to effective learning facilitation?

            Teachers who take responsibility for the design, delivery, and assessment of curriculum and instruction show greater interest and engagement with the learning process.  Thinking teachers walk within the required curricular structure, but they personalize the design for student learning by thinking deeply and creatively about students, outcomes, and their plans curriculum and instruction. They hold a clear vision of   student success and challenge themselves to draw out the best efforts. They think their feet and watch for opportunities to pop provocative questions.

Q4.        How can learning facilitators encourage student autonomy?

                The facilitators can encourage students’ autonomy by giving the students responsibility for learning   by posing questions and issues and searching for answers, connections and possible new problems.   Facilitators should avoid heavy lecture and over control of student work for it robs students of opportunities to be self reliant thinkers.

              Facilitators should give students opportunities to deal with life – relevant questions, problems, and   issues for they feel a need to know. They develop analytical and critical thinking skills as they research, probe, dialogue and defend positions. A particularly effective strategy asks students to    take one position on an issue and then defend the polar position to again insight into varying   perspectives. The teachers to teach the lessons that transfer through time using events and content as examples rather than end products of the learning. They should help students find the connections between   past and present events.

Q5.       Why should students balance the acquisition of conceptually based content learning and the     development of lifelong processing skills?

             The most important job of a teacher at the earliest stages of a child’s learning is to ensure that every child can read, write, listen, speak, think, create and compute. Student applies literacy skills   in the context of content- based curriculum. Therefore, it important that students balance the acquisition of conceptually based content learning’s and the development of lifelong processing skills. The processing skills are the essential components for being able to decode words, read fluently, gain meaning, and construct knowledge:

Q6.      Give your response to this statement “students who are motivated to take responsibility for their own learning, facilitators help students become enthusiastic about their courses of instruction”.

            When teachers delight in the uniqueness of children, they come to know each child well. They   mention their observations and provide opportunities, guidance, and encouragement as the children realize they have gifts to develop. This encouragement and motivations makes the students to become more eager to learn and, finally they end up developing their talents in learning and making progress in their courses of instruction.

Q7.      What is a creative spirit” and how can learning facilitators stimulate this in students?

           A creative spirit is a passion of learning that stirs the heart and soul. These are the minds that are   eager to create deliver with an enthusiasm. Learning facilitators can stimulate these students    providing them opportunities to create and evaluate through various forms of artistic expression.  Students who learn how to express their unique thoughts and ideas though multiple modalities have broadened opportunities for taking personal responsibility in learning.

Q8.     What are the characteristics of “passionate learners”?

             The passionate learner shares his or her interest and enthusiasm in a variety of ways; beaming face and glistening eyes as   the student proudly holds up his or her work to be admired, you notice intense concentration as a problem  is solved or a piece of work is crafted to quality. Excited talk fills the room as thoughts and ideas are shared between team members making new discoveries. He is an introspective child; always busy doing the    work;

a)      they love learning

b)      inquisitive minds- questioning attitude that seek to know answers

c)      self value- they crave about themselves and value their personal thoughts and ideas

2. How can learning facilitators nurture curiosity in students?

     Most children are naturally inquisitive. The responsibility to nurture curiosity is a challenging task.   This means their facilitators being patient with their petty questions asked by the learners that always   seem to complicate the answer. The facilitator can help in expanding the experience base of the child  through reading books together, traveling, liking the nature trails, talking, sharing, laughing, playing using all the senses to interact with the environment and construct conceptual perspectives.  It also means that the facilitator affirming children’s ideas and efforts as they explores new territory.