Curriculum

Part I.

Three Versions of Curriculum

Subject Centered

Teacher Centered

Student 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 the

Nature 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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16%

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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 Primerwas 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

0%

0%

0%

0%

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...

Positive for unif... Divisive and not ...

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)