Concepts of Curriculum
“Curriculum is, for most students, a
race in which they must surpass several obstacles, which are the subjects.” Marsh
and Willis (2007)
This quote is the way that many students, parents, the public, and even many teachers see curriculum. Curriculum is so much more than that!
Starting to Dig… The topic of “Concepts of Curriculum” is of course such an important topic for all educators to dig into. However, I have been hesitant to start the readings for this topic as they initially seemed quite daunting. I began with the Eisner & Vallance article and was pleasantly surprised that it was immediately recognized the conflict that curriculum can pose as: “a dynamic and stimulating resource or a conceptual jungle.” Eisner & Vallance (1974) With this acknowledgment of that there can often be much confusion around curriculum, I was much more open and ready to look at some of the significant questions and concepts of the curriculum.
A Summary of my Interpretations of The Five Concepts of Curriculum
1.
Humanistic
Curriculum
This curriculum is about
the student. It is looking at what they are
learning and should learn to develop themselves as a person. It is a focus on personal goals, challenges, growth,
and development. It is bringing in the experiences and needs of the student,
directly into the classroom.
2.
Academic
Curriculum
The
academic curriculum provides the students the knowledge and tools to function
and thrive in our culture. When I read about this, I think of the more
traditional form of a curriculum. It is a focus on skills that will enable the
students to have high paying jobs and overall economic gains and success in the
world.
3.
Social
Reconstruction
This type of curriculum integrates
all of the “traditional subjects” and “serve problems that humankind faces.”
McNeil (2006) It looks beyond just the current problems and issues and extends
itself to content that may be concerns on a larger scale for the world and our
future.
4.
Technological
This curriculum is about
the process by which knowledge is spread and shared. There is little emphasis
on the content, but rather more so on how the material is delivered and received.
The main focus for an educator is to ensure that the method of teaching is
optimal for the students.
5.
Cognitive
The
Cognitive curriculum is a focus on skills that can be used regardless of what
the actual content is. It has an emphasis on providing the students with tools
that they can use and apply inside and outside of the classroom.
The Development, Change and Emphasis of various Conceptions
of Curriculum
There are so many questions and issues
that arise when discussing curriculum. “The mathematics disputes over whether
it is more important to teach mathematical understanding or mathematics skills”
and “whether it is more important to teach knowledge of the past or to build
strategies for critically analyzing and reconstructing society in the future”
were strong ones that stood out for me from the Schiro (2013) article. The discussion
on math is a continuous debate throughout my junior school staff and parents. For our students at an elementary school age,
as educators we are pushing towards an understanding of math and the parents
are very formed in their own opinions about the focus being teaching the
algorithms and concrete skills. Maybe these are questions that will never have
a universal answer. In certain situation
and at particular advancement levels, the answers may seem clearer, but as a
whole I do not think there is one fundamentally right or wrong. Identifying and
applying various concepts of curriculum are vital for a fully developed
education. Throughout history we have seen the education system change, evolve
and even revert back to original ways. I frequently hear more experienced
teachers reflect on particularly elements of literacy that go through trends
and patterns. I think the clear message through all of this is that there is
not only one path; however, there is a network of ideas and practices that
build a strong education system. At the heart of all of the curriculum is the
goal for what is best for the students. Since students do not all come from the
same background, nor do they all intend to have the same future, there continues
to be multiple conceptions of the curriculum. Some conceptions of the
curriculum are not mainstream because they do not work with our current model
of 25 students sitting in desks in a classroom. It would be challenging for a
teacher to focus on a technological curriculum but be bound by policies or lack
of funding. Or even more than that – until our government is willing to change
their concept of curriculum then there is only so much that can be done in a
classroom. A teacher cannot have a
philosophy of Social Reconstruction curriculum and expect their students to be
successful on the provincially mandated annual Grade 4 and Grade 7 Foundation
Skills Assessment (FSA) testing.
The Concepts
of Curriculum in connection to my own Planning, Instruction and Assessment.
My intent
in writing this next paragraph was not to pick and choose certain concepts of
curriculum, but upon reflection, that seems to be what I did. I think as a
whole all of these concepts of curriculum need to be understood and recognized
when planning, instructing and assessing.
Even if as an educator I disagree with, or struggle with, one of the
concepts, it should not be completely dismissed. And maybe it is because I have the initial aversion
to one type of educating, that it is actually a sign for me to continue my
research in that area. As a whole, identifying and embracing these various
concepts of the curriculum is essential for planning, instruction and
assessment.
In the McNeil (2009) article, the social reconstructionist
curriculum reflects on the role of the teacher and identifies that a teacher
should “relate national, world, and local purposes to the students'
goals.” This is an essential element to think of
through my planning. With this significant purpose in mind, I can then work
backwards. Our school has been focusing
on “Understanding by Design” or “Backward Design.” McNeil makes the message clear from the
social reconstructionist perspective, what the end goal should be.
Through the humanist curriculum, “a teacher
provides warmth and nurtures emotions” McNeil (2009) so this is a point I need
to frequently reflect on when I get to focused on content and reporting
outcomes. The challenging step for this
element is how it is taken further and into the assessment part. A teacher could
establish a caring environment and provide amazing emotional support, yet how
would the teacher then respond at the time of reporting and assessment? As I instruct it is interesting to consider
the points of the technological curriculum.
This is
apparent so many times in a classroom when I (as the teacher) feel like I have
interesting and engaging content to share with my students. If I truly want it to reach the majority of
my students, then unless I stop and consider the means that I am sharing this knowledge,
then it is irrelevant what the content actually it.
For
assessment I am interested in the humanistic concept of curriculum. I know the results would be far different
than our current reporting system, but I think it is essential for the student
to have context and relevancy to what they are learning. I am interested to dig
deeper into this concept and identify how it is possible to truly assess a
student this way. It feel that this is the direction of my school’s vision and I
am interested in the research and evidence that holds this concept as a
significant goal for my school to focus.
Eisner, E., & Vallance, E. (Eds.).
(1974). Five conceptions of the curriculum: Their roots and implications for
curriculum planning. In E. Eisner & E. Vallance (Eds.), Conflicting
conceptions of curriculum (pp. 1-18). Berkeley, CA: McCutchan Publishing.
McNeil, J. D.
(2006). Contemporary Curriculum in Thought and Action (6th
ed., pp. 1-13, 24-34, 44-51, 60-73). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Ornstein, A. C.,
& Hunkins, F. P. (2009). Curriculum: Foundations,
Principles, and Issues (5th ed., pp. 2-9). Boston, MA: Allyn
& Bacon.
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteThe Understanding by Design framework is a phenomenal planning tool to keep your ultimate goals (of relating world, national and local purposes) at the forefront of your planning, instruction and assessment. I appreciate and agree with your sentiments about aligning assessment practices with your curriculum approach. It feels as though you may have the power to change your planning and instruction, but you hit a ceiling when it comes to assessment reporting. If you focus on a cognitive (skill development) curriculum approach but the ultimate reporting is done as a percent grade, what message do your learners take home? Will students focus more on your daily feedback about skill development or the final percent feedback? It is interesting to speculate on differing assessment methodologies based on curriculum approaches.
Thanks,
Gagan
Erin,
ReplyDeleteIt is refreshing to read your thoughts from a teacher’s perspective! I saw similarities with how you organize your thoughts to my own blog response. You outlined the 5 concepts of curriculum so clearly and in your own language which I really appreciate. Sometimes the jargon of the course can be pretty intimidating.
I wanted to discuss your comment about assessment and how it relates to the humanistic approach to the curriculum:
“A teacher could establish a caring environment and provide amazing emotional support, yet how would the teacher then respond at the time of reporting and assessment?”
One of the concepts of curriculum is that it be humanistic. I believe that this is not something that has assessment merit, but can be valuable to the learner. Humanistic approaches have everything to do with how the learning (academics, cognitive processes and social reform) is presented. Just as technology is the driving force or the venue of the learning, so too is the humanistic aspects that an instructor can incorporate. The byproduct of meaningful, engaging instruction, that challenges students to grow not just academically, is a more well-rounded, balanced individual who will be successful on all levels after graduation.
Interestingly enough, as I have been teaching in the middle years, we have decided to move away from percentages and we have created our own 1-4 rubric that we use to report our student’s progress. Some would argue that we are no longer placing emphasis on the academics, but what does an 87% in language arts really mean?? They complete their writing assignments with 87% accuracy and read only 87% of their independent novels with success? Yes, there is still a time and place for “marks” but more importantly students need to know where their strengths lie at reporting time and what skills they need to improve upon. Percentages will soon find them again in high school as they are needed to enter post secondary institutions.
Jen