Curricula

The curriculum theory I will talk about is learner centred theory. The key points in this theory are that the students are at the centre, they have control over their learning (Schiro, 2008). The aim of learning is personal growth rather than knowledge acquisition and this has obvious implications in the way curricula are designed. A learner-centred curriculum may allow students to decide the learning objectives, learning methods and pace of their own learning; assessment is usually formative or from self-evaluation; teachers are there to facilitate learning rather than to transmit knowledge (Ross 2000; Harden 1984). Ross (2000) gives further detail on a learner-centred approach (which he calls process-driven or a naturally landscaped…

Our initial and final syllabi represent two snapshots into our class-- how we originally expected our class to be formatted, and how the course ended up arranged. While there are several commonalities between our two syllabi, there are also some differences. Many of the similarities stem from the fact that all of the days/activities we had on our original syllabus (discussion days, guest speaker days, etc.) remained present on our final syllabus; the major change came from a new arrangement of…

With the implementation of the Common Core Standards, teachers are left with outdated curricula. Most teachers have to supplement the district curricula to address the new standards. This study surveys how teachers are adapting to this change by analyzing open-ended survey responses from 257 teachers and teacher–leaders in Grades 3 through Grade 5. The researcher found that teachers are utilizing resources on free websites and resources that claimed to be aligned to the new standards, but…

Extra-curricular activities, AP classes, and jobs…what do they all have in common? They take vast amounts of time out of a student’s day. Each time I think about students who have to juggle all three of these, one thought always comes to mind- how do they do it? Just considering the load of stress a student who goes to school and takes at least two AP classes, has to stay after school for a sport or a club, and then goes straight to their job has makes me worried for them. Especially seniors;…

I do agree with the student and teacher benefits of using the flipped model of instruction that are outlined in the Sprouts video. One of the benefits it noted was that the flipped learning increased learning efficiency. Because students can learn by themselves after class through the materials online and bring questions into the class to discuss with teachers and peers. In the article on Tampa Bay Times, Cynthia Brame indicated that “ What I think makes it effective is, it gives instructors the…

Matthew Lang, the author of the article “Conflict Management: A Gap in Business Education Curricula” states that the disparity between the significance of conflict skills in the workplace and the lack of conflict management education in the undergraduate business curricula should pave way for further conflict resolution education in the future. Lang came up with these conclusions through a study of University websites from U.S. based schools and non-U.S. based schools. Data was collected and it…

Stakeholder needs and expectations not only directly influence learning goals, but also indirectly influence learning goals through the mission. AACSB requires input from various stakeholders when developing the mission; therefore, stakeholder needs (such as desired managerial competencies) will directly influence the mission and, in turn, indirectly influence learning goals. Learning goals are supposed to directly influence curricula. They have the strategic purpose of connecting elements of a…

According to Grant, a curricula is a template that state explicitly the “intended aims and objectives, content, experiences, outcomes and processes of an educational program”(2011, p. 3). However, this would be only the curriculum ‘in paper’, since Coles (in Grant, 2011), defines that there is a need to recognize two further types of curricula, which is the ‘in action’ (what in reality occurs) and the ‘experienced’ (what the learner perceived). McKimm (2003) refers to the curriculum ‘in action’…

Bobbitt (2013) states experience should also be a part of training and should be accomplished through work in the community. At OCTC, the STEM curricula do not offer any real life experiences during the first year of study, and this is a hindrance to an optimal first-year STEM experience for the students at OCTC. Schneider and Pickett (2006) found that collaborative partnerships with businesses are strongly encouraged in efforts to improve preparation for STEM students to enter the workforce. …

Discussion of the educational philosophies, cultural norms and values implicit in the Australian Digital Technologies and the UK’s Computing Curricula “There are standards for students, standards for teachers, standards for curriculum content, standards for just about everything that moves” (Eisner, 2000, p. 344). However, from the research, I found that the educational philosophies, cultural norms and values are not explicitly stated in each curriculum. In contrast, they have been developed and…