Curriculum : A Matter Of Perspectives Essay

The curriculum is a complex framework that is used in education and is firmly embedded in society (Brady & Kennedy, 2007). Within the curriculum there are key concepts which include the intended curriculum, enacted curriculum, null curriculum, negotiated curriculum, emergent curriculum, hidden curriculum and lived curriculum (Gobby, 2015). The intended curriculum as explained by Gobby (2015) is the plan or framework on a national, state, school and classroom level. The enacted curriculum is what is practiced and is translated into a learning experience (Gobby, 2015). The null curriculum according to Gobby (2015) refers to what is not taught or avoided by educators. The negotiated curriculum is more of a community and hands on part of the curriculum which is learning experiences decided by more than just the educator (Gobby, 2015). The emergent curriculum as described by Gobby (2015) is the exploration of interesting and personally meaning information to children. The hidden curriculum is things that children

Ah Sam and Ackland (2005) defined curriculum as “… an interrelated set of plans of experiences that a student undertakes under the guidance of the school”. (p.42) While these two definitions are applied in school context, Horn and Banerjee (2009) described curriculum as the guidance of the project for a group of people. Similarly, Makura and Makura (2012) adopted the definition by Gatawa (1990) as “the instrument through which complex societies transmit and maintain cherished bodies of knowledge values and skills” (Makura & Makura, 2012, p. 509). They suggested that curricula did not exist in vacuum but shaped by a larger cultural values, traditions and beliefs of

Curriculums are the roadmaps for schools which provide purpose and direction for administrators, educators, parents, and students. Curriculum typically refers to, “the knowledge and skills students are expected to learn, which includes the learning standards or learning objectives they are expected to meet; the units and lessons that teachers teach; the assignments and projects given to students; the books, materials, videos, presentations, and readings used in a course; and the tests, assessments, and other methods used to evaluate student learning.” (Curriculum, 2015, para. 1) Curriculums may come in many shapes and forms, whether they’re purchased as a package at the school or district level or they’re created or refined by educators and

Curriculum, as stated by Glickman (2014) “is the what of instruction”. Additionally, Ornstein and Hunkins, (as cited by Glickman, Gordon and Ross-Gordon, 2014) have listed the elements of the curriculum and they “are sequence and continuity, scope and balance”. The mastery with which a teacher can incorporate the elements of the curriculum in instruction is categorized by levels. The levels of teacher involvement in curriculum implementation are described and exemplfied

I teach in an eighth grade classroom that is set in a Jr-Sr. High school. It is located in the Jr. High hallway, near the rear of our high school. I have thirty-two student desks situated in rows and two small tables at the front of my room used for paper pick up. I painted my room a turquoise beach blue and it is decorated with various beach themed paraphernalia. I also have many inspirational quote posters up around my room, hoping to engage my students into deeper thinking. The students all have their own Chromebooks and I have a desktop computer as well as a Samsung Tablet. Many computer applications suited for 1:1 schools are used in our building. We begin our day at 7:40am with a zero period for professional development and meetings. The students have seven, forty-five minute periods beginning at 8:20am and continuing until 3:15pm. My classes include four “regular” English classes, one “Honors” class, an Essential Skills class that rotates every week with two other teachers, and a prep period. My duties throughout the year consist of sponsoring the Jr. High Student Council as well as parking lot duty for two weeks during second semester. We adhere closely to the Indiana State Standards and use the ISTEP and NWEA mandated assessments. We, as teachers, are given free rein to teach how we see fit; however, we were asked to submit curriculum mapping outlining the content/topics, key terms, sources/resources, assessments

Brady and Kennedy (2010) define the term curriculum as ‘the means by which young people and adults gain the essential knowledge, skills and attributes they need to be productive and informed citizens in a democratic society.’ However the term has many varied definitions, it can be described as being the subject matter, the overall plan for teaching or the outcome of what is taught (Wiles, 2005). Marsh and Willis (cited in Marsh, 2009, p. 3) break curriculum down into three individual areas of ‘planned curriculum’, the objectives and aims, ‘enacted curriculum’, how the objectives are

Standards and curriculum are the core pieces of teaching. Basically, the curriculum is the meat of the course and the standards are how it is prepared. The meat of the course is the substance and the tools of instructing. It encompasses the material, lesson plans and literature. It also incorperates how the instructor decides to present the information, how they alter it to the students, and the order in which the content is delivered. Each instructor may choose to serve a different piece of meat; or rather, decide on a different method of demonstration, but the way the material is prepared must follow a common denominator.

Before reading chapter nine and ten of What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know, I always though of the curriculum as a set of standards that is needed to be teach in order for the students to pass for the year. I guess in high school and college that may be true, but in middle school it is completely different. The curriculum should incorporate the student’s experiences, lives, curiosities, and connections to learning and the outside world. Since middle school is a time where children are trying to find themselves in the world it is important to not only focus on the educational aspect for these students. Different parts of their lives need to be added into the curriculum in order for them to relate to what they learning.

1. What is the definition of the term curriculum? “The outline of what should be taught within an allotted amount of time.”

An initial concept of the curriculum formed by Tenorio is that curriculum is not just the books and lessons but everything, the relationships, interactions and inspirations teachers have with students, students have with parents, schools have with the wider community (Churchill, 2011). This definition explains in broad terms how curriculum influences everyone’s lives in certain ways, however it does not explain what the curriculum does, how it is constructed or how it works in a school setting. The Australian Curriculum (AC) defines curriculum as used to develop successful learners. Who are confident, active and informed citizens and “is presented as a progression of learning from Foundation to year 10 that makes clear to teachers, parents,

The creative curriculum is based on observing and helps develop children and their environment. The creative curriculum provides learning experiences that facilitate growth and development children. The environment and classroom space are divided into different areas that help enhance activities with manipulatives and learning materials. These areas include: blocks, dramatic play, art, library among others. Activity areas are created to support the specific learning abilities of the children.

Defining and creating the perfect curriculum has been a struggle for educators and administrators since the creation of universities. This struggle has continued throughout the evolution of the American higher education institutions. Starting with Harvard University in the 17th century and following all the way through to today where there are over 4,000 institutions of higher education in the United States. The goals of universities have stayed relatively the same in that they want to create prepared individuals who go out into the world ready to work and make it a better place. The challenge has been that what the world requires is constantly changing and therefore the knowledge that individuals enter the world with needs

Curriculum is hardly new in fact it dates way back to ancient Greece and the famous Aristotle’s (384BC- 322BC) who was a Greek philosopher. A student of Plato came up with the categorisation of knowledge, which I will be discussing later on in the commentary. So curriculum has been around for years, but the way we understand

According to John Delnay (1959) “Curriculum is all planned learning for which the school is responsible. The curriculum is all the experiences learners have under the guidance of the school. How do we define Curriculum? According to Bandi and Wales (2005), the most common definition derived from the word Latin root, which means racecourse. Bandi and Wales (2005), also stated that for many students, the school curriculum is a race to be run. A series of obstacles, or hurdles (subjects) to be passed. This implies that one of the functions of a curriculum is to provide a template or design which enables learning to take place. Curriculum development is carried out as a planned development, implementation and review cycle. Educational psychologists and pedagogues have determined different principles of learnings. One of them is Tyler (1949), he developed the objectives model, which was later modified by (1965), and Veness (2010). This model proposed that learning is defined in terms of what learners should be able to do at the end of the course. It uses systematic approach to planning, and it is learning outcome driven. There are four steps to curriculum design:

According to Blaise and Nuttall (2011), to understand curriculum, we must first understand what is meant by the term curriculum. Within curriculum there are five key concepts, they are the intended curriculum The Intended curriculum is the curriculum that the teachers want the children to experience in order to develop particular knowledge, skills, and attitudes. (Blaise & Nuttall, 2011, p. 82). The enacted curriculum is what teachers want students to experience. important reason why the intended curriculum is enacted differently from teacher to teacher, from classroom to classroom, is that a key part of a teachers work is to interpret the official curriculum, taking into account a wide range of variables that are specific to their classroom and school setting.