The belief at the time was that schools should require strong discipline and
that "children should not talk to one another; all communication should be
between the teacher and the class (Tyler, 1975)."
What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
How can learning experiences be selected which are likely to be useful in
attaining these objectives?
How can learning experiences be organized for effective instruction?
How can the effectiveness of learning experiences be evaluated?
Following the introduction of the Army's intelligence test, a "Testing Movement"
in education, became established and spread throughout the United States
He saw testing and "the holes in testing for memorization"
as a problem to study for life
The most important and comprehensive curriculum experiment ever carried on in
the United States..."
This methodology engages the student in a number of projects. The projects he
defined as "a purposeful activity carried to completion in a natural setting
most famous work was his "little" book Basic Principles of Curriculum and
Instruction
War I, as it soon would be called, would have a dramatic effect on education
The fifth and final section describes "How a school or College staff may work
on curriculum building."
do not have clearly defined purposes
1.
Establish broad goals
or objectives.2. Classify the goals or objectives.3. Define objectives
in behavioral terms.4. Find situations in which achievement if objectives
can be shown.5. Develop or select measurement techniques.6. Collect
performance data.7. Compare performance data with behaviorally stated
objectives.
education as "an active process
It involves the active efforts of the learner himself."
The first of these was through direct instruction
Tyler's greatest gift to the field of education was the development of an
objectives-based evaluation model.
Direct link to the curriculum document (PDF) From Delaware's DOE. Very helpful for Family and Consumer Science teachers updating curriculum in the UbD Framework
Teachers can locate current curriculum requirements and resources, to easily update and customize their lesson plans in alignment with district standards and expectations. Administrators can gain instant access to the learning paths in each building, grade, and classroom-and view this information by standards, by teaching objective, and by key concept.
Teachers can locate current curriculum requirements and resources, to easily update and customize their lesson plans in alignment with district standards and expectations. Administrators can gain instant access to the learning paths in each building, grade, and classroom-and view this information by standards, by teaching objective, and by key concept.
Programming -OK, on the programming thing, here are my thoughts.In
our curriculum our objective is not as much a specific LANGUAGE. One year I may
use HTML with Javascript, this past year I used LSL — what I want kids to know
that when they encounter programming and coding that there are certain
conventions. Some are case sensitive, some are not. How do you find out how to
add to what you know about programming? Do you know where to go to find
prewritten code? Can you hack it to make it work to do what you want it to
do?We spend about a week – two weeks but I require they know how to
handcode hyperlinks and images – they are just too important.But to take
12 weeks or 6 weeks to learn a whole language – yes maybe some value – but to me
the value is HOW is the language constructed or built. What are the conventions
and how do I educate myself if I am interested in pursuing. What comes out of
this time is kids who say either “I never want to do that” or “this is really
cool, I love coding.”They are doing very simplistic work (although the
LSL object languages were pretty advanced) but since we don’t have a full course
nor time in our curriculum, I do see this as an essential part of what I
teach.I’m not teaching it for the language sake but for the sake of
understanding the whole body of how languages work – we talk about the different
languages and what they are used for as part of Intro to Computer science and
have an immersive experience.To me, this is somewhat a comprimise
between leaving it out entirely or forcing everyone to take 12 weeks of it. I
just don’t know where 12 weeks would go in the curriculum.
the assumption that there is a single established body of mathematical skills that everyone needs to know to be prepared for 21st-century careers. This assumption is wrong. The truth is that different sets of math skills are useful for different careers, and our math education should be changed to reflect this fact.
Today, American high schools offer a sequence of algebra, geometry, more algebra, pre-calculus and calculus (or a “reform” version in which these topics are interwoven). This has been codified by the Common Core State Standards, recently adopted by more than 40 states. This highly abstract curriculum is simply not the best way to prepare a vast majority of high school students for life.
A math curriculum that focused on real-life problems would still expose students to the abstract tools of mathematics, especially the manipulation of unknown quantities. But there is a world of difference between teaching “pure” math, with no context, and teaching relevant problems that will lead students to appreciate how a mathematical formula models and clarifies real-world situations.
For instance, how often do most adults encounter a situation in which they need to solve a quadratic equation? Do they need to know what constitutes a “group of transformations” or a “complex number”? Of course professional mathematicians, physicists and engineers need to know all this, but most citizens would be better served by studying how mortgages are priced, how computers are programmed and how the statistical results of a medical trial are to be understood.
Imagine replacing the sequence of algebra, geometry and calculus with a sequence of finance, data and basic engineering.
Traditionalists will object that the standard curriculum teaches valuable abstract reasoning, even if the specific skills acquired are not immediately useful in later life. A generation ago, traditionalists were also arguing that studying Latin, though it had no practical application, helped students develop unique linguistic skills. We believe that studying applied math, like learning living languages, provides both useable knowledge and abstract skills.
In math, what we need is “quantitative literacy,” the ability to make quantitative connections whenever life requires (as when we are confronted with conflicting medical test results but need to decide whether to undergo a further procedure) and “mathematical modeling,” the ability to move practically between everyday problems and mathematical formulations (as when we decide whether it is better to buy or lease a new car).
research-based Curriculum
Maps present a comprehensive, coherent sequence of thematic curriculum units
connecting the skills outlined in the CCSS with suggested student objectives, texts,
activities, and much more
The benefits of embedding the teaching of writing into the curriculum have been advocated by educators and researchers. However, there is currently little evidence of embedded writing instruction in the UK's higher education context. In this article, we present a case study in which we report the design, implementation and evaluation of an academic writing intervention with first-year undergraduate students in an applied linguistics programme. Our objectives were to try a combination of embedded instructional methods and provide an example that can be followed by lecturers across disciplines and institutions. Through the integration of in-class and online writing tasks and assessment feedback in a first-term module, we supported students' writing development throughout the first term. We evaluated the effects of the intervention through the analysis of notes on classroom interaction, a student questionnaire and interviews, and a text analysis of students' writing and the feedback comments over time. The evaluation findings provide insights into the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach. The embedded writing instruction was perceived as useful by both students and teachers. The assessment feedback, whilst being the most work-intensive method for the teachers, was valued most by the students and led to substantial improvements in the writing of some. These findings suggest that embedded writing instruction could be usefully applied in other higher education contexts.
Feed readers
are probably the most important digital tool for today's learner because they
make sifting through the amazing amount of content added to the Internet
easy. Also known as aggregators, feed readers are free tools that can
automatically check nearly any website for new content dozens of times a
day---saving ridiculous amounts of time and customizing learning experiences for
anyone.
Imagine
never having to go hunting for new information from your favorite sources
again. Learning goes from a frustrating search through thousands of
marginal links written by questionable characters to quickly browsing the
thoughts of writers that you trust, respect and enjoy.
Feed readers can
quickly and easily support blogging in the classroom, allowing teachers to
provide students with ready access to age-appropriate sites of interest that are
connected to the curriculum. By collecting sites in advance and organizing
them with a feed reader, teachers can make accessing information manageable for
their students.
Here are several
examples of feed readers in action:
Used specifically as
a part of one classroom project, this feed list contains information related to
global warming that students can use as a starting point for individual
research.
While there are literally dozens of different feed reader
programs to choose from (Bloglines andGoogle Reader are two
biggies), Pageflakes is a favorite of
many educators because it has a visual layout that is easy to read and
interesting to look at. It is also free and web-based. That
means that users can check accounts from any computer with an Internet
connection. Finally, Pageflakes makes it quick and easy to add new
websites to a growing feed list—and to get rid of any websites that users are no
longer interested in.
What's even
better: Pageflakes has been developinga teacher version of their tooljust for us that includes an online grade tracker,
a task list and a built in writing tutor. As Pageflakes works to perfect
its teacher product, this might become one of the first kid-friendly feed
readers on the market. Teacher Pageflakes users can actually blog and create a
discussion forum directly in their feed reader---making an all-in-one digital
home for students.
For more
information about the teacher version of Pageflakes, check out this
review:
We would also like to share this DISCUSSION RUBRIC (2007) that you can use as students submit annotations and begin to draw conclusions about what their evidence is pointing to.
Start off modeling what you expect students to do. Then, move more toward asking students to look at a text with a certain set of questions in mind. Finally, just share a simple short list of terms or words which will guide student reading/annotating.
These annotations, rather than being on paper, can be collected with different web tools so that students can collaborate
Students submit their annotations via their smart phones or other digital devices, and then analyze each other’s notations collectively. They could be looking for main ideas, thematic and literary elements, or big ideas from the work. They could be looking for evidence of connections to other texts, their own experiences, or world issues. They could simply be searching for meaning to support them when reading complex texts.
Anytime something is shared and ideas are discussed and shared, there seems to be more of a 'real-life' purpose for digging in and completing the task.
In order to get students to own this process, we have to relinquish some control. Let them think, let them make mistakes and respond. Let them draw conclusions even they are not the conclusions we would have drawn. We can be there to coach them through misconceptions.
Step back! It is amazing to learn from the student's perspective. Then, if the thinking is not focused toward the goal or objective of the teacher's lesson, a bit of guidance and coaching is all that is needed to steer students toward that goal/objective.
This shouldn't be an issue, but I don't like the word "sunset" either in that it implies a need to start over, from scratch. Perhaps it should be stated that certain pieces will be reviewed and re-considered for a formal signing again in 2 years, after evidence is presented.
Are teachers really "waiting to receive a curriculum from the DOE"? That seems ridiculous. Aren't we all working on improving the work we already do and infusing the CCSS into our learning objectives? Has there ever really been a full curriculum handed to teachers?
It is insincere of you to take none of the responsibility for this. Seriously...the union's innocent? Where is your concession?
w evaluation system for every district in the state, pointed out that hundreds of other districts have precisely these provisions, and that such provisions do not prevent the districts from getting rid of teachers who don’t measure up
put on the table a two-year “sunset” provision that would have negated the effects of the evaluation process
We are now working on a framework of best practices that the Education Department can use as part of the training system it must outline to King by Feb. 15 if it wants to avoid the loss of even more state and federal funds.
But if we are going to be successful, we will need people on the other side of the table who are interested in creating a system that will truly help teachers improve, not in leaving a legacy of blame.
This course provides an overview of the historical and modern context and operation of free and open source software (FOSS) communities and associated software projects. The practical objective of the course is to teach students how they can begin to participate in a FOSS project in order to contribute to and improve aspects of the software that they feel are wrong. Students will learn some important FOSS tools and techniques for contributing to projects and how to set up their own FOSS projects.
This site is great! It includes objectives, math vocab, modeling problems, exercises, differentiated problems, student self-eval, writing component, and homework. Best of all it's FREE!
To them, knowledge isn’t a commodity that’s delivered from teacher to student but something that emerges from the students’ own curiosity-fueled exploration.
eachers provide prompts
they step aside so students can teach themselves and one another.
“So,” Juárez Correa said, “what do you want to learn?”
“If you put a computer in front of children and remove all other adult restrictions, they will self-organize around it,” Mitra says, “like bees around a flower.”
There will be no teachers, curriculum, or separation into age groups—just six or so computers and a woman to look after the kids’ safety. His defining principle: “The children are completely in charge.”
Theorists from Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi to Jean Piaget and Maria Montessori have argued that students should learn by playing and following their curiosity.
Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin similarly claim that their Montessori schooling imbued them with a spirit of independence and creativity.
The study found that when the subjects controlled their own observations, they exhibited more coordination between the hippocampus and other parts of the brain involved in learning and posted a 23 percent improvement in their ability to remember objects.
if you’re not the one who’s controlling your learning, you’re not going to learn as well
Students should never use information in Wikipedia (or any other online encyclopedia) for formal purposes (such as school essays) until they have verified and evaluated the information based on external sources. For this reason, Wikipedia, like any encyclopedia, is a great starting place for research but not always a great ending place.
It is possible for a given Wikipedia article to be biased, outdated, or factually incorrect. This is true of any resource. One should always double-check the accuracy of important facts, regardless of the source. In general, popular Wikipedia articles are more accurate than ones that receive little traffic, because they are read more often and therefore any errors are corrected in a more timely fashion. Wikipedia articles may also suffer from issues such as Western bias, but hopefully this will also improve with time. For more information
Although the majority of edits attempt to improve the encyclopedia, vandalism is frequent.
If an anonymous or relatively new user changes a statistic or date by even a little bit, without justifying their edit, they are particularly likely to raise a red flag. If an individual continues to vandalize after being warned, then they may even be blocked from further editing.
keeps a full history of every change to every article
It is for this reason that readers must be particularly diligent in verifying Wikipedia against its external sources, as discussed above. It is also a good idea, if you feel uncomfortable about an article, to check its history for recent "bad-faith" edits. If you find a piece of uncorrected vandalism, you might even decide to help future users by correcting it yourself. That's a great feature of Wikipedia.
Wikipedia can be an excellent starting place for further research.
Students can compare information in Wikipedia with information in other encyclopedias or books in the library. As a general rule, contributors to Wikipedia are encouraged to cite their sources, but, of course, not all do. For the sake of verifiability, it is advisable to cite an article that has listed its sources. Most of our better articles have sections such as "References," "Sources," "Notes," "Further reading," or "External links," which generally contain such information.
The 2008/9 Wikipedia Selection for Schools is a selection of 5,500 articles deemed suitable for school children and has been checked and edited for this audience and protected against editing or vandalism. It contains about the equivalent content to a 20 volume encyclopaedia organized around school curriculum subjects, and is available online and as a free download for use by schools.
Educators can use Wikipedia as a way of teaching students to develop hierarchies of credibility that are essential for navigating and conducting research on the Internet.
Wikipedia's objective is to become a compendium of published knowledge about notable subjects.
Her presentation contained a slide that said academic dishonesty included plagiarizing yourself—i.e., taking a paper you had written for one course and turning it in for credit in another course. That, she explained, constituted a dishonest representation of your work for a course.
"Unless," one of my colleagues chimed in at that point, "you're an academic, and you're presenting the same idea at a bunch of different conferences. Then it's clearly not dishonest."
counterargument
So does the injunction against plagiarizing from yourself fall into the category of one of those hypocritical rules that we like to impose on our children: Drinking soda every day would be bad for your health, honey, but it's fine for me?
If a categorical difference exists here between what we do and what we forbid our students to do, I confess, I have a hard time seeing it.
"Are we allowed to use ideas from our writing exercise to help us write this paper?" she asked.
"Of course," I said. "That was the whole point of the writing exercise—to get you a head start in thinking about how you want to approach your paper."
"OK," she said. And then after a brief pause: "Because at orientation they told us we weren't allowed to use our own work twice."
"Ah," I said. "That doesn't really apply in this case. And anyway, I don't really mind, in this course, if you take a paper that you've written for another course and revise it for an assignment in here. You just have to make sure that what you turn in fulfills my specific assignment. Other professors might feel differently, though. So I would always ask before you tried to do that."
So why deprive our students of the opportunity to learn those same lessons, by recycling a particular paper from one course to the next?
I can foresee one more objection: What's to prevent a student from recycling the same paper from course to course to course? Students who did so would lose the valuable opportunity to practice their writing—and writing, like any other intellectual or physical skill, requires lots of practice.
But—practically speaking—the opportunity to reuse a paper might arise only once or twice in a student's career, thanks to the diversity of our course assignments and disciplines.
First, do you see a problem with allowing students to revise a paper or presentation created for one course and turn it in for another one, assuming they can make it fit the assignment for the new course? Does this count as plagiarism?
Second, are there any courses or programs that build such a process into the curriculum—requiring or encouraging students to take work from one course and adapt it for another?
I encourage readers to offer their ideas. Of course if you have published or presented elsewhere on this subject, you should still go ahead and share your recycled idea. I will leave it up to you to decide whether to feel guilty about that.
During our first meeting of the school year, we jotted down on sticky notes what each of us wanted to accomplish in our weekly meetings. Three main ideas rose to the top and have driven our work together ever since: support for each other, help with pacing an overwhelming curriculum, and detailed plans to implement with our students. Everything we do as a group addresses one or more of these three objectives.
Talking about the issues and pressures of teaching—always in a solutions-focused way, of course—is cathartic itself.
PLCs must find ways to share the workload, not increase it.
Effective PLCs must focus on student learning. It's no use becoming bogged down in issues or procedures that are out of our control as classroom teachers.
To keep ourselves on track, we examine our students' strengths and weaknesses, creating plans that maximize student success.