The Role of Societal Goals in Education - Essay Example

?[Your full full September 22, Education: Posner Terms Chapter 4 Societal Goal Societal goals are aimed towards bringing improvement in behaviors and nature of students so that they can become a constructive part of society. Although they are not the main educational aims of goals, but they do have some influence on social development of students. If we talk about the role of societal goals in education, we can say they play a positive role by making students adhere to the principles of learning while behaving positively with everyone. For example, such teachings reduce the element of disruptive behaviors in students. Moreover, societal goals also help in creating a peaceful environment in schools by teaching students the way to become a productive part of society. My personal experience of studying social elements in curriculum has had a very dynamic influence on my overall personality. For example, they helped me live in society in a constructive manner. Similarly, they helped me learn the norms and values of living in a society. 2. Administrative Goal Administrative goals refer to the concept of maintaining and improving the administrative approach of organizations. These goals include compensation and management of teachers, implementation of employee safety programs, scheduling of buses, maintenance of buildings, ensuring maximum student and teacher attendance, and all such matters. The role of administrative goals in education is also very positive as they make students aware of the importance of managing things properly. Of course, students have to become administrators and leaders at homes and at work at some time in future, so they should have some knowledge regarding management of tasks in an effective manner. My personal experience regarding study of administrative goals in education is also very good. The administrative goals have helped me become an effective leader and a successful administrator. For example, I can manage my work easily because of the knowledge I got during my educational life. 3. Bloom’s Taxonomy and its Applicability to Writing Objectives Bloom’s taxonomy includes three key domains, which are cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. If we talk about the cognitive domain with regard to Bloom’s Taxonomy, we can say that it is an important element of success for a student because it directly deals with the writing objectives. It helps students gain knowledge and apply it in different circumstances of life. It also helps students in analyzing things from different perspectives, as well as in evaluating decisions based on surrounding elements. The role of bloom’s taxonomy in education is very influential as it promotes the process of thinking in education which is a key part of writing objectives. It focuses on evaluating and analyzing things, rather than just keeping the facts in mind. My personal experience regarding applicability of bloom’s taxonomy to writing objectives is very positive. For example, I learned the way to put my thoughts on paper after complete analysis and evaluation of thoughts. 4. Cognitive Domain Cognitive domain reflects the intellectual abilities of a person. They deal with thinking, remembering, and putting practice the learned concepts based on personal judgment and knowledge. This domain includes recognition of facts, understanding of procedural patterns, and development of intellectual skills. The role of cognitive domain in education is very influential because it deals learning and applying which arte two of the most critical elements of education. This domain improves the ability of students to learn, recall, and rationalize things. My personal experience is that cognitive domain helps in achieving success in educational, as well as in personal life. This domain helps me in reasoning and justifying the value of ideas based on surrounding circumstances. Similarly, this domain also helps me in troubleshooting, as well as in recognizing realistic facts in reasoning. Moreover, this domain has also helped me achieve higher grades in studies by making me able to remember and rationalize the knowledge that I learn. 5. Purpose of Standards Standards are the skills and processes that students need to learn in order to excel in educational life. The purpose of standards is to make students adhere to the principles of learning in order to meet the required level of standards as included in the curriculum. The standards are also measurable in schools and colleges that design those standards to know the level of students’ learning. The role of standards in education is very influential because they make students work hard and put all of their efforts to meet required standards. The performance of students truly reflects the level of their learning. The purpose of standards is to set some measurable targets in order to see whether students are acquiring the right amount of knowledge successfully or teaching strategy should be changed. According to my personal experience regarding the purpose of standards, they help students meet the targets in a professional manner. For example, they have always helped me get good grades because I always prepare myself according to the standards of learning which help ultimately me get high grades. 6. Curriculum Alignment Curriculum alignment means aligning the curriculum with the standards that need to be set in order to make students improve their learning processes. Publishers of curriculum put material in curriculum in accordance to those standards. In education, the role of curriculum alignment is very important because it helps administration reach their particular goals regarding students’ learning achievements. For example, when publishers put key questions at the end of each chapter, students’ level of learning improves and their concepts become clearer when they recall the answers of those questions from the course material. The objective of curriculum alignment is to improve the learning ability of students in such a way that they become able to reach the standards set the administration of their respective institutes. My personal experience regarding curriculum alignment is that it helps in remembering key concepts. For example, when I answer the questions given at the end of each chapter, my learning ability improves a lot. 7. National Education Technology Standards The National Education Technology Standards refer to the use of technology to improve teaching and learning processes for teachers and students respectively. The purpose of such standards is to create an interactive learning environment where students become able to make use of technology to understand and learn course material. In education, the role of technology is increasing with every passing day because of the benefits it reaps for both teachers and students. As computer science and information technology is progressing, new ways of teaching and learning are emerging which include computers, projectors, microphones, internet, and other digital equipments. With such level of progress, it has become a need of today to integrate the use of technology in both teaching and learning. In my personal experience, I have noted that the use of technology makes learning more interesting and enjoyable. Students take more interest in learning when their teachers make use of technology to teach them. Chapter 5: 1. Behavioral Perspective Behavioral perspective refers to doing something which has some link with the behavior of a person. This perspective deals with the actions and behaviors of a person with regard to some incident or any particular matter. If we talk about behavioral perspective with respect to its relationship with purpose and content of curriculum, we can say that in education the content of curriculum holds a key place in determining the behaviors of students. The better the content of the curriculum will be, improved will be the behaviors of students. The reason is that people learn what they study at schools and colleges. For example, a person wanting to learn soccer needs to some practice to refine his/her skills. Similarly, teachers wanting to bring some desired change in behavior of students need to teach them that behavior using related course content. In my personal experience, I have noted that what we study or read makes an impact on our mind and consequently on our behaviors. 2. Constructive Perspective Constructive perspective is a reaction to behavioral perspective (Posner 113). This perspective relies on the knowledge students already have with them when they start studying something new about related to that knowledge. Constructive perspective plays a valuable role in educational settings as teachers usually build on their teachings on the base of the knowledge that students already have. For example, every student already knows that everything dropped from some height drops on earth. Now, teachers build on this knowledge of students when they give example of a gas balloon, which goes up instead of coming down. Designers of curriculum include such elements in the curriculum, which build on the concepts that students already have mastered. In my personal experience, I have noted that teachers usually focus more on a step further when telling students such things about which students already have some knowledge. For example, when telling about cars, they do not tell us what a car is; rather they focus on the technology that drives the car. 3. Objectives as Hegemonic Devices Objectives refer to the goals for which people make efforts. As hegemonic devices, we mean that objectives can be used as a reason to accomplish something. For example, objectives can be given primary importance in educational settings because they are the foundations on which content of a curriculum is developed. Therefore, they can be used as a need or predominant influence to design a curriculum. Objectives play a dynamic role in educational settings. Curriculum developers include such contents or materials in the curriculum that can increase the knowledge of students according to the need of time. With objectives, they have the authority to include or exclude anything from the curriculum. Therefore, they use objectives as hegemonic devices to design the curriculum. From my personal experience, I can just say that educational institutes keep their focus on their primary objectives, such as, quality education and behavioral development of students, and to accomplish those objectives, they design their curriculum and teaching standards. Chapter 6: 1. Curriculum Organization Curriculum organization does not have a single particular meaning. From educational perspective, this term refers to development of curriculum. Curriculum organization plays a vital role in educational settings because curriculum is the foundation on which the course and teachings are built. The better the curriculum will be, improved will be the knowledge of students and more will they be able to succeed in educational and professional settings. Curriculum is a standard or guide that also helps teachers in development of lectures. For students, it creates awareness of what they are going to learn in any particular class. From my personal experience, I would say that curriculum organization is one of the key tasks of administration of any educational institute. Administration always needs to keep the curriculum up to date in order provide standard education to students. I have learned that proper curriculum organization directly influences the focus and learning level of students. 2. Macro Level of Organization Macro level of organization is the level at which a curriculum is developed for an educational institute. At this level, authorities recommend and include the elements that are considered necessary to be taught to the students. The macro level of organization deals with deciding what type of curriculum would best suit any particular type of school. For example, at macro level for public schools, administration works on the relationship between primary and secondary levels of education, whereas for technical institutes, the administration finds out the relationship between specialization courses and general education to develop the curriculum accordingly. From my personal experience, I can say that macro level of organization deals with issues from broader aspects considering the external environment and its influence of internal settings. Administration of any educational institute considers the broader environment to decide the type of curriculum for students. 3. Micro Level of Organization Unlike macro level of organization, micro level deals with the curriculum more closely. Micro level organization of curriculum helps analysts and administration of educational institutes know whether they have included everything in the curriculum according to the needs of students and standard education or there is some part in the curriculum that needs to be changed. The analysts look at the curriculum closely in order to ensure that every bit included is up to the standards. The analysts closely watch the intellectual skills and knowledge level of students to determine whether the designed curriculum matches their skills or not. For example, if students find it difficult to understand a symbol in mathematics, the developers of the curriculum change that symbol for students in order to help them understand all concepts associated with that symbol. From my personal experience, I have noted that curriculum usually changes after one complete year because they have to find out through students’ results what went wrong with the curriculum with respect to students’ level of learning. 4. Horizontal Organization Horizontal organization refers to the situation when aspects of a curriculum are taught in a concurrent manner. For example, when some parts of the curriculum are taught side by side, it is called horizontal organization of curriculum. We can take example of different events that lead to World War II. Now, using horizontal organization of curriculum, teachers will be supposed to teach those events in different countries side by side instead of putting light on one event first and then on the event that occurred after the first one. This approach seems good in situations where the aim is to create a bigger picture of events instead of focusing on minor issues that led to any particular event. In my personal experience, I have noted horizontal organization of curriculum at my school where my social studies teachers used to teach us in a way that a broader picture would appear in our minds regarding any big event. 5. Vertical Organization On the other hand, vertical organization of curriculum refers to sequential organization instead of bringing all related elements side by side. Using vertical approach, curriculum developers focus on sequencing of contents that need to be included in the curriculum. It is a good approach because it provides students with a deeper understanding of each event. For example, using vertical organization of curriculum, teachers teaching the history of the United States to students would adopt chronological approach. However, the best idea is to combine the horizontal and vertical organization of curriculum in order to provide complete understanding of events to students. For example, it would be difficult for teachers to teach the causes of World War II to students without making them aware of the events that led to the war. From my personal experience as a student, I would say that teachers usually make use of both horizontal and vertical organization of curriculum. 6. Organizational Principles According to Posner, organizational principles reflect the reasons for curriculum development using any particular approach (136). This definition suggests that a curriculum is always developed by keeping in view some standard organizational principles. A curriculum developed without following organizational principles is just like a company in which no one knows who is boss and who is subordinate. Therefore, it is extremely important to follow organizational guidelines to develop a curriculum. Organizational principles play a vital role in educational settings from the perspective of curriculum development. The principles not only guide the curriculum developers regarding what should they include in the curriculum and what approach should they use to make it but also helps them in keeping organizational principles and curricular functions tied together. From my personal experience and knowledge, I would say that organizational principles play the role of a base for successful curriculum development. 7. Role of Technology in Curriculum Organization Technology always plays a vital role in every field of life and curriculum development is no exception. It is the 21st century and the field of information technology and computer science is progressing at a rapid speed making it essential for every organization and individual to use technology in carrying out business processes and personal life matters respectively. Technology also plays a key role in curriculum organization by assisting concerned authorities in research and development matters. Curriculum developers also make use of management information system and other software applications to keep record of data related to curriculum. These uses have made technology one of the main pillars of effective curriculum development. It has become a need of today to include such contents in curriculum that are aimed towards building students’ skills regarding the use of different technologies. From my personal experience, I would say that our lives revolve around the use of different technologies and we cannot even think of living a single day without using some type of technology. 8. Social and Political Implications Social and political implications refer to the effects a curriculum can make on political environment and society of a country. Of course, everything a student goes through in his/her student life has some effect on his/her future. Now, when a student will get an awareness of sociology and politics during his/her student life, he/she will definitely show some sings of social and political awareness at the very start of his/her professional life. Traditionally, politics is a part of studies but is just limited to the study of history. Even this has a huge impact on political awareness of students. However, teaching politics to students as a main subject at school level will definitely open more chances for students to join politics in future. As far as social implications are concerned, a well-balanced and behavior oriented curriculum can have a positive impact on the behaviors of people. My experience regarding social and political implications of curriculum says that student life is the most critical life of a person. Whatever a person learns from here has some impact on all fields of life in future. 9. Tracking Tracking is the process of putting students in certain ranks in accordance with their results in exams. For example, students with higher grades are placed in accelerated classed, whereas the ones with lower school performances are placed in environments where they can learn required skills to go to higher ranks. In educational settings, this practice is useful because it helps school administration keep track of students who are able to perform well in competitions and class tests. Schools can prepare such students to get top positions on regional level which in turn helps schools in promoting their image as the best schools in the whole region. On the other hand, schools work hard with low ranked students to make them get good grades in future. From my personal experience, I would say that tracking is a good way to focus on students at individual level. My school placed me in higher ranks in my class based on my performances in tests and exams. Chapter 7: 1. Epistemology Epistemology refers to the way a person acquires knowledge and becomes able to differentiate between what is true and what is wrong (Cline). If we talk about the role of epistemology from educational perspective, we can say that this term has direct association with curriculum because it deals with knowledge that can be transferred to students through curriculum. For example, students learn different concept related to sociological, philosophical, and behavioral perspectives and become able to present their viewpoints based on reasoning. The knowledge also makes them able to differentiate between right and wrong. My personal experience about epistemology is that this concept is not told separately to students because it is involved in every bit of knowledge a student acquires. However, some curriculum developers allocate a separate place to this concept under the courses of sociology or philosophy in order to provide a better understanding to students regarding this concept. 2. Epistemological Assumptions For Top-Down Approach The top-down approach in epistemological assumptions is based on the reports that come from higher level. Moreover, the instructions in top-down approach start from the higher level and end up on pieces of information. For Bottom-Up Approach Using this approach, learning that starts from pieces of information and ends up in creating a bigger picture is more reliable. Using this approach, instructors first create awareness about a bigger issue using small pieces of information and then come to the overall view of the issue being discussed. For Project Approach Using this approach, teachers teach students about any particular topic as a whole or as a project. Instructors use different phases to make issue clear to the students. 3. Top-Down/Hypothetical-Deduction approach Principles and Structures Using this approach, researchers start from top to down .i.e. they start by making some general statements and stating hypotheses and then work towards reaching the conclusion. In educational settings, instructors using this approach present a general idea to students and then become more and more specific. Under this approach, it is assumed that every entity has some key characteristics. 4. Bottom-Up/Inductive Approach Principles and Structures Using this approach, researchers start from bottom to up direction .i.e. they start by making some specific observations to come towards broader generalizations. In educational settings, instructors using this approach present some examples or observations to students and then move towards the general idea behind those examples. Under this approach, it cannot be said that every general principle would be correct. 5. Prerequisites Prerequisites refer to those courses that students must pass in order to take next related courses. For example, if a course ‘mgt 201’ has a prerequisite named ‘mgt101’, then students must pass ‘mgt 101’ in order to be able to take ‘mgt 201’ in the next semester. Without passing the prerequisite courses, students cannot take next required courses. In educational settings, prerequisites hold great importance because they are meant towards establishing a base for students to take higher-level courses. Curriculum developers put special focus on developing the list of prerequisite courses because the knowledge base that students acquire from these courses is used to build on more knowledge through higher-level related courses. From my personal experience, I would say that students should pay extreme attention towards passing the prerequisites because they cannot take some of the courses in next semesters if they are not able to pass any particular prerequisite. 6. Project Approach Principles and Structures Using this approach, instructors teach concepts to students as a whole or in the form of a project. In educational settings, instructors using this approach teach students in such a way that they present a problem to students, put in front of students some key solutions, communicate the good and bad points regarding each solution, and then come up with the final solution. Nothing can be told to students in one instance using this approach; rather a process should be followed. Works Cited Cline, Austin. “What is Epistemology? Philosophy of Truth, Knowledge, Belief.” About.com, n.d. Web. 22 Sep. 2013. Posner, George. Analyzing the Curriculum. 3rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Read More