Learning Journal, Curriculum - Essay Example

Learning Journal What is Curriculum? Curriculum can be defined in several different ways, which makes its actual definition a bitconfusing. The broad definition of curriculum may be defined as the courses that are offered at school. Curriculum is also considered as the prescribed set of courses that the students have to clear in order to pass the current level of education and move to the next. For example, the curriculum of the elementary school is the sum of its lessons and teachings that are designed for improving the testing score and make students learn the basic knowledge. On the other hand curriculum at high school is referred to as courses required by the students to receive their diploma. Curriculum can be used for both individual courses as well as for the whole overall course being offered. Students present at high school and college level do have a certain degree of choice for pursing the education they like. They have an individual curriculum that guides them in specializing in a specific field or attaining a certain degree. At times in high school a course is segregated into different courses that would then help the children in gaining certain degrees or diplomas. Curriculum in some schools is specially designed for students who are willing to work in fields like trading etc. after they are finished with their schooling. When students are following a specific course for studying, then the school usually offers them the certifications in courses like construction or secretarial skills (What is Curriculum?, 2013). Curriculum consists of four main components when defined broadly. These components are Goals, Methods, Materials and Assessment. Goals are considered to be the benchmark of expectations for the purpose of teaching and learning. They are often designed specifically to form a sequence or some skills that are needed to be addressed Methods can be defined as special instructions that are often described in the edition of the teacher Material includes the tools and media that are used for the purpose of learning and teaching Assessment is considered to be the reasons or methods used for measuring the progress of the students Curriculum can often be specifically used for defining objectives, goals or plans. It is something that is distinctive from the perspective of material, methods and assessment. All the discussed components are quite essential for the learning of the individual, although each of these components may include some hidden barriers that may undermine the efforts of the student in becoming a master learner. While designing curriculum each of the discussed components must be considered as an important piece. These guidelines of designing curriculum can be applied while designing the general education curriculum. Keeping in mind the essential components the curriculum must be designed in a way that it should meet the needs of most of the students, even the ones with any sort of disability. A curriculum usually comprises of content, method, design of expectation and outcome which helps in achieving specific educational goals (Curriculum, 2013). What is Curriculum for? Curriculum can simply be defined as a set of degree requirements. Sometimes the degree requirements are not sufficient for defining the educational goals. In some cases the students successfully fulfill the degree requirement but they fail to achieve the educational goals. It is also necessary that a student may get good education but may not be able to fulfill the requirements of the degree. The main purpose of curriculum can be summed up in four capabilities. These capabilities are enabling each person to be a successful learner, a responsible citizen, effective contributor and a confident individual (Aims, values and purposes, 2013). Successful learners have the motivation and enthusiasm for learning, they have the determination of reaching a high level of achievement and they are always open to new and innovative ideas and thinking. They are able to effectively use communication, literacy and numeracy skills. They continuously take the help of technology for learning. Successful learners think creatively and independently and they may effectively learn alone or in group. They usually do reasoned evaluation and they may apply their knowledge and learning to new situations (The Purpose of the Curriculum, 2013). Responsible citizens not only respect themselves but they also respect others. They have high commitment of participating in economic, political, cultural and social life. They develop effective understanding and knowledge of the world. They may easily learn about different cultures and beliefs and they usually make informed decisions and choices. They do thorough evaluation of the scientific, technological and environmental issues and they usually develop an ethical and informed view regarding the complex social issues. As an effective contributor the individuals that successfully achieve the goals of the curriculum are more self-reliable, possess an enterprising attitude and are quite resilient to the changes. They are able to effectively communicate in different ways and settings and they are willing to work in term and in partnerships alike. They usually take the initiative, lead people and try to apply their critical thinking in every new concept. They usually create and develop new ideas to solve problems (The purpose of the curriculum, 2013). The confident individuals usually develop a sense of physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. They develop a sense of self-respect towards themselves and their values and believes are usually secured. The confident individuals have the tendency of managing their lives with ease and they believe in pursuing an active and healthy lifestyle and therefore they may effectively communicate their beliefs and view to the whole world. They are also able to live as independently as they are able to assess the risk in different situations and then take informed decisions accordingly (Professional Development for Curriculum Support, 2013). The main aim of a curriculum is to ensure that the individuals may develop certain skills, knowledge and attributes, which they may need to flourish in their lives and learn new matter in present as well as in future. These capabilities and attributes can be used as a guide by the establishment for finding out whether or not the curriculum designed for a specific course sufficiently reflects its objectives or not (The purpose of the curriculum, 2013). What should children learn? The purpose of education should be pragmatic. Education is all about building the ability of the learner to do useful things. The learners must learn things that would help them in doing things that they want to do. Before figuring out that what is essential for the students, one must first make the list of things that the students must learn how to do. Only then we can effectively conclude that which knowledge is useful for an individual in each case (Curriculum, 2013). Depending on the goals and situation of the individual there are many important things that are worth learning. In order to design an effective curriculum and to get the detailed prescription regarding the requirement of knowledge, it is better to understand that the requirements and needs of every child are different and therefore the things they want to learn are different too. A curriculum design must therefore be individualized. The curriculum must be designed keeping in mind what situation an individual is in or might be in future and what essential knowledge or skills he may require in that particular situation (Guide to Curriculum Development: Purposes, Practices, Procedures, 2012). For many people the idea to mandate the same knowledge for every individual seems to be appealing. It is important to build the list of facts that are essential for everyone to know. Then certain standards must be set that can be easily measured in order to measure the performance of the individuals. However this approach does contain certain drawbacks if we observe it through the perspective of the teacher and student. The knowledge that is considered to be mandatory for the students usually drives the educational system towards standardized tests and fixed curriculum. This eventually destroys the flexibility of the teacher and the choice of the student and then diminishes their initiative and trust (Wiggins and McTighe, 2007). Multicultural curriculum is again a new dimension of curriculum which is quite essential for the changing multi-cultural environment. The purpose of designing multicultural curriculum is to meet the needs of the individuals belonging to diverse cultural background and to prepare them for the citizenship in a democratic society. The need of multicultural curriculum is increasing day by day as it is essential for the students belonging to multicultural environment and diverse workplace to know how to react in a multicultural setting. Multicultural curriculum usually exposes the stereotypes, biases and policies that may restrict an individual from achieving a certain goal in life. Such curriculum makes sure that the content being used is accurate, fair and inclusive. For the purpose of guiding the students the role of the staff and the faculty turns into the advocates of creating multicultural awareness. In schools there are number of courses that are designed by the authorities and they do think that for being successful in their life the children need to qualify these courses. Courses merely consist of the scripts of knowledge that is necessary for students to acquire. But still it is a matter of fact that students gain knowledge through experience and therefore it will be more effective if the curriculum consists of some practical activities as well (Wellington, 2006). How can the curriculum support learning and development? Developing a curriculum is usually based on developing an assessment plan which includes goals, data collection methods, timeline and several ethical considerations. It also takes into account the development of a strategic vision for education including the mission and purpose of education and its learning outcome. Developing a curriculum also allows the facilitation of its assessment processes such as curriculum mapping, students and focus group and employer and alumni survey. The development of curriculum also takes into account the faculty retreats. An effective curriculum allows consultation that helps in monitoring the learning outcome of students and discusses their progress (Curriculum Development and Support, 2013). Curriculum supports the learning and development of children in several ways. One of the common ways through which it supports the learning and development are by reviewing their learning plans that they have made for the future. It help in gaining access to its learning activities that would later on help in the achievement of current and future goals, it helps the students to plan for opportunity that would support them in gaining personal achievements and it makes an individual prepare for choices and changes while supporting them through these (Support, 2013). Curriculum develops children in a way as it allows them to frequently discuss their learning outcome with adults, such as their mentor, who has the detailed knowledge about their curriculum who then helps them in setting up new goals for their future. Students or individuals are the center of the curriculum planning and they are considered to be the active participants in the process of training and development. In order to ensure that the curriculum is providing support to all children and young people it is also important to make sure that it provides support for removing barriers that may restrict the access of the individuals towards curriculum depending on their long and short term requirements (Davis and Krajcik, 2005). Some children do need additional support while learning and therefore while designing a curriculum their needs must be kept in mind. The curriculum is designed in a way that it must help the students to fulfill their needs and achieve the highest level that they are capable of. Curriculum helps in the development of a person within a particular level rather than forcing them to move to the next level of cognitive development. A student at a particular level of education may take the responsibility of achieving the objectives of the course, but the goals of the curriculum cannot be met unless or until the school takes the responsibility of planning the curriculum. For the effective development and support of a student the mentors or instructors must also share their own personal experiences and outcomes with the students (Cushman, 2013). REFERNCES Aims, values and purposes (2013), [Online], Available: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/b00199676/aims-values-and-purposes [26 January 2014]. Curriculum (2013), [Online], Available: http://udlguidelines.wordpress.com/introduction/what-is-meant-by-the-term-curriculum/ [26 January 2014]. Curriculum (2013), [Online], Available: http://education.byu.edu/diversity/curriculum.html [26 January 2014]. Curriculum Development and Support (2013), [Online], Available: http://www.coles.uoguelph.ca/TSS/educational_development/curriculum_development.aspx [26 January 2014]. Cushman, K. (2013) Developing Curriculum in Essential Schools, [Online], Available: http://www.essentialschools.org/resources/82 [26 January 2014]. Davis, E.A. and Krajcik, J.S. (2005) Designing Educative Curriculum Materials to Promote Teacher Learning, Educational Researcher, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 3-14. Guide to Curriculum Development: Purposes, Practices, Procedures (2012), [Online], Available: http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2618&q=321162 [26 January 2014]. Professional Development for Curriculum Support (2013), [Online], Available: http://www.open.ac.uk/iet/main/academic-professional-development/professional-development-curriculum-support [26 January 2014]. Support (2013), [Online], Available: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/thecurriculum/whatcanlearnersexpect/support.asp [26 January 2014]. The purpose of the curriculum (2013), [Online], Available: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/thecurriculum/whatiscurriculumforexcellence/thepurposeofthecurriculum/ [26 January 2014]. The purpose of the curriculum (2013), [Online], Available: http://www.eastlothian.gov.uk/info/878/schools/224/the_purpose_of_the_curriculum [26 January 2014]. The Purpose of the Curriculum (2013), [Online], Available: http://www.college.upenn.edu/curriculum-purpose [26 January 2014]. Wellington, J. (2006) Secondary Education: The Key Concepts, Taylor & Francis. What is Curriculum? (2013), [Online], Available: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-curriculum.htm [26 January 2014]. Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (2007) Schooling by Design. Read More