Education: Posner Terms - Report Example

Your full full October 21, Education: Posner Terms Chapter 8 Tasks of Teaching Teaching tasks refer to the tasks of a teacher related to his/her professional job responsibilities. For example, maintaining discipline in the classroom, teaching students what is there in the curriculum, improving students’ behaviors, and working n students’ cognitive and decision-making skills to improve the are some of the main tasks of teaching. If we talk about the role of teaching tasks in education, we can say they play a positive role by making students adhere to the principles of learning while learning interactively and behaving positively in the society. My personal experience of studying or observing teaching tasks in curriculum has had a very dynamic influence on my overall personality. For example, they helped me know the role of a teacher in building behaviors of students. 2. Frame Factors (functioning as both resources for and constraints on the curriculum) Curriculum development is not only a technical process but also a social process. The reason is that the contents of a curriculum make a significant impact on the minds of children and make them behave accordingly in the society. Some of the main factors that function as both resources and constraints for the curriculum include multiculturalism, personal backgrounds, and cultural values. My personal experience regarding impact of frame factors on curriculum is not very clear, as I have not participated in the curriculum development process yet. However, I think a middle way is always there when deciding whether a factor would work more as a resource or as a constraint. 3. Proximal Frames Availability of time and costs associated with the development of a curriculum are two of the main proximal factors as mentioned by Posner. Availability of time is the key element which teachers and administration always keep in mind while changing the contents of the curriculum in such a way that students become adapted to the new contents and design. My personal experience regarding proximal factors is that these factors do not seem to be overshadowing the aspect of frame factors but they do have a significant impact on the curriculum change process. I have learned that curriculum developers should always consider these factors in order to design an effective curriculum for students. 4. Multicultural Education and Curriculum Multicultural education means provision of such education to students that includes a study of all main cultures and religions of the world. For example, Canada and America are multicultural societies where people from different parts of the world have come for personal and professional reasons. Now, there is a need to provide basic cultural education to the children of all immigrant groups so that they can remain attached to the norms of their own cultures and societies. The role of multicultural education in curriculum and educational settings is very influential because it deals with strengthening and maintaining the relationship between students and their cultures. My personal experience is that multicultural education helps all students in knowing basic elements of different cultures of the world that helps them adapt to those cultures easily when they go to some other country for any reason. Chapter 9: 1. Research, Development, and Diffusion (RD & D) as related to Curriculum Change Perspective Research and development are two of the primary elements of education that not only help curriculum developers in designing an effective and up-to-date curriculum for students but also help students in gaining educational success. RD & D from curriculum change perspective holds a very important place in both government and private sectors of education as it deals with changing the curriculum in accordance with changes in the outside social, political, cultural, and economic environment. If we talk about RD & D in educational settings, we can say that research is the main foundation on which curriculum is developed and later on diffusion occurs. The better the research for the contents of a curriculum will be, improved will be the impact on students’ knowledge. In my personal experience, I have noted that what students study or read has a direct impact on their mind and consequently on behaviors. 2. Robert Glaser/Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) Perspective Individually Prescribed Instruction (IPI) is an individualized instructional approach for children and is a redesign of many existing curriculum developments. IPI helps teachers in monitoring the performance of students individually. Using IPI, students can also check their own performances in any particular subject. In educational settings, IPI does a wonderful job in ensuring a systematic approach to learning. The main objectives of IPI include permitting learning at individualized rates of learning, ensuring involvement of students in self-directed activities, and providing instructional materials in accordance with the needs of each individual (Yetter 491). In my personal experience, I have noted that teachers usually focus on teaching all students at the same rate instead of teaching them based on individual needs. 3. Collaborative Approaches as related to Curriculum Change Collaborative approach to curriculum change refers to mutual efforts towards bringing required changes to the curriculum. Some of the main benefits of collaborative approaches to curriculum change include sharing of work streams, wider knowledge and experience, mutual support and development of relationships, and development of mutually accepted curriculum. In educational settings, collaboration always plays a key role in resolving any issue. Bringing changes to the curriculum is also one of such issues that require mutual support and experience. Curriculum change needs to be in line with social, political, and economic changes. From my personal experience, I would say that collaboration always work best both in resolving issues and in creating an interactive learning environment where teachers and students work together to improve the processes of teaching and learning. Chapter 10 and 11: 1. Purposes of Evaluation Evaluation serves some very important purposes, such as, skill level of students, learning level of students, areas in which students lack knowledge, and areas in which students need more attention. From educational perspective, purposes of evaluation refer to identification of the ways to assess the progress of students based on the need to evaluate it. From my personal experience, I would say that performance evaluation is one of the key tasks of teachers of any educational institute as it helps in assessing the learning behaviors and knowledge acquisition ability of students. Teachers need to assess the performance of students through exams and tests in order to know their progress and modify the teaching approach if needed. 2. Standardized Tests Standardized tests refer to such tests in which same questions in same format are given to all students to judge their learning skills and knowledge. They are a fair method of measuring students’ level of achievement. In educational settings, standardized tests are considered a fair approach towards assessing students’ performances in class tests and exams. From my personal experience, I can say that students show more interest and passion in giving exams where same test is given to all of them because in this way they can know their individual rankings. I personally suggest all educational institutes to apply this method in exams because it increases the level of competition among students because of which they show more interest in learning. 3. Formative Evaluation Formative assessment refers to the collection of feedbacks which can be used to assess teaching and learning efficacy of teachers and students respectively. Some of the main examples of formative assessment include asking students to provide a paper’s outline and making students fill teacher evaluation form. From my personal experience, I would say that formative assessment really helps both teachers and learners in improving their teaching and learning skills. I have noted that formative assessment for students continue throughout the year, whereas it occurs seldom for teachers. Teachers should carry out formative assessment to evaluate their teaching style at least once a year to know whether they have adopted a right teaching style or not. 4. Summative Evaluation Summative evaluation is very different from formative evaluation. In summative evaluation, the teachers set a benchmark with which they compare the performances of students during tests and exams. This evaluation helps teachers in knowing whether their students are learning properly or not. They can know the areas in which their students need to put more efforts. In educational settings, the role of summative evaluation is critical because it helps in knowing whether the level of students’ knowledge acquisition and demonstration is up to the standards or not. In my personal experience, I have noted that institutes mostly use summative assessment to know the level of students’ learning. From teachers’ perspective, this type of evaluation is more useful as they can know whether they need to improve their teaching style or their students are meeting the standards set for them using current teaching style. Works Cited Yetter, Clyde. “Do Schools Need IPI? Yes!.” Ascd.org, Mar. 1972. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. Read More