Assessment of Good Curriculum - Research Paper Example

ASSESSMENT OF GOOD CURRICULUM Name: University: Tutor: Date: Introduction The information teachers impart in their learners forms the very foundation of their intellectual abilities they can build upon throughout their life in college or in the society. Whether intended, enacted, assessed, or learned, Princes Noura University needs to have a good curriculum which has been assessed carefully in terms of instructional goals and objectives so as to serve the changing needs of students and society at large. The relevant ends should emphasize vital attitudes, knowledge and skills so that learning process achieves selected objectives. By no means do I suggest that the process of assessing curriculum should be comprehensive. It is therefore paramount to state that the assessment of a good curriculum should entail methods, or its results, constituting comprehensive mechanisms by which students, society and stakeholders benefit from its outcome. The purpose of this research paper will be to critically carryout assessment of good curriculum and demonstrate a method suitable for carrying out such task among students in preparatory year within Princes Noura University. The research has been undertaken regarding the four levels at which curricula assessment may occur Porter (2002, 2004), that is intended, enacted, assessed, or learned. As an observer assessing the worth of the curriculum presented by the University, my research will attempt to find out how the curriculum was created, which curriculum was adopted, methodologies used to arrange the curriculum for students as well as reasons for the delays in distributing schedules to students. The methodologies to be used to gather data, analyze, and compile my research findings will be based on a scientific perspectives and works of the already ongoing conversations in curricula assessment as highlighted by Porter (2004) and Webb (1997). a) Assessment of the content of the intended curriculum Before giving my assessment of the intended curriculum that was finally adopted by Princes Noura University for students in preparatory year, definition of some terms are important as they are going to form basis of my analysis. My specific interest was in the performance and content expectations as they are communicated in the materials and documents created to guide instruction and assessment. In the Complementary Methods for Research in Education, definitions coined by Andrew Porter (2002) defines assessment of good intended curriculum as the systematic approach where raw facts regarding content of curricula are isolated and analyzed for the benefit of learners. In such a case, Porter adds that content of the intended curriculum will be the domain specific declarative, tactile, procedural and situative knowledge that the intended curriculum targets (p.57). Being the level at which preparatory students are supposed to know and use the content as it is being communicated by curriculum designers in the document, I assessed the intended curriculum based on the objectives, learning experiences, content and evaluation of the university. The assessment covered the objectives and students expectations. Assessing the intended curriculum the University adopted, I discovered that not only Princes Noura University but almost all colleges and Universities in Saudi Arabia have their intended curriculum set to start in first semester or what students described to me as level one which has been programmed to end in level eight. However, my target group; students in preparatory year are automatically enrolled in level 3. To my best understanding, this would be sophomore year in America. Complains raised by majority of students I interviewed regarding this part of the intended curriculum argued that Princess Noura University have curriculum which does count their credits from the preparatory year on to their major. Based on the curriculum that the university intends to use in implementation of contents, English students I met contended that the University has a rigorous set curriculum whereby students in preparatory year must take a four hour English lessons daily for the whole week. Lessons are evenly distributed and the content includes study of grammar, vocabulary, speaking, writing and listening. To fully understand other aspects necessary to assess effective intended curriculum, I gathered curriculum assessment case studies online which was handy during the period of my research. For instance, Tierney explains that most Colleges and Universities are likely to be victims of administrative flaws when trying to cope up with intended curriculum especially if it is adopted. A theoretical perspective that I realized was evident in Princess Noura University. Based on the curriculum presented and interactions I made with students, my assessment concluded that curriculum developers failed to include a well spelt out purposes of the curriculum for the preparatory year students. My conclusive remark on the intended curriculum adopted by the University concurs with what Tyler found regarding intended curriculums. He argued that educational programs design curriculums which are not translated into educational objectives. These objectives as he explained should be core when assessing whether intended curriculum is effective. To assess fundamentals of a good intended curriculum, he suggested among other aspects that the curriculum must capture in state content levels-statement what students must know and be able to carry out by specified point in time (Tyler, p.39). This was the theoretical framework I adopted while assessing intended curriculum adopted by the University. And it is through his reflections that I found ground on suggesting factors necessary for Princess Noura University to consider when using the adopted curriculum. Also considered are the suggestions made by Oliver who said that intended curriculum must consider: The needs of the student in general The needs of society The needs of the particular student The needs of the particular community The needs derived from the subject matter b) Assessment of the enacted curriculum Argument regarding the meaning of enacted curriculum continues to draw mixed reactions. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) for instance have defined enacted curriculum as the delivered content instructors do in classroom or in any other learning settings. (Dagget 2007) on the other hand simply defined it as “instructions or content analysis in classroom” (p.27). The aim of assessing enacted curriculum in the University was to measure what extent the implementation of the syllabi, course syllabus, faculty qualification, facilities, learning experience provided and instructional support available to preparatory students in the University. (Schmidt et al., 2001) argued that teachers or instructors enacting curriculum should make content decisions about how much time to spend on a particular area of study or subject, which groups of students to teach what content and to what standard should that be carried out. Working with the above guideline to assess the enacted curriculum in the university, I discovered a number of flaws within the system. Time forms very important factor for the implementation of the enacted curriculum. Porter (2002) realized that some universities initiate instructions immediately after opening their program while others spend considerable time making their students to settle down. This case is not different among preparatory students in Princess Noura University. English students I met as part of my assessment complained of late distribution of their schedules for the semester. Schedules were distributed almost thirty days after commencement of the semester. The resultant effect was to pressure them into the curriculum which had to be completed within the specified period of time. Girls are the most disadvantaged because faculty forces them to learn new language in a short period contrary to time allocation in the curriculum. Just like expressed by research conducted by Newberry and Hughes (2006) Princes Noura University instructors entrusted with implementation of the curriculum did not make content decisions about how much time to spend on a particular area of study or subject, which groups of students to teach what content and to what standard it should be carried out. This issue reflected back on the carelessness of the faculty at large. It was even frustrating to discover that their program did not create time to inaugurate students on what they will do, the content of the curriculum and general expectations from the students regarding the curriculum. To further concretize my analysis, I attended classes to view the atmosphere so as to get clear picture of what the students were going through. Classes were going on normally with teachers handling their respective lessons an indication that implementation of the curriculum was taking place to say the least. One commendable program I noticed in the process of assessing their enacted curriculum was that the preparatory college divided the enrolled students into groups and each group was assigned an advisor who was supposed to enhance student’s understanding of the curriculum outside classroom settings. Unfortunately, some students complained to me about the inefficiency created when implementing the curriculum through these groups. Some had only seen their advisers just once since the start of the semester. Another significant program initiated by the university is the introduction of mentors who also take part in the implementation of curriculum. Couple of ladies I talked to regarding this mentorship program explained that they occasionally meet with their mentors to openly speak and discuss anything relevant to the English curriculum and general life in the college. Alongside mentorship program for students, teachers too have academic coordinators they meet weekly to discuss lesson plans and any other issues arising. The other element of the curriculum I can deem rigorous concerns their laid down schedules from previous semester. Comparing it with the current students who entered their majors, some who I interviewed explained that after passing their English placement test they did before commencing preparatory school, they were again subjected to general subjects such as health education, information technology and basic calculus which are administered in Arabic language. My opinion regarding the delay in issuance of programs is that time is one dimension of content. For instance, do all professors in the University teach the same content within a given subject? For a good number of reasons, Porter dismisses such claims. In recovering such wasted time, I recommend the curriculum be structured in a manner that professors may tentatively teach what they think students need to learn or easy to teach. c) Assessed curriculum in Princes Noura University Assessment of school curriculum sums up the whole process of teaching and learning. Assessment of curriculum can be defined as a process and tools that are used to gauge the extent to which knowledge and skills listed in the curriculum or content delivered through teachers instructions have been acquired by students (Niebling, Rahn-Blakeslee, and Roach, 2008). It has come to my realization that when assessment is done analysis need to be concerned with the examination of content and performance expectations that are marked by questions, tasks, and performance tasks that have been contained in assessment materials. Since assessment stage is concerned with test items, each item need to be content analyzed by inferring the content. To better analyze assessed curriculum of Princes Noura University, I focused on four types of assessment decisions which are: Summative, Formative, Screening and Diagnostic. During the period of interactive assessment of assessed curriculum, I realized that the delay in the distribution of learning materials could be reflected in the assessment of the curriculum. Since English students are expected to pass by the end of the year, a program which has weekly quizzes, homework and periodic reviews has been initiated to help measure levels of students learning progress. I have used summative method to identify English students learning at a particular point in time with the University. My choice for this method was to make cumulative decisions about their performance over a defined period of time. To concretize this statement in light of preparatory year students within the college, few months after adoption of the curriculum, there were no any achievement tests during the start of the semester. However, much has improved and due to the amendments made to the curriculum, students have weekly test, random questions and continuous assessment tests. Assessing the content of the enacted curriculum within the institution proved to be substantially challenging task compared to assessing its content. To come up with explicit result, I used formative method to assess teachers and students. Tutors and teachers I interviewed explained to me that they were doing daily evaluation of their students which was like logs that helped them. The daily evaluation technique they were using however proved to me that it failed to show how students were making progress and therefore suggestions on how instructions method need to be adjusted was not possible. Owing to the population of the school and its policy, the main challenge to assessing the content of the assessed curriculum was to accurately infer from reading a test item and how students would approach that item. d) Assessment of the learned curriculum Analysis of the learned curriculum is concerned with measuring the content and level at which students can enact the performance expectations within the targeted context. Porter suggests that learned curriculum need to reveal beyond what test scores of content is all about. It is through leaned curriculum that I assessed unspecified lessons embedded within the classroom environment. To add unto that, Suskie (2004) explains that indirect measures of learned curriculum include success, grades attained and placement outcomes in a given program. The assessment of the learned curriculum revealed that the university issues weekly reports on students’ progressive achievements. The other aspect the university has put in place is the monitoring of daily attendance to check which students are improving and those who do not. Recommendations Curriculum assessment I have carried out reveals that more need to be done right from the policy makers to students. To begin with, there should be a stronger relationship between students and the teachers so that curriculum implementation can be effective. This can be done by introducing workshops where students and teachers can dine as they find ways of improving leaning and teaching practices. Worrying still was lack of planning in the university. There was no handbook or any academic schedule that could introduce students to the curriculum. Lacking was clear set of responsibility on staff members. No staff member is aware of what they are supposed to do them and how that is supposed to be done. It is there a recommendation that the college adopt or design a program that highlight major events of the semester or they can liaise with mentoring programs so that student get directions of they will be doing by the end of a given period. An alternative approach is to use teacher self-report surveys that can be completed daily or retrospectively over longer periods of time. When starting the research one of my primary objectives was to compare what students expected when they entered preparatory year vis-à-vis what they received at the end of the program. Unfortunately the gap was wide and I recommend that while designing curriculum, students’ activities should be a matter of priority so that they are able to develop their desired outcomes as indicated by the empirical research. Curriculum has its desired effect primarily through instruction. Therefore, the choice of course experiences and the specific quality and efficacy of these experiences in producing the stated intended outcomes for all students is fundamental to the quality of any curriculum. To be specific, current empirically based theoretical framework has been deemed essential to effective students-teacher instruction thus the improvement of curricular quality. I am against the opinion of the university using traditional lectures as it has not and there is little evidence that it will improve higher order cognitive abilities of preparatory year students. Unlike what is witnessed in the college, there need to be a valid and reliable pre-planned assessment methods so that it can help monitor students on continuing basis. This will not only help in fostering the curriculum but also develop students’ intended instructional and curricular outcome objectives. References Daggett, W. (2005). Achieving academic excellence through rigor and relevance. International Center for Leadership in Education. Retrieved April 15, 2012, from http://www.leadered.com/white_papers.html Newberry, P., & Hughes, E. (2006). Activities-, project-, problem-based learning: A modality of teaching and learning. Retrieved April 15, 2012, from http://www.pltw.org Niebling, B. C., Roach, A. T., & Rahn-Blakeslee, A. (2008). Best practices in curriculum, instruction, and assessment alignment. National Association of School Psychologists. Oliver, B. (2007). Mapping curricula: Peer-reviewed paper presented at the Evaluations and Assessment Conference, Brisbane. Available: http://www.eac2007.qut.edu.au/proceedings/proceedings_ebook.pdf Porter, A. (2002). Measuring the content of instruction: Uses in research and practice. Educational Researcher. Porter, A. (2004). Curriculum assessment. Complementary Methods for Research in Education. J. Green, G. Camilli, & P. Elmore (Eds.) Washington DC: AERA. Schmidt, W., McKnight, C., Houang, R., Wang, H.C., Wiley, D., Cogan, L., et al. (2001). Why schools matter: A cross-national comparison of curriculum and learning. San Francisco: Jossey Bass. Suskie, L. (2004). Assessing student learning: A common sense guide. Anker Publishing Company: Bolton, MA. Tierney, W. (1989). Cultural politics and the curriculum in postsecondary education. In L. R. Lattuca et al. (Eds.), College and university curriculum: Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing. Tyler, R .W. (1949) Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Webb, N. L. (1997). Criteria for alignment of expectations and assessments in mathematics and science education. University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Center for Education Research. Wiggins, G.P. and McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Read More