Transcript Curriculum in Higher Education

Curriculum in
Higher Education
Jeffrey C. Sun
Why study curriculum?
Knowledge – what is it?
Epistemology: the study
of knowledge
• What distinguishes true
[or adequate]
knowledge from false
[or inadequate]
knowledge?
• Practically speaking,
this question translates
into issues of scientific
methodology: how can
one develop theories or
models that are better
than competing
theories?
Bill Tierney raises the questions …
• How do we define knowledge?
• How have what we defined as
knowledge changed over time?
• Whose interests have been
superceded or ignored by such
forms?
• How do we transmit knowledge?
• What is the method used to
determine what counts for
knowledge?
• Who controls the decisionmaking?
• Who participates and who does
not in curricular decisions?
Trivia …
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Q: Which of the following
home remedies has been
scientifically proven to relieve
the effects of a hangover?
Vegemite on toast
Eating menudo
Drinking a "Red Eye" (whiskey,
coffee, Tabasco sauce, a raw
egg, pepper and orange juice)
Drinking Coca-Cola
None of the above
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Q: Urban legend has it that fast
food chain KFC can no longer
use its full name, "Kentucky
Fried Chicken," because...
The trademark is owned by
another company
Its products aren't really made in
Kentucky
Its products are supposedly made
from a genetically manipulated
organism that isn't really chicken
Market testing showed that
consumers like shorter product
names
None of the above
Trivia …
Happened?: A
vengeful co-worker
made it his practice to
urinate into the office
coffee pot.
• True
• False
Scam?: Identity thieves
trick the unwary into
revealing their personal
details by telling them
they've failed to report
for jury duty and
warrants for their arrest
are being issued.
• True
• False
CURRICULAR MODELS
PHILOSOPHICAL
PURPOSES
Philosophical Grounding …
PERENNIALISM
The major proponents of
perennialism include Plato,
Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas,
Robert Hutchins, Mortimer
Adler, and Mark Van Doren.
PROGRESSIVISM
The major proponents of
progressivism include
William James, Johann
Heinrich Pestalozzi, Jean
Jacques Rousseau, and
John Dewey .
ESSENTIALISM
The major proponents of
essentialism include
Horace Mann, William
Bagley, James Koerner,
Hyman Rickover, Paul
Copperman, Theodore
Sizer, Arthur Bestor, and E.
D. Hirsch.
RECONSTRUCTIONISM
The major proponents of
reconstructionism include
George Counts and
Theodore Brameld.
Philosophical Grounding …
• Perennialism
("Universal Truth")
• Essentialism ("Back
to Basics")
• Progressivism
("Applied Learning")
• Reconstructionism
(“Social Engineering”)
• …and others
Philosophical (Levine, 1978)
• Perennialism is a
culturally conservative
educational theory
centered on the authority
of tradition and the
classics. It believes that
truth is universal and
does not depend on the
circumstances of place,
time, or person.
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Perennialism
assumption of education is
perennial or everlasting
ability to reason as
characteristic which
distinguishes human beings
from other animals
Education is concerned with
training rational faculties
People are everywhere alike
and that education should be
the same for everyone.
Philosophical (Levine, 1978)
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• Essentialism refers to
the "traditional" or "Back
to the Basics" approach
to education. Its goal is to
instill in students the
"essentials" of academic
knowledge and moral
development.
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Essentialism
holds that education should
be based upon essential or
prescribed body of
knowledge dealing with the
heritage of humankind
Subject matter tends to be
abstract or conceptual rather
than applied and practical
No one approach; just
teacher-centered, utilize
tried-and-true forms of
pedagogy and learning
Premise: learning is hard
work that is often done
unwillingly by students
Philosophical (Levine, 1978)
• Progressivism is a
movement that gained
attention in the early
1900s for its sharp
contrast to prevailing,
conservative educational
approaches.
Progressivism promotes
the idea that students
should be encouraged as
independent thinkers,
creative beings, and
expressive about their
feelings.
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Progressivism
Education is based on life
experiences;
Student interest drives
education, not predetermined
Instructor is expert/adviser
Problem-oriented as
opposed to subject based
Methods of critical thought
are life-long skills while
bodies of knowledge are
continually changing.
Philosophical (Kneller, 1971; Levine, 1978)
• Reconstructionism
accepts the progressive
design of education but
adds an additional
ingredient: an emphasis
on reconstructing
society. It
conceptualizes
education as an
institution for social
engineering.
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Reconstructionism
Society and education require
constant reconstruction
programs of study should be
interdisciplinary
education is being used to build a new
social order and educate individuals
into new citizenry behavioral roles
a rationally educated humankind can
direct the process of social and
conscious evolution toward
progressive goals and thus control
humankind’s destiny; and
educational socialization must now be
both globalist and futuristic in its
orientation
CURRICULUM DESIGN
PLANNING & DESIGN
Curricular Design
• William Bergquist’s 8
Curricular Models
• Ralph Tyler’s
Approach
• Paul Dressel’s
Curricular Taxonomy
• Clifton Conrad’s
Curriculum Planning
Steps
8 Curricular Models
1.
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Heritage Based
Thematic-Based
Competency-Based
Career-Based
Experience-Based
Student-Based
Values-Based
Futures-Based
College Type
• http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/
main500251.shtml?id=2036716n?source=
search_video
Ralph Tyler’s Approach
• What educational purposes (goals or behavioral
outcomes) should the school (curriculum) seek
to obtain?
• What educational experiences can be provided
that are likely to attain these purposes?
• How can these educational experiences be
effectively organized (into courses or sequences
of courses)?
• How can we determine whether these purposes
are being attained?
(Tyler, 1950, pp. 1-2)
Paul Dressel's Curricular Taxonomy
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Student-Centered  Disciplinary-Centered
Problems, Policies, Actions  Abstractions,
Ideas, Theories
Curricular Flexibility  Curricular Rigidity
Curricular Integration  Curricular
Compartmentalization
(Tyler, 1950, pp. 1-2)
Clifton Conrad’s Steps
(1) Choose an organizing principle
a. Academic disciplines
b. Student development
c. Social problems
d. Selected competencies
(2) Establishing curricular emphases
a. Locus of learning
b. Curriculum content
c. Design of program
d. Flexibility of program
(3) Building a curricular structure (practical
checklist of items)
Curricular Models Combined
• Heritage + Competency: Alverno,
Sterling, and Mars Hill
• Heritage + Career: Curry,
Worchester Polytechnic Institute
GENERAL EDUCATION
General Education
• “a corrective to the
overemphasis on
specialization”
(Meiklejohn, 1962)
• “universals of human
culture” (Hutchins,
1967)
• “generally involves
study in several
subject areas and
frequent aims to
provide a common
undergraduate
experience for all
students at a
particular institution”
(Levine, 1978, p. 3).
Purposes of General Education
1. To bring curricular coherence and unity to an
otherwise fragmented and overspecialized
undergraduate course of study.
2. To promote social integration by teaching a
diverse student clientele the knowledge,
values, beliefs, and traditions upon which
Western societies have developed and
prospered.
3. To provide students with a broad-based
knowledge of the "truth strategies" (i.e., ways of
knowing) in various disciplines and to assist
students in developing general intellectual skills
and habits of mind.
General Education Models
TYPICAL
APPROACHES
(1)Core Curricula
(2)Distribution
Requirements
(3)Major Dominated
Model
(4)Competency Based
(5)Free Electives
ALTERNATIVE
APPROACHES
(Newton, 2000)
(1) Great Books Model
(2) Scholarly Discipline
Model
(3) Effective Citizen
Model
Gen Ed … conclusions?
Gen Ed … conclusions
MULTIPLE INFLUENCES TO
CURRICULAR DESIGN
Academic Plan
• Purpose: general goals
that guide knowledge,
skills, and attitudes to be
learned
• Content: subject matter or
content within which
learning experiences are
embedded
• Sequence: arrangement of
subject matter intended to
lead to specific outcomes
for learners
• Learners: information
about the learners (i.e.
intended audience)
• Instructional Processes:
instructional activities for
learning
• Instructional Resources:
materials and settings to be
used
• Evaluation: strategies used
to determine if skills,
knowledge, attitudes, and
behavior change
(dispositions) as a result of
learning
• Adjustment: Changes in
plan to increase learning,
based on experience and
evaluation
Factors/Forces Affecting Curriculum
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External Forces/Factors
accrediting bodies
licensing requirements
state boards of higher education (quality
mandates and resources)
societal trends
market demands
competition with other postsecondary
providers
religious orders/hierarchy
disciplinary and other intellectual influences
and currents
technological developments
elementary and secondary education trends
expectations of graduate and professional
schools
textbooks
perceived quality standards (public
expectations, literature)
external grant money (from state and federal
governments, private
foundations for faculty research, curricular and
pedagogical innovations)
legal rulings
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Internal Forces/Factors
--faculty power blocs, subcultures
--faculty resistance to change
(curriculum, pedagogy,
evaluation/assessment)
--institutional culture (attitudes, beliefs,
sage/heritage, traditions)
--faculty teaching load
--faculty and student critical mass
--faculty teaching load
--student demands and enrollment
patterns
--institutional assessment mandates and
practices
--resources (financial, capital, human)
--co-curriculum
--curricular advisory committees
--faculty and administrative turnover
Liberal v. Professional Ed
Liberal Education
(the "liberal arts")
Focus of
Debate
Emphasis of
Education
This tradition argues that "the
pursuit of knowledge for its
own sake creates fullyrounded women and men
with sharp enough minds to
succeed at anything they
attempt." (Gallagher)
Professional Education
(the "useful arts")
This tradition argues that the
"pursuit of practical
knowledge, particularly the
scientific, sharpens minds
as effectively as the study of
Greek or Latin, and
addresses the broad needs
of the people." (Gallagher)
To prepare individuals for careers
To teach individuals how to
and to contribute to the
think clearly and to appreciate
collective good of society
the wisdom of the collective
(through the creative
past for its own merit
application of knowledge to
social, economic, technological,
and political problems)
Liberal v. Professional Ed
Liberal Education
(the "liberal arts")
Perspective
on
Knowledge
Concerns of
Each
Professional Education
(the "useful arts")
Knowledge is an end in itself; it is
valuable for its own sake (Such a
perspective leads to an emphasis on
basic research that seeks to understand
and advance knowledge for its own
sake.)
Knowledge is a means to an end; it is
worthwhile only when it is applied
(Such a perspective leads to an emphasis
on applied and policy-related research
that seeks to use knowledge to solve
problems, inform policy, or contribute in
some way in the service of others.)
Those who argue for the merits of liberal
education are concerned with the growing
fragmentation, hyperspecialization, and
vocationalism of the curriculum--problems
which they blame largely on the
predominance of professional education in
the academy. Fragmentation--in terms of
incoherent, "department-style" curricula
and the lack of a common glue to integrate
and bind together peoples of a common
national heritage--is of paramount concern
to liberal education proponents.
Those who argue for the merits of
professional education are concerned with
the growing irrelevance of the curriculum
and the "ivory tower" attitude of colleges
and universities toward their constituents
and communities. Proponents of
professional education and, more
specifically, "useful knowledge," are
especially troubled by the lack of university
responsiveness to and leadership in
improving the educational, social,
economic, and political well-being of our
communities and society.