Curriculum Content - Week 2 (Pages 82-91)

Summary

Curriculum Content
When it comes to curriculum content, psychologists have typically focussed on the type of objective rather than on the "stuff" that teachers teach. Bloom, Hastings and Madaus (1971) changed this by showing how to examine behaviour and content dimensions of learning synonymously.

In Bloom, Hasting and Madaus's model the curriculum analyst identifies a type of objective according to a classification scheme. Then, the analyst consults a content specialist. Then these dimensions are pulled together in a behaviour/content matrix.

On pages 84-87 of our reader, there is a chart showing an example of a content/behaviour matrix. If you look at the charts you can see that the x axis represents content goals and the y axis represents desired behaviour. The numbers entered at each intersection in the matrix represent how much emphasis should be placed on each content/behaviour strand. This model shows us one way that curriculum content can be created and organized.

Content from a Pedagogical View
1) Knowledge can be organized in a variety of ways. So, curriculum really represents a deliberate conception of the subject-matter. For example, your definition of biology will distinguish your biology curriculum from someone else's curriculum in biology.

2) Content also includes the form of representation of the ideas. How you represent ideas directly impacts what content is taught and how well it is taught. So, a math teacher who sees numbers as discrete entities will have a different curriculum than one who sees numbers as a continuing natural phenemonen.

Content from a Multicultural View

Historical Approaches:
1) Assimilation- This is the earliest model. Aboriginal students were expected to adopt European traditions
2) Class model- Immigrant children were placed in vocational/agricultural tracks and affluent children were placed in academic spheres.
3) Traditional Model- This model is heavily promoted by E.D Hirsch. Hirsch believes that we should ignore diversity in the curriculum. He thinks American culture is already too fragmented as it stands. He does not believe in presenting diverse literature and advocates for children to read Shakespeare and the Constitution. He wrote in 1987.
4) Diversity Education- Many educators in the 1990s began to see the value in introducing diverse cultural traditions into their classrooms. For example, a "culture" day or a novel study on Aboriginal literature may place a role in these classes.
5) Restructuring the Cultural Curriculum- James Banks argues that "school curricula and staff must reflect the country's ethnic diversity, that minority students must be allowed to look at how they have been victimized, and that multiethnic educations are for every student" He believes in complete restructuring and integration. For example, resources, assessments and cafeteria menus would all reflect cultural diversity.
6) Social Reconstructionist View- This view is posited by Friere, Fiore, Elsasser. They explore ways to make deep-seeded changes in individuals. They want curricula to force individuals to think critically about socio-economic conditions and issues. For example, students may be asked how to attract businesses to poorer areas, or identify personally oppressive situations and "be the change"


Discussion Topics

Curriculum Content Question
1. The matrixes in our book were created by Purves (1971) They contain numerical values to identify how much emphasis should be placed on each objective. Currently, our system is moving away from placing more weight on some expectations than on others. Is this movement a good thing, or is Purves' model more effective? Should course expectations be weighted?

Pedagogical View Question
2. The Pedagogical view section of our reading explains how curriculum will differ depending on the views and concept definitions that are held by the teacher. Knowing that this is true, is it problematic for the government to expect us to teach a "common curriculum"?

Multicultural Questions
3. Which model do you feel most connected to, and why?
4. James Banks is critiqued in the reading for not being able to put theory into practice. Are his ideas achievable? What barriers exist?
5. Friere, Fiore and Elsasser present interesting suggestions for curricular projects. How could programs like these work in our schools?

Personal Commentary
After I moved beyond studying the matrices in my reading, I enjoyed the reading a great deal especially the multicultural content. I was thinking a lot about Friere, Fiore and Elsasser's ideas and connected this with the movie Freedom Writers. These students identify their oppressive environments through reflective journalling. Inspired by the movie, I began a journalling project with students at my school last year. It was so beautiful to watch students make realizations about their lives, and come up with strategies for success on their own. I think Friere, Fiore and Elsasser have identified an important growth opportunity for students. I am always thinking about ways that I can apply their philosophies further in my classroom.