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Write a 2 page report that includes the following:

1. Define "curriculum design" in the first paragraph.
2. What issues must you consider when determining what design you will utilize?
3. How can this be done?
4. Who will be involved?
5. What is the role of the teachers, principal, district people, etc...?
6. What is the role of state mandated accountability?
7. How do you think curriculum design will be different 10 years from now?

Use APA format with any references used including the text. Use this text: Curriculum: Foundations, Principles, and Issues 3rd Edition Ornstein & Hunkins, Allyn and Bacon, 1998

Word paper describing how a selected learning theory impacts curriculum design. Use at least three references that may include journal articles, trade/text books, and electronic sources. Material within five years.

Include the following in the body of the paper: a discussion of the learning theory (Humanistic- A. Combs and D. Snygg) a description of how it impacts curriculum design and your thoughts on the use of the theory in the 21st century schools.

Discussion: Curriculum Design & Learning Outcomes


As this week's video program demonstrated, members of curriculum committees perform a wide range of activities. Among these are identifying any gaps in a program's curriculum, assessing its strengths, and determining what steps might be made to improve the curriculum. Their overall goal is to help prepare learners??"whether nursing students, nurses, or patients??"to attain the competencies they need.



This week you are asked to draw on personal experience in assessing how well an academic or staff development curriculum prepared you, as a learner, for the competencies that were expected of you in the workplace.



With a particular academic or staff development curriculum, in mind:



Post your assessment of the effectiveness of the curriculum design, addressing the following:





Describe the curriculum design or model. Were courses structured in a particular sequence, for instance? Was the content blocked? Or was it integrated throughout the courses? How effective were these choices, and why do you think so?


What were the main learning outcomes for your program? (You may infer what these were if you cannot locate them.) How well do you think you attained competency by the end of the program?


After completing the program, were there any competencies expected of you in your job that you lacked or needed improvement in?


Provide examples that validate your assessment of the curriculum.



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Planning for Effective Instruction Paper
9 pages, typed, double-spaced, APA format

Rationale:
You are preparing to be a Master Teacher in your school or school system. People will turn to you with an expectation that you understand the challenges students, teachers, parents, etc. are facing with curriculum and teaching. You need to be able to help them address these concerns. You need to have a theory, or a theoretical perspective, from which to operate as you develop your own classroom practices, and especially as you advocate classroom practices, or school-wide practices, for others. And most importantly, you will need to explain this theoretical position, and the practices you recommend, in ways that all of these stakeholders will understand.

Directions:
In this paper, you will propose a theory of effective instructional design as it has evolved for you. Explore the implications of this theory for classroom practices.

You will lay out your theory of Curriculum Design by:

1) discussing what you see to be the central issues in the field of curriculum today.

2) bringing in authorities (a minimum of four professional resources) to support your argument.

3) illustrating how curricular decisions impact the world (not necessarily just the classroom) as you see it.

Theory of Effective Instructional Design: CONSTRUCTIVISM

Supplied Resources for this paper:

A. Using Social Impact Games (SIGS) to Support Constructivist Learning: Creating a Foundation for Effective Use in the Secondary Social Studies Education

B. Making Meaning of Constructivism: A Longitudinal Study of Beginning History Teachers Beliefs and Practices

C. Karl Popper and Jean Piaget: A Rationale for Constructivism


D. Empowering Students as Active Participants in Curriculum Design and Implementation

E. Curriculum Theory and Practice Whats Your Style?











4.) Once you have laid out your theory, you will describe what it looks like (or should look like) in the classroom. In other words, you will explain actual classroom practices that can be implemented to support or engage your theory.

Begin with your discussion of the needs assessment and issues identified through your practicum work. Then present your support (both theoretical and analytical) for your curricular solutions.

Classroom Management
Resource Supplied: A Review Of Literature On Teacher Efficacy And Classroom Management

Formative Assessments
Resource Supplied: From Formal Embedded Assessments to Reflective Lessons: The Development of Formative Assessment Studies

Differentiation
Resource Supplied: Making It Happen: Using Differentiated Instruction, Retrofit Framework, and Universal Design for Learning

Cooperative Learning:
Resource Supplied: Enhancing Instruction through Constructivism, Cooperative Learning, and Cloud Computing

This paper must be written utilizing the descriptions found in the Stage 1 and Stage 2 papers that will be included. Please read these papers first in order to familiarize you with the class. Then write the paper based on the class characteristics obtained from the Stage 1 and 2 papers. Explain how CONSTRUCTIVISM would benefit this class as a learning theory and the ways that differentiation, formative assessment; cooperative learning would help to increase the rooms functional ability. Please utilize the aforementioned resources that I will be attaching for this paper. Also make sure that this is written in 12 fonts and is in APA in text citations and a reference page.

I have also included the grading rubric on the Directions attachment
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In an essay, address the following questions:
1. What historical or political occurrences do you think have most influenced current curriculum design?
In your opinion, what events, legislation, etc. in the last 10 years have most dramatically changed curriculum in the schools? Justify your choices.
2. What impact has ELL laws and SIOP had on curriculum development? Address both negative and positive impacts; provide examples (i.e., the benefits of SIOP for non-ELL teachers).
3. How has the gifted education movement impacted the evolution of curriculum development? Address both negative and positive impacts; provide examples (i.e., creation and application of related learning models and theories).


I will be sending 3 resources I need in the paper any way you can. You can use and choose any other resources you need on own. Thank you
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Write a response to each of these questions. The response should be about one paragraph in length. References do not have to be given as the responses should be in your own words. The answers to these summitive questions will be covered in your readings. I would suggest that you answer them as they are covered each week and not put it off until the last week.

1. How would you characterize the general field of curriculum?
2. Why is it necessary to understand the history of curriculum?
3. What approach to curriculum do most educators adopt? Why?
4. define curriculum?
5. Why do most theorists define curriculum in terms of generic principles or processes, not specific subject matter?
6. How do the foundations of education influence curriculum? Are some foundations more important than others?
7. What is the difference between curriculum development and design?
8. How do you define the role of the local school people (principal & teachers) in curriculum design and development?
9. How can we distinguish educational aims from educational goals (give examples)?
10.How will the internet affect curriculum design & development?

NO REFERENCES NEEDED

Answer the following questions based on Curriculum in the State of Florida and Miami Dade County Schools.

1. What role do administrators and staff developers play in the curriculum design or revision process?



2. What are the expectations related to who uses the curriculum that is developed and how the curriculum is used?

3. How are teachers supported in the internalization and use of national or state standards?


4. How are the design and implementation of curriculum and assessment processes that meet quality standards supported in your school or school district?

5. What processes exist to ensure that students learn national or state standards?

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In this assignment you are to:
1. relate technology, the internet, and computers to curriculum and how it will affect curriculum design and development over the next decade.

2. If you were the curriculum specialist (supervisor) of a school district, how/what would you do to move your district's curriculum to incorporate technology and ensure that your students would be competitive in a global economy that is technology driven/information driven.

Paper has to be a review or research on issues and trends in curriculum design relating to HEALTHCARE. Have to elaborate on recommendations dealing with the issues and using the trends.

a) Curriculum Planning History
i) In a short paper, address the following questions. When referencing sources to support your thesis, please use proper APA citation form.
(1) Have you ever been involved in curriculum planning? What role did you play? What could have been done differently? After reading the assigned chapters, can you see things that should have been added? Left out?
(2) What historical or political occurrences do you think have most influenced current curriculum design?
(3) What events, legislation, etc. in the last ten years have most dramatically changed curriculum in the school?
(4) Should curriculum be influenced by legislation, politics, or international events? Why or why not?

Prepare a 1750-2100 paper describing how a selected learning theory impacts curriculum design. Use at least three references that may include journal article, trade/text books, and electronic sources. Reference material, if possible, should be no older than five years. Include the following in the body of the paper; a discussion of the learning theory, a description of how it impacts curriculum design, and thoughts on the use of the theory in the 21st century school. Social Learning (A. Bandura) is supported by the Boys Town Educational Model that is presently be utilized at my school. I work at an inner-city Catholic school on the Westside of Chicago, as a fifth grade teacher. We adopted this program into our curriculum last year and has been extremely satistfied with the students' progress.

There are many things to consider when developing curriculum, some elements include who will be involved in the process and how will the curriculum be assessed in meeting its goals. For this assignment, you should either interview a district administrator in charge of facilitating curriculum development and revision, or review K?12 Aligned Mathematics Curriculum: Bellevue School District and Curriculum Alignment. Identify which model (per the course textbook, pp. 373-384) is embodied via the curriculum design/revision processes and protocols as espoused by the district administrator or in the documents.

Then write a two- to three-page paper that identifies the district, and then describe and defend the model that is implemented in the curriculum development/revision process. In your discussion, identify policies and protocols that have been adopted that illustrate that the model you identified is being followed in the district. Be sure to use details, examples and refer to the course text (as well as one outside resource in addition to the textbook) in your description and defense of that particular model as the one being implemented by the district.







Identified a district and the model it uses to design/revise curriculum. 6.0

Identified policies and protocols that have been adopted in the district that illustrate the
implementation of the identified model. 6.0


Rules of grammar, usage, punctuation are followed and spelling correct 0.5

Research Criteria


Cites at least two references [in addition to the textbook] both in-text and on the reference page. 1.0


Style Criteria


Paper is two to three pages in length excluding the title and reference pages. Paper is properly formatted in APA style with proper citations. 0.5

Why do you want to attend a physical therapy program with a strong problem based curriculum design? Give examples from your life of how you have demonstrated the independent thinking, problem solving abilities, group interaction skills, and self discipline necessary to succeed in a problem based curriculum.

Reflective Essay- personal teaching philosophy statements
At the start of week one till the week 8 you are asked to reflect on your learning journey through this unit and develop a reflective personal teaching philosophy statement that embraces your understanding of best practice. What you don't do is just summarise what you've put in your journal- this is not reflective practice. But a new piece of writing, which reflects upon your learning journey and uses relevant references to support your argument. Also reflect- on what is important -not just what you have learned, but how it has changed your values, attitudes and perhaps made you think about your future practice.
By the time you get to week eight, you will be able to actually see what you have learned- you will have a comprehensive record of your reading and your ideas. How have your ideas changed and crystallised over eight weeks? Unless you think and reflect, you will not be able to write the reflective essay.
Reflection is the way of thinking that all good teachers live with everyday. It means- "well, I thought this, and did this- how could I do it better next time?" So- you should ask yourself the same thing about curriculum. This is central to the teaching process- how can I take this requirement and achieve what is mandated, taking into account the students I have at this particular time, the ethos of the school, the leadership team, the parents, my own capabilities and interests. You might find this quite hard to do if you don't know very much about what drives curriculum construction and philosophy.

HERES HOW I STARTED IT, YOU CAN CHANGE IT IF YOU LIKE.
When starting the personal journal i found it hard, but after starting the journals entries for the past 8 weeks I have learned a lot, and I found myself better understanding of the curriculum than I did before starting the unit. I couldn?t even say curriculum or spell it properly. However after researching more on curriculum and doing the weekly reading and participating on online discussion with other students helped me a lot and gave me a better understanding of curriculum. Therefore I was able to achieve the weekly questions and tasks.

Marking criteria please follow it.
Academic Engagement Evidence of self-reflective examination of learning issues-Consistently employs reflective learning strategies
Synthesis Evidence of synthesis of multiple concepts and sources of information-Explanations are thorough, innovative and are supported with research of the theories of learning.
Classroom ConnectionEvidence of connections between theory and practice- Consistently makes valid and insightful connections between personal experience, theories and classroom environments
Academic PresentationEvidence of ability in academic writing -Consistently applies appropriate standards of presentation in referencing and literacy (including spelling, grammar and sentence structure)

Here are my personal journals for each week that I did.

Week 1

Part A
What is curriculum?
What Curriculum means to me is a syllabus which needs to be taught and followed in order to complete a course.Syllabus and curriculum are not the same Curriculum is the learning which is planned by a teacher and taught to students weather it?s carried out for group of students or individually. Curriculum means subjects that are included in a course. Teachers use curriculum to direct their classrooms. Curriculum could also be everything that students or other learners gain within school or home which will help them in their everyday lives. However I believe that at most of schools, curriculum is looked at simply the recognized educational standards that are taught. These standards provide a sign of where the students/ others should be within a clearly defined range of learning. I believe that teachers should plan and focus on every Childs need, therefore focusing on the learning needs of every individual child and designing curriculum to meet the students/ children needs is very important as this will help the students to gain more knowledge. However I think it is the teacher?s duty to help the students to reach their goals and should teach them ways to become better learners and problem solvers so that they choose to take paths to learning of their individual foundation.
Part B
After doing my readings, online tasks and researching about what curriculum means? Curriculum is the most important document early childhood educators need to understand and apply and should be developed with discussion from all stakeholders. These stakeholders are families, government, communities and the students. (Brady & Kennedy, 2010). However why however? you are not adding anything to the previous sentence.as (Brady & Kennedy, 2010, p.5) stated that students curriculum is an interrelated set of plans and experiences that a student undertakes under the guidance of school. The term curriculum refers to everything that happens throughout the day. As Linderberg, L., & Swedlow, R. (1976). Stated that curriculum refers to all the provision professionals make for the whole of the Childs experience in the service. ???meaning?Therefore curriculum includes the educators understanding guiding their decision making and the provision of resources; the organisation of space, time and resources planned and spontaneous; and teaching strategies and interactions. Brady and Kerry (2010) states how the curriculum should be about the future. ?and to understand better role of the curriculum in the 21st century, the purpose should be to ensure that students/ children are well equipped to handle whatever it is that this century will call them to do and be? (Brady & Kerry, 2010, p.5). However teacher?s roles are to prepare and educate children by simply implementing the curriculum guidelines by the school. As (Brady & Kerry, 2010) highlighted that most importantly educators interpret those guidelines and add an educational aspect that forms from day to day curriculum experiences for students.

Reference:
Brady, L. & Kennedy, K. (2010). Curriculum Construction (4th Edition).Frenchs Forest NSW: Pearson Australia.
Linderberg, L., & Swedlow, R. (1976). Early Childhood Education: A Guide for Observation and Participation. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Week 2 & 3
In this modern and contemporary world, an individual is exceedingly blessed, who have had the fortune of attaining education, and utilizing his acquired knowledge, for the betterment of his living. In order to attain a blissful and a prosperous life, it is highly imperative that a person has been geared up to face and confront the ever increasing competition in the world, having the most advanced and inclusive education.
Beliefs about Early Childhood Education
A child?s mind is extremely na?ve and vulnerable. Researches have proven that not only an immature mind is exceedingly receptive, but also very impressive; therefore, what ever it hears or receives is imbedded very firmly, in both the conscious, as well as the unconscious level. Bearing in mind the previously mentioned notion, a cognitive mind is coerced to believe that education in the early ages of the child plays a pivotal role in constructing his ideals, morals, mentality and innovative approach.
Curriculum
The educational institutes in almost every region do not inculcate the knowledge based on their own choice or fluke. There is a set pattern of academic course, which an institute decides to follow, primarily authorized by a governing body or board. A curriculum, primarily, is an incorporated and structured course based on the theoretical studies, for the children.
Australian Curriculum
Australian curriculum is amongst the most compatible and well devised curriculum for children?s education in the developed countries. Like other curriculums, even the Australian curriculum pays utmost heed to the sound development and the exquisite knowledge attainment by the children. Australian curriculum is devised in a way that it is properly prepared for imparting the basic knowledge, required comprehensions, desirable capabilities and skill, which are essential for Australian children. The curriculum denotes the ownership or right of learning of a student as the corner stone of, future learning, proper cognitive growth, a healthy future lifestyle, and sound membership of Australian community (Hincks, 2010).
Historic Development of Australian Curriculum
Numerous researchers and scholars believe that, shortly after independence, the administration and establishment of Australia had started giving utmost attention to the domain of education, for a well equipped and efficient future generation. At the outset, the Australian education board resorted to the foreign guideline for the formulation of the curriculum for their nation. However, Gradually the Australian administration started to gain a grip on their own comprehensions, and started to devise their own curriculum, timelines and current, as well as future approaches regarding those curriculums (Atweh & Singh, 2011).
Stages
The sound and traditional development of Australian curriculum primarily comprises on four key stages. The first stage, which is the Curriculum Shaping Stage, revolves around the formulation an initial and rather rough or test draft of the proposed curriculum, in which highly expert advices are also sought, of the respective figures, which possess the adequate knowledge and experience.
In the second stage, which is the Curriculum Writing Stage, the proposed Australian curriculum is given the proper shape. Along with the assistance of a selective team of the writers, confirmed and acknowledged by the expert advisory panel and the respect staff of the curriculum. The third stage revolves around the astute and effective implementation of the drafted and approved curriculum. It is rendered to the respective school authorities via online mediums, and the respective authorities along with the teachers, endeavor to implement this at schools effectively. In the fourth and final stage, designated processes are employed which are pivotal for monitoring and sound evaluation of the implemented Australian curriculum (O'Meara, 2005).
Argument For and Against a National Australian Curriculum
On a personal level, as well as according to numerous observers, Australian curriculum is a highly compatible and competent course structure which the students receive, for preparing and gearing them up for the future competitive world. The best thing about the curriculum besides being peculiar about each and every aspect of the current knowledge in every domain (subject) is the astute and comprehensive process of its development. The proper formulation of a new curriculum after every predetermined period, along with teams of experts in every domain, enables the respective management and administration to devise the most comprehensible and compatible curriculum, as par the education level of other developed countries.
However, one minor drawback or shortcoming, which numerous observers have pointed, is regarding the involvement of the instructors or the teachers in the development of the curriculum. The reason why the involvement of the teachers is deemed to be equally essential is because eventually the teachers are responsible for inculcating the proposed knowledge into children, in a predetermined manner. Teachers must be made part of every stage, to keep them aware of what is coming their way to deliver it to the students. Moreover, if the teachers are part of the development of the curriculum, they will be able to acknowledge if they are in a position to deliver the proposed knowledge to the children or not. Furthermore, making teachers a part of development can prove to be fruitful, with respect to the vital suggestion flowing in from their part (Weksler, 2004).
A person depicts what he learns; therefore, it is highly imperative that the education, which the children receive in the educational institutes, is compatible, comprehensible and up to date. For this purpose, the management clearly and astute sorts out that what is to be taught and how effectively can it be implemented.
References
Atweh, B., & Singh, P. (2011). The Australian curriculum: Continuing the national conversation. Australian Journal Of Education, 55(3), p. 189-196
Aubusson, P. (2011). An Australian science curriculum: Competition, advances and retreats. Australian Journal Of Education, 55(3), p. 229-244.
Hincks, P. (2010). Australian Curriculum -- an update. Ethos, 18(2), p. 6-7
O'Meara, J. (2005). POLICIES, PRACTICES AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A STUDY OF CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION IN AN AUSTRALIAN HIGH SCHOOL. Research In Education, (74), p. 99
RICNEY, L. (2011). Including Aboriginal perspectives in the Australian Curriculum: Advice to teachers. Primary & Middle Years Educator, 9(1), p. 14
Weksler, M. (2004). Teaching Contemporary Australian Studies: Stories from country students. Ethos, 12(4), p. 25-27.

Week 4

External and internal factors that might affect curriculum development
There is no doubt that the process of curriculum development is not a mood but a process based on a set of justifications may vary from one community to another and from time to time. These justifications are:
* Qualitative and quantitative development of human knowledge (the knowledge explosion) in the present era curriculum development before a big challenge.
* The rule of scientific method in the various areas of life.
* Cohesion between theoretical science and applied research and between theory and practice.
* Development of science as a result of educational research and studies is the perception of the curriculum, the school and the student.
? Lack of current approaches: this factor is linked to factors of social change, where the curriculum, which seems to put in the time it, is appropriate to continue a long period of time.
? Frequent repetition or drop out of school-related factors, and teaching methods is appropriate.
?Needs of the community the future: The studies predictive and study the development of communities and the different phenomena which may have contributed to provide educators understand the large for the needs of the community in the near future and showed those studies that the school curriculum should evolve to fit with those needs and to encourage change the direction of future developments.
Development of education: The continuing changes in the concept of education and its objectives and the roles of teachers and learners and organizations, the school curriculum requires a reconsideration of the tools and educational methods and developing them to achieve the objectives of education and what the school curricula of the most important tools, it is supposed to be a tool change is effective, and a tool achieve the desired educational goals (Lattuca & Stark, 2009).
Contemporary and Traditional Curriculum
The latest documentation from the QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) gives the following aims for the curriculum ? that it should ?enable all young people to become successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve; confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives; responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society?. These aims cannot be achieved just within lessons. It is the whole-school experience which will produce successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens. This experience includes the atmosphere and environment in school, the way behaviour is managed, relationships between staff and pupils, and opportunities for pupils to make decisions, solve problems and collaborate with each other. Curriculum modern sense is a set of experiences educational readies itself the school for pupils both inside and outside in order to help them grow comprehensive and integrated, ie, growth in all aspects of mental, cultural, religious, social, physical, psychological and artistic growth leads to modify their behaviour and ensure that their interaction successfully with their environment and their community and develop their own solutions to are faced with problems (Kridel, 2010).

References
Kridel, C. A. (2010), ?Encyclopedia of curriculum studies?, Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications.
Lattuca, L. R., & Stark, J. S. (2009), ?Shaping the college curriculum: academic plans in context (2nd ed.)?, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Week 5
.
Part A
I have worked in Montessori centre before for two weeks however during that period I realized that it was different from other centres. I Have realized that the Montessori environment provided independence and individual learning for children by making choices and decision to use the materials from variety of resources for their play, which helps the children to further develop their self-esteem and independence skills. As Montessori educators provided time for children to stay focused and engaged in the activity that they were participating in, rather than rushing them into the next activity, as this gave the children time to finish their activity and helped them to be confident.
Part B
Working there for two weeks was not enough to learn about Montessori. But now that I have done my research about it, I have more understanding of it. As research has stated that Montessori is an approach to the education of children. It is a way of looking at, and understanding children. It is a view of how children develop and learn. However the Montessori environment is a place for building a positive, attitude towards learning and developing children?s skills by providing them with variety of activities and enough time to play free and individually. Children learn through play and exploring things around them. As Montessori philosophy stated that the discovery of their environment is important as children learn through discovering, exploring and learning, they must be given the freedom to develop physically, intellectually, and spiritually. The Freedom within Limits atmosphere of a Montessori classroom provides an environment which nurtures a sense of order and self-discipline. Therefore the educator?s role is to provide the materials and environment which will assist children?s development and to be ready to take action when help is needed.

Reference:
Montessori, M. (1966). The secret of childhood. New York: Ballentine Books
Montessori Live. (2010). Montessori Philosophy. Retrieved from
http://www.montessorilive.net/index.html

Week 6

PART A
I have studied about Steiner back in college Steiner education also recognized as Waldorf education involves a humanistic approach towards learning. Rudolf Steiner conceived of education as an art that is creative, progressive, social, and individual in nature.
However from what I have learnt back on college is that Steiner educators believe that children should not be rushed into adult awareness but allowed to savour their childhood. To assist the young people to learn to know and love the world in childhood, is to begin to develop good judgement in teenage years, to liberally take responsibility for life?s journey into adulthood; as these are educators and parents duty. Steiner?s image of child highlights the fact that all children are equal and they must be given education based on their capacity to absorb the information. Steiner image of child involves assessing the physical, academic, spiritual, and emotional capabilities of child to develop a curriculum based on their need. Steiner views every child as having great potential to learn and improve his learning abilities.
PART B
Based on the exploration of Steiner model of education text and discussion with colleagues on the topic has opened new insight dimensions that require assessment of implacability. Steiner model of education works for all children based on the principles of equanimity that does not make any differentiation on the basis of ethnicity class, academic ability, and religion. The central image of the child as in need of nurture and protection and an emphasis on the physical, of movement and of doing, are interesting points of reference for comparative studies (Uhrmacher, 1995).
Many theorists have supported the Steiner model of education. For example, Steiner-Waldorf kindergartens are built on the work of Rudolf Steiner and Emil Molt (Robinson, 2008).
The discussion with colleagues on the topic has highlighted few areas that require expansion. Key questions for research in terms of mainstream education centre on what practitioners in other forms of provision can learn from Steiner pedagogy. One factor in relation to the funding of children attending Steiner kindergartens has been the place of technology in the setting. Traditionally, the Steiner early years curriculum has no place for computer technology and this has been an issue in relation to developing curriculum in the foundation stage. Some of the important ideals in Steiner Waldorf Kindergartens, such as attachment, protection and nurture, challenge mainstream thinking and current government policy (Roopnarine & Johnson, 2005). Research could ask the question as to how Steiner Settings successfully recruit and retain male practitioners whereas the mainstream continues to struggle to attract men to the profession.
References
Pope Edwards, C. (2002), Three approaches from Europe: Wardlorf, Montessorri and Reggio Emilia. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 4(1),
Robinson, I, (2008), The delusional world of Rudolf Steiner. Australian Rationalist, 78, 2-5
Roopnarine, J., & Johnson, J. (2005), Approaches to early childhood education: Chapter 16: Waldorf approach to early childhood education. 4th edition. Pearson publications.
Uhrmacher, B. (1995), Uncommon schooling: A historical look at Rudolf Steiner, anthropophy, and waldorf education. Curriculum Inquiry, 25(4), 381- 406


week 7 journal Reggio Emilia Part A
The Reggio Emilia Model, known for their creative, sophisticated aesthetic curriculum, first opened in 1963 (a development of preschool run by parents after World War II). Discovered by international scholars in the early 1990s, they have generated broad interest among early childhood educators. Described as an adventure and research undertaken by teachers and children, the operational curriculum is based on teachers' careful observation and documentation of what children say and do, highlighting children's artwork (which constituted the ?Hundred Languages? exhibit that traveled across the globe). The Reggio Emilia Approach, a constructivist approach, is related to constructivist theorists such as Piaget and Vygotsky. Piaget and Vygotsky offer theories on ways children think cognitively in a developmental manner. Piaget believes that a child is competent, when a child learns new things it just enhances their skills further. Vygotsky also believes that a child is competent, yet when they are educated it helps them in the process of the zone of proximal development. According to Piaget, children who are in the preoperational thought stage want to learn a lot. They are continuously asking questions and trying to get answers. They move from an elementary thought process to a more sophisticated way of expressing their thoughts and ideas. Reggio Emilia theorist believe that children have many different ways of expressing their knowledge of the world around them.
Part B
The centrality of the micro contexts (teachers' commitments and ownership) combined with shared visions and institutional support is a consistent finding of successful programs. Boo Yeun Lim explored various approaches to aesthetic education in early childhood settings in the United States that were used in Waldorf schools, the Bank Street School for Children, and Reggio Emilia model inspired programs. Each of these programs had a different philosophy, but all were characterized by a child-centered curriculum. Lim found that the teachers teaching the arts, specialists and classroom teachers, shared some common images of aesthetic education, viewing it as a means to help children to see the world with sensitivity and become aware of aesthetic elements in artworks. (Gandini, 2005).Teachers' views were also shaped by the respective philosophies of the individual programs (social beings in the Bank Street School, higher order thinking skills in the Reggio-inspired school, and a focus on spirituality in the Waldorf),. (Gandini, 2005). Reggio Emilia approach focuses on a child?s natural development. Base on philosophy that learning must make sense to the student in order to be effective and meaningful. It?s child-centered and child?s point of view is completely respected. Children have the opportunities to express themselves and they learn through senses play as the learning process. Children are encouraged to interact with other children and allow them to explore the world through material items and relationships. The environments are physical aiming to cultivate creativity across children.(Gandini, 2005).Another Getty Institute research project, initiated in collaboration with the College Board, and conducted by Bresler focused on the integration of music, visual art, dance, and drama into academic subjects in five high schools. The schools, located in South Texas, New Mexico, Washington, Maryland, and Boston, Massachusetts, were chosen for their strong support for the arts integration by principals and teachers and for their diverse student population. Curricular contents, assignments, and evaluation measures encouraged students' higher level thinking and creativity. The arts/aesthetic curricula changed the roles for both teachers and students. For teachers, curriculum design became an act of creation rather than just implementation. (Gandini, 2005). Teachers moved away from reliance on textbooks toward the active identification of overarching themes and broad issues. For students, their emergent ownership of the integrated work was connected with issues of identity, voice, and pride in their ideas and creation. Students' communication of their work to an interested audience of teachers and peers provided an additional aesthetic element and incentive to excel (Bresler, 2004). However educators and the children now take so much pride in their environment and are happy to learn through the interests and play of the children.
References
Bresler, L. (Ed.). (2004). Knowing bodies, moving minds: Towards embodied teaching and learning. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer.
Gandini, L., (2005). In the spirit of the studio: Learning from the atelier of Reggio Emilia. New York: Teachers College Press.

We will offer more for this one!!!!!

Please write a two pages journal article critique paper on a curriculum related topic, such as objectives, assessment, essential questions, understanding curriculum design....
and
I NEED
1. ATTACH JOURNAL( NEED TO KNOW JOURNAL'S WEBSITE ADDRESS)
2. SUMMARY
3. CRITIQUE ("AHA" EXPERIENCE:WHAT I KNOW FROM THIS ARTICLE...STRENGTH, AND WEAKNESS)

I NEED TO WRITE IT BY CHOWMAMA(SANDY??)!

Social Studies Thematic curriculum Design and assessment
1. Using a graphic organizer of your choice, create a basic outline of a social studies theme that could be taught over the course of a month or longer.
2. Choose a topic that would include two or three units that flow in an orderly sequence. Display the unit titles in the graphic organizer with lesson titles and topics. Full lesson plans are not required.
3. Create a rationale statement as well as a student friendly title for the entire theme.
4. Include sections on you graphic organizer for culminating activity ideas, field trips, guest speakers, and other resources, including literature.
5. Design at least two authentic assessments that address your topic: One formative and one summative.
6. While APA format is not required for this assignment, solid academic writing is expected and in-text citations and references should be presented using APA documentation guidelines.

This paper is for a Masters Class in Curriculum and Instruction and one that I was asked to redue. I need help on content but especially organization and grammar.

Question and detail from the instructor:
Describe what your ideal student would be like who has graduated from your "perfect" school. Then analyze what this description tells you about your own personal philosophy of education. Some of the questions that you might address might be: what is your conception of curriculum, what do you think is the most important source of content for education, what are the roles that teacher/students take in a classroom, other aspects of curriculum design and implementation that are implicit in your description, what or who am I basing all these beliefs on, etc. How would you formally determine if this student has succeeded in achieving all the goals for his schooling?

Personal data:
1. My personal philosophy of education matches Howard Gardner''s eight intelligences. I believe students should have the opportunity to learn who they are, what their personal intelligence is and how they learn best.
2. The text this professor gave us is Evelyn J. Sowell''s Curriculum An Integrative Introduction 2nd Edition.
3. My idea of a perfect shcool is a school that is perfectly balanced for all students, not just students who are great learners but for students who struggle to learn.
4. I would formally determine if this student has succeeded in achieving all the goals for his schooling by analyzing the authentic assessment given to each student at year end.
Please do not put headers, footers. Please use 10 font if possible and APA style of writing.
Thank You

Case Study #1: McLanahan University

McLanahan University is an accredited university of approximately 28,000 full-time and 12,000 part-time students, offering baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral programs. It is located in a multicultural city of 1,200,000 inhabitants. There are five acute care hospitals, one of which is a 375-bed magnet hospital. Other health care facilities in the city include three chronic and long-term care agencies, numerous nursing homes, eight home health care agencies, a public health unit, physicians? and nurse practitioners? offices, and walk-in clinics.

Dr. Seranous Koupouyro is the director of The McLanahan School of Nursing, which comprises 10 masters-prepared and 11 doctorally-prepared full-time nursing faculty. Faculty have been meeting for four months to redesign the BSN curriculum. Part-time faculty have been regularly invited to join the curriculum work, but their involvement has been slight. The goal is to implement the revised curriculum in 18 months for a class of 125 students.

The Total Faculty group endorsed the existing humanistic-caring, feminist philosophical approaches. Core curriculum concepts, key professional abilities, and principal teaching-learning approaches were identified and the curriculum nucleus endorsed.

The curriculum committee has developed the outcome statements, and after these were approved, they formulated the level competencies. The outcome statements address the provision of evidence-based nursing care in accordance with regulatory standards, effective communication and management, ethical and cultural competence, and advocacy to enhance social justice. The faculty are now ready to consider the curriculum design.
1.How should the curriculum committee proceed with the work yet to be done?
2.What should the curriculum committee consider next?
3.What resources would assist the committee in its curriculum design process?
4.What should be included in the curriculum design?
5.How will the curriculum nucleus influence the curriculum design?
6.How could nursing and non-nursing courses be determined?
7.What policies should be taken into account for the curriculum design?

Case Study #2: Philmore College

Situated in a small, non-industrial town, Philmore College was originally a ?hilltop? college established in 1818 as a school for boys and later, for boys and girls. The school has evolved into a 4-year, privately endowed, non-sectarian, post-secondary institution. Since the 1960?s, programs leading to baccalaureate degrees in psychosocial and physical sciences have been offered. A decision has been made to offer a 12-month accelerated BSN program in response to the nursing shortage and the demand by applicants with prior degrees. This program will be additional to the upper division BSN degree that is currently offered.

The 9 master?s-prepared and 4 PhD full-time nursing faculty have combined nursing practice and teaching experience ranging from 4?18 years. The director, Dr. Agnes Philmore, a direct descendant of the founder, joined Philmore College in 1996. All nursing faculty, including the director, engage in classroom and clinical teaching. The practice experiences for the upper division BSN students are offered in one local 200-bed community hospital, a 224-bed tertiary care hospital in a neighboring city, and a 76-bed long-term and residential care facility. Students also have community nursing experience, which is coordinated and supervised by a primary care nurse practitioner with an adjunct faculty appointment. Approximately 85 students graduate annually and have been consistently successful in the licensure examinations and in obtaining employment.

The director, faculty, several students, and a local nurse practitioner, who comprise the curriculum committee, have been meeting to design the 12-month program. The curriculum nucleus has been determined and the curriculum outcomes written. The principal teaching-learning approaches are focused on active and constructed learning. Courses for the discipline-specific, accelerated 182-month program have been identified. The committee is ready to begin course design.
1.What parameters must the curriculum committee consider when designing the courses?
2.In what way will a commitment to active learning influence course design?
3.Which components should be included in the courses?
4.What classroom and clinical experiences could be incorporated into the courses?
5.What would sample clinical and classroom courses look like for this accelerated baccalaureate-nursing program?

I request that Lavinder complete this assignment.

Write a report that includes:

1. How are the traditional aims of education being affected by the education accountability reform mandated by government and supported by the business world.
2. How is this movement affecting education's goals and objectives?
3. How is this issue affecting your local school district or setting?
4. How is this affecting the roles of principals in curriculum design & development?
5. How is this affecting the roles of teachers in curriculum design & development?
6. How is this affecting the roles of district curriculum supervisors in curriculum design & development?

Hello,

I am taking an online class focusing on the "Principles of Adult Learning". I have 2 assignments here that I will be farming out to your service, both requiring short essay responses to questions. Please read each lesson below and answer the questions at the very bottom of the lesson to the best of your ability. Be sure to site all references used in APA format. Thanks.


- Lesson Nine - Topic: Characteristics of Adult Learners

Objectives:

To be able to identify common characteristics that may be present in adult learners.

To explore one model of Learning, and to determine if the model has meaning for you as an Adult Educator.


I. Introduction and General Information

1. The following are some of the common characteristics of the adult learner. This does not mean that all adult learners exhibit all these characteristics, or any of them. It does mean that in many adult learners some of these characteristics may be present. The adult educator should be able to recognize the characteristic and be prepared to deal with it to facilitate the teaching/learning transaction:

CHARACTERISTICS OF ADULT LEARNERS

The Adult Learner may be threatened by the classroom situation.

The Adult Learner has definite goals.

The Adult Learner is limited in flexibility.

The Adult Learner expects the information to be relevant.

The adult Learner is a voluntary learner.

Adult Learners do not trust their abilities.

The Adult Learner has experience in living.

Adult Learners usually bring to class all the anxiety they need.


2. See:

http://www.pcma.org/publications/AdultsLearn/thirtythings1.htm

http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guideb k/teachtip/adults-3.htm

The Article Thirty Things We Know For Sure About Adult Learning: We Think (Zemke, Ron & Susan) first appeared in Training Magazine in 1981. It has since become somewhat of a classic, and has been updated and reprinted several times. "As far as the solid, reliable information goes, most of what the literature has to tell us today is what it told us then" (Zemke, 1995).

You should become familiar with these 30 items, however we are not going to look at all 30 things that the Zemkes' say about Adult Learners, but we will look at selected items that were included in the 30 original.

Item 1 (Motivation to Learn): Adults seek out learning experiences in order to cope with specific life-changing events--e.g. marriage, divorce, a new job, a promotion, being fired, retiring, losing a loved one, moving to a new city.

Aslanian and Brickell (1980) proposed a "triggers and transitions" theory that relates the adult's decision to return to school to developmental issues and crises faced during midlife. Transitions (the movement from one status to another) require new knowledge, skills, and/or credentials that often lead people back to college. Triggers are events that precipitate the timing of an adult's decision to return to school, most frequently career events and family changes.

Certain "triggering" events occur. When they occur, the adult may choose that time to seek out education and/or training to make a "transition". Aslanian and Brickell found that most (83%) of reasons for learning, dealt with "learning to cope with life changes". They also found that 50+% of those reasons, could be categorized in areas dealing with occupation.

(Motivation to Learn): Adults who are motivated to seek out a learning experience do so primarily because they have a use for the knowledge or skill being sought. Learning is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

(Curriculum Design): Adults need to be able to integrate new ideas with what they already know if they are going to keep, and use, the new information.


The Role of Prior Knowledge in Learning

Current research on learning has offered more and more evidence for the extent to which new learning is determined by what the learner already knows about the topic or related topics. The effect can be either positive or negative: positive if the pre-existing knowledge is correct and consistent with the new information or negative if it is full of misconceptions or conflicts with the new information.

Prior knowledge affects how the learner perceives new information.

Example: What is the first image that you associate with the word "cardinal"

(Some of you said football, baseball, birds; others may have said, Roman Catholic priests, or the color red)

Your interpretation of this word was dependent on what you brought to the situation.

Fortunately, in most learning tasks, words occur in a context to assist in interpretation.

Instructors, many times, will use terms and concepts of which students have no prior knowledge to provide the appropriate context.

Prior knowledge affects how a student organizes new information

Remember that a goal of learning is to incorporate new information into the existing organization of memory.

Eg. A student in a history class is going to organize new historical information chronologically because that is the way history has been organized in earlier classes.

Prior knowledge affects how easily students make connections for new information

One of the keys to learning and memory is the richness of the connections a bit of information has. The more connections the easier it is to remember.

When a student has nothing to hook new information to, he or she is thrown back on the most basic characteristics of the information such as sound, or form, or straight rote memorization.

(Curriculum Design): 9 --Programs need to be designed to accept viewpoints from people in different life stages and with different value sets. 10 -- A concept needs to be anchored or explained from more than one value set and appeal to more than one developmental life stage.


Dimensions of Learner Diversity

Here are some areas that contribute to the diversity in adult learners

a. Developmental Tasks

b. Prior Experience

c. Life Transitions

d. Learning Styles

e. Learning Goals

f. Participation in Formal Programs

g. Life Roles

h. Motivations

(In the Classroom): The Learning environment must be physically and psychologically comfortable

(In the Classroom): Learning and teaching theories function better as a resource than as a Rosetta Stone


*** II. Assignment for Lesson # 9: ***

1. Using the information on characteristics of adult learners listed above (as well as the web sites listed or ones you have found) select a list of 10 or more characteristics and rank them according to your opinion as to their relevance to you as an adult learner. (*200 words minimum)

2. How/why is the Whole-Part-Whole Learning model helpful in planning adult learning? (*150 words minimum)

















Hello,

I am taking an online class focusing on the "Principles of Adult Learning". I have roughly 11 assignments that I will be farming out to your service, all requiring short essay responses to questions. Please read the lesson below and answer the questions at the very bottom of the lesson to the best of your ability. Be sure to site all references used in APA format. Thanks.


- Lesson Ten -- Topic: Why adults do or do not participate in learning activities

Objectives:

To become familiar with situations and activities that become barriers to participation, and those that facilitate participation.

To understand the transformation from "teacher" to facilitator.


I. Why Adults do or do not participate in Learning Activities

In a study by Aslanian and Brickell, they found that 51% of the population surveyed stated that they had participated in some kind of adult learning activity in the past 12 months. The total surveyed (1,519; extrapolated to 126 million) ranged in age from 25 to 70+. You will notice that the highest participation rate is in the 25 -- 29 age group with 20% of that group participating. Also note that there is a progressive decrease in the participation rate with age.

Note: Also efer to http://adulted.about.com/library/weekly/aa031500a.htm. If you will recall this has been presented in a previous class.

B. Barriers to Participation. Cross (1981) used data from a study by the Commission on Nontraditional Study to identify three major categories of barriers to participation. These categories continue to be used by institutions as they evaluate their environment for recruiting the adult learner.

Situational: deal with factors in an individual's life circumstances at a given point in time. (eg. Lack of time and money; home and/or job responsibilities).

Institutional: practices, procedures, and policies that place limits on opportunities for potential adult learners to participate. (eg. Course scheduling, residence requirements, bureaucracy).

Dispositional: attitudes and self-perceptions about oneself as a learner. (eg. Low confidence, negative past experiences, lack of energy, fear of being "too old" to participate.


****II. Assignment for Lesson # 10. ***

1. Go to the web (Google etc) and search for Situational barriers for adults; And Institutional barriers for adults; And Dispositional barriers for adults---find out more information than listed above. Now rank them as to their importance and influence to you as adult learner??"explain your ranking. (*300 words)


2. What are the barriers to succeeding as a facilitator? (*100 words minimum)

Discuss the following in one page.

How has educational technology changed the way courses are designed and developed?

Discuss the merits of modularized instruction and the systems approach model of design using relevant examples from your own experience.

Outcome:
Examine how curriculum design and deployment will change based on the evolution of technology in the health education field.

Learning Objective:
Discuss the impact of educational technology on the systematic design and development of instruction.

Discussion: Evaluating Learning Outcomes
Your Learning Resources this week described evaluation models as well as strategies for evaluating learning outcomes. For this Discussion, you will explore the issues surrounding formative and summative evaluation, including what the purposes of evaluation are and how you can ensure that your evaluation provides valid and reliable data for the stated learning objectives.



Begin by selecting one of the course learning objectives you have developed for Application 2. (If you have not yet done so, create at least one learning objective for your lesson.) What behavior would demonstrate that a learner has met that course learning objective? Would they demonstrate a specific skill? Solve a problem? Use information in practice? Calculate cost/benefits or grades from a test? How would you wish to evaluate this learning outcome, and for what purpose? Consider how the evaluation of this element of the course can be used to help assess the strength of the curriculum design.




With these thoughts in mind:




Post your ideas on evaluating a learning outcomes, addressing the following:





What is the learning objective you intend to evaluate? What domain of learning does it represent?


What is the main purpose for the evaluation? To give summative or formative feedback to the learner? To give yourself feedback on your teaching effectiveness?


Review the many examples of evaluation strategies in Chapter 24 from Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty, such as simulation, journals, or concept/mind-mapping. Which of these strategies would you choose in order to evaluate the learning? Explain your rationale.


What steps would you take to ensure that the evaluation is as valid and reliable as possible?


Explain how the evaluation of this learning objective??"or any other aspect of the lesson you are planning in Application 2??"can provide useful data for curriculum evaluation.


There are faxes for this order.

Customer is requesting that (WhiteLaw) completes this order.

please do article review in MLA format.Summarize key points and identify what the authors ideas add to the debate about what should be included in a curriculum design.Write review as if you were telling a colleague or parent about the importance of the ideas presented as they relate to physical education. Rubics for grading as follows:
-accurate summary of articles main points
-expresses ideas logically
-complete sentences, clear language
-generally states how main oints relate to phys ed curriculum
-gets point across references ideas of others when applicable
-makes a compellin, detailed argument for how the ideas presented add to the debate about what should be included in a curriculum design

There are faxes for this order.

This is a reflective paper written as a reflective practitioner, a constructivist educator empowered to create changes in the classroom and lives of middle school students-7th gr. social studies.Discuss changes made and illustrate the growth the teacher and students made as a result of a 2 year study. Write it in 1st person and use liberal references to the following: In Praise of Education by John I Goodland,Motivating Students to Learn by Jere Brophy, The Caring Teacher's Guide to Discipline 2nd edition by Marilyn E Gootman, Learning Styles & Strategiesby Harvey F Silver / Robert Hanson, and the following Study guides used by Lee Canter/Olivet Nazarene University masters program: The High Performing Teacher,Effective Classroom Management,Motivation and Instruction,Current Issues/Technology,Learning Styles/Multiple Intelligencies, Instuctional Strategies, Curriculum Design and Assessment, Parental Involvement, Inclusion of Students wit Special Needs. Objectives: Examine, question, and reflect on the growth as a professional educator as a result of being in a masters program, provide a capstone, overview piece for the books/study guides,document growth as a professional educator and changes within a 7th grade social studies class-lives of the students, improved student learning, changes in the classroom.Original program goals-all students can learn, life long learners. AVOID:slang,colloquialism,contractions,and jargon DO NOT number the title page, no abstract DO USE APA style PUBLICATION MANUAL 5th edition

You are to write a 2-page paper. Read the article below. Please answer the discussion question after reading article. State the Question first and then continue to answer. *Do Not Use Outside Sources*

Discussion Questions
1.What specific claims about adult learners and about adult learning does this particular author make?
2.How does this particular author support her/his claims?
3.Based on your analysis and experience, how valid and applicable are the claims of adult teaching and learning made by this particular author?

Values and Beliefs: The World View Behind Curriculum

by Amy Prevedel
Most simply put, a curriculum is a guide for learning. Many adult basic education teachers and literacy tutors pick up existing texts or curriculum packets and start teaching, without knowing why they're using the curriculum or what philosophy of education it reflects. But "curriculum always represents somebody's version of what constitutes knowledge and a legitimate worldview" (Sleeter & Grant, 1991, p. 80). Everyone who chooses or creates curriculum needs to develop a personal philosophy of teaching and learning, examine the values and beliefs behind that philosophy, and design or select a curriculum that reflects those beliefs and values. In doing so, they must also recognize that they exercise a lot of power: their choices will convey to students a particular world view.
This article is designed to provide adult basic education (ABE) practitioners with an introduction to three approaches to curriculum development, as a starting point for greater awareness about curriculum choices. The first approach, "traditional," is borrowed from the K-12 school setting. The second, "learner-driven," incorporates theories specific to adult literacy education as well as recent research about teaching and learning. The third approach, "critical," sees education as a distinctly political act, and curriculum development as functioning in personally or politically empowering ways. These three approaches to curriculum development emphasize different beliefs about education, but in practice the lines between them are blurring more and more. None of them represents a fixed ideology or body of thought. Each functions more as an organizing tool. Some of the research and theory used to explain one approach may appear in more than one category depending on the purposes and contexts in which they are being used. In the same way, teachers and tutors may find that, in the classroom, they draw from all three approaches when they create curriculum. The important point is that teachers be conscious of why they are choosing to use each approach.
Three Approaches to Curriculum [table format]
The Traditional Approach
The traditional model was laid out by Ralph Tyler in 1949 in his seminal book, Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction, and is generally considered the mainstream way to conceptualize curriculum development. Many educators and adult literacy students find it familiar because of its wide use in public schools in the United States. The approach has a "subject-centered" orientation: students gain mastery of subject matter predetermined by a set of "experts." Curriculum is organized around content units and the sequence of what is taught follows the logic of the subject matter (Knowles, 1984). The organizing principles, laid out in the introduction to Tyler's book, identify the school as the holder of power in decision making about what gets taught:
1. "What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
2. How can learning experiences be selected which are likely to be useful in attaining these objectives?
3. How can learning experiences be organized for effective instruction? and
4. How can the effectiveness of learning experiences be evaluated?" (1949, p. v-vi).
In Tyler's view, curriculum is a cumulative process: over the course of the schooling years, educational experiences accumulate to exert profound changes in the learner, "in the ways water dripping upon a stone wears it away." (1949, p. 83). Knowledge and skills are not duplicated, but instead, are taught sequentially over time. One spiral approach, in which learners return to topics, in more complexity over time, can also be considered a traditional approach. Skills-based or competency-based instruction, common in adult basic education, often draws upon a traditionalist approach to curriculum, with students mastering a given set of skills or procedures in a logical instructional sequence.

Advantages
One of the advantages of the traditional approach is that students like it: they're used to it and it fits their idea of what school should be. Learning discrete skills in a step-by-step fashion lends itself to traditional testing. Test scores can be easily quantified and explained to funders as program outputs. Program administrators can use the results of traditional tests to justify their programs' achievements. Students, tutors and teachers can point to quantifiable progress, and that is certainly motivating.

Traditional curriculum also lends itself well to mass production: publishers can produce workbooks that break down reading or math into subskills and processes, which students and teachers can easily navigate. The traditional approach is efficient in a field in which resources for staff development are scant. While teachers can create their own materials using a traditionalist approach, they can also draw upon commercially or locally developed materials and methods. Volunteer tutors and adult basic education teachers without much training or time can easily teach from an existing curriculum.

The traditional approach is also accessible. Commercially produced traditional curricula and materials, via workbook or computer, are widely available to learners who are interested in studying on their own. They don't have to wait for a class to start or fit it into their schedules. Since National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) research (Reder & Strawn, 2001) finds more people with low literacy skills engaged in self study than we might have assumed, the availability of these materials is important.

Disadvantages
In the traditional approach to curriculum, someone other than the student controls what is taught and when: the state, which has mandated a curriculum framework; the program, the teacher, or the book publisher. This perpetuates a power dynamic in which the teacher has a more valued form of knowledge, and more control, than the student. The student's role is passive, and serves as an example of "banking education," in which the expert teachers deposit knowledge into the student who lacks knowledge (Freire, 1970). Whether conscious or not, this approach supports the view that low literacy skills are the burden and/or the responsibility of the individual as opposed to the result of a complex interaction involving culture, race, class, language, gender, families, communities, economies and institutions of learning.

In its most extreme, the traditional model omits the importance of learner experience, requiring a learner to accept, rather than challenge, the information being transmitted. In addition to insinuating to the adult learner that he is not capable of determining what it is he needs to learn, the cumulative element of the traditional approach can work against an adult's needs. Adults often have immediate needs and motivations for learning and may not have time to accumulate years of knowledge and skills to apply in the future. Discrete skills can be taught under the assumption that they will automatically transfer to any variety of situations outside the classroom.

The Learner-Driven Approach
In his theory of adult learning, Malcolm Knowles, often considered the father of adult education, says that adults come to education "with a life-centered, task-centered, or problem-centered orientation to learning. For the most part, adults do not learn for the sake of learning" (1984, p. 12). This view acknowledges the possible motives for learning that students bring to literacy education. A NCSALL study has shown that making progress toward self-determined learning goals is a major factor in adult learner persistence in ABE programs (Comings, Parrella, & Soricone, 2000). These two perspectives show adult learners as a dynamic force in ABE orientation to curriculum.

The term learner-driven is tricky. It suggests that the adult learner - not the subject matter - plays a central role in determining curriculum. Almost everyone I've spoken to who works in literacy says they work in a learner-centered program, where presumably everyone uses a learner-centered curriculum. However, someone's definition of learner-centered may mean that students get to pick out a skills workbook or decide where to sit in the library. I prefer the pithy and challenging definition coined by Fingeret (2000, p. 14): students are involved in "developing instructional materials that respond to students' interests and respect their culture and prior learning." This definition sees students taking an active role in developing curriculum; the curriculum is based on their reasons for learning as well as what they bring with them into a learning situation. A more recent term, "learner-driven," better describes the dynamic nature students bring to curriculum and instruction, which is why I chose it for this article.

Learner-driven approaches draw upon constructivism, a theory of learning in which "people learn when they relate new information and skills to what they already know, actively practice the new information and skills in a supportive environment, and get feedback on their performance. Learners construct their own understanding from what they are exposed to in the classroom and what they have experienced in the rest of their lives" (Cromley, 2000, p. 10). Lev Vgotsky's socio-cultural theory of cognition posits that mental functioning has its origins in social life; the very act of processing information goes beyond the direct functioning of the brain's structure (Wertsch & Kanner, 1992). Historical, social, and cultural influences play major roles in shaping the way individuals think and learn, and a learner-driven curriculum acknowledges these influences. The learner-driven approach also draws upon the work of contextual theorists, who believe that effective learning is situated within the social context of real surroundings and situations. Learning skills means applying skills, which involves practice with the real activities and materials that come out of real-life situations (Bransford et al., 2000).

To develop learner-driven curriculum, teachers need to view learners as active inquirers who use previous experiences - both mental and social - to make meaning of the world. Curriculum springs from students' purposes for learning and uses real-life materials and contexts. To identify and address students' goals and purposes for learning, teachers ask adults what they want to learn more about or be able to do better. Literacy education becomes less about attaining a discrete set of skills and more about gaining expertise in the literacy activities of everyday life. Students learn basic, mechanical, reading and writing skills in the process. As researcher Marilyn Gillespie writes about this approach in discussing the Equipped for the Future initiative from the National Institute for Literacy, "Teachers begin with tasks learners need immediately in their daily lives and then back into' the knowledge, skills and strategies required to perform those tasks. This does not mean that basic skills are not covered, but they are addressed in an iterative rather than a sequential manner" (2002, p. 4).

Advantages
A learner-driven approach to curriculum by definition gives power to the learners: they are identified as the experts in knowing what they need to know. Students see their needs clearly reflected in the classroom, which is very motivating. The learner-driven approach creates a direct link between in-class work and learners' need for literacy outside the classroom. As a result, learners can more easily transfer new skills to day-to-day use (Purcell-Gates, et al., 2001). The immediacy of this transfer of skills at home, at work, and in communities also encourages learner persistence.

The constructivist element of this approach honors the social and cultural context of the learner. Given that adult basic education learners are predominantly from marginalized groups in American society (D'Amico, in press), respecting learners' perspectives is a bold political act. Learner-driven curriculum development provides a rich picture of adult learning and moves beyond the image of ABE merely as "school for big people."

Disadvantages
A learner-driven approach often relies on the teacher's ability to create or select materials appropriate to learners' expressed needs. This requires skill on the part of the teacher, as well as time and resources: at a minimum, texts brought in from real life, a wide pool of commercially available materials from which to draw, and a reliable photocopier. Given the reality of teachers' professional preparation and working conditions (Smith, et al., 2001), lack of skill, time and resources makes creating curriculum with this approach difficult.

Teachers may also find it difficult to strike an acceptable balance among the competing needs and interests of students. Students are often initially uncomfortable with the seemingly ambiguous nature of a curriculum that is molded jointly by teacher and learners. Teachers, too, are often uncomfortable with asking students to share issues in their lives, they struggle with the balance between skills instruction and content necessary in this approach. In addition, while this approach recognizes the individual backgrounds of students, it does not explicitly address political and power issues that cause and perpetuate marginalization and low literacy skills.

Finally, adult basic education programs, pushed to produce concrete outputs such as test scores, may feel that the creation of learner-driven curriculum is a luxury that they can not afford.

The Critical Approach
Those who embrace the critical approach consider education a political act, one that should function in emancipatory ways (Pinar, 1978). The pioneer of this approach was Paolo Freire (1985), a Brazilian adult literacy educator who worked with laborers, peasants, and fishermen and was greatly influenced by his experiences with these economically marginalized social classes. He believed that "illiteracy is one of the concrete expressions of an unjust social reality" (1985, p. 10). Instead of the traditional "banking" model of adult education in which the teacher deposits politically neutral, technical knowledge into students, critical pedagogy assumes that education is a value-laden process. Learners actively create knowledge as they participate in learning by taking a "critical look" at who has power and what impact that power has on the lives of those without it, recognizing the causal and circumstantial relationships that cause social injustice. Gaining power with words translates into gaining personal power and making change in the world.

Freire's theories, and the curricula that spring from them, promote critical thinking, dialogue, and decision-making activities that support democratic ideals and move toward socially critical consciousness. In developing critical curriculum, teachers must first learn about important issues in their students' lives through conversations, journaling, discussions, and lots of listening. This research enables teachers to identify issues that relate to the experiences and concerns students identify. Reading and writing skills develop in tandem with critical thinking skills, and ultimately, literacy learning becomes a means of transforming students' lives and communities. Often, a unit of curriculum ends with meaningful action that addresses a community need.

Within Freire's activities and overarching goals, however, other theorists have located areas to further develop. For example, feminists point out that critical thery does not explicitly include gender issues, even though women often experience low literacy skills, or marginalization, in different ways and in different situations than men do. While Freire's ideas take aim at disparities in social class, theorists writing after Freire have expressed a "sharpened interest in power and language, with an emphasis on a multiplicity of perspectives that include race, class, gender, and culture." (Hemphill, 1999, p. 2). Curriculum design - and adult education in general - needs to move beyond the concept of a universal adult learner and have the flexibility to include adults' diverse identities and experiences.

In this third approach, students are central to the process of constructing and interpreting knowledge. Critical curriculum activities include journals, portfolios, and other autobiographical, literary and artistic methodologies (Slattery, 1995) that focus less on external objectives than on internal experiences. William Doll, a theorist who views curriculum as a means of gaining personal emancipation (1993), sees opportunity for two powerful actions in critical curriculum: self-organization and transformation. He writes, "Plans arise from action and are modified through actions...., this translates into course syllabi or lesson plans written in a general, loose, somewhat indeterminate manner. As the course or lesson proceeds, specificity becomes more appropriate and is worked out conjointly-among teacher, students, text" (1993, p. 171). The negotiation that takes place engages both students and teachers in decision-making; students see themselves as equal partners in solving problems in the classroom and beyond.

Advantages
The critical approach to curriculum is, by definition, political, putting power issues front and center. It does not ignore the difficulties that learners face in life but provides a way for learners together to meet them head on. By doing so, it does not create a separation between learners' lives and what they are learning, which, as in the learner-driven approach, is motivating. In addition, the call to action inherent in this approach helps learners bridge the "classroom/real world" divide. This method is rooted in the social justice movement. Teachers who believe in adult literacy as an element of social justice embrace the premises underlying this method.

Disadvantages
The critical approach to curriculum has many of same disadvantages of the learner-driven approach. It takes time. Teachers need a particular set of facilitation skills in addition to the skills needed to teach reading and writing, or English for speakers of other languages. Learners are not usually familiar with this approach, and may be uneasy with it. They may initially have trouble understanding how a class taught using this approach will help them, for example, pass the tests of General Educational Development (GED).

Since taking action is a crucial element of the curriculum, teachers need to recognize the potential that learners' actions may cause backlash from powers that are being questioned or threatened. The teacher and program need to be committed to supporting learners, rather than abandoning them if, for example, a landlord decides to evict students rather than rectify housing problems.
One Topic, Three Approaches to Curriculum
A class that uses a traditional approach to curriculum might cover the topic "housing" in a series of lessons nested within a workbook that focuses on "life skills." In a learner-driven class, a student might indicate interest in better understanding a rental agreement. The teacher might first find out what the students already know about contracts and rental agreements. Then the teacher might use the rental agreement to help learners build reading skills and develop reading strategies. In a class that uses a critical approach to curriculum, if students indicate that housing is an issue, a teacher might display pictures of types of housing, and lead a discussion about the kinds of housing with which students are familiar, the differences in housing, the underlying policies and power structures that lead to substandard housing. Reading and writing activities might center around writing letters to protest current housing policies, or discrimination in certain housing markets.

Conclusion

Many teachers are not free to choose their curriculum: the state, funder, or program has made that choice, or time and resources present so many restrictions that the choice is virtually made for them. In recognizing that curriculum design always reflects someone's values and beliefs, those who have the luxury of making decisions about curricula have the responsibility to ensure that their choices reflect their views about the goals and purposes of education. That said, it is true that the lines between the approaches have blurred considerably. Many textbook series were developed with extensive input from learners. Some pose critical questions about issues of power; others include activities that help learners bridge the classroom/real life divide. Many teachers find ways to use traditional texts in learner-driven classrooms; and learner-driven curriculum can be a means of explicitly taking action for social change. My guess is that, like most teachers, you will draw from the best of each approach, creating your own, eclectic curriculum.