Students, by seeing that a concept can unite so many different aspects of an idea are better able to draw connections between what is learned in the classroom and subjects that are common to their daily lives.
For example, take the broad curricular concept of 'travel.' The most obvious application of this concept is in a literature class, where students can learn about travel from stories about other lands, or about people traveling over the course of a story. But students can also apply the concept to math class, as they learn to budget for a trip, and calculate the speeds of various modes of transportation. They can learn about the science of how trains and planes are propelled, as well as research the weather conditions and geography of a possible destination. They can learn about the different people, cultures, religions, and wildlife of a land, and even create art projects, listen to music, and cook food reflective of a region.
The final destination of the class is to learn required academic concepts like how to do word problems, learn new vocabulary words, learn...
One weakness in Erickson's text is the expense and practicality of quantifying student performance and academic achievement using performance-based measurements. Wiggins (1990) states authentic assessments require students to be effective performers with acquired knowledge achieving validity and reliability by emphasizing and standardizing the appropriate criteria for scoring such (varied) products; traditional testing standardizes objective "items" and, hence, the (one) right answer for each. The State of California implemented the California
We must move from knowledge that lives in books to knowledge that lives in students. 3. Identify at least two areas of weakness in the Erickson text. Provide a rationale for selecting each area of weakness identified. It is difficult for me to identify any weaknesses in the Erickson text. Her arguments and opinions are all supported by research. Neither her analysis nor presentation was lacking. Upon reflection - perhaps her
In the most recent study, conducted by Philliber Research Associates for the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving 188 children enrolled in 14 childcare centers were evaluated and findings report significant gains for children in the 'Creative Curriculum' classroom. These children "made statistically significant gains in the cognitive/language profile, motor profile, and self-help profile over what would be expected of children of the same age during the same amount of
If an instructor is tied down to a time consuming curriculum, they are not allowed much room for thought and passion behind their subject leaving students unenthusiastic and dull (Erickson, 2008). Also according to the same book, whose author conducted and compiled several studies, concept-based curricula are more effective than topic-based curricula because they call for students to synthesize, generalize, and analyze facts to gain a deeper understanding (Erickson,
Cal.org). One negative impact of ELL laws on curriculum development is presented in Education Week (Zehr, 2009). In schools with a small number of ELLs, "…first generation immigrant students do better academically if they aren't placed in an ESL class" (Zehr, p. 1). This may be true because ELLs aren't invited to access to mainstream "…core academic curriculum"; also, their counterparts that are in mainstream classes with no ESL available "do
7. What policies should be taken into account for the curriculum design? Institutional policies concerning the disciplines being offered should be taken into account (Keating). Case Study #2: Philmore College 1. What parameters must the curriculum committee consider when designing the courses? The design parameters that should be considered by the curriculum committee should include "all components (title, purpose, and description; outcomes, teaching-learning strategies, content, classes; opportunities for students to demonstrate learning and faculty evaluation of
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