Foundations of Education

1. Philosophies

1.1. Essentialism

1.1.1. promote the intellectual growth of the individual, essentials skills and subjects

1.2. Perrenialism

1.2.1. to cultivate intellect, classical subjects and literary analysis

1.3. Reconstructionism

1.3.1. improve and reconstruct society, emphasis on social sciences, global issues relating to economic, political and social problems

1.4. Progressivism

1.4.1. promote democratic social living, based on student interests, human problems and interdiscilpinary

2. "Without philosophy, educators are directionless in the whats and hows of organizing and implementing what we are trying to achieve" (Ornstein, 1991, pg. 102)

3. Conceptions of Curriculum

3.1. Behavioural Approach

3.1.1. Focuses on shaping intellectual processes and cognitive skills

3.2. Self-Actualization / Humanistic

3.2.1. Learner-centered; provides a means to personal development and freedom. Encourages self-directed learning and is driven by student interests

3.3. Social Reconstruction

3.3.1. Emphasizes societal needs over individual needs; looks for ways to improve society and integrates real-world issues into curriculum for students to address

3.4. Academic Rationalism

3.4.1. Provides an understanding of “classics” and “great works;” seeks to pass along human tradition and culture. Not looking to enhance society or lead to a larger global understanding (McNeil, 2009, p.71)

3.5. Managerial Approach

3.5.1. Focuses simply on supervising and administrating curriculum; concerned less about content itself and more about how to organize and implement it

3.6. Systems Approach

3.6.1. Prescribes a school’s organizational hierarchy and how the curriculum relates to the entire system; curriculum needs to reflect organization’s/participants’ needs

3.7. Personal Success

3.7.1. Looks to “enhance the job-placement prospects” of students (Vallance, 1986, p.27); ties together academic rationalism and self-actualization; tries to create a “personal commitment to learning” (p.28)

3.8. Personal Commitment

3.8.1. Seeks teachers who “are passionate about their own disciplines...for whom scholarship is a continually exciting and rewarding adventure” (Vallance, 1986, p.28)

4. Planning - "The Planned Curriculum"

4.1. Teacher directed

4.2. Learner directed

4.2.1. Tension between curriculum and student voice (EdCanNetwork)

4.2.2. Work backwards, can only plan so much ahead of time because students need to have a voice and will take lesson in the direction they are interested in (EdCanNetwork)

4.2.3. Inquiry based approach

4.2.3.1. Students decide on question they will investigate relating to the topic

4.3. Societal Issue directed

4.3.1. Teacher must have good grasp of current social justice issues relating to society, economics, politics or their community.

4.3.1.1. Can have lack of resources or biased information

4.4. Indigenizing Curriculum

4.4.1. Addition of Restorative Justice and Traditional Ways of knowing

4.4.1.1. “Different ‘ways of knowing’ means that we approach learning and knowledge in different ways and use different methods to learn.” (Castellon, 2017)

4.4.2. Incorporation of circles gives students the opportunity to communicate in a safe space and share how they are feeling

4.4.2.1. Implemented in Elementary school at Collingwood School with great success. We are planning on implementing it in the high school next year

5. Instruction - "The Experienced Curriculum"

5.1. Learner directed

5.1.1. Problem Based Learning

5.1.1.1. Students learn through solving an open ended question. Usually collaborative in nature

5.1.2. Project Based Learning

5.1.2.1. Students work on a project over an extended period of time that engages them in solving a real-world problem or answering a complex question. They demonstrate their knowledge and skills by developing a public product or presentation for a real audience.

5.2. Teacher directed

5.2.1. Lecture format

5.3. Experiential Learning

5.3.1. Learning through reflecting on doing

5.3.2. Place based learning

5.4. "Teachers and school administrators express a strong desire to know 'what works' and what will 'make a difference' in their efforts to improve student learning outcomes. They are attracted by accounts of schooling that detail techniques for enhanding school and teacher effects." (Hayes, 2003, p. 226)

5.4.1. Belief that there is a cookie cutter or perfect approach and we just haven't found it yet

5.4.2. No Child Left Behind Legislation in the US

5.5. "Enjoying learning sometimes involves struggling with difficult concepts, practicing new skills, persevering with problem solving negotiating and compromising." (Hayes, 2003, p. 240)

5.5.1. Sometimes as a teacher, I worry about making lessons fun so that students are engaged and interested. It is just as important for students to struggle, build resilience and understand the feeling of success after hard work.

6. Correlation design

7. Curriculum Design

7.1. Building Blocks

7.1.1. Objectives

7.1.2. Learning Experiences

7.1.3. Content

7.1.4. Evaluation

7.2. Foundations

7.2.1. Science as a Source

7.2.1.1. problem solving and learning how to learn prioritized, teaching of thinking strategies

7.2.2. Society as a Source

7.2.2.1. school is an agent of society and draws ideas from the analysis of the social situation

7.2.3. Moral Doctrine as a Source

7.2.3.1. guided by lasting truths from the great thinkers or the past or religious texts

7.2.4. Knowledge as a Source

7.2.4.1. Teaching valuable knowledge develops the minds of learners, eg. Plato, disciplined (physics) vs. undisciplined knowledge (environmental science)

7.2.5. Learner as a Source

7.2.5.1. knowledge of students: how they learn, form attitudes, generate interest and develop values. construct and change neural pathways rather than attaining knowledge

7.3. Organization

7.3.1. Horizontal

7.3.1.1. blending of different elements of curriculum ie. blending of science and math

7.3.2. Vertical

7.3.2.1. sequencing of elements ie. increasing detail or complexity as students move up in grades

7.4. Designs

7.4.1. Subject-Centered

7.4.1.1. Subject Design

7.4.1.2. Discipline Design

7.4.1.3. Broad-fields design

7.4.1.4. Process Design

7.4.2. Subject Matter Designs

7.4.2.1. Single Subject Designs

7.4.2.2. Correlated Subject Design

7.4.2.3. Correlated Subjects

7.4.2.4. Broad Fields

7.4.2.5. Interdisciplinary Integrated Studies

7.4.2.6. Thematic Instruction

7.4.3. Learner-Centered

7.4.3.1. Child-centered design

7.4.3.2. Experience - centered design

7.4.3.3. Humanistic design

7.4.4. Learner Based Designs

7.4.4.1. Organic Curriculum

7.4.4.2. Developmental Curriculum

7.4.5. Project-Centered

7.4.5.1. Life Situations design

7.4.5.2. Reconstructionist design

7.4.6. Society - Culture - Based Designs

7.4.6.1. Social Function and Activities Design

7.4.6.1.1. life situations

7.4.6.1.2. problems of community life

7.4.7. Other Designs

7.4.7.1. School to work curriculum

7.4.7.2. Core Curriculum

7.4.7.3. Technology as Curriculum

7.4.8. Considerations

7.4.8.1. improvement of society

7.4.8.2. Scope

7.4.8.2.1. breadth of the curriculum at a given time/grade level

7.4.8.3. Sequence

7.4.8.3.1. vertical organization - recurrence, repetition, and depth of the content that students encounter year after year

7.4.8.4. Continuity

7.4.8.4.1. seeing an idea more than once throughout a curriculum

7.4.8.5. Integration

7.4.8.5.1. bringing concepts, skills, values in a curriculum together to reinforce each other

7.4.8.6. Articulation

7.4.8.6.1. the relationship among aspects of a curriculum and those that have preceded them

7.4.8.7. Balance

7.4.8.7.1. giving appropriate weight to each aspect of the design

7.5. Shadows within Curriculum

7.5.1. Operational

7.5.1.1. what actually gets taught, selected aspects of the curriculum

7.5.2. Hidden

7.5.2.1. instructional strategies or questions that influence student and teacher interactions

7.5.3. Null

7.5.3.1. aspects, skills or content that are omitted

8. Assessment - "The Learned Curriculum"

8.1. Standardized Testing

8.2. Rubrics

8.2.1. Co-created

8.2.1.1. Can be difficult to create at first without experience

8.2.2. Analytic

8.2.2.1. Used for tasks where multiple responses are acceptable

8.2.2.2. More time-consuming to create and mark

8.2.2.3. Breaks an assignment into component elements, then combines marks in each area to determine a holistic grade

8.2.2.4. Offers more feedback, including formative

8.2.3. Holistic

8.2.3.1. Usually only used on summative assignments

8.2.3.2. Provides limited feedback

8.2.3.3. Easy & quick to mark

8.3. Conversational evidence

8.3.1. When students talk about their learning it is easy to decipher just how well they understand what they are talking about (EdCanNetwork)

8.4. Teacher Reflection

8.5. Student Reflection

8.6. Reporting

8.6.1. Grades in every subject

8.6.2. Student Reflection

8.6.3. Comment on skills and application of what students have learned

8.6.4. Parents have continual conversations and come in to see student work

8.6.4.1. Student-Led Conferences

8.7. Backward mapping

8.7.1. Assessment is thought of first and influences what is planned and taught

8.7.2. What do we want students to be able to know, value, understand and do?

8.7.2.1. What outcomes have individual students attained? What outcomes am I responsible for teaching? How will these outcomes be achieved?

8.7.3. Provide feedback on student process, not just the final product

8.7.3.1. Example: Students hand in a rough draft of a lab report or essay and then implement the feedback for their good copy

8.8. High Quality Classroom Assessment

8.8.1. Select appropriate methods

8.8.2. Clear and appropriate learning targets

8.8.3. Validity

8.8.4. Reliability

8.8.5. Alignment

8.8.6. Practicality and Efficiency

8.8.7. Positive Consequences

8.8.8. Fairness

8.8.8.1. Transparency

8.8.8.2. Avoid student stereotyping & bias

8.8.8.3. Accommodate for ELLs

8.9. "A key determinant of quality is how the information influences students. Thus, the focus is on the use and consequences of the results and what the assessments get students to do, rather than on a detailed inspection of the test itself" (McMillan, 2014, p. 58)

8.10. Formative Assessment

8.10.1. Specifically intended to generate feedback for improving student learning