Curriculum DevelopmentAssignment ThreeSubmit both assignments
- 1. Curriculum Development Assignment Three Submit both assignments on the same document Part One: Hidden Curriculum- Describe the hidden curriculum of your institution, either in regards to students or yourself. How is it evident? How does it affect the students? How does it affect you? The paper should be around TWO pages. Refer to the Hidden Curriculum Article. The Hidden Curriculum Article In schools, there are numerous factors that impact instruction. From poor nutrition to teacher expectations, the factors pour in. While all these factors influence instruction, the students must still learn and the educator still needs to teach students the state standards. During the last few decades the way we educate children has evolved, so the definition of curriculum has evolved as well. In the early 1900's "specialists in the field began to differentiate among various kinds of curricula: planned and unplanned (the hidden curriculum) and technical and practical learnings" (Wiles, 2002, p. 23). This hidden curriculum is what many educators are now focusing upon. Once educators understand how to teach curriculum, then they need to learn about the unplanned curriculum that can keep their students from learning in school. Hidden Curriculum is not the information that is in a textbook, but the information students learn through the world. Seaton explains that, "We know that many of the most potent messages students receive are not communicated through the explicit curriculum and it's content. Rather, the messages are part of the hidden curriculum"(2002, p.1). Students learn from watching television, surfing the Internet, listening to adults, and from the actions of society. We do not always give messages intentionally, but we express them through our emotions,
- 2. attitudes, and actions. This information sometimes hampers students from learning the curriculum that their educators are trying to teach to them. That is why it is imperative that educators learn about hidden curriculum and how they can try to combat any of the factors they can. Teacher attitude plays an integral part on how well students learn. If a teacher is excited when teaching a concept, then the students will sense it and become excited about the concept as well. Gourneau describes her study of educators' attitudes, where there were five attitudes that the best educators shared. These five attitudes were, " a genuine caring and kindness of the teacher, a willingness to share the responsibility involved in a classroom, a sincere sensitivity to the students' diversity, a motivation to provide meaningful learning experiences for all students, and an enthusiasm for stimulating the students' creativity"(2005, p. 3). Unfortunately, not all teachers possess all of these attitudes; therefore, the students are exposed to other attitudes that may be negative. Students feel more secure when their teacher has these attitudes and therefore they are able to learn comfortably. When students are provided with interesting learning experiences they have helped to create, then the information is solidly learned. Rather, if information is presented in a teacher-directed model with no student input, then the information seems drab and the students do not want to learn. When students do not want to learn, the retention on information is less. The teacher's expectations are also important in how well students will perform in school. Tauber explains, "Teachers form expectations and assign labels based on such characteristics as body build, gender, race, ethnicity, name, attractiveness, dialect, and socioeconomic level. Different expectations lead to different treatments. Teachers convey expectations using four factors: climate, feedback, input, and output"(1998, p. 1). Many teachers pick students who are their
- 3. favorites, and they treat these students differently than other students. When students raise their hands to answer questions, many teachers will unconsciously call on the boys more than they call on the girls. When a student is not called upon they sense that the teacher does not like them or care about them. This is when the child will stop trying in class, because they know that the teacher does not care about them. When a teacher does not expect a student to get straight A's, then the child will not usually, because they perceive that no matter what they do, they will never get A's. When a teacher expects all of their students to excel and lets them know, then they are more likely to excel. Students also perform based on how the educator presents the information to them, auditory, visually, or kinesthetically. Many curriculum series were designed for auditory learners. Unfortunately, many children are visual or kinesthetic learners. Teachers have their own learning styles and usually teach information how they would learn it. Unfortunately, we do not all learn the same. Felder and Silverman discuss how: · When mismatches exist between learning styles of most students in a class and the teaching style of the professor, the students may become bored and inattentive in class, do poorly on tests, get discouraged about the courses, the curriculum, and themselves, and in some cases change to other curricula or drop out of school (Felder, 2007, p.1). · When teachers do not consider their students' learning styles, then their students are not able to understand all of the information the educator presents. When a teacher teaches in a manner that is not conducive to a child's learning style, then both the teacher and child end up feeling frustrated and feeling inadequate. To rectify the situation teachers need to present information to their classes visually, auditorally, and in a hands-on manner. Educators may not always be able to see the many factors that
- 4. affect how well the students can learn information. This hidden curriculum hampers students, but pinpointing which aspects are the problem is challenging. When educators learn about the different aspects of hidden curriculum, then they can work on changing one aspect at a time. As parts of the hidden curriculum are changed, then the educators can assess which changes were the most productive. Teachers want their students to succeed and excel. Many things that educators do in the classroom affect students' learning. Many aspects of students' lives that affect how they learn. Whether it is teacher expectations or inappropriate media, it is all part of the hidden curriculum. Some aspects of hidden curriculum can be controlled, such as teacher expectations and how they teach. These aspects can be curtailed and then the aspects can be rectified. There are many aspects though that cannot be fixed in school, because the information is learned from the home and from society. These aspects can only be addressed at school in hopes that the educator can provide truth and understanding. Bibliography Felder, R.M. & Silverman. (2007). "Learning styles." North Carolina State University. Retrieved February 27, 2007 from: http://www.ncsu.edu/ Gourneau, B. (2005). Five attitudes of effective teachers." Essays in Education (vol. 13). Retrieved February 7, 2007 from http://www.usca.edu/essays/vol132005/gourneau.pdf Jerald, C. (2006). "School Culture: the Hidden curriculum." ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. Retrieved February 23, 2007 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/
- 5. St. Clair, R. (2001). "Cracking the code: Problems and possibilities of curriculum analysis in adult education. ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education. Retrieved February 23, 2007 from http://www.eric.ed.gov Seaton, A. (2002). "Reforming the hidden curriculum: The Key Abilities Model and four curricular forms', Curriculum Perspectives, vol. 22, no. 1, April, pp. 9-15.) Retrieved February 23, 2007 from http://www.andrewseaton.com.au/reform.htm Tauber, R. (1998). Good or bad, what teachers expect from students they generally get! ERIC Digest. Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education, ED426985. Retrieved February 27, 2007 from http://chiron.valdosta.edu/ Wiles, J. (2002). Curriculum development: A guide to practice (6 ed.) Boston: Pearson. Part Two: It's no surprise that schools in wealthy communities are better than those in poor communities, or that they better prepare their students for desirable jobs. It may be shocking, however, to learn how vast the differences in schools are - not so much in resources as in teaching methods and philosophies of education. Scholars in political economy and the sociology of knowledge have recently argued that public schools in complex industrial
- 6. societies like our own make available different types of educational experience and curriculum knowledge to students in different social classes. Choose a Movie from the list below. After watching the movie identify the Movie according to the four Social Classes. Write a one page summary of the movie and the reason why you identified it as a Working Class School, Middle Class School, Affluent Professional School or an Executive Elite School according to the descriptions of each Social Class listed below. Movies:Stand and Deliver, Dead Poets Society, Dangerous Minds, October Sky A. Working Class Schools The families of the students in the working class schools are at or below the national poverty level ($12,000 in 1992); most of the parents are unskilled workers. B. Middle Class Schools The middle class school is not exclusively composed of middle class families. Many of the students are from working or affluent class neighborhoods. Typical families in middle class schools earn between $13,000 and $25,000 a year, though a few earn slightly more. C. Affluent Professional Schools Most of the students who attend this school are from the upper middle class and have parents with professional skills. Here, a family income of more than double that of a middle class family is not uncommon. D. Executive Elite Schools In this school, all of the families earn at least $100,000 a year, with some reaching $500,000 or more. Many of the fathers are top executives in large companies or on Wall Street.