Cycle 1: What is Curriculum? What is its Purpose?

I found this cycle’s focus to be particularly fascinating as I readily struggle with this big idea of curriculum and what the rationale is behind it. As stated in my introductory blog, I currently work in an inner city school where the driving force of our instruction is standardized tests; scripted lessons are prepared in advanced and while teachers are told to use their individual teaching styles and to be creative, in the end, you teach to the test. To emphasize this point, this morning I had my biweekly collaborative planning session. Typically, in these sessions we use it as a means of analyzing student data to determine: students of academic or behavioral concern, indicators that students are still finding difficult and still not grasping and lastly, teaching methods we can use to improve our instruction with the underlying goal of making AYP (Annual Yearly Progress). Today’s focus was analyzing our FAST (Formative Assessment Systems Test) #2 Results. For those not familiar, the FAST Assessment is a test given three times throughout the course of the school year that helps students prepare or practice wordage and text seen on our annual state standardized test the MSA (Maryland State Assessment) or the main event. Since FAST #1, the vast majority of my students made HUGE gains and I was very pleased. However, despite these huge gains, the focus was not on celebrating the large improvement of the students and rather was focused on how to bring the percentage up more.

The origin of where the concept of curriculum came from is quite interesting. As stated in the Schubert’s article, the basic meaning of curriculum is a journey of learning, thinking, and growing. The key when reading this meaning is the term journey and how there should be no specific deadlines or test dates; the emphasized idea is that there is growth and meaning in what is being taught. Unfortunately, there is not much time to have this perspective when indicators need to be taught and learned by March. It is quite discouraging to think about how students get so excited when they learn that they received proficient or advanced on their standardized test or cry if they get basic, as if that score dictates who they are as a learner, and more importantly who they are as an individual person who does not learn in a way that scores proficient or advanced on a standardized test.  As it may be, this is the current curriculum that I struggle with every day.

Now, I am not in any way saying that there is such thing as a perfect curriculum. There are some curriculums that have a stronger success rate than others, but not every student is going to get 100% out of one specific curriculum. Take Donovan, for example. A tragic accident as an infant left him cognitively impaired. Even as a twenty year old, he still struggles to comprehend basic skills that we learned at the age of five or possibly at a younger age. Yet, educators at his school still continue to work with him in the hopes that he will gain this knowledge at his own pace. One example was Donovan and his paraeducator came up with their own form of communication, not something that was taught in a teacher manual, but rather something that was adapted by Donovan and his aide. While there are concepts that must be taught (and hopefully learned), there is also a strong support group present to help him along on his educational journey.

In Nodding’s article, it was argued that liberal education is an impractical measure to teach students. I don’t think it’s so much the concept of liberal education, but more so the methods in which the content is taught and the content itself. As noted, Some will never understand the logic of the mathematical proof or the power and generality of its greatest products. I can say that I was one of those students who DESPISED geometry entirely. Throughout the entire semester, I struggled to manage a ‘C’ in the class. At that current time, I knew I needed the math credit in order to graduate. Aside from that though, the content never sunk. Now reflecting back, I find that the class was one of few that truly challenged me in a multitude of ways. My teacher, though many found mean and intimidating, was patient with me and provided extra support for me throughout the course. With this, I learned to not judge a book by its cover, a lesson that I try to teach to each one of my students. This class also taught me how to challenge myself and persevere. Though I did not end up becoming a prized mathematician, I did learn more about myself and what challenges that I could overcome.

Going back to Schubert’s article, four major types of curriculum were addressed. After careful reading and reflection of my own teaching, I find the most beneficial lessons are those not necessarily found in a textbook and rather those that can help the student become an acceptable member of society. With that I concluded that I integrate a little bit of all the strands of curriculum. There are times that I use a textbook as an instructional took and there are times where the lessons are beyond the classroom. The main idea here is that as a teacher, curriculum should be used as a means of guidelines. What worked in one class, may not work in another. Therefore, being able to think on your feet and adapt to a lesson is what can turn a dull, scripted lesson into a meaningful one because you are rewriting it for your students’ specific strengths and areas of concerns, for your students who can’t stay in their seats and for students who need to know why.  

In terms of where I hope to see our curriculum move, many bodies have seen the negative effects of “The No Child Left Behind Act.” Where students were once able to think outside of the box, with this curriculum students are to think around what four multiple choice options are listed below the question and using process of elimination to figure out the answer. I currently am one of three teachers representing my school to go to workshops to learn and teach the new ideas that come with the Common Core Standards. The Common Core Standards are standards that will be used across forty-five of the fifty United States. The main objective with this newly adopted curriculum is career and college ready. There are fewer standards which means more meaningful and authentic learning can take place in the classroom. Concerning the standards themselves, more vigor, complexity, and creativity will be possible. Teachers will be held more accountable with lesson planning and differentiating instruction to meet the needs of their specific students, not just specific learning styles. With this new curriculum also comes the new concept of ‘transdisciplinary’ in which teachers create the curriculum based upon the questions students have. This idea will be seen moreso in the STEM content, nonetheless, integration of subject matter will also be highly emphasized. Though still a rough draft, I have seen enough of it to know that the United States is moving in the right direction.

In conclusion, the progression of curriculum has taken on many faces. The main emphasis though is that curriculum can not and should not dictate what a teacher can and cannot teach in a classroom. In other words, curriculum should be used as guidelines. A teacher knows his/ her students so therefore, a teacher knows what lessons will stimulate and inspire and in contrast what lessons will bore and disengage. The paraeducator knew Donovan and therefore used Donovan’s strengths to help him learn and grow. We too as educators must have this same drive to make this journey of learning, thinking, and growing authentic to each and every student that walks into our classroom.

This is probably one of the most powerful videos I have seen highlighting what it means to be a teacher and bringing it back to how we inevitably do all of this for our students.

"Taylor Mali: What a Teacher Makes"

Other Resources:

What is Integrated Curriculum? This article highlights the concept of curriculum and how it is necessary to integrate how we teach to our students. This article also goes into more details about the three main approaches to integrated curriculum and comparing and contrasting the three to each other.

Common Core - The Basics This website provides more insight the newly adopted curriculum that will be implemented fully fall of 2013. At points, I highlighted some positive ideas of the curriculum in my article and I feel as a current educator, you need to begin to educate yourself on what is to come.

Your Education is Not an Equal Opportunity This article stresses the fact that every school district is not created equal and therefore, measures parents and guardians will take to ensure that his/ her son/daughter gets a meaningful education that allowa for a successful career.