CONCEPTIONS OF CURRICULUM

Curriculum as Technology

Focuses on the 'how' of education (Eisner & Vallance, 1974; McNeil, 2009; Sowell, 2005)

Influence on Teacher in Curriculum Delivery:
focuses on presenting material rather than focusing on the student as individual

Uses technology to attain curricular learning objectives

Growing importance in education

Social Reconstruction/Relevance

Focuses on societal needs over individual needs (Eisner & Vallance, 1974)

Examines education and curriculum
through social issues lens

Influence on Teacher in
Curriculum Delivery:
incorporates social agenda
into curriculum addressing
equity, diversity and inclusivity
(Ornstein & Hunkins, 2013)

Self-Actualization/Humanistic

Focuses on individual learner and their personal relevance, feelings, and success (McNeil, 2009)

Introduces self-regulated learning

Influence on Teacher in
Curriculum Delivery:
incites development of the "whole" child, not only cognitive elements

Academic Rationalism

Passes knowledge down from one generation to another

Develops rational mind

Focuses on study of
the "disciplines" and
cumulative tradition of
knowledge
(Sowell, 2005)

Influence on Teacher in
Curriculum Delivery: disseminates the truth discovered in the discipline
(Schiro, 2013)

Cognitive Processes

Primarily concerned with refinement
of intellectual operations
(Eisner & Vallance, 1974)

Focuses on the child and the
learning process

Influence on Teacher in Curriculum Delivery: engages student in critical thinking and rationale building, developing their intellect

PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS

Perennialism

Realism base

Instructional Objective: to cultivate intellect

Knowledge: Focuses on utilizing knowledge from the past to master basic facts

Curriculum Focus: Emphasizes the importance of the past and its underlying principles for future generations

Lack of consideration for student interests and experiences

Essentialism

Idealism & Realism base

Instructional Objective: To promote intellectual growth of student

Knowledge: Focuses on essential academic competencies and skills, as well as character development

Curriculum Focus: Based on traditional disciplines like math, history, language and science

Lack of consideration for student interest and experience

Progressivism

Pragmaticism base

Instructional Objective: To promote democratic, social living

Knowledge: Focuses on student interest in intellectual growth

Curriculum Focus: Engages them to solve problems and issues faced in real life scenarios

Reconstructionism

Pragmaticism base

Instructional Objective: to educate for change and social reform

Knowledge: Focuses on social improvement and/or reconstruction

Curriculum Focus: Focuses on societal and international trends of the present and future

CURRICULAR DESIGNS

Centres around specific subject matter rather than individual learners

Centres around individual learners and their goals

Centres around a problem that needs to be resolved

"Philosophy is a description, explanation, and evaluation of the world as seen from personal perspective, or through what some social scientists call "social lenses." (Ornstein, 1990/1991)

Framework for organizing and developing curriculum

"Without philosophy, educators are directionless in the whats and hows of organizing and implementing" (Ornstein, 1990/91)

"To design a curriculum, we must consider how its parts interrelate -the parts should promote the whole - it is the arrangement of these parts that defines the essence of curriculum design." (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2013)

Learning experiences of individuals within an educational setting and society

Most popular type of design

Role of Teacher: subject area expert

Role of Teacher: agent of change

Role of Teacher: places student at forefront of learning

Role of Teacher: promotes rationality

- Life Situation Centered Design
- Reconstructionist Design
- Society-Culture Based Design

- Child Centered Design
- Experience Centered Design
- Radical Design
- Humanistic Design

- Subject Design
- Discipline Design
- Broad-field Design
- Correlation Design
- Process Design

References:

-Kali, Y., McKenney, S., & Sagy, O. (2012). Teachers as designers of technology enhanced learning. Instructional Science, 43, 173-179.

-McNeil, J. D. (2009). Contemporary curriculum: In thought and action (7th Ed). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley

- Ornstein, A. C. (1990/1991). Philosophy as a basis for curriculum decisions. The High School Journal, 74, 102-109.

- Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. P. (2013). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. pp. 149-173.

-Schiro, M. (2013) Curriculum Theorry: Conflicting Visions and Enduring Concerns. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

- Sowell, E. J. (2005). Curriculum: An integrative introduction (3rd ed., pp. 52-54, 55-61, 81-85,103-106). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

-Westbury, I., Hirsch, E. D., & Cornbleth, C. (2008). School Curriculum–Core Knowledge Curriculum, Hidden Curriculum–Overview. Education Encyclopedia.

Method to connect and present
curricular content

Vertical:
Sequencing of content
from one grade to the
next grade level

Horizontal:
Weaving of themes
throughout
subjects

This visualization was created to exemplify the connections between educational philosophies, conceptions of curriculum, and the resulting instructional objectives and curriculum foci. Readers will note the connections between a variety of areas such as Academic Rationalism and Perennalism converging to cultivate the importance of historic knowledge being presented to future generations. These influences expand to the curriculum designs we decided to highlight: student, learner and problem-centred. The curriculum conceptions depict the influence on the teacher in curriculum delivery. The visualization also focuses on the role of the teacher in reference to the implementation of curriculum in the classroom and their role as the bridge between curriculum design and educational philosophies. Teachers are the driving force behind connecting classroom content with students and influencing their cognitive behaviours. The delivery of the subjects within the curriculum allows a teacher to reflect on their educational philosophies by fostering cognitive skills in students. Depending on their educational philosophy, the starting point is to ensure an understanding of the material. Teachers can then nurture the next steps for students: to apply, analyze and evaluate. This is an area that teachers can exercise their educational philosophy such as fostering an appreciation of applying or analyzing areas of disciplines, applying and analyzing content to foster self-guided learning, or an application of ideas to foster social reform. Although neither Michelle nor Lindsay are professional teachers, this is how they view the role of teachers as the binding agent between philosophies, conceptions of curriculum, curricular design and delivery and the development of cognitive skills for students.

(Click the 'play' button to the right of this box to listen to this description)

Technology use in schools has resulted in this conception becoming a driving force in curriculum
design and the resulting involvement of
teachers in designing technology-enhanced
learning. Teaching is becoming a design science,
and teacher involvement in design in various ways impacts the quality of the artifacts created, their implementation, and ultimately, student learning (Kali, McKenney & Sagy, 2012).Technology plays a role in the delivery of student-centered, learner-centered and problem-centered curriculum designs.

Curriculum conceptions have been thought to be intellectualized as curricular action that occurs at three distinct levels: Institutional that centre on policies at the intersection of schooling, culture and society,; Programmatic that centre on subject content for schools and their course requirements and subsequent delivery,; and Classroom that centre on the elaboration of programmatic curriculum and its connect to classrooms in their real-world contexts (Westbury, Hirsch & Cornbleth, 2008).