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TEACHER & CURRICULUM.
Term Paper ID:22485
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Essay Subject:
Role of teacher in creating flexible curriculum, assessment, leadership style vs. content, objectives.... More...
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6 Pages / 1350 Words
5 sources, 8 Citations,
APA Format
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Paper Abstract:
Role of teacher in creating flexible curriculum, assessment, leadership style vs. content, objectives.
Paper Introduction:
Although no one, and no teacher, can predict the future with any certainty, people in leadership capacities such as teachers are required to make guesses about the probable future and plan appropriately. Teachers therefore need to plan their curriculum according to the more likely future their students face while at the same time acknowledging that the students have a future. The competent leader cannot plan according to past successes, as if doing so will force the past to remain with him. The most competent leader and manager, in fact, is not even satisfied with thoughts of the future, but is never satisfied, always sure that whatever is being done can be improved.
The teacher will therefore choose and plan curriculum with other teachers and administrators according to the students, who they are, what their probable future is, and what lessons would
Text of the Paper:
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Semiotic extension, supposed by McNeill etal., argues that the early developmental set of sensorimotor conceptsbecomes the basis for later adult cognitive operations by forming thecontext and the limitations of mature speech production, regardless of thecomplexity of the thought. What often is leftout, however, are such things as connecting these skills to other lessonsor standardized tests, and finding a way to keep the students focused onthe lesson itself instead of thinking of it as free time and an opportunityto turn their brains off. Davis describes the current educational system as being comprised ofcurriculum, teaching, and assessment, and having its fault in the fact thatthese three are separated in the minds of the teachers and the practice ofthe students. Experimental psycholinguists such as Clark, Bever, et al., arguefor the existence of basic cognitive laws underlying aspects of boththinking and language behavior. In otherwords, the students must be coerced through the use of what essentiallywill be propaganda. To quote a famous cartoonist, "School is good, school isimportant. Once he was convinced he was no longer an ear of corn,he appeared cured, but he still would not go in the backyard because thechickens may still think he is an ear of corn (42-43). The mostcompetent leader and manager, in fact, is not even satisfied with thoughtsof the future, but is never satisfied, always sure that whatever is beingdone can be improved. The competent leader cannot plan according to pastsuccesses, as if doing so will force the past to remain with him. A teacher that believes the world willincreasingly use computers at all levels of society will include computersin all levels of instruction. There is a measure of bravery required in this choosing, butagain, the one who would lead must be willing to make these choices basedon the testimony of the professionals he or she works with, and be willingto take responsibility for errors and fix them. The Russian model, specifically Luria and Vygotsky, argues thatverbal behavior facilitates cognitive development. The teacher finds a greater comfort zone in sticking with thematerial that shows well on tests, produces quicker results, and leaves himor her in control. Schools include "higher level thinking skills" in their objectives,yet do not include the lessons to teach them, most likely because theseskills such as analysis and giving a thoughtful, provable opinion, take alot of time and do not always produce opinions the teacher is ready to dealwith. Davis quotes a Brazilian fable his wife related, about a man who wasconvinced he was an ear of corn, and so would not go in the backyard wherethe chickens were. These students essentially majored in "self-analysis" rather than inany subject of any use to society, and ended up doing themselves as well asthe people that hired them a grave disservice by being essentiallyunprepared for the world and the jobs it had for them. Piaget supposedthat a child's early cognitive concepts structure understanding and use oflanguage. ReferencesDavis, J.R. A well known discipline system, Preferred ActivityTime, uses the universal student liking for free time to coerce studentattention and work on educational goals first. Language Awareness and Reading. Because of thismisperception, assessment often meets with resistance at the classroomlevel both from teachers and from students because it threatens to evaluateand judge personal (rather than professional) elements of teaching, andtest scores are rarely used to tell the teacher what is being done well. Implications of Theories of Language and Thoughtfor Reading. If thisis the case, the teacher then is required to adjust the curriculum toappeal to the students' affective as well as cognitive domain. His point is that the coursesmay prepare the student for the more negative aspects of work, but they donot prepare the student for the things teachers say they are preparing thestudents for. (Winter 1994). Curriculum he describes as something the teacher developscreative ideas about, both in what to teach and what to use in teaching,without thinking also about the requirements for developing the teachingmethods needed to implement these creative ideas (44). Gaudiani writes as a graduate of the seventies when many collegescapitulated to the demands of students and allowed formation of "do-it-yourself" courses and "choose your own" curriculum. Educational Record, 42-46.Gaudiani, C. (1985). The decision on curriculum must therefore be supported stronglyenough to face down student complaints about "Why do we have to learnthis?" as well as have answers for that question ready. Teachers who have more than one student will also have to account fordifferences in the students they teach and plan the curriculum toaccomodate these differences. Weingartner likens many courses to mystery drinks that must bequaffed, and whether the course is kindergarten or Astrophysics 4 1, thisis true in many, too many, cases. One of the most important differences,because of the amount it impacts the teacher's job, is what the studentlikes and how much. Most likely the chickenswill be very interested in the man when he goes outside, but if he is aman, if he is truly changed, then they will not have much effect on theman, but the man should have an effect on them. By sitting quietly in neatrows for long periods of time doing exactly what you are told in school,you are preparing to sit quietly in neat rows for long periods of timedoing exactly what you are told as an adult" (Groening, chapter 2). Unlike the typical leader, the teacher must be willing, in some areasat least, to relinquish control to the student. It also requires aleadership willing to actually change the programs according to what needsare indicated, and not point at the assessment itself as the job thatneeded to be done. Work is Hell. If the student does not havesome affective interest in the lesson or objective, then the teacher willhave a very difficult time bringing the student to the point where he orshe participates willingly. Educational Record, 13-19.----------------------- 8 Teaching, Davis describes as usually involving style, not content,whereas what the teacher teaches is admittedly as important (if not moreso) than how the teacher teaches. Waterhouse describes five models ofreading acquisition: Russian, Modified Whorfian hypothesis, Piagetian,psycholinguistic-experimental, and semiotic. Between Cup and Lip: ReconceptualizingEducation as Student Learning. Like thetypical leader, the teacher must be able to lead people to a place he orshe knows where to take them but where they may be unwilling to go. (Winter 1994). Weingartner further notes that "our tests are designed to havestudents tell us what we have told them" (16). The moral is thatonce change is implemented, the leader must be willing to take the flak forgoing ahead with it, and not leaving it a writing on paper that is hailedas good ideas, but which the students never see. (198 ). Davis suggests that the successful school must have all three ofthese items integrated into one curriculum, where the assessment dictatesthe curriculum and the teaching, while the curriculum and teachinginfluence the assessment and the teaching guides both the assessment andcurriculum. The result, she notes,was a class of students who were quite capable of writing what they feltabout Africa, or about economics, or about any other subject they chose,but were unable to actually describe the thing and write about it as it is(2 ). For a New World, A New Curriculum.Educational Record, 2 -29.Groening, M. Although no one, and no teacher, can predict the future with anycertainty, people in leadership capacities such as teachers are required tomake guesses about the probable future and plan appropriately. With only these five theories on how a child learns to read and whatfactors influence that learning, the one choosing and reforming curriculummust determine which is correct and fit the reading lessons accordingly. If the teacher believes the world facesnuclear war and a nuclear winter, he or she will include elements ofsurvival tactics in the lessons. Newark, DE: InternationalReading Association Series on the Development of the Reading Process.Weingartner, R. L. The teacher will therefore choose and plan curriculum with otherteachers and administrators according to the students, who they are, whattheir probable future is, and what lessons would be most useful for them.This means that the teacher will implement his or her own beliefs upon thestudent in planning curriculum. Teacherstherefore need to plan their curriculum according to the more likely futuretheir students face while at the same time acknowledging that the studentshave a future. Such an integration of the three factors of education require aleadership that is willing to both guide the instructors and listen totheir input, ideas, problems, and fears while doing so. Since the skill of makingresponsible decisions is one the student will need in the future, this is askill the teacher should be teaching students in the present. Whorf (and Sapir, etal.) argue that the structure and vocabulary of one's language determinethat person's understanding of and perception of the world. This is teaching studentshow to listen, remember, and repeat, but it is not teaching them how tothink. Gaudiani notes that"we could all be behind the lines with Bernard Shaw during the Gulf War"(2 ), meaning that subjects such as theatre could even be brought to bearon current events, and the student thinking augmented, expanded, andstrengthened. With this in mind, the one leading in the choosing of the curriculumneeds to be aware of the plethora of styles and methods available and beable to choose wisely from them. (Winter 1994). Los Angeles: Deborah Caplan &Associates.Waterhouse, L.H. The student will eventuallyhave to take control of his or her own life. "You'll graduate if you're still standingafter having downed about 4 of them" (14). Anerror in choosing can mean a child having that much more a difficult timein learning. For example, theteacher may think to use a half hour TV show (which is actually only 22minutes long) to teach the students elements of a story. H. Schools prepare you for the future. Integrating the Quality Triad: Curriculum,Teaching, and Assessment. Lastly, assessment is seen as complianceto prestated demands rather than an instrument for gaining information onhow to decide what to modify in the curriculum and in what way, as well ashow and where to improve teaching methods (44-45).
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