Curriculum Development and Implementation Brainstorm

Curriculum Foundations

Taya Hervey-McNutt

Dr. Teresa Lao

EDU 555: K-12 Curriculum Design & Development

August 16, 2021

Curriculum Foundations

Introduction

Math is disliked by the majority of students both inside and outside of Farell County. This

experimental curriculum will target 4th-grade kids' weak math performance. A vast percentage

of the students understand math to be complex numbers that are tough to comprehend as well as

memorize. Some students may also find it frustrating to have to repeat the same tasks over and

over again in order to grasp the concept, as math necessitates making numerous mistakes. Math

can also be a subject that possibly inhibits their creativity when compared to other subjects like

Science or English; more hands on creative thinking.

According to a National Center for Education poll, most students have adopted math

stereotypes as a result of hearing their parents say math is difficult and boring. Notwithstanding

this, some people believe that math is a fantastic subject that pushes pupils to work hard. The

discipline is one of the least well-performing subjects in the United States.

The Farrell school district was listed among Pennsylvania's bottom 50 school districts.

Approximately, 16% of its kids are proficient in math, with grade 4 students performing the

worst. In 2018, the percentage of students who performed poorly in mathematics in grade 4 was

58 percent, compared to 50 percent in other grades (Farell, 1). Math is an important subject that

can help pupils in a variety of ways. It improves their problem-solving abilities, assists them in

better understanding the world, and provides them with skills that they can apply to real-life

situations (Sammons, 2). These abilities are critical for students in this field, as poor results are

linked to the country's poverty levels. The Farrell school district is located in a low-income

neighborhood with a high teacher turnover rate. The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, which is

lower than the recommended ratio (Stebbins & Sauter, 3). The schools do not have a

well-structured curriculum that can help students enhance their grades. Furthermore, the majority

of parents are uneducated and fail to help their children, while teachers contribute to the

achievement disparity.

The anticipated learning results from the start of the pilot program are known as

instructional goals. Problem-solving, critical thinking, enhanced mathematical confidence, and

understanding the mathematical language are the four teaching aims.

Behavioral Curriculum Approach

A curriculum approach depicts the various perspectives on curriculum design and

development, as well as the roles of teachers, students, and curriculum specialists in curriculum

planning. It also contains the curriculum's aims and objectives. A methodology to curriculum

represents a person's perspective of the world, including what he or she considers to be true, the

values that are important to him or her, and the level of information that he or she knows. It also

shows a comprehensive viewpoint or meta-orientation, embracing curriculum foundations,

domains, and practical and theoretical principles of curriculum (Botvin, Baker & Filazzola, 4).

The behavioral method is based on Frederick Taylor's idea of efficiency, which is

founded on behaviorist principles. Setting goals and objectives based on a blueprint are regarded

as crucial factors in curriculum implementation with its corresponding activities and content. The

student performance is assessed based on a change in behavior as a measure of success. Human

behavior can be unlearned and replaced by new behaviors since it is learned.

The focus of behaviorism is on the measurable and observable qualities of human

behavior. As a result, undesired behaviors can be unlearned when they arise. According to

behaviorism, development is considered a continuous process in which children play a primarily

passive role. It's also a broad technique that's applied in a range of areas, including therapeutic

and educational settings.

The only things that are real, according to behaviorists, are those that we can see and

observe. It's impossible to read people's minds or unconsciousness, but we can watch how they

behave, react, and act. Although we can infer something about people's brains and minds from

their behavior, this is not the investigation's primary objective. To understand the reasons for

anomalous conduct, the behaviorist does not rely on the brain or the mind. He considers the

conduct as the result of acquired habits, and he tries to figure out how they are learned (Botvin,

Baker & Filazzola, 4).

For instance, your goal is to improve students' attitudes: by the end of your target period,

students should be punctual, academically competitive, and well-disciplined. However, your goal

was not met during the evaluation, thus there was no accomplishment. As a result, as a teacher,

you must seek out new techniques or strategies to reach your goal. As a result, the behavioral

perspective is the ultimate view, which emphasizes the requirement for behavioral objectives to

function as instructional guides and to judge whether the desired outcomes are achieved.

Realism as a Philosophical Approach to Curriculum Development

Curriculum development is centered on philosophy. It aids teachers in the formulation of

arguments, beliefs, and assumptions, as well as the formulation of value judgments. Philosophy

fosters a broad perspective and aids in determining how students should learn, why schools exist,

what courses are important, and what resources and methods should be employed (Gwele, 5).

The realism philosophy of education can be traced back to another important Greek

philosopher, Aristotle. Matter or objects that we see, according to this theory, exist by

themselves, that is, they exist utterly with or without mankind. To put it another way, the matter

is not a mental construct. As a result, the following principles are upheld: the concept of matter's

independence, the idea of the world's orderliness underlying its organization, which indicates that

law and order reign supreme in the world, and the premise of the world as true as revealed by

scientists.

As a result, an objective understanding of the world is achievable. Our perceptions are a

source of information as well. Values, according to philosophy, exist objectively; they are pure

and eternal. The educational implications of realism are: the ultimate educational goal is to gain

an understanding of nature and the underlying functioning of the earth, education is primarily the

transmission of hereditary culture from one generation to the next, students should learn

disciplines to improve intellectual abilities to discover theoretical insights and key principles,

and curriculum disciplines should consist of particular cultural elements (Gwele, 5).

Psychological Approach to Curriculum Development

Educational psychology advances teaching and learning ideas that influence

teacher-student behavior within the setting of the curriculum. This is due to psychology's role as

a unifying factor in the learning process. For instance, renowned professor John Dewey

recognizes that psychology is the study of how a learner interacts with people or objects in his or

her environment. The amount and type of learning are determined by the quality of this contact

(Garcia & Lewis, 6).

The unifying element of the learning process is psychology, which serves as the

foundation for learning methods, resources, and activities. Psychology has an impact on the

curriculum (Garcia & Lewis, 6). Psychology is a branch of science that studies the learning and

teaching process. It also provides insights as to how a curriculum should be structured to

maximize students' learning, as well as how much knowledge they can absorb when studying the

different curriculum components.

Cultural Influence and Impact

The racial and ethnic makeup of Mercer County is diverse. Non-Hispanic whites account

for 90.2 percent of the population, 1.04 percent of Hispanic whites, 5.6 percent of non-Hispanic

African Americans, and 0.677 percent of non-Hispanic Asians. 90% of pupils speak English at

home, while the remainder speaks other languages such as Spanish, Asian, Indo-European, and

so on (Farell, 1). Cultural diversity in the classroom is becoming an increasingly important topic

for teachers across the education systems as American schools get more diverse each year. It is

not a wise approach to ignore the growing diversity. Teachers, on the other hand, are promoting

equality and diversity and developing culturally responsive classrooms to help all kids succeed.

Demonstrating a personal desire to be culturally aware can help to foster a culturally

inclusive classroom. A schoolteacher could urge learners to share their stories and make

connections between their different cultures and the lessons being taught. Some students will be

more open about their diverse cultures than others. Before assuming a student is sluggish or

incapable, consider how cultural diversity may be influencing their study habits and learning,

and how you may adjust your techniques or provide accommodation.

Strategies for Incorporating Critical Thinking Skills

Memorization

This is a lower level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Memorization is widely criticized as a waste

of time that stifles student learning and a sure sign that teachers aren't up to the task. However,

the larger and more diverse a student's intellectual background and schema are, the more easily

they will be able to shift between Bloom's stages. Memorization can lessen a student's cognitive

load as they digest knowledge, allowing for quicker recall and application rather than breaking

down the thinking process into steps, such as locating material, evaluating its trustworthiness,

and then progressing to the cognitive main course. In other words, the more a student has ‘instant

access' to information, the more unconsciously they can not only implement that knowledge at

higher levels of thinking, but also trigger these sorts of actions on their own, making individual

connections, recognizing their misconceptions, and seamlessly transferring knowledge to new

and different situations (Rahman & Manaf, 7)

Use Bloom’s Spiraling

Bloom's Spiraling is the method of beginning at the basic levels of Bloom's–defining,

recalling, explaining, and so on–and gradually raising the degree of thinking. In this way,

Bloom's Taxonomy is a learning framework that acts as a blueprint. Define a right triangle, then

describe its properties, compare it to other geometric shapes, argue for or against a right

triangle-related theory, and finally suggest a creative usage of the right triangle in design or

structure, for example (Mulcare & Shwedel, 8). All students begin at the same level–recognizing

and defining–and then ‘move up' Bloom's Taxonomy, with the ‘Make' level serving as a helpful

ceiling that can expand to suit the demands of even the most sophisticated understanding while

still serving as a goal for students who may struggle.

Conclusion

Overall, if the district could shift its focus over to developing strategies to enhance the

four teaching aims listed above, it is a strong possibility that the students and staff would

increase its students’ testing scores as well as confidence by the end of the school year. I believe

that the focus on these four main areas would not only help raise their score and confidence, but

after further analysis of the district’s failing scores, it's always best to start with the root of the

problem, in this case the lowest test scores and hope that this helps keep the tree alive.

Oftentimes many school districts have had their backs turned on by their own state due to the

inadequate testing of their students, resulting in the school suffering as well as the students &

staff placing the blame and causing unnecessary tension. I do believe that this pilot curriculum

that I have strategized could be the help this school district needs to turn around those low test

scores in math.

References

1. Farell Area School District. (2021). Farrell Area School District.

https://www.farrellareaschools.com/.

2. Sammons, L. (2018). Teaching students to communicate mathematically.

3. Stebbins, S., & Sauter, M. B. (2020, March 11). Making the grade?: In these school

districts, students are less likely to succeed. USA Today.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/03/11/school-districts-50-us-where-students

-least-likely-succeed/5000094002/.

4. Botvin, G. J., Baker, E., Filazzola, A. D., & Botvin, E. M. (1990). A cognitive-behavioral

approach to substance abuse prevention: One-year follow-up. Addictive behaviors, 15(1),

47-63.

5. Gwele, N. S. (2005). Education philosophy and the curriculum. Curriculum development

in nursing: Process and innovations, 1-20.

6. Garcia, J. A., & Lewis, T. E. (2014). Getting a grip on the classroom: From psychological

to phenomenological curriculum development in teacher education programs. Curriculum

Inquiry, 44(2), 141-168.

7. Rahman, S. A., & Manaf, N. F. A. (2017). A Critical Analysis of Bloom's Taxonomy in

Teaching Creative and Critical Thinking Skills in Malaysia through English Literature.

English Language Teaching, 10(9), 245-256.

8. Mulcare, D. M., & Shwedel, A. (2017). Transforming Bloom’s taxonomy into classroom

practice: a practical yet comprehensive approach to promote critical reading and student

participation. Journal of Political Science Education, 13(2), 121-137.