PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 1
Curriculum Change Plan: Part 2 - Philosophies and Issues for Change
Kimberly Holmes
School of Education, Liberty University
Word Count (body only): 1931
PHILOSOPHIES AND ISSUES 2
Curriculum Change Plan: Part 2 - Philosophies and Issues for Change
Curriculum Philosophy
Rosenthal and Thayer (2023) define pragmatism as a philosophy constructed on the belief
that workability, practicality, and usefulness of proposals, ideas, and policies are the benchmarks
of their worth. Overall, it emphasizes the importance of action over policy, experience over rigid
ideologies, and it maintains that concepts borrow their connotations from their outcomes and
their facts from their authentication. Meaning, ideas are significant tools and action plans.
Button (2021) states that the philosophy of pragmatism is rooted in the idea that we learn
better by performing actions. Simply because experience is a great teacher, and as we learn, we
gain knowledge which is the basis of education. Therefore, incorporating the philosophy of
pragmatism within my curriculum change plan resonates most with me. Mostly because I already
use this approach with my students in my classroom. After years of trial and error, trying to
determine which teaching style worked best for my students, as well as myself, I learned that
creating lessons and projects that contained real world applications proved to be most successful.
In addition to my personal experiences, I also found the Word of God, specifically James 1:22-
25 (NLT) to be a guide in making this decision. James 1:22-25 (NLT) encourages Christians to
do more than just hear God’s Word, but states that we should also apply what we hear to our
lives. Based on this Biblical principle, when Christians fail to actively practice God’s teachings,
it is the equivalate of seeing our reflections in the mirror, and then forgetting what we look like
