University of the People

• Elliot W. Eisner is highly revered when it comes to discussions about curriculum reform and in this article, he talks about rationalization and its role in the American education system.  He further explores standardized testing and what he believes it reveals about students.  As you read, many of you may recognize narrative echoes of or resonances to your own educative situations especially in terms of “out-of-classroom” professional knowledge landscapes. Eisner is also an advocate for creativity in the classroom and arts education. 
  

• Herbert Kliebard is a well-known curriculum theorist and historian looking at past educative reforms for some insight or guidance regarding present-day classroom situations. 
  

• Shao-Wen Su is a professor at the National Chin-Yi University of Technology (Taiwan).  Her work here explores definitions of curriculum and what aspects need to be considered when deriving one’s professional understanding of the term.
  

• IGI Global, an international academic publisher for research aimed at societal change, compiles a list here of curriculum definitions with links to additional resources. Please take a look at the list of 36 definitions on this web page.
  

• This website provides information on curricula from a global standpoint. This page of the website focuses on how a curriculum is developed and differs as it moves from paper to classroom implementation. After reading Different Meanings of "Curriculum", take a moment and review the different resources available on this website.
  

• This resources are taken from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and their collected international understandings of curriculum.
  

• This resources are taken from UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and their collected international understandings of curriculum.
  

Optional Video

• This is an introductory video created by pre-service teachers as they decipher the term curriculum and the layers of its definition.
  

• In this video, Sir Ken Robinson discusses the need for creativity when it comes to learning within the classroom.  Though curriculum is often seen as prescriptive, there are elements of it that are subjective because of its inherent connection to human growth and learning.

• Scroll down the page and have a quick look at the 6 Curriculum Theorists featured in the list on this site.  It is a quick overview of said persons that you will encounter throughout the course.
  

• Ralph Tyler is well-known for his 1949 book entitled Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction.  In fact, it was one of the first books I purchased when I started graduate school and it is still a part of my personal library.  You will be reading the introduction this week but here is a webpage with an overview of the history of the text.
  

• Schiro (2013) alludes to “advanced-level theoretical concerns of curriculum theorists” (p.xv) in his book that you will read excerpts from this week and William Pinar may be one such theorist.  In this piece here, Pinar explains three particular approaches to curriculum and how negotiations of all three may best serve the current education system of his time.  This was written when postmodernism in education was taking root and I believe it parallels some of Schiro’s ideas within the Curriculum Ideologies.
  

• Here is Chapter 1 from Schiro’s text that will give you more details regarding the 4 Curriculum Ideologies.
  

• Patrick Slattery is a researcher and scholar navigating through facets of curriculum theory in the postmodern era.  Though his book was written in the 1990s, he puts together a pseudo-collage of curriculum theory and offers its implications for educative practices.  I believe this is the sort of thought process that will take place in your own studies throughout the course and, so I felt we should take a look at what other researchers attempt in terms of curriculum theory exploration and how they share their personal stories.
  
• Please read the section at the start of the text entitled Personal Philosophical Roots and Aims of This Book (to page 67.)  You will need to use Microsoft Edge to access the text – Google chrome may not give you the preview up to page 67.  Also, as for page numbering, the second page needs to be subtracted by 1 so for example, when it says 15-17 at the bottom, it's actually pgs.15-16.
  

• As mentioned, here is the introduction to Ralph Tyler’s (1949) text.  Do take note of the four main questions within Tyler’s rationale.
  

 Optional Videos

• In this short student video, Schiro’s 4 curriculum ideologies (Scholar Academic, Social Efficiency, Learner-Centered, and Social Reconstruction).  You will be reading about how these curriculum positions have found their way into your classroom and also, negotiate their implementation as collective and often overlapping curricular ideals.

• This video is from an American graduate student discussing the purpose of learning and the positioning of students within a system of education.  This video project draws upon the ideologies of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire.  Because Schiro’s 4 ideologies are based on mostly U.S. practices, I think it best to have a few examples of policies and issues that are presently occurring. Though the details differ from classroom to classroom worldwide, certain issues as in standardized practices or student empowerment remain of constant concern for all educators.

• This reading introduces the notion of narrative in curriculum implementation meaning how an educator comes to understand the policies in place and how to put forth said aspects relative to the learner.
  

• Dewey’s (1938) Experience and Education explores the puzzles of: How has experience in education been determined and explored?   What are educative versus miseducative experiences?   How do we negotiate experience when it comes to educative reform?  Written almost a century ago, the style of writing may seem outdated but the ideas are not – Dewey’s notions have informed educative practices worldwide.
  

• Dr. Chan Yim Mei Esther is an Assistant Professor at The Hong Institute of Education in the department of early childhood education.  Her work uses Narrative Inquiry for teacher knowledge and development.
  

• Cheryl J. Craig is a Professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture at Texas A&M University. She conducts research using Narrative Inquiry to understand teaching and curriculum in urban schools. 
  

• Stacy Zeiger teaches writing as an eighth grade English teacher and offers 4 criteria for teachers involved in the curriculum process.
  

Optional Videos

• This video is a Q&A with Dr. Jean Clandinin explaining the methodology of Narrative Inquiry in Education Research.  Narrative Inquiry is the gathering and telling of people’s stories to understand experiences and how they contribute to one’s professional understandings.
  

• Here is a link to a video introduction to John Dewey plus a more extensive video summary of his work and beliefs in education. John Dewey is known for his explorations of Experience in Education as well as Social interaction and Student Participation.  He is often considered one of the most significant figures in the history of American education and his writings are internationally acclaimed.

• The first video features the educational theorists Maxine Green - William Pinar - Eliott Eisner - Patrick Slattery.  Except for Maxine Green, these authors will be used in a few modules but Green's work is in the textbook - unfortunately, we won't get a chance to thoroughly explore her piece but feel free to read the chapter.You can watch the whole video, but I would like you to listen to Patrick Slattery's definition of curriculum which occurs at the 9 minute and 29-second mark.  This section is not a video per se but rather the audio of an interview.
  

• The speaker discusses what many of us may consider as we take a look at the classrooms we work in and how the curriculum is developed for these spaces.  He also addresses the dire state of why children hate going to school.
  

• The short video about Jane Addams highlights some of the successes this remarkable scholar achieved in her lifetime.

• Professor Au explores educative theories and their influences on his understanding of curriculum and possibilities within curriculum theory and development.

• In William E. Doll Jr.’s (1993) piece entitled The Four R’s – An Alternative to the Tyler Rationale, we are being asked to rework certain Tylerian thoughts in order to make them relevant for current curriculum programs.  Doll Jr. suggests a break from tradition; to change in order to meet the changing needs of our diverse classrooms.
  

• Paulo Freire’s Chapter 3 takes us on a bit of journey when it comes to curriculum reform because we are exposed to his very unique style of research writing.  Freire was never shy of expressing his thoughts poetically and though thought-provoking and profound, it may take a reading or two just to get used to his style.  Having said this though, we are now clearly entering a very distinct politicized zone of student concern.  We are moving away from talking about students as simply  “receivers” or “vessels” lacking/gaining knowledge.  We are starting to explicitly discuss the welfare, the background and the cultures of our students.  Also, we are looking at the ideas of power and privilege and how the two influence curriculum development.
  

• This article discusses the standardizing of the curriculum in conjunction with the power, control and those influenced by those who wield it.
  

• Professor Takaya explores the evolution of Bruner’s thoughts on culture relative to curriculum theory and design.
  

Optional Videos

• Dr. Abdullah makes a case for the need to integrate technology into the classroom and the benefits that can ensue for students, teachers and the relationship between students and teachers.
  

• This entry comes from David Andrews and is a narrative account of how he used hand-held devices in his classroom and what he witnessed during and after the lessons were complete.
  

Optional Videos

• This video showcases the technology being used in Indian classrooms propelling students in their learning experiences. 
  

• These videos are in regard to the work of Maria Montessori. The first video shows the Montessori classroom and what the experience is within the learning environment.  The second video is a brief overview of Maria’s life and development of the Montessori program.
  

• In this video, a grade 2 class uses an application and a tablet to construct movies based on a unit of study.

• Franklin Bobbitt’s (1918) Scientific Method in Curriculum Making starts us off on our journey through curriculum reform with this paper written about 100 years ago.  Bobbitt views learning from the lens of what students are missing in terms of becoming successful adults; he argues for a “scientific” method, one that is systematic or procedural to bridge the gap between “uneducated” student and “productive” adult. 
  

• This article discusses the effect of Neoliberalism on the classroom experience including the weight it carries as more policy shifts occur.         
  

• This reading explores innovative curriculum ideas that educators can easily implement into their curriculum through reflective case studies. Also interspersed throughout the book are tried and true strategies that provide administrators with innovative ideas on meeting state and national standards. 
  

• Jacobs presents readers with possible reasons for curriculum change and how to best engage a curriculum for the 21^st century learner. 
  

• In this early piece, Mcintosh discusses the issues of white privilege and how it may find its way into a curriculum.  Power and privilege permeate many curricular programs and Mcintosh was one of the first researchers to write about these realities. 
  

• This short piece by Nel Noddings explores whether the current curriculum is continuously organized around traditional disciplines or has drastically changed over the last hundred years.
  

• The author here revisits Peggy Mcintosh’s piece from 1989 in light of her own experiences and perspectives.
  

Optioinal Videos

• Henry Giroux, an educative critical theorist discusses Neoliberalism as a socio-cultural concept as well as its effect on education. Neoliberalism is the rise of the business-like approach in foundations including education where students become clients or consumers rather than learners.  Giroux also calls it the "corporatization of schools". 
  

• In this brief video, Noddings actually began as a math teacher in elementary and high school before she transitioned into academics within the fields of educational philosophy and the ethics of care.  You will read a piece by her in this unit.              
  

• In this video, Mcintosh discusses the idea of privilege and its effect on society.  You will be reading a very well-known piece by her that explores privilege and its effect on education.
  

Optional Readings

The following readings are optional, but they explore specific social issues relative to curriculum reform. 

• Chan’s work is set in the Canadian context in terms of cultural diversity and curriculum reform.  This is a narrative inquiry study looking at the role of teachers in terms of addressing diversity for a particular school event – the field trip.  
  

• Moroye focuses on the teacher’s role in terms of students’ awareness of environmental issues.  Moroye’s piece cleverly embeds interview excerpts to help build her arguments and so, this is a prime example of curriculum reform relative to a specific field of study.   The research examines how ecologically-minded teachers who do not necessarily teach environmental topics negotiate their personal beliefs within their practice.     
  

• Sumara and Davis explore curriculum reform in terms of the marginalization of a certain group based on cultural markers outside of visible minority status.  Sumara and Davis focus on the hidden curriculum in terms of heteronormativity and the deeper chasms of homophobia and heterosexism.