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We must move from knowledge that lives in books to knowledge that lives in students.
3. Identify at least two areas of weakness in the Erickson text. Provide a rationale for selecting each area of weakness identified.
It is difficult for me to identify any weaknesses in the Erickson text. Her arguments and opinions are all supported by research. Neither her analysis nor presentation was lacking. Upon reflection - perhaps her greatest weakness is failing to truly recognize that an adaptation of curricular delivery of this magnitude requires a herculean commitment as well as an acceptance that an authentic shift to concept-based teaching is still decades away. To affect sustained change this viewpoint needs to be accepted by the general academic population and taught at the college level in education courses.
A second weakness of the text is there are not enough completed examples of units from which teachers could model their own writing. In fact, she would best be advised to develop at least one sample unit for each grade level. In this way, teachers would be able to grasp how to write concept-based curriculum. These sample units would also serve as a reference for teachers as they continue working with these progressive ideas. Learning is learning no matter what one's age -- and the more concrete examples provided -- the better chance that the learner will understand and remember.
4. Identify suggested methods for improving these two areas of weakness in the Erickson text.
I always find reading professional...
There are so many new ideas always being posed in the field of education to improve everything from student learning to school lunches. However, I find thoughtfully written texts that can present a research supported argument for improving acquisition of knowledge the most interesting of all. However, when I have finished the last page and closed the book I eventually realize that these ideas 'always sound good on paper'. Teachers and children are human because their interactions, ability to focus and simple daily routine most likely stand in the way of concept-based curricular delivery anytime in the near future. Erickson's idea is somewhat 'pie-in-the-sky' and unrealistic (at least in the short-term).
Therefore my first suggestion is to spend a year in a classroom (make it a challenging class -- that will be more authentic) writing and delivering concept-based curriculum. She should videotape herself and offer these as educational videos so that we can copy the model she's developed. Finally, she would have a better chance of her concept-based curriculum taking hold if she would just go ahead and write the units herself. Frankly, the classroom teacher is the practitioner. Show him or her how it's done…and it is more likely to get done.
Students, by seeing that a concept can unite so many different aspects of an idea are better able to draw connections between what is learned in the classroom and subjects that are common to their daily lives. For example, take the broad curricular concept of 'travel.' The most obvious application of this concept is in a literature class, where students can learn about travel from stories about other lands, or
In the most recent study, conducted by Philliber Research Associates for the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving 188 children enrolled in 14 childcare centers were evaluated and findings report significant gains for children in the 'Creative Curriculum' classroom. These children "made statistically significant gains in the cognitive/language profile, motor profile, and self-help profile over what would be expected of children of the same age during the same amount of
One weakness in Erickson's text is the expense and practicality of quantifying student performance and academic achievement using performance-based measurements. Wiggins (1990) states authentic assessments require students to be effective performers with acquired knowledge achieving validity and reliability by emphasizing and standardizing the appropriate criteria for scoring such (varied) products; traditional testing standardizes objective "items" and, hence, the (one) right answer for each. The State of California implemented the California
In particular, they specify the need for students to be good listeners, team players, and to make compromises to work toward mutual goals (Scheuerell, 2010). Group work must be a time for students to engage in productive and accountable collaboration around a task or problem that causes them to rely on one another's part or participation to ensure successful completion. Successful group work can be designed and presented to the
Finally, Erickson promotes the idea of educational curricula and teaching methods that are structured while being simultaneously much more flexible than traditional information-based education. 3. Identify at least two areas of weakness in the Erickson Provide a rationale for selecting each area of weakness identified. If there are any weaknesses of the text, they might include the relative lack of inclusion of: 1. specific types of cognitive intelligences; and 2. specific
There is no right or wrong way in curriculum development from a constructivist approach because knowledge is individually constructed by the learner herself on the foundation of what she already knows, so therefore it is impossible to come up with uniform learning outcomes for all students. 4. Devise five to seven criteria for judging the articles. (for example, ease of reading, application to curriculum development, author proved main points, and