Special Education Chapter 9 Homework Accountability And Highhave Your Students Respond The

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CHAPTER 9: THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN AN ERA OF STANDARDS

CHAPTER OVERVIEW

In this chapter standards are used as a framework for analyzing the evolving American curriculum. The

CHAPTER LEARNING OUTCOMES

2. Explain how the explicit curriculum, the implicit curriculum, the null curriculum, and the

3. Identify different forces that influence the curriculum and explain how each exerts its influence.

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction

4. Describe prominent controversial issues in the curriculum.

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7, Planning for Instruction

POWERPOINT SLIDES

PPT 9.2 Components of the Curriculum (2 slides)

PPT 9.4 Curriculum in Elementary Schools

PPT 9.6 (2 slides)

PPT 9.8 Making Curriculum Decisions (2 slides)

PPT 9.10 3 slides)

PPT 9.12 Controversial Issues in the Curriculum (2 slides)

PPT 9.14 Reconsidering the Curriculum (3 slides)

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CHAPTER OUTLINE

I. What Is Curriculum?

II. Components of the Curriculum

A. The Explicit Curriculum

1. Curriculum in Elementary Schools

3. Curriculum in Junior High and High Schools

4. Integrated Curriculum

Technology and Teaching: What Role Should Technology Play in the Curriculum?

B. The Implicit Curriculum

C. The Null Curriculum

D. The Extracurriculum

III. Forces that Influence the Curriculum

A. The Teacher

B. Standards and Accountability

C. Technology

Issues

IV. Controversial Issues in the Curriculum

A. Controversies in the Social Studies Curriculum

B. Sex Education

C. Character Education

1. Intelligent Design

E. Censorship

Technology and Teaching: Internet Issues and Controversies

Access

Content Screening: Censorship or Protection?

Learning to Use the Internet Effectively

Diversity: Women and Minorities in the Curriculum

Diversity And You: Diversity Issues in the Curriculum

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

I. What Is Curriculum?

Teaching Suggestions:

What Is Curriculum?

the relationship

between curriculum and instruction:

1. Show the video episode on which the case study that

introduces the chapter is based. In viewing the episode your students can both see the actual

lesson and read the case study in the chapter.

Curriculum in an Era of Standards:

This is the lesson on which the case study at the beginning of Chapter 9 is based. In this 14 minute 20

second video episode a second grade teacher involves her students in a lesson on graphing. The lesson

In suggesting that you begin your discussion of the content of this chapter by immediately

showing the video episode, we are promoting a student-centered activity and a form of guided

interest in the topic and demonstrate that discussions of curriculum and instruction are real–

world topics they will deal with when they begin teaching.

2. Give your students a topic and ask them to describe several different instructional approaches

that could be used to reach the goals.

3.

Curriculum have them respond to the directions

on the slides, and discuss their responses.

II. Components of the Curriculum

A. The Explicit Curriculum

2. Curriculum in Middle Schools

4. Integrated Curriculum

Technology and Teaching: What Role Should Technology Play in the Curriculum?

B. The Implicit Curriculum

C. The Null Curriculum

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D. The Extracurriculum

Teaching Suggestions:

Components of the Curriculum

1. Components of the which defines each of the components.

3. To further reinforce their understanding of the different components of the curriculum, display

4. and have your students make observations

of the two schedules.

They should recognize that reading, writing, and math are strongly emphasized in both

5. Ask your students how the curricula in middle schools, junior highs, and high schools are

different from the curriculum in elementary schools. The most obvious difference is the fact that

school days are organized into periods of fixed lengths, such as 50 or 55 minutes.

6. Point out that the ideal middle school curriculum, as described in their texts, is quite rare in the

7.

of curriculum integration.

You might point out that the idea of integrated curricula seems very sensible, and it is

emotionally attractive. In practice, however, research indicates that students generally learn no

Chapter 9: The School Curriculum in an Era of Standard

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III. Forces that Influence the Curriculum

A. The Teacher

B. Standards and Accountability

Teaching Suggestions:

Forces that Influence the Curriculum

e your students to the different forces that influence curriculum

decisions:

1. Ask them to offer examples that

illustrate each of the forces. Then, display the examples for each, such as the influence of the

2. Remind them that in spite of outside forces, such as the standards movement and high-stakes

testing, they will still exert a great deal of control over the curriculum when they begin their

teaching careers.

4. provides an application of the

relationship between curriculum decisions and educational philosophy.

5. To introduce your students to the influence of standards in making curriculum decisions, display

6. Remind your students that standards and accountability will be a part of their teaching lives

when they begin their careers, but, remind them of how essentially effortlessly Suzanne

7. Accountability and High- have your students respond to the

directive on the first slide and the question on the second slide, and discuss their responses.

8. outlines some of the most

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9. To examine the role of textbooks as an influence on the cu Using

have your students respond to the question on the first slide, and discuss their

responses.

Remind them that textbook authors and publishers, in an effort to appeal to as wide a market as

IV. Controversial Issues in the Curriculum

A. Controversies in the Social Studies Curriculum

B. Sex Education

C. Character Education

D. Controversies in the Science Curriculum

1. Intelligent Design

D. Censorship

Technology and Teaching: Internet Issues and Controversies

Access

Content Screening: Censorship or Protection?

Plagiarism and Cheating

Learning to Use the Internet Effectively

Teaching Suggestions:

Controversial Issues in the Curriculum

cut and dried and that a number of controversies exist:

1. have your students respond to the

questions, and discuss their responses.

2.

Remind your students that in displaying this information your goal is not to change their beliefs,

3. To summarize and bring closure to the chapter, you may choose to display PPT 9.14

Reconsidering the Curriculum and have your students respond to and discuss the questions on

the slides.

Chapter 9: The School Curriculum in an Era of Standard

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SUGGESTED STUDENT PORTFOLIO ACTIVITIES

Portfolio Activity 9.1 is included at the end of the chapter. The following are additional suggested portfolio

activities.

Portfolio Activity 9.2: Making Curriculum Decisions

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7: Planning For Instruction

The purpose of this activity is to help you begin the process of making decisions about curriculum.

(You will have an opportunity to refine your portfolio entry when you study the process of instruction

in more detail.)

1.

Portfolio Activity 9.3: Curriculum Planning

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7: Planning for Instruction

The purpose of this activity is to encourage you to think about the topics you plan to teach in your first

Portfolio Activity 9.4: Making Decisions about Curriculum

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7: Planning for Instruction

The purpose of this activity is to acquaint you with resources, such as textbooks, that will influence

Portfolio Activity 9.5: Using Standards in Curriculum Planning

InTASC Core Teaching Standard 7: Planning for Instruction

The purpose of this activity is to acquaint you with using standards as a planning resource. Analyze

either state or district curriculum standards in one area of the curriculum (or compare two levels).

a. How recent are the standards?

b. Who constructed them (Where did they come from?

c. How are the standards organized (for example, chronologically, developmentally, topically)?

d. How do the topics covered compare with a text for this area?

How do you plan to use these standards during your first year as a teacher? How helpful will they be?

What other resources might prove helpful?

Chapter 9: The School Curriculum in an Era of Standard

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GOING INTO SCHOOLS

Many Introduction to Education courses include a field component.

1. Curriculum and Teacher Planning

Obtain a copy of a teacher’s lesson plans for a week. Based on the teacher’s plans, what is being

emphasized? What is being de-emphasized? What do these lesson plans tell you about the teacher’s

explicit and implicit curriculum?

2. Textbooks and the Curriculum

Examine the teacher‘s textbook (or textbooks). To what extent do the teacher’s lesson plans appear to

3.

Interview a teacher about different forces that shape his or her curriculum.

a. Ask her why they emphasize what they do, and why they de-emphasize other aspects of the

curriculum?

b. How much do they depend on textbooks to determine what they teach? How much do curriculum

guides influence what they teach? How much does testing influence what they teach?

c. Ask about the school’s extracurricular program. Find out who participates and why. (For example,

Do low-SES students and minorities participate as much as other students?) How important is the

4. The Implicit Curriculum

Observe in a classroom (for an extended period of time if possible) to see how the implicit curriculum

is reflected in classroom management.

a. What rules and procedures guide student behavior? How are they explained or defended?

b. When the teacher corrects or reprimands a student, what explanation or rationale is given?

5. Controversial Topics in the Curriculum

Interview a teacher about controversial topics in the curriculum. What is his or her position with

respect to the following controversial curricular issues:

a. Sex education. Should the schools teach sex education, or should it be the responsibility of parents

terms of sex education

b. Morals and values education. Should schools teach morals and values? If so, how should they be

taught?

c. The under-representation of minorities and women in the curriculum. Does the teacher believe

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6. Technology: Censorship and Internet Filtering

-filtering policy. Ask to see the policy. Is the policy

effective and easy to implement? Are there any gray areas? Are parents active in shaping the policy?