Homework answers / question archive / Learning Guide Unit 3 Overview Unit 3: Curriculum and the Educator   Topics:   Dewey: Experience and Education Personal Experience as contributory to understanding curriculum Teachers as Curricularists Learning Objectives: By the end of this Unit, you will be able to: Examine the work of Dewey and discover concepts of Experience in Education Evaluate curriculum concerns relative to teacher practice Assess the definition of curriculum based on an interview Appraise the role of curriculum and its relationship to educational practice Tasks: Peer assess Unit 2 Written Assignment Read the Learning Guide and Reading Assignments Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting to the Discussion Forum Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum Complete and submit the Written Assignment Meet with your assigned group and complete the pre-group work tasks outlined in the Group Work document Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity Introduction In this unit, we identify and describe the role of the teacher relative to curriculum theory and design

Learning Guide Unit 3 Overview Unit 3: Curriculum and the Educator   Topics:   Dewey: Experience and Education Personal Experience as contributory to understanding curriculum Teachers as Curricularists Learning Objectives: By the end of this Unit, you will be able to: Examine the work of Dewey and discover concepts of Experience in Education Evaluate curriculum concerns relative to teacher practice Assess the definition of curriculum based on an interview Appraise the role of curriculum and its relationship to educational practice Tasks: Peer assess Unit 2 Written Assignment Read the Learning Guide and Reading Assignments Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting to the Discussion Forum Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum Complete and submit the Written Assignment Meet with your assigned group and complete the pre-group work tasks outlined in the Group Work document Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity Introduction In this unit, we identify and describe the role of the teacher relative to curriculum theory and design

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Learning Guide Unit 3

Overview

Unit 3: Curriculum and the Educator
 

Topics:
 

• Dewey: Experience and Education
• Personal Experience as contributory to understanding curriculum
• Teachers as Curricularists

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this Unit, you will be able to:

1. Examine the work of Dewey and discover concepts of Experience in Education
2. Evaluate curriculum concerns relative to teacher practice
3. Assess the definition of curriculum based on an interview
4. Appraise the role of curriculum and its relationship to educational practice

Tasks:

• Peer assess Unit 2 Written Assignment
• Read the Learning Guide and Reading Assignments
• Complete the Discussion Assignment by posting to the Discussion Forum
• Respond to three of your fellow classmates’ posts in the Discussion Forum
• Complete and submit the Written Assignment
• Meet with your assigned group and complete the pre-group work tasks outlined in the Group Work document
• Complete and submit the Portfolio Activity
• Introduction

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• In this unit, we identify and describe the role of the teacher relative to curriculum theory and design.  You will formulate understandings of the teacher role based on the materials you encounter in this unit but also according to the professional experiences you determine are contributory to your own teacher self.
• You will discover your story of curriculum relative to the values around education employed within your teaching milieu and community.  Much of the work this week uses the narrative voice and so, you will read many teacher personal recounts and have the opportunity to compose your own.
• By exploring both theoretical and experiential stances, you compare and contrast curricular issues, policies, and dialogues and perhaps, hypothesize about curriculum and how it operates within your school and perhaps, your practice.

Learning Guide Unit 3

Reading Assignment

1. Ewing, R. (2013).  Curriculum and Assessment: Storylines. (2^nd Edition).  Australia and New Zealand: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from http://lib.oup.com.au/he/Education/samples/ewing_curriculum2e_sample.pdf

• 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.

2. Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Touchstone Book, Simon and Schuster. Retrieved from http://ruby.fgcu.edu/Courses/ndemers/Colloquium/ExperiencEducationDewey.pdf

• 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.

3. Chan, E.Y. (2012). The Transforming Power of Narrative in Teacher Education. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37 (3), 111-127. Retrieved from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1724&context=ajte

• 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.

4. Craig, C. (2011). Narrative inquiry in teaching and teacher education. Advances in Research on Teaching, 13, 19–42. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235282657_Narrative_inquiry_in_teaching_and_teacher_education

• 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. 

5. Meier, K.S. (n.d.). Role of Teachers in the Curriculum Process. Retrieved from http://work.chron.com/role-teachers-curriculum-process-5344.html

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

Optional Videos

1. 239MikeO. (2012, September 16). A short video interview with Prof. Jean Clandinin. [Video File]. Retrieved from (9:57)

• 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.

2. Davidson Films, Inc. (2010, June 21). John Dewey's Theories on Education and Learning: An Introduction to His Life and Work [Video File]. Retrieved from (3:56)

3. Wisdom, A. (2011, November 30). John Dewey Experience and Education: a brief summary
[Video File]. Retrieved from(8:55)

• 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.

Discussion Assignment

In the discussion forum, you are expected to participate often and engage in deep levels of discourse.  Please post your initial response as early in the unit as possible and continue to participate throughout the unit. You are required to post an initial response to the question/issue presented in the Forum and then respond to at least 3 of your classmates’ initial posts.  You should also respond to anyone who has responded to you. 

• Reflect on Dewey's (1938) chapters and recall the idea of experience as miseducative meaning enlightening but disconnected to later experiences and educative along the lines of the principle of continuity meaning experiences (past, present, future) are connected. For some teachers, the first is found in traditional notions of schooling and the latter in progressive approaches to schooling.  Construct your own interpretations of these two Deweyian notions of experience and state them to your peers in your discussion post.   Assess curriculum in your immediate milieu or subject area.  Which view of experience is most prevalent? Why? Share details of your opinion.

Discussion Forums will be assessed using this rubric.

Written Assignment

Ask someone the following question: “What does the word curriculum mean to you?”  You can phrase the question any way you would like but your intent is to get a general understanding of curriculum from the speaker.  Your choice of speaker (stranger, business partner, family member, co-worker, principal and so on) is up to you but if you want to make it interesting, maybe ask someone who is not directly involved in education.   

Ask the person to explain his or her viewpoint.  Where did s/he collect the information? Ask follow-up questions to get more details. 

Take note of the speaker’s response and write down or record the details immediately following the discussion.  Who did you ask?  When did you ask them?  Where did you ask them?  What was his/her immediate reaction?  This discussion should take no more than thirty minutes.  

Now, create the written narrative of the exchange.  Write about the experience and draw upon your notes to help build the story of the exchange.  In addition to constructing the story, describe the setting.  Conclude your written work by reflecting on the talk.  What did you learn about curriculum from this dialogue?

 The purpose of this assignment is two-fold.  In this course, you will be dialoguing the term curriculum with your online peers but in this activity, you discover what others in your immediate environment think/know about curriculum. 

The second purpose is to begin practicing the ideas of academic research specifically how to present a question to a participant, to collect data, and to record data.  Researchers have to begin somewhere and usually, they start by asking someone a particular question and taking notes.  I am not asking you to keep extensive data but just ask this question, take a few notes and compose a short summary of the exchange.  Use the narrative voice when writing to recount this experience.  

Submit a paper which is 2-3 pages in length (no more than 3-pages), exclusive of the reference page. The paper should be double-spaced.  The paper should cite at least 2 additional sources in APA format.  The paper should be well-written using Times New Roman, 12 point font. Check all content for grammar, spelling and to be sure that you have properly cited all resources (in APA format) used. A rubric will be used to evaluate your paper.

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a free website that provides excellent information and resources for understanding and using the APA format and style. The OWL website can be accessed here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Save a copy of this assignment and keep it handy because you will revisit it in the next unit.

 Proofread your work to make sure your responses are clear and coherent. Please be mindful of the quality of work you compose and turn in at the graduate level.   Contact your instructor if you have any questions or concerns.  

Papers will be peer-assessed using this rubric.

Group Activity

During this unit, you are asked to do complete two main tasks: getting together with your group and completing the individual part of the group project. Because this will be a document that was created by all of the members in your group, all group members must turn in a copy of the same document. Only group work is submitted to the Instructor for an assessment; individual papers do not meet the requirements of the assignment and will receive a zero.

First, please download the assignment documents below and read through them carefully.  If you have any questions individually or as a group, please contact your instructor ASAP.

• Group Project Assignment
• Group Activity Rubric

Second, you and the members of your group should begin communicating and working together to organize yourselves in preparation to complete the assignment that will be started in Unit 4.   

You should download this Group Work document and then in the Group Activity Forum, start engaging in discussion with your group members by:

1. Posting a brief introduction of your professional and/or educational background.
2. Identifying one or more online methods of communication you prefer with your group (Skype, Google docs, OneNote, etc.). 
3. Reviewing the Group Work document with members of your group.

It is recommended, that by the end of this unit, your group has identified a leader/project manager who will be responsible for coordinating the work of the group, agreed on the collaboration program/platform the group will use and have tested the platform to be sure everyone in the group can access it.  You should also review the document and address the questions and tasks outlined in it. 

This activity is due in Unit 6 and will be assessed by your instructor using the Group Activity Rubric.

Portfolio Activity

Building on the themes discussed in this unit, reflect on the following questions based on your own personal perspective.  Drawing on information gained from the reading in this and prior units, and your personal experiences and knowledge, compose an entry for your portfolio.

• What is the story of your teaching when it comes to curriculum theory, design or implementation? 
• Who created the curriculum and who administers it? 
• How much influence do you feel or think you have when it comes to curriculum theory and or design? 
• Describe your relationship with the curriculum in your school – is it an active or passive role?  Can you adapt or modify the curriculum objectives if situations arise? Do you feel supported in doing so?  If so or if not, share your reasons.
• Do you feel that the curriculum is favorable and serves the needs of your students overall?
• What elements of the curriculum do you feel truly work in your classroom?
• What is the greatest curricular obstacle you feel impedes student learning?

This activity will be assessed by your instructor using the Portfolio Activity rubric.