Student 1 & 2

Reply to other students post with at least 250 words, and minimum of 1 reference in current APA format.

Student #1 Post

Curriculum and instruction are intertwined in education. The curriculum is the teacher’s content; instruction is how the educator teaches the information (Gordon, Oliva, Taylor, 2019). What students learn is multi-layered and includes the following:  content, skills and strategies, books and additional resources (Lalor, 2016). Curriculum is formal, operational, taught, assessed, and learned. To maximize students’ learning, teachers and curriculum designers must create a curriculum that meets the needs of students.  This is achieved by determining the objectives, deciding the content that will be taught, teaching methods, and evaluations (Yeung, Lam, Leung, & Lo, 2012). National and local standards are factors in what is taught in formal curriculum. Careful selection of materials is essential because time with students is limited.  Therefore, teachers need to use instructional time well.  

Educators are responsible for providing students opportunities to “learn and demonstrate the content, skills, processes, and dispositions embedded within the standards” (Laylor, 2016, p. 4). Some problems that educators face while implementing their curriculum are trying to incorporate every state and national standard, attempting to design ways for students to comprehend knowledge, and trying to match their school districts’ standards. To make the struggles easier to handle, collaboration with other professionals is ideal when creating and improving the curriculum.  The effects of teachers’ collaborative design on curriculum change have been reported by several scholars (Voogt, Pieters, and Handelzalts, 2016). Collaborative design among educators positively affects professional development and the implementation of a new curriculum, as teachers develop competencies and practice and develop ownership of the change. This teamwork and exchange of ideas provide optimal ideas for providing a strong curriculum. With a solid curriculum, educators are better equipped to teach students. 

“Education should be in some way enrich the life of the individual” (Gordon et al., p. 43).  Proverbs 23:12 says, “Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge” (English Standard Version). God has created us to be pursuers of knowledge. Education is a way of bettering ourselves, something He asks of us. We are not to be dull people trapped in a single mindset. By learning and bettering ourselves, we are not only making ourselves better people, but we are also honoring God and giving Him glory. God has called us to enrich ourselves and hunt knowledge. It is up to us, as teachers, to not only be servants of God and help students become educated to inspire a lifelong pursuance of knowledge through a well-developed curriculum, but to accept that we do not know everything, and turn to education to improve ourselves and those we impact.

References

Gordan, W. R., Oliva, P. F., Taylor, R. T. (2019). Developing the curriculum. New York City, New York: Pearson.

Lalor, A. D. M. (2016). Ensuring high-quality curriculum : How to design, revise, or adopt curriculum aligned to student success. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu

Voogt, J. M., Pieters, J. M. & Handelzalts, A. (2016). Teacher collaboration in curriculum design teams: Effects, mechanisms, and conditions. Educational Research and Evaluation, 22(3-4), 121-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2016.1247725

Yeung, S., Lam, J., Leung, A., & Lo, Y. (2012). Change in Curriculum Design. In Curriculum Change and Innovation (pp. 93-124). Aberdeen, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Retrieved January 20, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1xwfn8.13

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Student #2 Post

Curriculum as defined by Webster dictionary is: (1) the courses offered by an educational institution (2) a set of courses constituting an area of specialization. Curriculum differs from instruction as curriculum is what the teachers teach, as the curriculum serves as a guide to instruction. Curriculum is the overall design and framework of education that refers to all the subjects that make up a course of study for school. Instruction is “how” the teachers deliver the curriculum and content to the students.

Designing and developing a curriculum is an implementation and process that involves numerous committees and teachers. The process can be rigorous and lengthy as the curriculum development is designed to strengthen and implement change. A range of tools exist to support the curriculum change, development, and review, but simple changes need to take into account many factors to foster an appropriate educational innovation (McKimm & Jones, 2018, p. 52).  Curriculum changes, teacher self-efficacy, and interactively involving all parties involved is timely and necessary to ensure the full implementation is timely and the transition is a smooth process.

There are certain challenges that can occur when deciding to develop a new curriculum. Encouraging and reassuring parents, families and community that a new curriculum plan will be exciting and innovative for students should address any controversial issues or concerns regarding the new curriculum. Coordinating meetings with the curriculum committee to present findings and recommendations helps remind teachers and parents how the new curriculum reflects the school’s vision and aims. Gordon et al., (2019) states, “the search for the definition of curriculum is clouded when the theoretician responds to the term, not in the context of what curriculum is, but what it does or should do-that is, its purpose” (p.6)

The standards that are used in my location are the Georgia Standards. The standards for Georgia are state adopted. The standards support empirical instruction and practices, which provide differentiating strategies that are effective in teaching and include a balanced curriculum for the whole child. The state of Georgia adopted standards for all students Kindergarten through 12th grade in areas of English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Georgia is also part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the state has established academic standards and statewide testing that meet federal requirements. States adopt curriculum and a core set of standards as it requires students to demonstrate a mastery of content. The Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) designed a curriculum map that frameworks grade level “models of instruction” to support teachers on the implementation of the criteria. The frameworks are intended for school systems and teachers to use the models as is; or to modify them to better serve classroom needs. Additionally, the performance standards incorporate a context standard, which tells the teacher what a student is expected to know or concepts the student should master according to the curriculum. The GPS concepts are based off of suggested task, sample student work, and teacher commentary on a student’s work. Scripture tells us, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (Psalm 32:8, New International Version).  By supporting the varieties of how students learn, teachers can better access strategies for engagement in the classroom. The Georgia Performance Standards are designed to define level of work that demonstrates achievement of the standards, enabling the teacher to lead the child through the learning process, while challenging them not only to do their best, but to become lifelong learners.

References

Gordon, W.R., Taylor, R.T., Oliva, P.F. (2019). Developing the curriculum: Improved outcomes through systems approaches (the ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

McKimm, J., & Jones, P. K. (2018). Twelve tips for applying change models to curriculum design, development, and delivery. Medical Teacher, 40(5), 520–526. doi:10.1080/0142159X.2017.139137

Webster Dictionary. (2019). Merriam-Webster Since 1828. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/