Curriculum Design and Evaluation - Literature review Example

Running Head: Curriculum Design and Evaluation Curriculum Design and Evaluation [Institute’s Curriculum Design & Evaluation In specific, this paper will attempt to discuss one of the approaches to curriculum development and evaluation specifically that will allow a critical understanding of the topic. This paper will discuss the following three main questions regarding the curriculum evaluation: (1) how is this approach different from personal approach to the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of instruction. (2) How effective would this approach be as a guide to curriculum within post-secondary curriculum area? (3) What is its value or worth for educators or trainers who are designing, implementing, or evaluating curriculum today? Since centuries, humans have endeavored to deliver education to young members of the society, and in some instances, educators and scholars in the past focused and promoted the notion of adult education as well (Sunal, 2007). However, largely, the delivery of education remained the authority of teachers and educators, whereas, learners and students remained at a defendant level. Still, a huge number of educational institutions are practicing traditional approaches to teaching that often is an effective methodology; however, in recent years, educators (Bransford, 2000) are promoting the consideration of non-traditional approaches, especially after introduction of adult education in which, traditional approaches cannot ensure effectiveness. In addition, curriculum is another major notion in the field of education that has unfortunately not been able to acquire its deserving significance, and it is observation that majority of teachers still consider text books as the curriculum and carry out their teaching practices without even knowing about different aspects of curriculum philosophy. Educators have specified that curriculum is the foremost and most essential requirement for the teachers, and it is always a tool of creating a genuine worldview and providing knowledge in an effective manner (Sunal, 2007). In other words, curriculum development allows an instructor to evaluate different philosophies of the notion and develop a personal approach based on specific requirements of the class, such as traditional/non-traditional, primary/secondary students, etc. For this reason, curriculum approaches have become an imperative task for teachers in the recent years that play a major role in the development of students intellectually, socially, as well as psychologically. Learner-driven Approach Particularly, learner-driven approach will be the focus of this paper that has now become one of the most popular approaches to curriculum in recent years. One of the major reasons of choosing learner-driven approach from a list of different curriculum approaches, such as “traditional approach, subject approach, market-driven approach, critical approach” (Parkay, 2000), etc is its effectiveness and major utilization in post-secondary classes, as well as in adult education. In addition, learner-driven approach is very much different from the usual traditional approach that was previously personal approach to the design, development, and assessment of instruction in the past. Now the paper will discuss and analyze different aspects of the learner-driven approach that will allow identification of differences between the two approaches to curriculum, as well as will allow an understanding of the effectiveness of this approach for other educators and instructors in different educational institutions around the globe. Malcolm Knowles (Parkay, 2000) is one of the greatest names in the field of education that has played a significant role in proposing the theory of adult learning that is the basis of learner-driven approach, and has become a desired approach to curriculum in recent years. According to Knowles, contrary to primary or secondary students, adults or post-secondary students acquire a task-centered approach towards education. In other words, education for the sake of education is not the accepted notion in the selected area of expertise for this paper: post-secondary education. Such a contrary difference in the worldview of post-secondary students illustrates their constructive motive for education that allows an instructor to integrate this motive in the process of curriculum development, and such integration results in the identification of learner-driven approach to curriculum design and evaluation. For some skeptic educators, learner-driven approach is a complicated and blurry approach to curriculum (Bransford, 2000). One of the major reasons of such skepticism towards this approach is due to its contradictions with the traditional approach that allows instructor to dominate in the classroom and consider students as subject matters. On the other hand, learner-driven approach recommends fundamental role of learners in the designing and determination of curriculum. Interestingly, huge number of teachers and educators in post-secondary contexts acknowledge the importance of learner-driven approach to curriculum and accept that they are using the same approach; however, analysis (Bransford, 2000) of their utilization has indicated interesting and unfortunate indications. For instance, an enormous number of teachers have a misunderstanding about the learner-driven approach as they consider the approach allowing students to decide their sitting places in the classroom or allowance to decide one of the exercises from the textbooks that is not what learner-driven approach is all about. On contrary, learner-driven approach advocates the participation of students in the development of teaching materials based on their interests, and social and cultural environments that is the crux of learner-driven approach (Slattery, 1995). According to recent researches (Parkay, 2000), it has now become very imperative for instructors to respond to interests and worldview of students in order to maintain effectiveness of the curriculum due to different factors such as globalization, modernization, etc. From this perspective of learner-driven approach, it is not about deciding sitting places, but contributing in the process of creating instructions prior to the commencement of learning process. Studies (Smith, 2001) have indicated that students in the post-secondary environments are individuals that already have the authority over decisions in their personal lives. If the school environment will treat them as young defendants from a traditional approach, they will confront a contradictory difference between their social/personal and educational life, and this contradiction is not effective for their learning process according to advocates of learner-driven approach. For this purpose, learner-driven approach to curriculum promotes the participation of students in curriculum development based on the theory of constructivism that gives significant importance to learning environment when it enables the learners to relate the information with their prior understanding and skills. In addition, learner-driven approach to curriculum focuses more on social application of skills and information rather than limiting the mode to only theoretical in the classrooms. Advocates of learner-driven approach argue that social influences play a greater role in adult students, and for this reason, it is very important to facilitate students in applying the learning into their different social environments that will be the major achievement of curriculum (Greer, 2002). From this perspective, learner-driven approach promotes contextual assessment and evaluation process rather than on-paper quantitative evaluation that may allow the learner to know about his/her performance; however, such evaluation will not go out of the class with the students in their own environments. In this regard, learner-driven approach to curriculum suggests development of curriculum while considering students as active agents having their own information from their social and mental systems, and benefiting from their real-life information to create teaching materials that will allow them to relate more effectively with the learning process. In this regard, it is observation (Greer, 2002) that huge numbers of educators are now accepting and acknowledging this perspective of learner-driven approach and are putting efforts to focus more the application of skills and information based on students’ interests and skills rather than depending on texts dominated by instructors’ interests and skills. From this understanding of learner-driven approach, it will be a very effective and efficient approach for the post-secondary classes, and especially for non-traditional students, as this approach will be providing more authority to students, and such provision will allow students to reflect more clearly and efficiently during the learning process that often lacks in post-secondary environments (Sunal, 2007). In other words, this approach will be a decisive factor in motivating learners, and will be effective in a direct relationship of students and teachers that once again lacks in traditional approaches to curriculum. Conclusion Conclusively, the paper has discussed some of the significant aspects of learner-driven approach to curriculum development, implementation, and assessment. The paper has identified and analyzed different studies related to the topic; however, it is anticipation that future researches in this regard will allow a more comprehensive and updated understanding of the impact. Moreover, although this approach seems very effective; however, teachers and instructors should not take and implement the approach directly, and must put their contributions based on the social and cultural contexts that are essential for the consideration and implementation of any approach to curriculum. In other words, teachers will be the major factor that will determine the approach and not theories of such approaches at the end of the day. It is an expectation that the paper will be beneficial for students, teachers, and professionals in better understanding of the topic. References Bransford, J. (2000). How People Learn. The National Academy Press. Greer, R. D. (2002). Designing Teaching Strategies. Academic Press. Parkay, F. W. (2000). Curriculum Planning. Allyn and Bacon-Longwood. Slattery, P. (1995). "The reconceptualization of curriculum and instruction." Curriculum Development in the Postmodern Era. Garland Reference Library. Smith, C. (2001). "The working conditions of adult literacy teachers." Focus on Basics. Volume 4D, pp. 1-7. Sunal, Cynthia S. (2007). The Enterprise of Education. IAP. Read More