lecture 5:

Curriculum Development in ESL: Roles and

Responsibilities

Dr. Douglas FlemingFaculty of Education

There are four basic orientations in regards to general education curricula:

Scholar/ Academic Social Efficiency Learner Centered Social Reconstruction

Schiro (2008)

Scholar/ Academicoften called ‘rationalist’, ‘traditional’,

‘knowledge-centered’, ‘intellectual’ or ‘canon-centered’.

the purpose of education is to impart accumulated knowledge from culture and tradition

knowledge is constructed by academic disciplines: hierarchically-based communities searching for objective truths

curricula are constructed in ways that impart these truths to a new generation of students

all students should be exposed to disciplinary knowledge regardless of their vocational goals

an important prerequisite for participatory citizenship, critical thinking and social cohesion

often popular in times of political crisisassociated with Lester Ward, Charles Eliot,

W.E. DuBois, E.D. Hirsch, and Allan Bloombasis of current disciplinary models of

secondary school curricula

students are being initiated into disciplinary knowledge

imparting the basic tenants of the pertinent fieldbut, this is not a matter of inculcating

encyclopedic knowledgestudents should think and behave like novice

members of a discipline“participate in the process that makes possible

the establishment of knowledge” (Bruner, 1966, p.72).

Social Efficiencyoften called ‘technological’’, ‘social

behaviorist’, or ‘systems-based’.the purpose of education is to develop

people who are educated and trained for the needs of society or a specific milieu

curricula designed to achieve clearly defined concrete and measurable terminal objectives that are determined systematically and through scientifically-based procedures

students learn by doingthe focus of instruction is on the mastery

of skills and behaviors through practicelearning occurs in terms of cause/ effect

and stimulus/ responseinstruction is geared towards specific

work or home related purposesthere is no need for all students to learn a

uniform basic body of knowledge as a prerequisite for more advanced training

the selection and sequencing of instructional content is key

steps:◦define appropriate learning objectives;◦establish useful learning experiences;◦organize learning experiences to have a

maximum cumulative effect;◦evaluate and revise the curriculum.

stress on accountability to stakeholdersassociated with Franklin Bobbitt, Ralph Tyler

and B.F. Skinner

Learner-Centeredoften called ‘progressive’, ‘experiential’,

‘child study’, ‘self-actualization’ or ‘humanist’.

the purpose of education is to meet the needs of individuals so that they can grow in harmony with their own unique talents, skills and desires.

curricula are designed to expose students to contexts and influences that will stimulate growth and the construction of unique forms of meaning.

all students are uniquepedagogy is centered on the vision of an

ideal school which emphasizes first-hand experience, play, experimentation, and hands-on activities.

activities often have a focus that extends beyond the wall of the school

active democratic citizenship is emphasized associated with John Dewey, Jean-Jacques

Rousseau, Howard Gardner, Fredrich Froebel, G. Stanley Hall and Francis Parker

students are encouraged to become autonomous learners

learners are whole people engaged in the construction of meaning (constructivism)

learning occurs in stages and is done through many different types of styles

teachers are generalists, facilitators, diagnosticians and providers of learning environments

“a child’s own instincts… furnish the starting point for all education” (Dewey, 1897, p.77).

Social Reconstruction Ideologyoften called ‘critical’, or ‘society-centered’. the purpose of education is to help create a

more just society.based on an analysis of society as being

rife with crisis and inequalities based on problematic constructions of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and class.

curricula are designed to foster a commitment to societal change that addresses the above inequalities.

knowledge is socially constructed through experience

people shape their viewpoints through experiences in cultural practices and in the context of societal crisis

pedagogy is centered on the vision of an ideal society

associated with Lester Frank Ward, A. S. Neill, Ivan Illich, John Dewey, Miles Horton, Paulo Freire, Neil Postman and Charles Weingarten.

students should reevaluate their assumptions and viewpoints so that they become committed to societal change

activities within school should lead to actions outside of school

teachers have a collegial relationship with their students

“There is no such thing as teachers and students, but teacher/students and student/teachers ” (Freire, 1970, p.67).

Johnson (1989) conceived of three approaches

to how participants are assigned roles in curriculum implementation:◦specialist (top-down hierarchical chain of

command);◦ learner-centered (all participants are involved

at every stage of decision making);◦ integrated (all participants have an

awareness of all the decisions to be made, but have responsibility only in the areas in which they are best qualified).

To what degree should teachers be curriculum designers in ESL?

Markee (1997) pointed out that there have traditionally been three different levels of curriculum and lesson planning in ESL:Long-term strategic planning is the purview of

project directors or administrators;Medium-term tactical planning is produced through

negotiation between teachers and administrators;Short-term operational planning is developed

through negotiations between teachers and students.

Breen (1984), however, contended that these distinctions about curriculum decision-making roles are no longer valid in the context of communicative language teaching;

teachers organize activities that actively

engage students in using the target language;

thus, the activity of learning the language has become as important as the language itself;

these activities form the curriculum, rather than a rigid syllabus of language items.

group discussion:

what is your role in regards to curriculum planning?

what is your orientation towards curricula (Scholar/Academic; Social Efficiency; Learner Centered; Social Reconstruction)?

In your teaching situation, when would it be better to use:testing or assessmentsummative or formative assessmentpaper/pencil or performance assessment?