Developing the curriculum chapter 13

CHAPTER 13: EVALUATING THE CURRICULUM

Developing the CurriculumEighth Edition

Peter F. OlivaWilliam R. Gordon II

Oliva/Gordon Developing the Curriculum, 8e. © 2012, 2009, 2005, 2001, 1997 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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AFTER STUDYING THIS CHAPTER YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

•Describe several processes for evaluating the curriculum.

•Explain the major features of at least two models of curriculum evaluation.

•Describe how one or more models of curriculum evaluation can be used by curriculum planners.

•Select and apply a model of curriculum evaluation.

•Describe eight principles of curriculum construction and explain their significance to curriculum planners.


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CLARIFICATION OF TERMS

•Educational Evaluation, encompasses all kinds of evaluations that come under the aegis of the school. It includes evaluation not only of curriculum and instruction but also of the grounds, buildings, administration, supervision, personnel, transportation, and so on.


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• Instructional evaluation, discussed in Chapter 12, is an assessment of:○The pupils’ achievement○The instructor’s performance○The effectiveness of a particular approach or methodology


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•Curriculum evaluation includes instructional evaluation. Curriculum evaluation also goes well beyond the purposes of instructional evaluation into assessment of the program and related areas.


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PURPOSES AND PROBLEMS OF CURRICULUM EVALUATION

•Problems in Evaluation

○Many concede that one place where we are vulnerable in education is in evaluating the programs we have already instituted.

○Careful evaluation can be very complicated. It requires know-how on the part of the evaluators and, therefore, training in evaluation.


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DELIMITING EVALUATION

•Some instructors and curriculum planners believe that assessing the achievement of instructional objectives constitutes curriculum evaluation; however, instruction and curriculum are not the same.

• Instructional evaluation may reveal that pupils are achieving the instructional objectives. On the other hand, unless we evaluate the curriculum—the programs—we may be effectively teaching the wrong things.


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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EVALUATION AND RESEARCH

•Evaluation is a continuous process by which data are gathered and judgments made for the purpose of improving a system. Thorough evaluation is essential to curriculum development.

•Evaluation is perceived as a process of making judgments, whereas research is perceived as the process of gathering data as bases for judgments.


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• A variety of models have been developed showing the types of evaluation that schools should carry out and the processes they should follow.

• The most fundamental approach to curriculum evaluation—one that must be taken regardless of other supporting approaches—is the assessment of achievement of the specified curriculum objectives.

EVALUATION MODELS


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ASSESSMENT OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF CURRICULUM CONSTRUCTION AND

ORGANIZATION

•Eight concepts that present perennial or continuing problems are considered in this book. Each is presented as a guiding principle to which curriculum workers must give attention.


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THE EIGHT CONCEPTS OF EVALUATION

• Eight concepts that present perennial or continuing problems are:1. scope 2. relevance 3. balance 4. integration 5. sequence 6. continuity 7. articulation 8. transferability


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EIGHT CONCEPTS (CONTINUED)

• An evaluation process cognizant of these problems would provide answers to such questions as:○ Is the scope of the curriculum adequate○ Is the curriculum relevant?○ Is there balance in the curriculum?○ Is curriculum integration desirable?○ Is the curriculum properly sequenced?○ Is there continuity of programs?○ Are curricula well articulated between levels?○ Are learnings transferable?


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SCOPE

•Scope is the breadth of the curriculum—the “what.”

•The major task in planning the scope of the curriculum is selection of content, organizing elements, organizing centers, or integrative threads from the wealth of possible choices.


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RELEVANCE

•Relevance is the usefulness of content to the learner.

•Relevance, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. Curriculum planners must deal first with perceptions of relevance before they can deal with the question of relevance itself.

•A consensus of the opinions of the various constituencies and patrons of the school should be sought by curriculum workers.


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BALANCE

•The term “Balance” has a variety of meanings and can be used to describe the structure of the curriculum as well as meeting the needs to the learner.

•Curriculum planners should strive for balance among a number of variables. When a curriculum gives excessive attention to one dimension or to one group and ignores or minimizes attention to others, the curriculum may be said to be out of balance and in need of being brought into balance.


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INTEGRATION

• Integration, in the context of a curriculum construction concept, means the blending, fusion, or unification of disciplines.

•A fully integrated curriculum tears down barriers between disciplines and fuses disciplines under overarching themes or topics.


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SEQUENCE

•Sequence is the order in which the organizing elements or centers are arranged by the curriculum planners. Attention must be paid to prerequisite learning requirements.

•Whereas scope is referred to as “the what” of curriculum organization, sequence is referred to as “the when.”

•Sequence answers the questions of when and where the focal points will be placed


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CONTINUITY

•Continuity is the planned repetition of content at successive levels, each time at an increased level of complexity. Planning a curriculum for continuity requires a high degree of expertise, which demands both knowledge of the subject field and knowledge of the learners.

•Spiraling the curriculum- the introduction and reintroduction of concepts, skills, and knowledge- is used as a means to ensure continuity.


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ARTICULATION

•Articulation is the meshing of organizing elements across school levels—that is, across elementary and middle or junior high schools, across junior high or middle and senior high schools, and across senior high school and college.

•Sequence, continuity, and articulation are all related concepts. Continuity and articulation are perceived as dimensions of sequencing.


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TRANSFERABILITY

•Transferability is that characteristic of learning which when realized in one setting permits it to be carried over into another setting. Although there is no proof that certain subjects per se enhance the transfer of learning, there is some evidence to support the thesis that teaching basic principles of a discipline and stressing their application increase transfer. Transfer is a much-desired goal of education.


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CURRICULUM EVALUATION

•Curriculum planners engage in various types of evaluation and research. Among the types of evaluation are context, input, process, and product. Among the types of research are action, descriptive, historical, and experimental. In another vein, curriculum planners engage in both formative (process or progress) evaluation and in summative (outcome or product) evaluation.


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•The most fundamental approach to curriculum evaluation—one that must be taken regardless of other supporting approaches—is the assessment of achievement of the specified curriculum objectives.


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•Curriculum planners must determine whether the programmatic (i.e., curricular) objectives have been achieved. If the curriculum objectives have been reached, planners would then identify next steps by specifying new curriculum objectives and establishing new priorities.

• If the curriculum objectives have not been met, planners must decide whether the objectives still merit pursuing and if so, what measures must be taken to achieve them.


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•Curriculum evaluators from both inside and outside are employed by school systems. Much of the burden for curriculum evaluation falls on teachers as they work in the area of curriculum development. Following a set of agreed-on standards improves the evaluation process.


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A FINAL THOUGHT:

•Evaluation is the means for determining what needs improvement and for providing a basis for effecting that improvement.