Introduction to Education/Foundations Curriculum BTSD Topic: Curriculum Objective: Classify the types of school curriculum. BTSD Topic: Observe different classrooms and identify the types of curriculum present in each (null, extra, formal, informal, etc.). BTSD Title: Identifying Curriculum Types Curriculum encompasses all that students experience in school. It includes subject matter, organization, planned educational experiences, and extracurricular activities. In short, curriculum is simply everything teachers teach and students learn at school. As teachers, we must be aware that we often teach more, and sometimes less, than we intend to. Some of what we teach is explicit and purposeful. Some of what we teach is unintentional. For this reason, teachers need to understand the four types of curriculum and how they impact the experiences of our students. These four types include: Explicit curriculum. o What does this mean for me as a teacher? What am I purposefully presenting to my students? What are my goals and objectives? What courses do my students take? What specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes do I want my students to acquire? Implicit curriculum. o What does this mean for me as a teacher? What behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes am I unintentionally teaching to my students? Null curriculum. o What does this mean for me as a teacher? What perspectives, knowledge, and attitudes am I leaving out of the curriculum? Are my actions purposeful? Extracurriuclum. o What does this mean for me as a teacher? What activities are available to my students that are offered in addition to academic studies? Do my students have access to music, drama, special interest clubs, sports, and honor societies? In the following activities, you will watch three different classroom scenarios. As you watch, consider the roles that each of the types of curriculum plays in instruction. Consider how you, as a future teacher, need to be aware of these factors and influences. Part 1
Part 2 Part 3 Part 1 Part 1 Introduction Text: In this episode, you see a fourth-grade teacher employing a combination of large- and small-group instruction in a lesson on multiplication using a balance beam. In their cooperative learning groups, students apply problem-solving techniques to get their balance beams to balance. Video Asset: Cooperative Learning http://abavtooldev.pearsoncmg.com/myeducationlab/singleplay.php?projectid=parkay&clipid= GM_12_131.flv Question 1 Hint: What is the teacher overtly teaching to her students? What are her goals and objectives? What knowledge does she want students to acquire? Question 1 Feedback: Yes, this example includes the explicit curriculum. Mrs. Newhall wants students to understand that a balance beam will balance if the number of tiles times the distance of one side of the pivot point is equal to the number of tiles times the distance on the other side of the pivot point. Other examples of explicit curriculum in this lesson include the learning materials she uses with students, the curriculum guide that she used in planning, and her lesson plan for the day s activities. Question 2 Hint: What behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge does Mrs. Newhall unintentionally teach her students? Question 2 Feedback: Yes, this lesson shows several examples of implicit curriculum. The teacher appears knowledgeable, well organized, and personable. Her attitude may help her students to develop similar positive habits and abilities. She is an effective classroom manager, as she quickly redirects off-task behavior, modeling an emphasis on orderly, appropriate behavior. Question 3 Text: Does this lesson include examples of null curriculum? Explain your Question 3 Feedback: Yes, this lesson shows an example of null curriculum. In this lesson, the teacher could have utilized a more traditional, direct-instruction approach to learning the concept of multiplication. The teacher chose to encourage her students to form their own theories by
exploring these concepts on their own, instead of providing the answers to the questions. By omitting the explicit mathematical concept, she demonstrates an emphasis on constructive learning and allowing students to interact with the material. Question 4 Feedback: Math clubs and/or honor societies are two possible extracurricular activities that might be used to reinforce student learning. Part 2 Part 2 Introduction Text: In this video, Sue Brush, a second-grade teacher, works with her students on the concept of graphing. As you watch, think about what students are learning through the course of the activity. Video Asset: What Are Students Learning? http://abavtooldev.pearsoncmg.com/myeducationlab/simpleviewer.php?projectid=foundations& clipid=fi_11_116.flv Question 1 Hint: What is the teacher overtly teaching to her students? What are her goals and objectives? What knowledge does she want students to acquire? Question 1 Feedback: Yes, the explicit curriculum in this activity is math, specifically graphing. The explicit curriculum also includes the materials used in the lesson, such as curriculum and pacing guides, and lesson plans. Question 2 Hint: What behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge does the teacher unintentionally teach her students? Question 2 Feedback: Yes, because the teacher in this video is demonstrating that learning is fun. In the classroom, there is a high level of respect for each other and of professionalism. Question 3 Text: Does this lesson include examples of null curriculum? Explain your Question 3 Feedback: Yes, this lesson includes an example of null curriculum. As with the previous video, the teacher does not overtly provide the mathematical concept to her students.
Instead, she provides guidelines and then allows her students to solve problems on their own. By omitting the overt objective, she emphasizes student-oriented instruction and constructivism. Question 4 Feedback: As with the previous video, students might find math or technology clubs useful, as well as honor organizations and/or societies. Part 3 Final Quiz Part 3 Introduction Text: Video Asset: Rees Multigrade, 3 5 Teacher: Room Tour (Chris Roberts, Teacher Rees Elementary School) http://abavtooldev.pearsoncmg.com/myeducationlab/singleplay.php?projectid=powell&clipid= 3.ChrisTeacher.flv Question 1 Hint: What is the teacher overtly teaching to students? What are the goals and objectives? What knowledge does he want students to acquire? Question 1 Feedback: Yes, the explicit curriculum is the vocabulary associated with movement, as well as the materials and planning required for the lesson. Question 2 Hint: What behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge does the teacher unintentionally teach students? Question 2 Feedback: Yes, the implicit curriculum is evidenced by the organization of the classroom. Students in grades 3 5 work together in a village, which implies the importance of cooperation, as well as the benefits of diversity. The lesson also implies an emphasis on kinesthetic learning through activity. Question 3 Text: Does this lesson include examples of null curriculum? Explain your Question 3 Feedback: Yes, because rather than explicitly presenting information (e.g., pourand-store), the teacher asks students to create and demonstrate their own definitions of the
movement vocabulary terms. By leaving out a teacher-directed definition, students are taught that their opinion matters, and that they have a voice in their own learning. Question 4 Feedback: There are many extracurricular activities that would reinforce the learning in this video. These include sports, dance, exercise classes, and other social clubs. Question 5 Text: How do the four types of curriculum work together to shape what we teach in classrooms? Question 5 Hint: How do the four types of curriculum relate to each other? How do they fit together to form what we think of as school curriculum? Question 5 Feedback: We have learned through these activities that curriculum is a much broader concept than many people understand. Curriculum is everything that happens within the four walls of the school building. It is everything that teachers teach and everything that students learn. The explicit curriculum, often the most obvious, directs the purposeful actions of teachers and students. It tends to guide what happens in the classroom. The implicit curriculum shapes HOW the explicit curriculum is presented, and helps to form attitudes and perceptions of students. The null curriculum omits particular types of information or controversial issues, and also impacts the explicit curriculum. The extracurriculum provides reinforcement of learning, as well as develops social skills in students. These skills help students be more successful in achieving the goals of the explicit curriculum. Mapping Standards to Building Teaching Skills and Dispositions: INTASC Standard 7: The teacher plans instruction based on knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.