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Code No. 838 Assignment 1

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80 views18 pages

Code No. 838 Assignment 1

Uploaded by

Tmo Khwazakhela
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© © All Rights Reserved
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NAME: SAIF ULLAH

PROGRAM: M.ED
ROLL NUMBER: CC605606
SEMESTER: AUTUMN 2020

ASSIGNMENT NO. 01
COURSE CODE NO. 0838

1|Page
‫بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم‬

Q.1 Discuss the anatomy of curriculum.


Ans: Anatomy of curriculum:
The word ‘anatomy’ in this context denotes an overview of the bare structure of a
curriculum. Therefore, the key components of the curriculum are:
Context – under this component, items like geographical location, venues, staffing and
resources are considered.
Aims and objectives – the curriculum will develop certain goals is expects to achieve, and
what its ideology is in supporting and aiding the students to achieve success. Aims and objectives
will often reflect what is needed locally and nationally;
Aims of Elementary Education
• Provide knowledge and develop skills, attitudes, values essential to personal development and
necessary for living in and contributing to a developing and changing society.
• Provide learning experiences which increase the child’s awareness of and responsiveness to the
changes in the society;
• Promote and intensify knowledge, identification with and love for the nation and the people to
which he belongs; and
• Promote work experiences which develop orientation to the world of work and prepare the
learner to honest and gainful work.
Aims of Secondary Education
• Continue to promote the objectives of elementary education and
• Discover and enhance the different aptitudes and interests of students in order to equip them with
skills for productive endeavor and or to prepare them for tertiary schooling.
Aims of Tertiary Education
• Provide general education programs which will promote national identity, cultural
consciousness, moral integrity and spiritual vigor;
• Train the nation’s manpower in the skills required for national development;
• Develop the professions that will provide leadership for the nation; and
• Advance knowledge through research and apply new knowledge for improving the quality of
human life and respond effectively to changing society
Curriculum content – this relates to the knowledge, skills and beliefs within the
curriculum. Considering the type of subject matter, amount, sequence and level of content.

Curriculum methods – the teaching and learning methods to be used within the course.
Teaching methods should stimulate the learner’s desire to develop the cognitive, affective,
psychomotor, social and spiritual domain of the individual. In the choice of teaching methods,
learning styles of the students should be considered. Whatever methods the teacher utilizes to
implement the curriculum, there will be some guide for the selection and use. Here are some of
them: Teaching methods are means to achieve the end there is no single best teaching method.
Teaching methods should stimulate the learner’s desire to develop the cognitive, affective,
psychomotor, social and spiritual domain of the individual. In the choice of teaching methods,
learning styles of the students should be considered. Every method should lead to the development
of the learning outcome in three domains Flexibility should be a consideration in the use of
teaching methods

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Curriculum assessment – This component sets out the assessment strategy and methods
to be used to test the students’ performance.

Curriculum evaluation – Will include how and when the curriculum is to be evaluated
e.g. formatively in an ongoing manner, or summative at the end of the course.

According to Lawton D. et al (1976, p.21), the anatomy of curriculum are the goals,
objectives, content, processes, resources and means of evaluation of all the learning experiences
planned for pupils both in and out H school and community through class room instruction and
related programmes (for example-field trips. library programmes, work experience education,
guidance and extra class-room activities).
The main elements of curriculum are as under:
a) Programme of Studies.
b) Programme of Activities,
c) Programme of Guidance.

(a) Programme of Studies


This refers to various subjects like History. Languages, Mathematics, Science, etc.
Emphasis on the study of a subject/subjects has changed from time to time in accordance with the
philosophical and sociological ideals. Conservation and promotion of culture has been an
important determinant in the selection of the contents of the subjects. In view of the vastness of
culture, principle of selection is followed. The level of information to be imparted at a particular
stage or class is graded suitably.
The methods of imparting knowledge are determined on the basis of psychological
findings especially regarding learning.
(b) Programme of Activities
With the changing concepts of education and consequently curriculum, an increasing
emphasis is being laid on the organization of various activities in the schools. In view of the
importance of activities in the promotion of ideals of citizenship, cooperative living and
democracy, many educators advocate that curriculum should be envisaged in terms of activities
rather than subject. The principles of learning emphasize that participation in activities goes a long
way in sublimating the instincts of children and making teaching-learning more enjoyable as well
as effective.
(c) Programme of Guidance
A comprehensive programme of guidance includes helping students solve their
educational, vocational and personal problems. With the rapid changes in the society in various
fields, it has become very necessary to include guidance programmes in curriculum.
Moreover, about elements of curriculum you will read in unit No.3 about the content,
objectives. Instructional strategies and evaluation.

Five key anatomy of curriculum development , according to Tyler “it is essential as a part
of comprehensive theory of organization to show just what are the elements will serve satisfactory
as organizing elements.” According to Herrick and Tyler, following are the components and
elements of curriculum development.

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1. Situational analysis
2. Formulation of objectives
3. Selection of content, scope and sequence
4. Activities, strategies and method of teaching
5. Evaluation

Situational Analysis
Situational analysis means the analysis of different conditions such as emotional, political,
cultural, religious and geographical condition of a country. This will help the curriculum planners
in the selection of objectives, selection of organization of learning materials and in suggesting
appropriate evaluation procedure.

Formulation of Objectives
There are four main factors for formulating the objectives of education. These are

1. The society
2. The knowledge
3. The learner
4. The learning process
All of these factors are to be considered while selecting and formulating the educational objectives.

Selection of Content
One of the important elements is the selection of content for a subject. At the time of
subject matter selection, the following factors are to be kept in mind:

1. Available sources and resource


2. Demand of the society
3. International needs
4. Level and age of the learner or student
5. Methods of content organization
6. Number of courses offered
7. Quantity and qualification of teaching staff
8. Scope of subject matter
9. System of examination
10. Type of society and culture

Strategies and Method of Teaching


These are strategies and methods of teaching adopted by the teachers during instruction
and learning experiences. This will certainly not fair to ask a teacher for achieving certain
objectives without giving any guidelines. In most of the countries curriculum development is a
centralized process. Teachers are not directly involved in this phase. Most of the teachers do not
know the process of achieving desired goals. After determining the goals and objectives the next
problem is the selection of strategies and methods of teachers. What we should give to our
students. Should a curriculum be fixed or flexible, constant, common or differentiated?

Evaluation
Evaluation is one of the dynamic process, which needs a continuous research and
evaluation for its betterment in order to cope with the variable demands of the society and bring
about desirable changes. Curriculum evaluation is not a student evaluation. It is a broader term
being used to make judgment about the worth and effectiveness of it. With the help of evaluation
phase experts can modify the curriculum by bringing about desirable changes.
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References:
1. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-anatomy-of-a-curriculum
2. https://www.slideshare.net/simplytrue005/elementscomponents-of-curriculum

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Q.2 Explained the social models, interaction models, information processing
models.
Ans: Social models, interaction models, information processing models.
There are a number of relatively diverse theoretical perspectives in the field of
psychological models of the teaching learning process. In addition to the work of several theorists
of your own choice, you studied the key ideas of: Ausubel, Piaget, Thelen, Rogers and Skinner. It
was stressed that each of these writers tended to focus on a relatively limited aspect of human
experience, while neglecting other aspects. For the sake of conceptual refinement, the narrow foci
of researchers are almost obligatory, however, the writers of curriculum documents are often
interested in a wide range of educational outcomes, and therefore a wide range of objectives and
associated learning experiences, which together are likely to reflect a diverse range of
psychological models of the teaching-learning process. So, wake one theorist, or one family of
models om teaching, might appear to have been given emphasis in a particular document, it is
unlikely that such an emphasis will totally exclude the embodiment of principles drawn from a
number of other models of teaching. After all, most educators are interested in the "whole child".
In the main, then, in analyzing your chosen curriculum document, you should look for the
reflection of a number of psychological sources in the structure of the document.
Some examples will now be given to demonstrate the apparent embodiment (intentionally
of intuitively) of a variety of psychological principles in a variety of curriculum documents.
These examples are:
Social models:
The major representative of this model of teaching is Herbert Thelen. Thelen's emphasis
on interpersonal skills and democratic procedures is quite straightforward. Such an orientation is
reflected in many recent curriculum documents in which there has been an increasingly noticeable
trend to nominate some type of group work as an appropriate learning experience. However, as
mentioned previously, it is better to leave the analysis of learning experiences to set aside
specifically for that purpose and to look for evidence of psychological sources in terms of general
principles usually embodied in introductory rationales and/or the statements of goals and
objectives.
The following example of an explicit emphasis on interpersonal skills is taken from the
Adaptive Beginning-School Learning Environment Programme (ABLE) developed largely by
Wang and Siegel (1977. p.16). These authors argued that a principal aim of the ABLE programme
was to help the pupil become a "socially! Competent person. In that part of the document that
delineated, so-called "specifie" objectives derived from this principal aim, was the statement
pertaining to the objective that the pupil should develop the ability to "perceive oneself as a person
who is capable of getting along with others".

Interaction models:
Operant Conditioning as a Psychological Source As you are now aware that the Skinner's
Operant Conditioning Model of teaching, of behavior modification approach evolved from
attempts to develop efficient systems for sequencing learning tasks and shaping behavior by
manipulating reinforcement. The question of the sequencing of learning tasks often based on the
task analysis techniques as reflected in the work of Gagne, R.M (1970).
Besides the specific aspects of the influence of behavioral psychology, there is need to look for in
the selected document which will give perhaps an overview of the psychological source.

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Social Interaction Model stresses the relationship of the individual to the other persons and
to the society. Social Interaction models are instructional methods used by teachers in the
classroom to facilitate group work. It is a student centred teaching approaches that allows students
to interact with each other in a structured on task manner. In this strategy, students take on the role
as a facilitator of content by helping their peers construct meaning. The students are allowed to
question, reflect, reconsider, get help and support, and participate in group discussion. The three
most common strategies include group project, group discussion, and cooperative learning. These
interactions normally occur face-to-face but are not limited to this type of interaction with the
assistance of online tools and technologies. The stages of instruction using the social interaction
models begin with an introduction lead by the instructor. The learners than break into groups, and
the instructor continues to monitor and assess teams and their work. Finally, the teams conclude
with their results/findings.
Social Interaction Strategies
Social interaction strategies begins with and introduction of the topic/objectives by the
instructor. The students then transition into teams by a predetermined method. The instructor must
continue to monitor teams so they stay on task and for assessing purposes. The groups must then
produce their findings. Within social interaction the instructor facilitator and student take on
specific roles. The instructor must explain the concept topic and organize the group. The process
and rules of working as teams will need to be taught and reviewed to build team skills and group
cohesion. During the process, the instructor must provide content focus and review. Interaction
must be student to student. Students must be active and responsible for their learning, both acting
as a facilitator and learner. Students will be able to explain content to one another as well as the
entire class. The team working skills of compromise, negotiation, and motivation are used during
the learning process.

Information processing models:


The two theorists to be dealt with in this subsection are Amusable and Piaget. You might,
however, have focused on other theorists of models of teaching. Such as Taba, Bruner. Such man
or Schwab, so you might be expected to make reference to one or more of these writers (where
appropriate) in your study.
In addition to the obvious Piagetian emphasis, other psychological models of teaching are
also evident in the High/Scope document. Just one example of the influence of other psychological
sources is the argument that the writers of the document put forward when he point out that the
way that children feel about themselves is largely affected by their own competence and success,
and subsequently outline the role of "self-chosen activities in the curriculum. Such comments tend
to reflect the humanistic orientation, which is the essence of the theoretical position espoused by
Carl Rogers. Similarly, there is a humanistic emphasis in the inclusion of the educational goal:
"To develop the child's self-discipline ..." It is possible then, to draw upon any part of the
document, statements of objectives, learning activities, introductory statements, etc.. to exemplify
the apparent influence of various psychological sources.
The other information processing model of teaching that was emphasized in Study Book
II was that based on the work of Ausubel. Not many curriculum documents emphasize the notion
of the advance organizer in terms of a strict definition of the idea, but many documents incorporate
scope and sequence charts often in diagrammatic form, which have the potential for use as advance
organizers, either expository or comparative.
Reys and Post (1973) argue that the columns deal with topics which are not sequential or
logically dependent upon one another, and that the teacher will therefore have a fair amount of
flexibility in matching the activities with the pupils. (This latter statement, of course, could be
interpreted as exemplifying a Piagetian influence). The major writing theme underlying this
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particular part of the "Mathematics Curriculum" is experimentation with graphical analysis. It
seems reasonable to suggest that the overview of this theme could be presented to students as part
of an expository or comparative advance organizer, depending on the familiarity of the material
to the pupils involved. Indeed, it seems likely that many curriculum documents, while not making
explicit reference to the advance concept. Provide sufficient information concerning the
conceptual framework underlying the curriculum, to make the task of the teacher, who wants to
apply an Ausubelian approach, a relatively simple one.

References:
1. https://raijmronlineresearch.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/8_30-32-bhavin-h-patel
2. Ausubel, D.P..(1977) The facilitation of meaningful verhal
learning in the classroom. Educational
Psychologist, No 12, USA

3. Eisner, E. (1979) The Educational Imagination. New Yark,


Macmillan.

4. Lawton. D. (1975) Class, Culture and the curriculum,


London, Routledge and Kegan Paul.

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Q .3 Discuss the nature problems of disciplines of knowledge as pointed out
by Schwab (1975).
Ans: Nature problems of disciplines of knowledge:
Schwab (1975) used only two categories; he referred to the substantive structure of the
discipline and the syntactical structure. Thus one might be able to identity, in a document, the view
of the substantive and syntactical structures of the discipline(s) and the relative emphasis placed
on each. The substantive structures can be seen as the key concept and how they relate to each
other while the syntactical structures can be seen as the processes of enquiry and the appropriate
'tests for truth'.
Two examples of objectives should demonstrate the difference in emphasis.
A. Substantive structure emphasized objectives:
You will be able to explain:
(1) The relationship between the perimeter of a square and the length of one of its sides.
(2) To introduce you to interpolation (estimation of the value of an unobserved
intermediate value in a known sequence) and extrapolation (estimation of the value of
a variable outside of tabulated or observed range.
In the first example emphasis is placed upon the key concepts (e.g. square, perimeter, circle,
diameter) and the relationships between them, while the second emphasis is on the process of
recording and analyzing data and the way in which it is used to make statements or hypotheses
(through interpolation and extrapolation)

B. The worthwhileness of knowledge:


Is a function of the interactions between the individual and those aspects environment with
which they have personal relevance? During the artiunctional process new modes of
physical behavior are generated. Feelings re intensified or changed, and ways of explaining
the experiences are formed.
Knowledge can be defined as the meanings which are generated as a result of
interaction between the individual and some object, situation or idea.
From this perspective knowledge it is seen to be essentially a personal phenomenon, an
explanation at the cognitive level of the objectives, situations and ideas encountered, and
the feelings during encounters, between the inner and the outer world. Without such
encounters knowledge could not be generated. Though some educational practices seem
to operate under the assumption that it is possible to transmit knowledge such as a radio-
transmitter passes on information to a network of receivers.
Such educational practices reflect a confusion between what Schwab (1975) refers to as
"knowledge versus information, and Phoenix (1964) calls 'knowing versus knowledge.
Both these educational philosophers acknowledge the possibility of transmitting
information, but suggest that this is not the same thing as ensuring that learners possess
knowledge which they are able to use. Whilst possessing information may, in some cases,
be a prelude to having knowledge which can be operationalized, the two cannot be equated.
Continued growth at a cognitive, socio-emotional and physical level would appear to be
related to the development of personally constructed knowledge rather than to the
acquisition and subsequent regurgitation of verbally held information.
Confusion about the relationship between stored information and operational knowledge
is one of the many problems facing educational thinking and practices. Another is a
tendency to create a dichotomy between knowledge as personally constructed meanings
9|Page
and knowledge as a specifiable body of formation to be learned, and to promote one at the
expense of the other. In is unit the assumption is made that both definitions are not
perspectives of the same concept, and in the tradition of perspectives, each focuses on one
aspect of the same concept.
Social knowledge represents share sets of meanings used by a society. These shared sets
of meanings are solutions to recurring problems faced by members of society interacting
in a particle environment. Each new member of society faces some recurring problems and
in the process of searching for solutions encounters culturally defined meanings and
artifacts. These may be adopted if they prove useful to the individual. Schutz and Luck
Mann (1973) noted the important role that the process of socialization every human being
must experience plays in determining not only which solutions are available to the young
but also what they will define as problems. Thus the social environments in which children
are reared have an important influence on the ways in which children interact within those
environments and on the meanings they construct to explain their experiences: yet the
extent to which social knowledge is assimilated will depend ultimately on the extent to
which that knowledge contributes to each individual child's sense of satisfaction and
mastery.
Underlying these assumptions concerning knowledge is a theme of reciprocity between the
accumulated knowledge held by a society and the child seeking satisfaction and mastery
whilst interacting within that society. Knowledge is assumed to be created a fresh by each
individual, whilst the creative process is assumed to be enriched by exposing individual
learners to the wealth of information, ideas and artifacts already held within a society.
Unfortunately, not all documents make their assumptions so clearly as some of the
examples quoted above. Analysis therefore becomes almost a detective game. with as
much attention being paid to what is not stated as what is.
Assumptions about what sort of knowledge is most worthwhile is mainly reflected in the
amount of choice allowed by the syllabus (in Bernstein's terms. the strength or weakness
of the framing).
Thus a document may set up a predetermined set of worthwhile objectives, content and
activities for each pupil. Alternatively, if based on a more "childcentred" view of
education, the document might leave the selection of what is worthwhile' to the student, or
student and teacher together to decide. In the former case the selection of the most
worthwhile knowledge would be based on assumptions about the value of initiation into
the existing disciplines, and selection of content and learning experiences would be made
on criteria such as the representativeness of particular concepts or skills for the discipline
as a whole, the power of the idea or generalization to help organize and understand
apparently unrelated pieces of information, etc.
However, in most modern documents at least some reference is made to the "child's
interests". Behind what is probably similar rhetoric, lie two different views about children's
interests which must be clearly distinguished.
The first adopts the view that all of a child's interests are potentially educative. And that
the teacher's task is to locate the child's interests and encourage them (so long as they are
not morally objectionable or obviously dangerous).
The second adopts the view that a child's interest must be aroused, and used as a
motivational device. Thus the teacher has to create interests in order to lead children to
learn what someone else deems they ought to know. Interests are instrumental to education,
rather than intrinsic to it. The following extracts summarize the two points of view.

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To provide the diagnosis and prescription, Schwab (1969/1978a) compared and
contrasted between the theoretic and practical modes of curriculum inquiry in terms of
outcomes, subject matter, problem source, and methods.
According to Schwab (1969/1978a), the end product of the theoretic is theoretical
knowledge which is general, universal and lasting. On the other hand, the outcome of the
practical is specific decisions that are provincial and temporary. In terms of subject matter,
the theoretic deals with concepts and abstract representations that are “constant from
instance to instance and impervious to changing circumstance” (p. 289), for example,
atoms, electrons and protons, class, etc. By contrast, the practical works with specific and
concrete cases which are “susceptible to circumstance” and therefore “liable to unexpected
change” (p. 289). The theoretic investigates problems arising from states of mind — areas
which are defined by our existing knowledge, and which are not yet understood. The
practical, on the other hand, addresses problems arising from states of affair — certain
social situations or conditions that we believe can be otherwise or need to be improved.
Furthermore, the methods of the theoretic are theory-driven, controlled by a guiding
principle that determines and shapes problem formulation, data collection and
interpretation, conclusion development.

References:
1. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10089331/1/Deng_the%20what%20and%20why%20
of%20curriculum%20inquiry
2. Bernstein, B. (1975) On the classification and training of
Educational knowledge in Golny M.J.
Greenwald & R. West (Eds), Curriculum
Design, London, Croom Helm.

3. Eisner, E. (1979) The Educational Imagination. New Yark,


Macmillan.
4. Midwinter E. (1972) Social Environment and the urban school,
London, Ward Lock

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Q.4 Explain the characteristic of measurable objectives.
Ans: Characteristic of measurable objectives:
Some of the critics of a curriculum theory which admits the importance of objectives in
curriculum design. Much of their criticism on the notion that the objective model is a product of a
society that values technical efficiency modelled on a production line mentality. They infer that
the advocates of objectives model treat children like products on an assembly line in a factory. In
some instances we would agree that this may very well be the case. Those curriculum workers of
the late sixties and even early seventies who thought that programmed learning was the best design
could typify this extreme view of users of an objectives model.
However, to label everyone who might suggest that objectives should form a vital element
of curriculum design? It is interesting to mention here that many of such critics usually propose
alternatives that are quite obviously not short on objectives.
The important point we wish to make here is that whenever you design a programme you
are going to stamp this design with values. In some instances these values are derived from the
society or community in which we live. In other instances these values are personal and reflect
our current views of education.
This can be exemplified by using a curriculum model as proposed by Hughes(1967). Such
model of curriculum development can be used to examine the points in curriculum decision
making where values intrude.
In fact, Hughes indicates that there are normally four sources or inputs through which
curriculum developers go for objectives. These are society, knowledge, learner and learning
process. Curriculum developers at the central level use research findings, and opinions of
sociologists, philosophers, subject specialists, and psychologists, as inputs for their designs. The
selection of objectives is based on their collective value position which is supposed to be the
representative of society because the composition of the committee is meant to reflect this.
Needless to say this does not always work. The important point to get is that values form a big
part in curriculum decision making at the central level.
On the other hand, at the school level or the classroom level, the intrusion of values cannot
be dismissed. For example, many teachers prefer one subject area to another. Many teachers have
preferences in respect to particular teaching approaches or materials. All of these involve
particular value positions. Values become problematic when they dominate rationality. We are not
saying that decision-making can be value free. This is not possible. What we say is that values
should not takeover and include people towards a doctrinaire position.
Bloom (1956) and Krathwohl (1964) have stated that there is considerable value in
thinking about objectives particularly in behavioral levels. Bloom expresses these levels as ranging
from simple recall or memorization of content to evaluating principles and hypothesis.
Krathwohl's taxonomy ranges from "receiving" to characterization".
To facilitate the formulation of statements, of specific objectives within the frameworks
proposed by Bloom and Krathwohl (1956) has included the following two tables which contain
the taxonomic classifications, appropriate infinitives, which one might use in writing objectives.
He also mentioned the terms which might be useful in relating the behavioral components to
particular subject areas. These are merely ideas for you to contemplate in developing objectives.

There are some useful reminders for the taxonomies that might help you when you write
objectives for your plans. These are summarized below:
(i) If planners are asking students to operate at the "higher end of the taxonomy, then
it should be emphasized that this is more likely to take place if the student has a
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sound knowledge base. For example, to "apply" mathematical concepts or
principles would assume that students "know" and "understand these concepts and
principles. If students are required to "value" mathematics as a subject area, then it
would be assumed that they have been given the opportunity to "receive", (eg.
success, praise etc.) and "respond". It is possible to develop sequences of objectives
based on this idea.
(ii) These taxonomies also help us to consider balance with in this element of design.
That is, it is possible to see the ratio of "knowledge type" objectives, to objectives
which focus on higher intellectual abilities. Also it is possible to compare the ratio
of cognitive and affective objectives. While this concept of balance should be
sought after in writing objectives you should attempt this in conjunction with a
careful consideration of the balance between sources and objectives. Consideration
of one without the other can lead to design problems.

Setting goals and objectives for corporate learners, which are both meaningful and
measurable, requires that those objectives include three important elements:
 They must define clear and meaningful actions on the learner’s part
 Those actions must elicit observable behavior
 The objectives may include quantifiable criteria against which learners’
performance might be assessed
Given the above, the act of writing measurable learning objectives may well begin with
statements such as:
“Learners should be able to…”; followed by verbs that describe specific actions associated
with the desired outcome related to the actions; and concluding with an objective statement that
defines the learning that learners are expected to demonstrate as a result of what’s being taught.
Learning objectives may also include optional modifiers, which lay down specific
criteria or standards of performance, and aligned to the corporate learning goals that are sought to
be accomplished from the training.
If we were to take all of the above essential ingredients for producing eLearning
objectives and create a generic construct to help trainers set meaningful course objectives, it would
look like the following:
“At the end of this segment of the course, learners should be able to…” &
“Verb outlining performance or desired action {i.e. able to do}…” &
“Object of the core theory or concept being taught {i.e. what should be done}…” & optional
“Modifier highlighting performance criteria related to those core concepts”
So, using the above template as our guideline, let’s build sample measurable learning
objectives for a hypothetical corporate learning program.

Good course objectives will be specific, measurable, and written from the learner's
perspective. Here's a good formula for writing objectives:
Start your course objectives with: By the end of the course, students will be able to:
o Choose an action verb that corresponds to the specific action you wish students to
demonstrate
o Explain the knowledge students are expected to acquire or construct
o [Optional]: explain the criterion or level students are expected to reach to show mastery of
knowledge

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You will also want to make sure that you have thought of a way to assess students’ learned
knowledge when writing course objectives. For example, if you always test students’ knowledge
of content matter with a multiple choice test, the course objectives cannot ask that students
evaluate or create something, as multiple choice tests cannot assess those levels of learning with
a high level of accuracy.
If you cannot logically fill in the last blank of this example (assessment), then the objective
is not measurable. You won't include the assessment in the text for your actual course objective
that you publish on your syllabus, but you need to know if what you're asking students to know
can be assessed. Otherwise, how can you know or prove that students have learned what they're
supposed to learn in your course?

References:
1. https://www.efrontlearning.com/blog/2017/05/how-set-measurable-learning-objectives-
goals.html
2. https://teaching.uncc.edu/teaching-guides/course-design/writing-measurable-course-
objectives

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Q.5 Critically analuze the criteria proposed by Taba (1962). And how it is
useful in curriculum development exercise?

Ans: Critically analuze the criteria proposed by Taba (1962)

There are as many interpretations of curriculum design as the definitions of eurriculum.


One of the most widely accepted is the one developed by Taba, H. (1962. 421) who maintains
that:
"...curriculum design is a statement which identifies the elements of the curriculum, states
what their relationships are to each other and indicates the principles of organization and
the requirements of that organization for the administrative conditions under which it is to
operate. A design. of course, needs to be supported with and to make explicit a curriculum
theory which establishes the sources to consider and the principles to apply".
The elements referred to in the above quotation of Taba are:
i) Objectives
ii) Content iii) Learning experiences
iii) Teaching strategies Evaluation
The way in which the elements mentioned by Taba are related to each other which quite
often specifies the kind of curriculum design that is portrayed. For example, the type of design
that is dominated by content consisting of predominantly factual information is quite often
characterized by teaching strategies that are largely expository in nature, learning experiences
which depict the learner as a passive receiver, objectives which emphasize a narrow cognitive
perspective and evaluation procedures which are formal testing procedures.
Such type of design is often referred to as a subject centered design. On the other hand the
child - centered design-portrays the relationship between the elements in a different, and
distinctive manner. The tendency to rationalize a curriculum pattern in terms of a single principle,
such as child - centeredness or subject - centeredness is according to Taba. II. (1962) an over
simplification. It is a point worth stressing. It is not sufficient to enter the rationale for a design on
some single criterion or principle as a curriculum has to do with reaching something to somebody.
It can be neither entirely content centered nor child centered in the sense of neglecting either the
nature of the learning or the nature of content. For further details of the concept of curriculum
design, please read the below referred books.
As Taba has indicated, curriculum developers need to employ decision making endures
that rest on multiple criteria and take into consideration a multiplicity of actors. The multiplicity
of factors is obviously a reference factor such as administrative conditions under which the
curriculum is to operate and the skills and competencies of those who will implement the
curriculum. Such factors are commonly referred to as contextual factors.
However, Taba's reference to multiple criteria leads us to the identification of principles
which might provide a sound basis for analyzing how well particular designs have been structured
and how suitable they are for particular contexts.
In this regard, several curriculum theorists have constructed set of criteria that might be
used for an analysis. Human, R.T. (1973, p.10) has indicated that:
" .curriculum workers must establish the criteria they will follow. They can accept a set of
criteria proposed by someone else, formulate their own criteria independently, or accept
parts of various sets of criteria combined with their own formulation".

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Curriculum development exercise:
Two sets of criteria are presented: (a) by Taba (1962) and (b) by Hodgkinson (1975). These
should be studied carefully as they will be useful in your curriculum development exercise.
a) Criteria Proposed by Taba (1962, pp.267-289)
The summary of the criteria is as under:
i) Curriculum content is valid and significant to the extent that it reflects the
contemporary scientific knowledge. Perhaps the more important question about
validity of content is how fundamental the knowledge is.
ii) If the curriculum is to be a useful prescription for learning, its content and the
outcomes, it pursues need to be in tune with the social and cultural realities of
time. Applied to the selection of content, this criterion further selects from the
scientifically valid and fundamental knowledge which is also significant.
iii) Curriculum should provide for the achievement of a wide range of objectives.
An effective curriculum provides for acquistion of significant new knowledge
and for the development of increasingly more effective ways of thinking,
desirable attitudes, interests, and appropriate habits and skills.
iv) Curriculum content should be learn and adaptable to students experiences. One
factor in learnability is the adjustment of the curriculum content and of the
learners. The problem of making the curriculum learnmable involves also the
task of translating the social heritage into experiences which help each student.
v) The curriculum should be appropriate to the needs and interests of the learners.

b) Criteria Proposed by Hodgkinson (1975)


Curriculum design is a scheme for planning and providing learning experiences. The
scheme is as under:
i) It must contain strategies for dealing with curriculum inputs from the society,
the individual, learning theory and knowledge.
ii) It should include the elements of design namely, othjectives, learning
experiences, content selection and evaluation.
iv) It should be based on the principles of design such as balance, rationality,
consistency, flexibility, diversity, practicality and responsibility.

A preliminary, and incomplete, analysis of her scientific heritage suggests at least four
principles that seem to govern her vision of curriculum theory and curriculum development:
Social processes, including the socialization of human beings, are not linear, and they
cannot be modelled through linear planning. In other words, learning and development of
personality cannot be considered as one-way processes of establishing educational aims and
deriving specific objectives from an ideal of education proclaimed or imagined by some authority.
Social institutions, among them school curricula and programmes, are more likely to be
effectively rearranged if, instead of the common way of administrative reorganization— from top
to bottom—a well-founded and co-ordinate system of development from bottom to top can be
used.
The development of new curricula and programmes is more effective if it is based on the
principles of democratic guidance and on the well-founded distribution of work. The emphasis is
on the partnership based on competence, and not on administration.

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The principle of considering social processes as non-linear is the most important one, and
it probably governs all of Hilda Taba’s educational work. Applying the principle to curriculum
design, this means that it is unreal and impossible to set up rigid general goals of education from
which more specified objectives would be derived for a concrete plan. The general goals are also
subject to modification in order to become adapted to the real circumstances, whereby they are
dependent more or less on the content and character of the educational step planned.
The second principle of the efficiency of the bottom-up approach suggests the most
convenient way to help individuals and human social organizations to accept and to adapt to new
situations and ideas. The expected changes in the individual or social consciousness will take place
only if individuals or groups, under pressure to introduce these changes, conserve or acquire the
ability to learn. So, the changes and learning underlying it take place more easily, and meet less
opposition if they are not imposed by the central institutions but are initiated in the periphery, and
gradually spread all over the structure.
The third and fourth principles underline the necessity for the democratic guidance of
curriculum development and the long-term nature of this process, and are essentially derived from
the first two principles.
Curriculum is the heart of schooling. The difficulty, however, is that not everyone agrees
what curriculum is or what is involved in curriculum development. One way of developing a
curriculum plan is through modeling. Models are essentially patterns that serve as guidelines to
action. Unfortunately, the term model as used in the education profession often lacks precision.
A model may, propose a solution to a piece of a problem, attempt to solve to a specific problem,
create or replicate a pattern on a grander scale. Models can be found for almost every form of
educational activity.

References:
1. Taba, Hilda (1962) Curriculum Development: Theory and
Practice. New York, Harcourts Brace &
World, Inc. pp.413-421

2. http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/WP/?p=1861

The End

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