Thursday, October 7, 2010
Week 8 Reading
This article was interesting and I liked how curriculum and syllabus was clearly defined. However, there is something in this article that is bothering me. Maybe I didn't really understand what they were trying to say or I understand perfectly but it still doesn't make sense. In the beginning of the article the author discusses who the consumer, customer, and stakeholders are of curriculum design. The main consumers are the learners and secondly the teachers, the customers are materials and test developers and program evaluators. Who are these developers and evaluators? People who have a background in education say through classes but not experience or are they experienced teaching professionals? If the main purpose of the curriculum is to provide these people with clear guidelines for developing materials, courses, and assessment instruments then shouldn't they be the people who understand the classroom and the art of teaching? I guess I really just want to know who these people are that are in control of the curriculum who is making the decisions of what the students have to know and what I have to teach.
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Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI was kind of confused with the whole consumer, customer, and stakeholder idea as well. It says that language teachers are usually not the actual "customers" of the curriculum, but they are certainly the consumer products of the based curriculum. They are sayingg that the customers of the language curriculum are the textbook writers or the course and materials developers. But my question also, is who are these people creating the textbooks? Are they teachers who understand the classroom and the art of teachers? I believe that if these textbook writers are the "real customers" then they should collaborate with teachers when creating the textbook, that way making it more authentic.
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI had the same questions when reading this article. I have always wondered just how much real educational experience the individuals who write textbooks and design curricula actually have, because having a realistic view on teaching should be the first consideration when creating these materials. I remember that one of my neighbors used to be the President of the Board of Education for District 230 (the district my high school was in), but I know for a fact that he had absolutely no teaching/educational experience. He was actually a Political Science major. This seems to be a major discrepancy that could easily have a negative affect on curricula development and learning in general.