ppt on curriculum

1. reDESIGNING
ASSESSMENT QuickTimeª and a
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Proposed Curriculum change

2. the GROUP AND the COURSE
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A Private Training Centre funded by the Skills Funding Agency and
bound to the ESOL Core Curriculum and the City and Guilds
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Cohorts: ESOL Entry 3 students between the ages of 19 and 55.
Learners form Somalia, Turkey, Iran, France, Poland and Finland.
Context: learners are unemployed and join the course as part of the
government’s employment strategy to get the unemployed into work. There is
an employability aspect to the course, i.e. job search, cover letter and CV
writing. Learners attend for 3 days a week over 12 weeks.

3. QuickTimeª and a
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
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• Exams do not encourage
inclusive practice.
The aspect of curriculum
QuickTimeª and a
design that I propose
decompressor • Exams are limiting and
needs change is
are needed to see this picture. limited and can only evaluate
summative assessment. a small part of learner
progress.
Summative assessment
on my course is through
a final exam
administered by a QuickTimeª and a
government approved
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examining body.
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are needed to see this picture.

4. the Course Curriculum
The course curriculum at my training centre is the national ESOL Core
Curriculum. It sets out the Basic Skills Standards, Component skills,
examples of application, and sample activities.
The ESOL Core Curriculum is a product based curriculum. It
sets objectives, draws up a plan on how to deliver these
objectives, gives suggestions on how to apply the plan and
measures outcome through a final exam. (Tyler 1949: 44) It is also a
set document of content/knowledge to be transmitted to the learner to affect
change in behaviour.
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5. Planning the product curriculum
• Step 1: Diagnosis of need
• Step 2: Formulation of objectives
• Step 3: Selection of content
• Step 4: Organization of content
• Step 5: Selection of learning experiences
• Step 6: Organization of learning experiences
• Step 7: Determination of what to evaluate + of the ways + means of doing it.
(Taba 1962)

6. THE PROBLEM WITH A
PRODUCT-BASED APPROACH TO CURRICULUM
‘Product-based approaches (to curriculum) tend to involve working on, not with, people.
The focus is on changing individuals in ways set out by others.’ (Jeff and Smith, 2005).
The learners are ‘told what they must learn and how they will do it. The success or failure of both
the programme and the individual learners is judged on the basis of whether pre-specified changes
occur in the behaviour and person of the learner’ (Smith, 2000). Which is in direct contrast with
theories of Andragogy.
The Problem with a Product-based Approach to Curriculum
It does not take into account the needs of the individual learner and so Inclusive practice is not
incorporated into the curriculum design.
No inclusion of cultural differences educational backgrounds,
l e a r n in g s t y l e s , personality, mood, language varieties
real life situations.
The Problem with a Product-based Approach to Curriculum
To measure outcomes ‘things have to be broken down into smaller and smaller units. The focus on pre-
specified goals may lead both educators and learners to overlook learning that is occurring as a
result of their interactions, but which is not listed as an objective.’ (Smith, 2000)

7. CORE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
FOR THE TEACHING CONTEXT
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I t is impossible t o t each t he ent ire core curriculum in 12 weeks.
CHANGES ALREADY MADE:
To achieve greater flexibility when aiming for success and learner development, the key
elements of the Core Curriculum are used as a quality standard for developing
resources and lesson plans rather than as a ‘canon’ to be strictly adhered to.
I have developed the curriculum to meet the requirements of my specific learners to ensure
meaningful development and to ensure inclusivity. E.g. I have added reading newspapers to the
curriculum to meet real life needs, included topics such as Guy Fawkes celebrations, work on the
London Underground, paper craft.
To include learners in directing learning outcomes I use classroom interaction between teacher,
learners and the information being taught to inform changes to the curriculum. As such learners are
invested (Norton, 1995) in and enjoy lessons more as their interests or requirements influence what
is taught, and confidence in L2 increases significantly.

8. IS ONE MODEL OF CURRICULUM ENOUGH?
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In an attempt to address the limits of the Core Curriculum, a process model of
curriculum has crept into my development of the course curriculum.
A process model requires ‘the principles and features of the educational
encounter’ (Schwartz, 2008) to be set out clearly and then tested and
moderated by each teacher in each class, each making judgments and adding
meaning to the process. (Stenhouse 1975: 142)
The class is inclusive. I accommodate disadvantages. I make it clear that, that
equality is paramount and that the end result is to improve language, to
improve job prospects, and improve life. From this perspective my role
becomes that of a guide through a journey unique to the particular class.
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But this is not always enough. As the classes are run on a roll-on roll-off basis the
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context of the class experience requires curriculum to take into consideration
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more than process.

9. CONTEXT MODEL
To address the constant changes to the class dynamic, my curriculum
development often moves into a CONTEXT model, 'an ongoing social
process comprised of the interactions of students, teachers, knowledge and
milieu' (Cornbleth, 1990).
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10. EXAM DEFINES CONTEXT
The context based curriculum attempts to address the educational and
professional context of the class and make this explicit and defined. It ‘reflects
current or prevailing educational or social ideology, culture, politics, economy,
students, teachers… professional bodies, exam boards, history...’ (Mckim, 2003)
It is the context defined by the core
curriculum and exam boards that limits
my class situation and curriculum.
It means that …
• I must phrase comprehension
questions to mirror the
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idiosyncrasies of the exam board. decompressor
• some topics are stressed despite are needed to see this picture.
their relevance to learners.
• the direction of lessons must
continually be restrained to ensure
exam success to meet funding
targets.

11. A Dynamic curriculum
Ultimately what is needed is a curricular cycle that is dynamic, with
ongoing assessment that counts towards final summative assessment.
The curricular cycle “involves
development through needs
assessment, design and
implementation phases. After this,
outcomes are reviewed and evaluated
against the original needs
assessment… The emphasis on
different aspects varies with the
participants’ and teachers’ perceived
needs (Peyton and Peyton, 1998).
The Core Curriculum and its method
of assessment means that the
benefits of this type of curriculum
development is not measured or
accounted for.

12. The LIMITS of ASSESSMENT by FINAL EXAM
Exam Success, determines funding in the educational private sector.
Targets can be set as high as 90% exam pass rates.
But
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• ‘The use of test scores for purposes which affect the status or future of students,
teachers or schools, results in teachers focusing teaching on the test content, training
students in how to pass tests, and adopting teaching styles which do not match the
preferred learning style of many students’ (Johnston & McClune, 2000).
• For learners with specific problems, such as dyslexia, ADD, or exam anxiety, this
method of assessment directly works against them. The progressive ‘interaction of
student, teacher, knowledge and milleu’ (Cornbleth, 1990) that develops students
confidence and intrinsic understanding of communication in their new language cannot
be assessed by one final exam which seems to primarily test a learner’s ability to
handle stress.
• Summative assessment can work to demotivate learners by allowing no chance to
address mistakes. ‘Only formative assessment motivates’ (Black, et al 2003).

13. How change?
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Although it is widely recognised that exams can only test a set
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range of skills, the Core Curriculum is still exam driven.
There needs to bedecompressor include features of the
the opportunity to
learning environment, as well as the actual process of learning
and teaching, ‘The to see this picture. puts it (1977), in
are needed hidden curriculum’ as Willis
the assessment aspect of the curriculum model.
Assessment of course work, Assessment of class involvement,
as well as exam Assessment, minimizes the effects of exam
fear, the inability to sit for long periods, the anxiety of facing
new material or a strict adherence to a ‘correct’ answer on
achievement and learners confidence to move forward.

14. QuickTimeª and a
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RARPA
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The Recognition and Recording of
Progress and Achievement (RARPA)
• The application of an explicit and common staged process to the recognition and
recording of progress and achievement.
• The validation of the consistent and effective application of this staged process
through a range of judgments about the application of the staged process.
(NIACE and the Learning and Skills Development Agency, 2001, 2002)

15. Accredited RARPA
• Although RARPA is a method devised to recognise and record progress and
achievement in non-accredited learning, its principles could be useful to
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teachers and learners on accredited courses.
A curricular cycle requires constant assessment, and these assessments
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could be formally documented and included
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achievement.
I propose a shift in measuring progress on accredited
courses to include RARPA.

16. CONCLUSION QuickTimeª and a
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Without a change to the way in which achievement is assessed
the true worth of the curriculum is lost.
The curriculum remains narrow, teaching is judged on
targeted learning codes rather than learner progress and
the real achievements of the learner are disregarded and
the possibilities of the learning process are reduced.