Chapter5

Key Assumptions about Goals:

People are usually motivated to pursue specific goals.
The goals in teaching improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning.
A program will be effective that its goals are sound and clearly described.
Five curriculum ideologies: Eisner, 1992
1. academic rationalism

It stresses the intrinsic value of the subject matter and its role in
developing the learners intellect, humanistic values, and rationality.

2. social and economic efficiency

It emphasizes the practical needs of learners and society and the role
of an educational program in producing learners who are economically
productive.

3. learner-centeredness

It stresses the individual needs of learners, the role of individual

experience, and the need to develop awareness, self-reflection, critical
thinking, learner strategies, and other qualities and skills.

4. social re-constructionism

It stresses the roles of schools and learners can should play in

addressing social injustices and inequality.

5. cultural pluralism

It emphasizes school should prepare students to participate in several

different cultures, not just the dominant one which means none culture
group is superior to others.

Stating curriculum outcomes: Aims

It refers to a statement of a general change which a program seeks to

bring about in learners.

It is the ideology of the curriculum and shows how the curriculum will seek
to realize it.

Aims: purposes
1. Provide a clear definition of the purpose of a program
2. Provide guidelines for teachers, learners, and materials writers
3. To help provide a focus for instruction
4. To describe important and realizable changes in learning
Objectives

It is a statement which has more specific purposes.

It refers to a statement of specific changes, a program seeks to bring about and results
from an analysis of the aim.

The characteristics of the objectives

Describe what the aims seek to achieve in terms of smaller units of learning.

Provide a basis for the organization of teaching activities.

Describe learning in term of observable behavior and performance.

The advantage of describing objectives

1. they facilitate planning.

2. they provide measurable outcomes and accountability.

3. they are prescriptive.

The characteristics of the statement of the objectives

1. Objectives describe a learning outcome. (will have, will learn how to..)

2. Objectives should be consistent with the curriculum aims. (be related)

3. Objectives should be precise. (learn something for ..)

4. Objectives should be feasible (work).

Criticisms of the use of objectives

Objectives turn teaching into a technology. (meaningful and worthwhile may
be lost) this is more applicable for the behavioral objectives.

 Objectives trivialize teaching and are product-oriented. (every purpose in

teaching can be described as an objective) objectives need not be limited to
be observable outcomes.
Objectives are unsuited to many aspects of language use. (ex: critical
thinking) objectives can be written in domains, such as critical thinking.
Competency-Based Language Teaching (CBLT). It seeks to make a focus on
the outcomes of learning.

Competency-based program outcomes

The nature of competencies
They refer to observable behaviors that are necessary for the successful
completion of real-world activities.
These activities may be related to the field of work and social survival in a
new environment.

Process objectives
1. to initiate and develop in youngsters a process of question posing.
2. to teach a research methodology where children can look for information.
3. to help youngsters develop the ability to use a variety of firsthand
information.
Learning strategy theory
Effective learning:
1. develop a skill which can be applied to different learning.
2. select appropriate strategies for different tasks.
3. monitoring strategies: change if dont work.

The categories of process objectives at primary level in Singapore

Thinking skills: at the end of the course, pupils should be able to
Learning how to learn:
Language and culture:

Chapter2
Course rationale
It normally describes the beliefs, values and goals that underline the course. It would be a two-or
three paragraph statement in providing teaching and learning that will take place in course.