Steppingstones

Chapter 2
Choosing a Curriculum Orientation
Outline
Curriculum Orientation
Traditional
Process/Mastery
Experiential
Christian
Notes
Curriculum Orientation

Curriculum orientation sets out:

o Basic worldview assumptions and how these suggest an overall
vision for education
o A view of knowledge and of the person, and how these affect
classroom learning and teaching, and how we go about planning
programs
o The general aims of the curriculum
Curriculum orientation provide a school, a department, or a teacher with a
clear sense of direction for an educational program
Traditional

Traditionalists look at knowledge as an organized collection of facts,

concepts, and theories. Schools exist to transmit this body of
knowledge. Such knowledge provides a basis for learning to reason.
Rational thought, more than experience, is central in generating and
validating knowledge. When art is included as a subject, it emphasizes
content and reasoning: art history, critical appreciation of art, definitions
of art terms, and the meaning and function of art (Council for Basic
Education 1991).
Traditionalist school
o The curriculum consists of prescribed and carefully structured
subject matter in disciplines such as literature, history, science, and
mathematics
o Teachers impact a great deal of content and emphasize basic
literacy and numeracy skills
o Teachers check the level of content and skill assimilation with
frequent tests
o Schools stress hard work and discipline
Two main types of traditional school
o Essentialist
Schools systematically teach basic facts, concepts, and skills

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 Teachers generally know what knowledge is significant for
living and working in society. Therefore, they decide what to
teach
Teachers tell students and parents how well students achieve
on tests
o Perennialists
The basic feature of humans is their ability to reason. The
main thrusts of education therefore becomes cultivating
reason
There should be a general core curriculum for all students
that emphasize our common cultural heritage
In school, thinking is more important than doing

Process/Mastery

Characteristics
o The curriculum uses efficient means to reach predetermined,
detailed, and measurable ends.
o The key to efficient learning is carefully structured inquiry based on
observations and guided thought
o Knowledge is viewed as an objective, impersonal, value-free
commodity to be grasped
Problems
o Sensory experience is incomplete and misleading. Even scientists
usually interpret their data to fit preconceived theories. Those
theories are not unbiased; they are based on certain assumptions.
o The theory that knowledge certainty results only from sense
perception cannot be validated by sense perception itself. This is
therefore a faith assumption. Yet process/mastery proponents instill
the impression that sensory-based knowledge is more valid and
compelling than any other kind.
o For empirical positivists, religious statements and beliefs are not
knowledge. They are not logically self-evident, nor can we verify
them from observed data.
Experiential

Experiential stands in the western humanistic tradition by John Deweys

progressivism
They believe:
o Students are innately good. They are self-directing, autonomous
individuals, themselves the source of their own truth and freedom.
o Students learn through active involvement in personally meaningful
learning experiences. In this way, they develop their abilities and
assign personal meaning to what they learn.
o Teachers facilitate learning by providing positive learning
environments that stimulate active, self-directed learning.
"You are the center of the world. You are a free, immensely powerful
source of life and goodness. Affirm it. Spread it. Radiate it. Think day and
night about it. And you will see a miracle happen: the greatness of your
own life" their center of belief
Opposes passive learning

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 oKnowledge does not discover or reflect a world that exists out there.
Instead, humans make knowledge and impose it to help them cope
with their experience
o No single right answer; only discrepancies that students may
analyze and resolve problems in many ways
Basic problem of constructivism viable realities exist; no common bonds
and values; individualism and self-centered relativism; personal voice
supplants authority and community; manifestation of postmodernism
Christian

Basic understandings:
o A Christian worldview and therefore a Christian curriculum
orientation, takes as its starting point that the Bible is God's
authoritative Word for life.
o He calls us to think through and act on the principles for life that He
reveals to us in Scripture, in His creation, and in the person of Jesus
Christ and to continue to understand His Word and apply it in
increasingly responsible ways. (obedient and response)
The content of the curriculum
o Knowledge depends on God's revelation in His creation and in His
Word. The knowledge we develop is rooted in and reflects
God's truth, sometimes more accurately, sometimes less so.
Knowledge is not just arbitrary human construction. All knowledge
depends on God's faithfulness in creating and sustaining the
universe.
o Curriculum content: advances a Christian worldview without
demanding unthinking regurgitation or uncritical compliance with
specific views, but help students attain knowledge and skill
background that allows them to grapple with important issues and
concerns based on biblical truth and its implication
o Christians curriculum content should:
1. Be significant for students' lives; students must recognize
that it is meaningful
2. Explore questions of importance for our nation and culture
3. Acquaint students with the strengths and weaknesses of their
cultural heritage
4. Help students develop the skills necessary for functioning
effectively in society, including the ability to assess various
viewpoints and interpretations
5. Develop attitudes, values, dispositions, and commitments
based on a careful consideration of the worldviews affecting
culture
A framework for learning
o Teacher provide classroom structures that let students
experience the meaning of living out a biblical worldview
(righteousness, justice, compassion, respect)
o Learning strategies guide students into a thinking that they are
unique images of God, called to serve and love God and other
humans
Steps in curriculum planning
o Ralph Tyler rationale

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 1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
(objectives)
2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely
to attain these purposes? (choose experiences)
3. How can these educational experiences be effectively
organized? (organize experiences)
4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being
attained? (evaluation)

o Some examples of interactions within and between that cycle:

How planners view knowledge affects their pedagogical
approaches.
Evaluation needs to take place while planning is going on, as
well as during implementation.
Activities depend to some extent on resources within reach.
Those, in turn, may affect objectives or intents.
The social, economic, and political contexts of schooling will
influence plans for learning.
Beliefs about the purpose of schooling affect how planners
implement and evaluate their work.
o Two important points
No proper starting point for curriculum planning
All those involved in planning will not directly consider every
aspect of the model.
Reflection
Although I feel that most of us would say that Christian curriculum is the ideal
curriculum, I think all the other curriculums do have their own advantages. In the
end, I think we need all aspects of all four curriculums. We do need to learn from
experts, we need to learn through process, we need to learn through experience,
and we need to base what we learn from a biblical worldview. I think I will try to
implement all aspects as much as I can when I am teaching, even though I may
not be able to really do so. For me, I do not think one is greater than the other as
all four have their strength and weaknesses.
o

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