Pedagogical Innovator

Good Morning Team

This week, I will be steering our group discussion again. Please feel free to make any comments on my summary.

Theoretical Orientations to the Curriculum

There are five philosophical approach to the curriculum in higher education:

Each of these approaches takes a distinct perspective on the nature of knowledge, learning processes, suitable learning goals, content and organization, assessment types and purposes, and the types of resources and infrastructure deemed to be required.

Traditional or discipline-based

Language, science, mathematics, and social studies are examples of curriculum models in which content is split into different and distinct subjects or fields. The term 'discipline-based' or subject-based refers to a wide range of disciplines or fields of study, including both classic subjects like mathematics and physics and contemporary ones like media education. Learners need frequent and consistent opportunities to practice their disciplinary skills across their fields of study so that later courses can build on the work of earlier ones. Domain-based education places a strong emphasis on specific, relevant, and factual information and skills as they emerge from discipline specialists (Shankar, 2014).

 

 

Performance or system based

Performance-based learning stresses students' ability to accomplish, or perform, specific abilities as a result of training. Students demonstrate the capacity to apply or use knowledge rather than simply understanding the facts in this framework. Performance-based learning often includes authentic and relevant activities and tasks for the pupils. PBL focuses on how content is taught and assessed rather than the specific knowledge covered in a course, therefore it may be used in a variety of curriculum areas and at different instructional levels. (Toohey 1999, p.51).

To adapt courses to the PBL model, the focus moves from evaluating what students know to evaluating what they can do with their knowledge and skills. This transition has occurred as course competencies have been developed using Bloom's Taxonomy performance verbs at the level of "application" or above. Bloom's Taxonomy is a multi-tiered paradigm for categorizing levels of complexity in thinking and performing that is used to help teaching team create course competencies.

For example, teachers that utilize a behavioral approach frequently use "skill and drill" activities to reinforce right responses through constant repetition. Other applications of reinforcement-based behaviorism in education include applauding learners for getting the correct answer and awarding awards to those who perform well. Teachers can monitor observable actions by using assessments to assess performance.

System based illustration

Cognitive approach

Cognitive education is an educational strategy in which the primary purpose is to educate and acquire formal logical thinking processes with the goal of assisting each student in becoming an autonomous life-long learner who can generate and apply his or her own cognitive strategies to a wide range of subject. This technique is often known as "thinking skills," "critical thinking," and "learning to learn," but I prefer the more generic term "cognitive education," which encompasses a wide range of educational programs under one broad philosophical system (UHaywood,2004).

 The major purpose of learning in a cognitive education system is to learn more; that is, the focus is on obtaining, elaborating, and utilizing reasoning tools for learning. Because there is a higher emphasis on process than content, questions like "How did you achieve that?" and "What did you have to think about in order to solve that?" and "How else could that be done?" are frequently asked. Content, on the other hand, is not overlooked. The most successful cognitive education programs are those in which academic material is used as a vehicle for teaching thinking tools, and thinking tools are taught simultaneously with content teaching aids. Spending time personally teaching your students this metacognitive method will dramatically enhance their capacity to remember more from your teachings. When students grasp this, studying for an exam becomes a lot less stressful.

Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The-cognitive-impact-of-teachers-curriculum-approaches-on-students_fig1_234698098

Experiential or Personal Relevance approach

This approach focuses on satisfying the needs and interests of each individual. Adults learn skills and develop knowledge through real-world, hands-on experiences through the experiential approach. Adults can learn and grow in a variety of ways, including through experiential learning. This approach is geared to learner centered. Adult learners are more actively engage in learning when they determine the learning to be meaningful to their lives. Instructors who help adult learners obtain deeper understanding of their values and beliefs as well as an increase self-understanding in relation to others and the larger world help the adult learners become more actively engaged in the learning process. Promoting the understanding of the purpose and the importance of course activities will help the adult learner make connections between the learning and their respective lives. Social interactions, discussions, and hands-on activities increase the active engagement of adult learners. They become more actively engaged in learning when there is increased the time and effort in these purposeful activities.

Role playing, service learning, internships, studying abroad, open-ended projects (directed discovery), group projects, and field study are some examples of experience-based projects. Students are more inclined to rely on their own experience and thought and immerse themselves in the issue if the assignment is open-ended and non-formulaic. Because humans are involved in almost every environmental issue, environmental issues lend themselves well to experiential learning. As a result, using an experience-based approach to an environmental topic encourages students to consider their own environmental impacts, both positive and bad. Students can reflect on and experiment with different environmentally conscious actions after they have a clear understanding of how they affect the environment.

Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory presents a cycle of four elements

Source: https://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/enviroprojects/what.html

 

Socially Critical approaches

The goal of this strategy is to encourage students to work for social change. This viewpoint is based on critical theory, which claims that all social institutions are established and shaped by social elites who exploit those institutions to maintain their own power. This approach's curriculum should include an investigation of social structures and cultural artifacts to reveal the values and beliefs that underpin them. Any knowledge is viewed as being formed within specific historical and cultural contexts, implying that all information we accept as "facts" is historically, economically, socially, and politically constrained. A socially critical approach does not have to be limited to helping the economically disadvantaged; it may also be used to recognize and address other forms of social injustice. (Toohey (1999, p.66)).

For example, in terms of assessment. Make adjustments to your evaluations. Old power structures, like traditional assessment frameworks, can be restrictive. You are not obligated to utilize them! Make sure your exams are focused on critical thinking abilities rather than obtaining the correct answer. Make sure pupils aren't merely doing what they think they should in order to obtain a good mark. This can be accomplished through encouraging pupils to talk and write, as well as focusing on the ideas provided rather than the presentation manner.

 

Learning Task 6

I'd like to offer a few more suggestions that came from my literature review:

 

There has been a general lack of understanding about how to foster high-order thinking in an online setting. Teachers are attempting to translate traditional classroom practices to an online environment, which is one of the main reasons cited. They rely on traditional, face-to-face techniques far too often. Traditional pedagogies grow more familiar to teachers over time, requiring less preparation. In order to ensure successful teaching and learning, an online environment introduces additional problems. (Baran, 2011)

In an online environment, the interactions between students, teachers, and content are becoming more important. The role of a teacher is now more focused on facilitating and coordinating the learning activities of students. This means that teachers are now expected to take responsibility for their students' learning.

As the demand for online learning increases, teachers are now faced with a new set of challenges when it comes to developing effective teaching strategies. To effectively address these new challenges, it is important that teachers regularly reflect on their own beliefs about learning and human potential. As a facilitator for ISF21, I have found that the key to effective learning is having the right resources and engaging the students in their activities.

Few new techniques that I have used during remote teaching:

·       Creating breakout room for group activities and it was effective.

·       Use of whiteboard through zoom for interaction

·       Creating poll for multiple choice questions-good response.

·       Brainstorming-since students were technology and internet.

Lastly, the essential part comes down to advance planning in online environment.

 

References

Shankar, P. R. (2014). Crossing the river! Education in Medicine Journal, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.5959/eimj.v6i1.232

Toohey, S. (1999), Beliefs, values and ideologies in course design, in Designing Courses

For Higher Education, Open University, pp.44â69

 

UHaywood, H. C.,U (2004). Thinking in, around, and about the curriculum: The role of cognitive education. International Journal of Disability Development and Education, 51(3), 231-52

 

Dewy, J. (1900/1970).The school and society. (J. A. Boydston, Ed.). Carbondale, IL: Southern

Illinois University Press.

   Baran, E., Correia, A. P., & Thompson, A. (2011). Transforming online teaching practice: Critical analysis of the literature on the roles and competencies of online teachers. Distance Education, 32(3), 421-439

Thank you

Rishneel Narayan

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