As we progressed in this assignment we changed the focus from the philosophies of curriculum to curricular designs, and then to the practical aspects of planning, instruction and assessment. Although philosophies should direct the values of learning and “determine principles for guiding action” (Ornstein, 1990/1991, p. 103), it is through the planning, instruction and assessment practices that we see learning truly happening.
It was also in this visual that we took the opportunity to show the interconnectivity between the crucial designs. For example, we observed a significant amount of common threads between learner-centered and problem-centered designs.
Similarly to the diversity in philosophies, we see even more diversity in how the planning, instruction and assessments are carried out in a variety of educational environments. In our examples, we sought to display that same diversity. You will note that we used examples such as lecture style, class field trip, and service project. We also chose a technology example that one of us uses in our classroom daily for instruction and summative assessment. As for the variety in assessments, we use exams, essays, evaluations and collaborative projects to display a broad spectrum of learning.
Regardless of the creativity in experiences and assessments that we see in education, there must be a sense of fairness that does not create bias. To do this, we must return to a clear leading target that guides the educator and student to know how and when they will be assessed (McMillan, 2014, p. 76).
We can also deepen the learning experience if we utilize Sociocultural Learning Theory, thus creating an imperative to deeply know each student academically, emotionally, socially, and culturally in order to offer a supportive classroom environment where students feel safe to communicate together about their thinking and reasoning. That is why ambitious teaching is only possible when equitable assessment is fully integrated into instructional practice (Shepard, 2023).
In further discussions, while working through this assignment, we came to our own conclusions that some of these designs are more appropriate for certain subjects, such as the Science of Reading which brings us back to a Subject-Centered design. On the contrary, some of the social sciences are becoming more Learner-centered as access to worldwide problems and social change makes an impact.
References
McMillan, J. H. (2014). Classroom assessment principles and practice for effective standards-based instruction. Pearson.
Ornstein, A. C. (1990/1991). Philosophy as a basis for curriculum decisions. The High School Journal, 74, 102-109.
Shepard, L. (2023, August 10). Ambitious Teaching and Equitable Assessment. American Federation of Teachers. https://www.aft.org/ae/fall2021/shepard
Queen's University, Theological Hall, September 2016
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