Formal Curriculum Assessment
State Curriculum Assessment
Curriculum Defined
Every year as new students enter school they wonder what they will learn. As the student enters the room on the first day of school the teacher has her room precisely decorated and has all of her lesson plans clearly defined. Although the student has no idea, these lesson plans where designed specifically for his/her every need before he even stepped into that classroom. Every year the curriculum for Louisiana schools is determined long before the student ever arrive, but what exactly is the curriculum and what does it do for each student individually? The curriculum in schools today has been defined in many different ways; this is primarily due to the fact that most everyone has an opinion on how and what the curriculum of our students should be. When curriculum is ordinarily defined there are usually words like study and planned activities that arise, but there is more to it than just that. The curriculum that our students are given should be more than just homework and tests, it should also continue outside of the classroom. Although this could seem a bit uncouth, it can be planned out and individualized for students. Making sure that the curriculum is planned out for individuals is another major part of the curriculum being a success. The specific curriculum that is planned out for students should also always be clearly defined within their content level and for the students’ specific learning ability. And finally a classes curriculum should follow the curriculum with others classes throughout the state, ensuring that all students are given the same opportunities to learn.
Todd (1965), E.A. Curriculum Development and Instructional Planning in Nederland, Texas stated that, “a curriculum can be defined as the planned educational experiences offered by a school which can take place anywhere at any time in the multiple context of the school, e.g. public schools as caring communities.” (p. 1) This
Curriculum Defined
Every year as new students enter school they wonder what they will learn. As the student enters the room on the first day of school the teacher has her room precisely decorated and has all of her lesson plans clearly defined. Although the student has no idea, these lesson plans where designed specifically for his/her every need before he even stepped into that classroom. Every year the curriculum for Louisiana schools is determined long before the student ever arrive, but what exactly is the curriculum and what does it do for each student individually? The curriculum in schools today has been defined in many different ways; this is primarily due to the fact that most everyone has an opinion on how and what the curriculum of our students should be. When curriculum is ordinarily defined there are usually words like study and planned activities that arise, but there is more to it than just that. The curriculum that our students are given should be more than just homework and tests, it should also continue outside of the classroom. Although this could seem a bit uncouth, it can be planned out and individualized for students. Making sure that the curriculum is planned out for individuals is another major part of the curriculum being a success. The specific curriculum that is planned out for students should also always be clearly defined within their content level and for the students’ specific learning ability. And finally a classes curriculum should follow the curriculum with others classes throughout the state, ensuring that all students are given the same opportunities to learn.
Todd (1965), E.A. Curriculum Development and Instructional Planning in Nederland, Texas stated that, “a curriculum can be defined as the planned educational experiences offered by a school which can take place anywhere at any time in the multiple context of the school, e.g. public schools as caring communities.” (p. 1) This
Cited: Curriculum Approaches and Definitions. (1990) Retrieved July 8, 2010 http://www.coe.ufl.edu/Courses/TODD/curriculum.html Humanist of Utah. (1994) Retrieved, July 8, 2010 http://www.humanistsofutah.org/1994/art2jun94.html Louisiana Department of Education. (2008) Retrieved, July 8, 2010 from http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/portals/curriculum.html Tomlinson, Carol Ann and McTighe, Jay. (2006). Integrating Differentiated Instruction & Understanding By Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Vic Kelley. (1983) Retrieved, July 8, 2010 from http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm