Good Curriculum Design AND Assessment Essay Example

A. Behaviorism, Constructivism, and Cognitivism

According to some of the scientific theories, learning is a steady change of a human behaviour in a specific situation which results in gaining an experience. This definition helps us to distinguish three main approaches to learning. These approaches are: behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism.
The core of the approach of behaviourism lies in the increasing of the amount of observations. Such learning is successful when a person sees a certain perfect response for a specific stimulus for a few times.
In other words, behaviourism emphasizes that the results of such performances and the responses for the stimulus tend to occur in the future. They are different from two other approaches by not trying to explore the processes a person use when thinking and system of human mind. According to behaviouristic theory, all the conditions that surround us play an important role for a process of studying as they may reinforce the knowledge in our memory as well as interfere with the process of acquiring information (Ertmer & Newby, 2013).
Cognitive science refuses the significance of the observational performances and is more concerned with the mental process of human thinking. So the focuses on such processes as critical thinking, analyzing, solving of problems, formation of the idea. The key of their doctrine is that only knowing everything about human thinking, we may influence the quality and the quantity of learning (Ertmer & Newby, 2013).
Comparing these two approaches, we may say that behaviourism is an external approach as it predetermines observation of the outer world and only than thinking and making the conclusions while cognitivism is an internal approach by pursuing the exploration of all the human thinking processes within our mind and using them for the advantages of learning.
The key statement of a constructivist`s approach is that a human crates a meaning from its own experience. Constructivism may be considered a part of a cognitive theory, but their main difference is that cognitivists think that mind is a thing they may refer to explaining almost everything in the world, while constructivists claim that mind is just a filter that allows us to select information and use it to gain experience.

A1. Support

For example, when a pupil is shown a flashcard with an equation “5+3=?” he will answer 8 which will be a certain perfect response while 5+3 is a specific stimulus. The core element of behaviouristic approach is a strong relationships and association between a stimulus and a response. But unfortunately, both behaviourism and cognitivism approaches are objective, so they do not reflect the true nature of a learning as each person is individualized and may have different characteristics that influences their abilities of acquiring the knowledge. That is why; the main objective of constructivism is to draw a so-called map of the world to a learner of a subject.

B. Theories of Curriculum Design and Implementation

Curriculum development is an inner process that cannot be isolated from a learning process as it has very deep connections with learning itself. The process of the Curriculum Design and its Implementation has four essential steps that ought to be taken while creating the educational plan.

These steps are:

Identification of general objectives as well as specific aims that are supposed to be achieved by the end of learning (Shahzad, 2014)

Creation of the subjective course, determining of all the activities and related materials.

Checking and testing of the course, correcting of all the mistakes that may interfere with an educational process (Shahzad, 2014)
Informing the teachers about the objectives and the curriculum itself.
B1. Support
C. Learning Objectives

As for the learning objectives in a specific content area in our educational institution, we may identify three of them:

Describe and compare three approaches of learning
Identify the structure of a Curriculum Design process
Explore the Common Methods for Integrating Technology.
C1. Relationship
All three objectives are concerned with different approaches. The key to distinguishing which approach to use is in the verb that denotes action of the objective. Describing and comparing of three approaches of learning is concerned with structuralism as we have to use our mind as a filter to absorb and then present information. While identifying the structure of a Curriculum Design we should use a cognitive approach as we cannot identify the process of creating the abstract thing without creating it in our mind step by step. And exploring of the Common Methods for Integrating Technology determines use of behaviouristic approach as we need to conduct an observation for gathering information.

C2. Instructional Strategy

The instructional strategy to the first objective determines the use of research materials, gaining specific information about three approaches and critical thinking in comparing them. The instructional strategy for the second objective means that a student has to use his mental abilities to think of all the steps and the significance of the Curriculum Design. The third objective predetermines a student to simply observe and research the Common Methods for Integrating Technology.
D. Common Methods for Integrating Technology
There are several methods for integrating technology to a class. Actually they do not depend on the subject and are quite universal, so they can be applied to any lesson. First of all, technologies may be implemented as teaching materials, audio-visual aids and means of information. Secondly, it can be used as a system of school management. Finally, technologies may be used as an assessment system.

D1. Example

Personally, we believe that the integrating of technology as a teaching and assessing system is quite productive and effective. Children can see the example of a phenomenon only by one click, so now teachers do not have to carry tons of pictures, books and tables. Assessing with the help of the computer may be more subjective and clear than other forms.

References

Ertmer, P., & Newby, T. (2013). Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features From an Instructional Design Perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/piq.21143
Shahzad, M. (2014). Cyclical models of curriculum development. Slideshare.net. Retrieved 8 January 2016, from http://www.slideshare.net/mamoonashahzad54/education-ppttemplate030