Curriculum
sms_schedule_section_6_5_mcleod_pouliot_15-16.pdf | |
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sms_schedule_section_6_6_mcleod_pouliot_15-16.pdf | |
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Important Notes About the Plans for 2015/2016
The following principles of learning guide are at the heart of all B.C. curricula (and they continue to inform the new, draft curricula):
- Learning requires the active participation of the student.
- People learn in a variety of ways and at different rates.
- Learning is both an individual and a group process.
- Learning is most effective when students reflect on the process of learning and set goals for improvement.
Sometimes, these principles mean that it is helpful to address or emphasize some themes, activities, or learning outcomes sooner than I planned to, and, other times, they mean that it is helpful to take longer with some themes, activities, or learning outcomes, meaning that one addresses subsequent ones later than planned.
Here's what Alfie Kohn (one of my favourite educational writers) says about curriculum and students:
Here's what Alfie Kohn (one of my favourite educational writers) says about curriculum and students:
"In traditional schooling, as John Dewey once remarked, “the center of gravity is outside the child”: he or she is expected to adjust to the school’s rules and curriculum. Progressive educators take their cue from the children — and are particularly attentive to differences among them. (Each student is unique, so a single set of policies, expectations, or assignments would be as counterproductive as it was disrespectful.) The curriculum isn’t just based on interest, but on these children’s interests. Naturally, teachers will have broadly conceived themes and objectives in mind, but they don’t just design a course of study for their students; they design it with them, and they welcome unexpected detours. One fourth-grade teacher’s curriculum, therefore, won’t be the same as that of the teacher next door, nor will her curriculum be the same this year as it was for the children she taught last year. It’s not enough to offer elaborate thematic units prefabricated by the adults. And progressive educators realize that the students must help to formulate not only the course of study but also the outcomes or standards that inform those lessons."
From "Progressive Education: Why It's Hard to Beat, But Also Hard to Find" http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/progressive.htm
From "Progressive Education: Why It's Hard to Beat, But Also Hard to Find" http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/progressive.htm
I may not be as "progressive" as Alfie Kohn advocates teachers should be, but I think that striving for such progressiveness and a level of democracy in the classroom is important to keep students engaged and interested, so I try to balance the B.C. Curriculum (http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/welcome.php & the new, draft curriculum at https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/) with such a progressive approach.