Education is one of the essential elements that determine the future of civilization. Societies are experiencing various issues that threaten their survival. As communities continue to evolve and adopt emerging ideas such as technology, more problems are created, which may negatively impact people if they are not addressed adequately. Education serves the purpose of importing the necessary knowledge into students to enable them to analyze the problems facing society and provide the necessary solutions. Therefore, my personal curriculum theory is based on the reconstruction theory (Kembara et al., 2022). This theory states that education should be tailored to equip the learners with vital knowledge on solving societal issues.
Education serves several purposes, including enabling the learners to achieve their full potential and shaping the learners behavior to conform to society’s values and practices. Additionally, education provides conducive conditions for the progressive development of children into holistic and responsible individuals (Cantor, 2021). However, the main aim of education should be to provide knowledge to the learners on the various issues affecting society and the necessary methodologies that can be employed to solve these issues. Society relies on students to provide the knowledge acquired in schools and institutions of higher learning to address the issues affecting people in society, including health, transport, employment and other major issues (Cantor, 2021). Without education, it will be difficult to produce essential personnel such as doctors to care for people and improve the quality of life.
Instructional methods play a significant role in determining how learners process and understand the information they are acquiring from education. One of the effective instructional models is the social interaction method (Rabin et al., 2021). This model is learner-centered and aims to establish close relations between learners and enable them to analyze the information they are acquiring and understand how that information is useful in solving social problems. The social interaction instructional model is essential in fostering human relations and cultivating collaboration and coordination in analyzing and understanding the practical application of concepts in real-life situations (Rabin et al., 2021). Learners’ interaction gives them confidence and empowers them to exploit their abilities to their full potential. Additionally, this instructional method increases the relations between the learners and their teachers, enabling them to seek clarity on concepts that require a lot of focus (Rabin et al., 2021). Furthermore, the social interaction model increases creativity and influence innovation by enabling learners to share their ideas on various issues affecting society and identify various ways they can actualize their ideas.
Various factors need to be considered when selecting the curriculum content. Firstly, there is a need to consider the interest of society. The content of the curriculum should conform to the emerging issues facing society and provide the necessary recommendations to address these issues (Schneiderhan et al., 2019). Therefore, the content should be problem-based and ensure that it orients the learners to the significant sectors of society that need focus. Secondly, the curriculum content to be chosen should be progressive such as the simpler content is introduced first before the complex knowledge (Ireland & Mouthaan, 2020). This form of curriculum content is Bruner’s spiral curriculum (Ireland & Mouthaan, 2020). Introducing the learners to simpler content lays a strong foundation for comprehending the complex content.
Thirdly, the content at each level of complexity should be related and connected to the whole curriculum. A uniform content is essential in reducing confusion that learners may develop when they are introduced to knowledge at every level of progress (Schneiderhan et al., 2019). Fourthly, the chosen content should be valid such that the content that learners are exposed to at each level of complexity matches their thinking ability and mental capacity to process such information. For instance, it would be invalid to introduce learners from elementary school to complex structures such as derivatives, yet most have developing minds that cannot process such content.
Fifthly, the content should consider the learners’ interest to motivate them to learn and have the urge to understand the content they are being taught. While the curriculum should conform to the country’s or society’s interests, it is essential to identify with the learners’ needs (Schneiderhan et al., 2019). Considering the learners’ interests will enable them to understand how they will benefit from the knowledge they acquire. Learning is essential. Lastly, the chosen content should be feasible and easily implementable in an education setting (Pak et al., 2020). The content should have a clear timeframe that allows the teachers to impart the knowledge to students and allows the student to understand what they are being taught within a specific period. Additionally, it is significant to consider the resources available when choosing the content for a curriculum (Pak et al., 2020). Resources include technology, funding, and facilities such as laboratories that can support the concepts being taught.
Assessment methods allow teachers to understand whether the students are underrating what they are being taught. These methods enable the teacher to identify whether the purposes of learning a unit are achieved. The most effective assessment tools include formative assessment and summative assessment. Formative assessment involves evaluating the learners’ comprehension and learning objectives within a course period (Schildkamp et al., 2020). This assessment tool may involve analyzing the learners’ progress in a specific unit before progressing to another.
Teachers can employ the formative assessment method by giving students impromptu quizzes, conducting visual exercises, and interviewing the students about a particular topic. Other forms of formative assessment include giving students entry slips before starting a lesson or giving them exit slips to ascertain their understanding of the lesson (Schildkamp et al., 2020). These assessment tools enable students to understand concepts and apply their course knowledge to practical situations. The summative assessment is essential in enabling teachers to understand whether the learning program’s overall objective was achieved (Broadbent et al., 2018). This assessment method involves testing the level of learners’ understanding at the end of the course regarding various concepts (Broadbent et al., 2018). Some assessment tools used in summative assessment include end-of-term examinations, mid-semester examinations or final projects.
Many students tend to struggle to understand the concepts being taught. This creates a need for interventions to reinforce knowledge and increase learners’ comprehension of a particular subject. These remediation strategies aim to readjust the instructions to conform to the learners’ needs. Various types of remediation methods can be employed to facilitate the learning of a concept. Some effective remediation strategies include researching the topic to familiarize the learner with the areas of difficulty and explain to them areas they do not understand. Additionally, teachers can employ the task analysis strategy that involves breaking down the complex task into smaller components that are easier for the student to understand (McConomy et al., 2021). Lastly, teachers can implement one-on-one tutoring to engage with the learner closely and understand their areas of difficulty in comprehending subjects and identify ways that can be employed to enhance the student’s understanding.
Technology is one of the essential tools employed in teaching to increase the interaction between teachers and students during the learning process. Teachers can use technology to familiarize students with a concept by presenting them with more practical examples of how to apply the skills being taught (Roy, 2019). Additionally, technology such as online books present more information that may not be provided in the course books, thus broadening the students’ understanding.
In assessments, technology can track a learner’s progress for a given period. Technology provides better opportunities for teachers to enhance the administration of tests and keep the assessment record (Roy, 2019). Technology is essential in interpreting the results to determine the student’s overall performance and identify subjects that need improvement (Roy, 2019). Furthermore, technology is essential in implementing various remediation strategies. For instance, teachers can use technology to offer extra classes to students having problems understanding a particular subject. Through technology such as teleconferencing, teachers can interact with students without meeting physically, thus enabling students to have extra classes without having to go to the school premises.
My philosophy is based on the theory of Merrill’s Principle of instruction which adopts the instructional design perspective. According to this theory, learning is effective when the learners have the knowledge to solve real-world problems (Merrill, 2018). Additionally, this problem states that learning is promoted when the existing knowledge serves as a foundation for new knowledge. This theory argues that learning is effective when a new concept is demonstrated to the learner rather than being lectured (Merrill, 2018). The learner should demonstrate the ability to apply the new knowledge in solving their problems.
References
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Cantor, P. (2021). All Children Thriving: A New Purpose for Education. American Educator, 45(3), 14. Web.
Ireland, J., & Mouthaan, M. (2020). Perspectives on Curriculum Design: Comparing the Spiral and the Network Models.Research Matters. Web.
Kembara, M. D., Rozak, R. W. A., Hadian, V. A., Maftuh, B., & Warlim, W. (2022). Reconstruction of Mandatory General Courses as General Education. In 4th Social and Humanities Research Symposium (SoRes 2021) (pp. 102-106). Atlantis Press. Web.
McConomy, M. A., Root, J., & Wade, T. (2021). Using task analysis to support inclusion and assessment in the classroom. Teaching Exceptional Children, 00400599211025565. Web.
Merrill, M. D. (2018). Using the first principles of instruction to make instruction effective, efficient, and engaging. Foundations of learning and instructional design technology. Web.
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Rabin, J., Lawlace, M., Zhen-Duan, J., Núñez, M., & Jacquez, F. (2021). A social interaction learning model approach to understand adverse childhood experiences and drug use among Latinx youth.Journal of ethnicity in substance abuse, 1-15. Web.
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Schneiderhan, J., Guetterman, T. C., & Dobson, M. L. (2019). Curriculum development: a how-to primer. Family Medicine and Community Health, 7(2). 10.1136/fmch-2018-000046