Liberty EdD Overview  

EDUC 771 -- Curriculum Theory

EDUC771_8WK_Syllabus.docx

March-May 2015

Instructor Dr. Bradshaw-- ldbradshaw3@liberty.edu

American Psychological Association. Publication manual of the American psychological association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Gall et al., Educational Research: An Introduction (2006).

www.LiveText.com membership: This is a website for portfolio development and the submission of major course assignments. A one-time purchase is required for all students in the Education program. ISBN: 9780979663567.

A personal Bible (version of choice)

Course Schedule

EDUC 771

 NOTE:  Each course module/week begins on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday.

Discussion boards are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the candidate is required to post 1 thread of at least 400 words. The candidate will then post 1 substantive reply of at least 200 words to another candidate’s thread. For each thread, the candidate must support his/her assertions with at least 1 citation in current APA format. The candidate’s reply must cite at least 1 source. Acceptable sources include the textbook, the Bible, peer-reviewed journal article, or educational textbooks in the subject area.

Philosophical Position Paper 

Discuss the perceived philosophical positions of three teachers from your educational past (elementary, secondary and college) and how those positions impacted that teacher’s teaching style and either positively or negatively impacted you personally. You may use specific examples and explain how your teaching could be impacted by that teacher’s approach. You must have a minimum of 3-5 pages and incorporate at least five APA citations.

Curriculum and Biblical Perspectives Chart Curriculum_and_Biblical_Perspectives_Chart_Template(1).doc

Select a content subject area (history, science, math, literature) and a grade level to develop. Design a chart that illustrates how each of the curriculum perspectives (Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressive, Reconstructive, Biblical) would structure the course by Perceptions & Goals, Essential Questions, Materials and Resources, Classroom Procedures, and Classroom Assessment. Use the attached template to complete the chart and incorporate at least five APA citations. 

Criteria List for Curriculum Decisions

Develop a set of criteria in list form that could be used by a curriculum search committee that would justify and support a particular selection of a social studies (history) curriculum for a school system. Think about those areas that you would want to see in any text or material that was selected for use with students. Include every criteria that should be considered in the selection of materials across any or all grade levels. Your list should be 1-3 pages in length. 

PowerPoint In-Service Presentation and Agenda

Design an in-service presentation that you could give to other teachers to inform them about the importance of developing a core curriculum. Discuss both the theory behind core curriculum (the theoretical implications) and the practical aspects (the practical implications) of teaching a core curriculum within a school system. Create a PowerPoint presentation that includes a very detailed two-hour agenda for your participants and activities that would make the learning time more meaningful. Ensure that your agenda is extremely specific and accounts for every minute of the session. All parts of the presentation must be within the PowerPoint. If you have activities, these should be outlined within the presentation, not included separately. You must have a minimum of 20 slides and incorporate at least five APA citations. Once you have completed your PowerPoint, save it as a PDF file. Follow these steps to save your presentation as a PDF file: 

1. Save your document
2. Go to Save As
3. Under the Save as type dropdown menu, click PDF (*.pdf)
4. Click Save found at the bottom right corner
5. Submit your presentation as a PDF file to the SafeAssign submission link

Textbook Evaluation Chart   EDUC771_8wk_TextbookEvaluationChart(1).docx

You will select an elementary or secondary textbook from their own resources or purchase one of the elementary or secondary textbooks available onMBS Direct. Describe how that specific textbook would be used by each of the perspectives. This would be a good place to use your Curriculum and Biblical Perspectives Chart. How would each perspective differ in presentation of the material? How would the instruction and focus be different? Identify any areas that would conflict with a biblical perspective. You will use the Textbook Evaluation Chart and respond to all questions underneath the chart. You must incorporate at least five APA citations.

Implied Curriculum Paper

Consider the difference between the physical education program and the athletic program of any secondary school system. Identify how they are unique and different. What is the implied curriculum of each separately? Once you have established the implied curriculum of each area, identify one aspect from each program that you consider to be a negative implication and outline the steps that a school system might take to overcome these concerns. You must have a minimum of 3-5 pages and incorporate at least five APA citations. 

Values/Character Development Paper

Choose a subject area and topic that might be taught in a grade level of your choice. Identify character qualities or values/virtues that could be taught in conjunction with that topic. Explain and defend your choices for the qualities and suggest at least three activities that could be used to foster an understanding in your students for those values, qualities or virtues. Finally, explain how the implied curriculum within the classroom or school might affect that instruction. You must have a minimum of 3-5 pages and incorporate at least five APA citations. 

Curriculum Change Plan Chart

Outline, in detail, the steps and timeframe for a plan to change the total curriculum for either the subject area of science or history within an entire school system. This would be school-wide and set priorities for the issues being targeted. Describe in the outline what the plan would be to get the staff in the school system (parents, teachers, librarians, administrators) to cooperate with and engage positively with a change in curriculum. You must incorporate at least five APA citations. 

Textbooks:  APA, Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (Current).

Philosophy and Education : Introduction in Christian Perspective4TH 06EditionTHIS ITEM ISREQUIRED

Suggested Retail Price (SRP)$25.00 Author Knight, George R. ISBN 978-1-883925-54-3

Curriculum Leadership10TH 14EditionTHIS ITEM ISREQUIRED

Suggested Retail Price (SRP)$175.50Author Parkay, Forrest W.ISBN 978-0-13-285215-9 

DB1 Topic: You have already been asked to do quite a bit of reading. Curriculum Theory is a subject that few, outside the field of education, spend much time thinking about. However, everything we present, and how we present it, is grounded in what we believe. Based upon the material that you have read this week and the introductory information, discuss the importance of planning curriculum and how the lack of planning, even within a single classroom, could impact the future of a student.

Post your thread by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Thursday of module/week 1. Post your replies by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Sunday of the same module/week

DB2 Topic: What one believes philosophically will impact how curriculum is written and how it is presented by the educator. Of the philosophies (Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, and Existentialism) covered in the readings, discuss educational philosophy and how historical and scientific changes in human history might have influenced thought and philosophy in the field of education. List at least one concrete example.

DB3 Topic: Having researched educational philosophies and considered the curricular process, explain the factor that you consider to be the most important in deciding on good curriculum. Once you have explained that factor, discuss a curricular decision factor that you believe carries more weight in the final decision, and why this would be so.

DB4 Topic: Most states in the United States, along with Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands, have adopted the Common Core States Standard Initiative. Explain and defend the reasons why a state would choose NOT to adopt these standards.

DB5 Topic: This module/week, you are evaluating a textbook and considering it from all the educational philosophical positions. Discuss what you can surmise about the author, or authors, of the text that you are evaluating. If you were to write a textbook on the subject area that the book covered how would you change or add to the material included in the curriculum? In your opinion, would it be possible to be unbiased and, an even bigger question, do you think we should we be unbiased? Why or why not?

DB6 Topic: Implied curriculum is unavoidable; however, the things said by what we allow and encourage (as well as prohibit and discourage) speaks volumes to students, parents and the community. How do you think an educational philosophy could be undermined by the implied curriculum in a school? If it would help you to do so, pick a particular educational philosophy and discuss how something implied by teachers, administrators, parents, or the students themselves, could negate the stated curriculum.

DB7 Topic: Whether or not you are a Christian (a person that holds a biblical worldview), it is important to be able to articulate this perspective and understand how it would impact curriculum. How would an educator with a biblical worldview define truth? What would a person holding a biblical worldview promote as primary character traits? How would that same educator view the student’s nature? How would that educator’s role (in the classroom) be defined from that perspective?

DB8 Topic: Assessment of curriculum is an ongoing yearly process. Change is important, but not just for change itself. What would be the indicators of a need to change a curriculum, and how long should those indicators be present before change occurs? Once change is indicated, discuss the process for alerting the constituents involved (policy makers, board, educators, administrators, parents, taxpayers). Discuss why this is vitally important to curriculum, both the stated curriculum and the implied curriculum.

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