Comments on: Banish the PowerPoint Curriculum

By: Tech Tools: Student Blogging | Quisitivity

Tech Tools: Student Blogging | Quisitivity — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:20:09 +0000

[...] opportunities to explore their own interests and passions. In a curriculum driven by standards and packed full of content, there is little room for student choice. Even when teachers are able to compact the curriculum, [...]

By: Kelly Tenkely

Kelly Tenkely — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:06:40 +0000

Gerald, I love the way you applied this idea to curriculum design. It is time that we got some curriculum zen flowing through the school system. Every teacher should understand the design process, it should be an extension of what we do every day.

By: Linda Aragoni

Linda Aragoni — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:16:34 +0000

I feel sorry for teachers who are inundated with stuff the must teach. They don’t even have 30 seconds to think about whether (let alone how) that stuff could be used to further their objectives. I see third grade teachers being required to teach vocabulary that I decided my first-year college students don’t need to know.

Nobody wants to use the word “objectives” but I believe that’s what is needed as a starting point. See http://www.you-can-teach-writing.com/writing-objectives.html Having spent a lot of time writing instructional materials for industry, rather a nut on the topic of objectives. I don’t think education can be run like a business, but using some business-like principles might not come amiss.

By: Gerald Aungst

Gerald Aungst — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:49:53 +0000

@Art I also have experience with PA standards. I spent some time as the science coordinator in my previous district, and had to find a way to fit all of the 4th grade standards into the K-4 curriculum. It doesn’t work. We made many compromises to avoid a curriculum that was impossibly oppressive.

I do think that a problem-based curriculum (rather than a content-based one) could be part of the answer. If we create deep, interesting problems for students to solve, they will touch on many more ideas included in the standards than we can address otherwise.

By: Art Titzel

Art Titzel — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:42:15 +0000

I’ve read Reynold’s book and blog, as well, and I totally agree with your connection to curriculum. Your post struck me because as an American History teacher, the History Standards from the state I’m from (PA) is packed with so much information it would take 12 years of just teaching American History to properly teach it. Now with a push for ever more aligned curriculum and teaching the art of teaching is being supplanted with the “science” of teaching (whether it’s a canned program or not). Data driven and standards aligned curriculum are being foisted on all of us to be sure students can regurgitate facts that will be forgotten after they take the test. That’s accountability. Excellent post, worthy of being passed around.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:00:38 +0000

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