Critical Issues in Curriculum and Instruction -

Readings Guide Sheet

th

Contemporary Issues in Curriculum 6 Edition

by Allen Ormstein

Chapter 2: Goals and Objectives

Key Points of the issue:
Why is it important to establish goals for student learning?
What is the relationship between goals and learning
activities?
Should the learning goals be the same for all students?
Who should assume the responsibility for developing
learning goals: the federal government, the state board of
education, local school boards, or the individual faculty at
each school?

Whose interests are at stake:

Society
Parents
Students
Educators
Administrators

Layers to the topic Lens of the Sociological Imagination

Social/Cultural
Political
Economic
Promotes the development Collaborates with local
Reinforces the concept of
of goals and objectives to
stakeholders to create a
goals and objectives to
improve instruction and
effective curriculum
improve productivity
learning
Identifies the government
Develops the criteria for
Identifies the expectations
entity responsible for
judging corporate success
of local communities and
determining educational
incorporates them into
directives
district curriculum
Develops the scope of an
individual schools
responsibility to its
students
The topic is a critical issue in my world because
I believe displayed student learning goals help improve student understanding of content lessons and
help tie the learning activities together in a way that makes learning more effective. I also believe that
these goals help direct the instructors presentation methods, improving the success of the lessons.
Educators can impact the situation in this way
I believe educators can intentionally develop learning goals and objectives for their classrooms, which
will make instruction more effective and more creative. In our assessment driven world, learning
goals help focus instruction on the essential learnings for each content area and incorporate dataproven techniques to maximize the potential of educational excellence and equity.