Discussion Assignment 5 

According to Bruner, unit can be defined as the elements of which the course is made. A unit is a
body of materials and exercises that may occupy as much as several days of class time or as little
as half a class period. A unit can be used to the full and consume a considerable amount of the
course content (Bruner, 1965) 
According to Bruner noticed that there are some units that are skipped and are intended only for
those teachers who have a particular interest in a topic or a particular kind of exercise (Bruner,
1965).

I remember when I was doing my primary school especially in grade 6, my teacher did not teach us
the topic in the anatomy branch entitled “the reproduction” while others classes were having that
topic, I think she was ashamed to explain the male and female genitals.

There will be more units that can possibly be fitted into a year's course and teachers will be
encouraged to put them together in a form that is commodious to their own intent (Bruner, 1965).
Teachers need to identify the units which were helpful to make the courses understandable. And
these units need to be well developed with concrete examples in order to allow the running of
teaching goes smoothly in the future.  

Are there elements of the course that seem outdated? 

The Rwandan government and others argue that aspects of schooling before 1994 contributed to the
genocide, the curriculum was based on discrimination, divisionism, and victimization (WENR, 2019).
The teaching of history course at School before 1994 in Rwanda was a weapon to promote a hatred
and divisionism.
The history of Rwanda is now being taught at school, and the goal is to instil a sense of collective
and unifying “Rwandans” and prevent the resurgence of inter-ethnic conflict. While the genocide is
commemorated each year and the topic of “genocide studies” has recently been incorporated in
school curricula (Flood, 2021).
It is remarkable that the course of history which promote a hatred and division in Rwanda, is outdate,
it is not even welcome.
Today's approaches to curriculum differ from Bruner's six elements
• Bruner believed that effective teaching involved starting from what children know already and
providing them with guidance that moves their thinking forward. This idea of curriculum design is
good and I think if our teaching practice of today was based on that theory, I think students could be
more involved in following lectures effectively.
• Bruner thought it important for pupils to develop intuitive thinking, although he recognised that it
was difficult to foster.
Intuitive thinking can be defined as a feeling that doesn’t use rational processes such as facts and
data (Problem Solving Techiniques, n.d). The intuitive thinking is not modern practice in learning. It
is know that whatever needs to taught or explained must be based on the facts and experiments.
Conclusion
I think the unit construction in the curriculum must be based on the new experiences encountered in
teaching practices and curriculum design and unit destruction in the curriculum must be also based
on the new experiences. As I have said previously the teaching of history in Rwanda has changed,
there are some elements which have been moved because these topics were taught to encourage
divisionism and hatred in Rwandans and now the history taught is about unity and reconciliation to
leave a better legacy of development and unity among all Rwandans.

References
1. Bruner, J. S. (1965). Man a Course of Study. Inc., Cambridge, Hass., 3, 1–28.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED178390.pdf
2. Flood, Z. (2021, February 10). Teaching Difficult Histories: Rwanda’s Post-Genocide Experience.
Https://Www.Nationalgeographic.Com. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/140429-
rwanda-genocide-hutu-tutsi-kigali-curriculum-world
3. Problem-Solving-Techniques.com. (n.d.). Intuitive and Non-Intuitive Thinking.
Http://Www.Problem-Solving-Techniques.Com. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from
http://www.problem-solving-techniques.com/Intuitive-Thinking.html
4. WENR. (2019, October 15). Education in Rwanda. World Education News+ Reviews.
https://wenr.wes.org