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Curriculum Design: A Task For More Than One
Curriculum Design: A Task For More Than One
Curriculum Design: A Task For More Than One
Milagro Agudelo
Novozhenina
conscious of the hostile relationship between theorists and practitioners. It is a kind of war
for control fought long ago. The control of determining what and how to teach has been a
fervent point of discussion among them. According to MacDonald and Walker (1975), cited
practitioners is an antagonistic one, and the mistrust characterizes it. The result is that in
curriculum and a mandate to deliver it as presented. Thus, the decision about what to
teach is removed from their control. Within the framework of this discussion, It is
necessary to point out that teachers are one of the biggest contributors to student success,
so they should not be pushed out of the discussion. Conversely, I dare to state that
teachers are the precise professional needed for planning the courses they teach for two
main reasons.
The first reason to state is the educator's knowledge. The educator knows the
subject, the students, and the context. In my belief, teachers' knowledge is over the
has led them to understand better the way students learn and what is appropriate for them.
A teacher is an artist that can give shape to the knowledge to make it fit in the students'
requirements. Teachers understand what knowledge students require, and they can use
that knowledge to develop a curriculum that fulfils those needs. Teachers understand
students' learning process. Thus, they can design an accurate and pertinent curriculum
that considers their personal experiences and beliefs to enrich the learning process.
According to that, beliefs play an important role in planning a course since educators teach
accordingly to what they believe, know, and experience. But also considering students'
beliefs, which brings me to the other reason why teachers should plan the courses they
teach.
This second reason is that teachers are the ones in contact with the students, and
consequently, they exert an instructional influence on them. Wang et al. (1993) state that
the instructional variable is one of the variables that most influence students' learning
processes. Thus, since educators have the most direct impact on the instructional
environment, they play an important role, so they cannot be omitted from planning their
courses. But, despite being a figure of authority, the teacher should not use that influence
to be a controller. Many teachers like the controller's role because it allows them to rule
everything that happens. That preference is ironic since, as Kohn (1999) states, teachers
cannot stand that someone else tells them what to teach and how to manage the
classroom, but so many of them treat their students in that dominant way. Here, it is
important to remark that as teachers are in contact with students and influence them, they
have the opportunity to know learners' beliefs and articulate those beliefs in the curriculum.
If the educators have the chance to plan the curriculum, they should share that power with
students, considering their beliefs and opinions. Due to the closeness between the teacher
and the student, the teacher can involve students in curriculum planning. According to
Chesler (1970), the curriculum content, the choice of classroom method, and the
organization of classes should be reviewed, guided and managed by students. In my
planning.
exclusive task of someone. It does not need to be a war of power. Or at least, we should
be advocating the end of this war between practitioners and theorist by "calling a truce," as
Nunan (1994) states. To conclude, I would say that the end of this antagonistic era should
start by restoring the teacher to a role in curriculum making. I believe that a course
planned exclusively by someone other than the teacher will be out of context and lacking
authenticity. Further, and as I have mentioned before, the end of this era should be
characterized also by including the students in the process of curriculum planning. The
above does not mean excluding the administrators. On the contrary, Curriculum planning
should reflect teamwork that considers all the various elements that make up a curriculum,
resulting in a curriculum design seen from all angles. In other words, the end of the
"theorist vs practitioners" era should not be only about teachers planning their courses. It
should be about all the agents involved participating in the curriculum design.