Describe the specific curriculum area and grade level(s) for the pilot curriculum

• Scenario for Assignments 1-3
  Assume that you are the curriculum designer for a school district. The school board has requested that several teams develop proposals for new curricula to meet newly established state standards. You and your team must develop the first proposal to provide as a pilot or model for the other teams. You have to first identify a specific curriculum area not currently used in the school district that would greatly benefit the students in the district. Use the Internet or the Strayer Library as well as your textbook to develop a pilot curriculum for a specific discipline area (reading, math, science, etc.) or grade level (K-12) at a local school district.
  Assignment 3: Curriculum Development and Implementation
  Due Week 9 and worth 300 points
  Write an eight to ten (8-10) page paper in which you:
  1. Summarize the following aspects of Assignments 1 and 2:
     1. Describe the specific curriculum area and grade level(s) for the pilot curriculum
     2. Describe at least four (4) core instructional goals for the curriculum
     3. Review the various approaches to be used for the planned curriculum as well as potential cultural influences
     4. Review the strategy for incorporating critical thinking skills into the planned curriculum using Bloom’s Taxonomy
  2. Develop at least three (3) student learning outcomes for each of the core instructional goals in the planned curriculum. (Note: Student learning outcomes must support accomplishment of their respective core instructional goal and be stated in a manner that is observable and measurable. The student learning outcomes must also support development of critical thinking skills consistent with Bloom’s Taxonomy. A brief article on writing student learning outcomes or objectives, “Writing learning objectives: Beginning with the end in mind,” may be found here.
  3. Outline a least one (1) instructional lesson or exercise that could be used to facilitate mastery of one of the three (3) student learning outcomes listed. (Note: The instructional lesson outline should include instructor activities to promote mastery of the learning outcome and develop critical thinking skills. The outline should also include student activities that promote critical thinking and accomplishment of the learning outcome.)
  4. Propose at least one (1) way the students for which the lesson is designed will use technology as part of the lesson, providing a rationale for the technology.
  5. Propose at least one (1) way in which technology will be used to deliver the lesson, providing a rationale for the technology.
  6. Create an implementation plan for the curriculum in the form of a PowerPoint presentation of at least eight (8) slides. Include (a) a summary of the development process (Assignments 1 and 2), (b) the instruction lesson outline, (c) an implementation timetable, and (d) the human and capital resources needed for successful implementation. (Note: The PowerPoint, which is not part of the page count, will be presented to the District School Board.)
  7. Use at least three (3) relevant, scholarly references published in the last seven (7) years. (May use references already used in this paper.) (Note: Wikipedia and other non-government Websites do not qualify as scholarly resources. Review the supplementary readings list on the first page of the course guide for possible references.)
  8. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
  • Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
  • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page, PowerPoint presentation, and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
  • The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
  • Identify the key elements of curriculum design and development.
  • Compare the philosophical foundations of curriculum.
  • Consider how psychological foundations play a role in the development of curriculum.
  • Analyze the relationship of social foundations to K-12 curriculum.
  • Develop the strategies and techniques to support curriculum planning.
  • Design curriculum plan for a current or future school setting.
  • Create implementation approaches for curriculum.
  • Use technology and information resources to research issues in curriculum planning.
  • Write clearly and concisely about curriculum design and development using proper writing mechanics.

Paper 1

 

Curriculum Inception [for the School District of Philadelphia]

School District of Philadelphia

Geographical Location

The School District of Philadelphia is [one] the of largest public school district[s] in the United States. This district has control over 214 schools in the city and enrollment has soared to over 200,000 students. Its highest number of schools is found in elementary classrooms with 149 schools, High school has about 49 schools and middle school has 16. Philadelphia also has charter schools that independently run themselves but will report to the Philadelphia School District.

Demographics of Student Population and Cultural Influences

Currently[,] 200,000 students are enrolled in the Philadelphia School District. Throughout the district, Spanish speakers are the most significant group speaking another language other than English. More than half of the number of students in the district speak Spanish in the district.  [There are] 107 languages are spoken by students in the variety of grade levels, and schools. The other languages include Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, Khmer, Creoles and many more.

State Policies and Practices Related to Curriculum Development

There are various state policies designed to improve curriculum development;<Dele semicolon.> such as a curriculum audit; a curriculum audit assists the school district in establishing if the curriculum in place [is] aligned to the objectives of the [states] and if the curriculum is adopted in a class by the teachers (Partelow & Shapiro, 2018). The curriculum is vital to the education that the students receive[;] hence, establishing what and when they are taught is essential, in the sense that a curriculum that is of high quality will positively reflect on the student. This policy is on the same page as evaluating the effectiveness of the curriculum and not just alignment, which helps in the development of the best curriculum.

Specific Discipline and Grade Level for Pilot Curriculum

The discipline for the pilot curriculum is the K-12 Science Education, which is a broad discipline and exciting at the same time. It is essential to understand that the science curriculum Science education goes with instruction, assessment and teacher development. Science education is the field in education that is involved with sharing of science process and content with individuals, mostly students that are not considered to be part of the science community. In this case, the learners might be college students, children or adults that[TML2]  are among the general population. The science education field encompasses works in science process that is the scientific method, science content, teaching pedagogy and social science. There are standards for science education that provide the basis for the development of proper understanding for the students the entire K-12 education course and other levels of education. The conventional subjects in the standards are life, physical, earth human sciences and space.

K-12 [is] the level that this pilot curriculum is focusing on it is also essential to describe it, K-12 is a used educational technology and education in Canada and the United States in addition to other countries (Rouse, 2019). It is somehow a short form for the school grades that are publicly supported that come before college. The publicly-supported grades include the (K) that stands for Kindergarten and the twelve grades that go from 1st to 12th grade (1-12). Whereby after the 12th grade follows is,<Delete comma> college and hypothetically speaking the first year of college would be the 13th grade if [TML3] this system was to extend to college. Also, something to note is that modern information technology is provided at the K-12 level in our communities that use the K-12 model.

For this particular assignment, just choose 1-2 grade levels but not Pre-K to 12th. You will be designing a lesson plan in Week 9 so you have to be specific with this lesson plan or you will be designing for all grade levels.

Rationale [t]hat Proposes Three [B]enefits to [t]he Students

The alignment of the framework of this K-12 curriculum, there are other aspects outside the curriculum, that could be considered and at the same time not addressed in the framework. [TML4] Through the elements of the science curriculum, there are specific areas such as discussion and reflection, which are part of the curriculum. Through this aspect’s students can come and establish the fact that scientific inquiry encompasses some values. These values will then benefit them in future even if they are applied in a scientific field, for instance;

Respect for the Importance of Logical thinking; this is an aspect that is spread through the science units. Through the experiments and historical evaluations of the branches of science. Logical thinking it is something that is required for nay individuals, which is a good thing that this curriculum can develop this at the K-12 grade level while the students are still young.

Open-mindedness[:] this is a crucial factor in our current society with the various issue with gender, politics and other societal topics. Hence[,] the development of such skills through the curriculum will be necessary for the students, as they will develop this from the class to real life situations such as when they join college, and suddenly everything is not the same.

Honest report findings[:] this is another beneficial aspect that the students can get from the science curriculum. In the sense that in some way, it will develop individuals with integrity, which is a vital factor for the next generation as a lack of integrity is what ails our current age.

The science-education curriculum is supposed to consider the students, mainly because the curriculum in place is not sufficient for their development through the K-12 grade level. Hence the above three benefits are some of the benefits the students will get from the pilot-curriculum program. [TML5]

Benefits: Proficient 80-89% B 24.28   points

Four Instructional Goals of the Curriculum

Albert Einstein said education has the goal “to produces independently thinking and acting Individuals.”[TML6]  Science education, on the other hand, has the aim to produce capable individuals [who] evaluate and understand information that is or claims to be scientific and therefore creating motivated and skills future scientists in every field (Forman et al. 2015). The curriculum was based on this principle, and consequently[,] it has Instructional Goals which are to produce proficient students in Science[.]; <Can you list the goals below as 1, 2, 3, and 4? I am having difficulty locating them.

That has the knowledge, utilise and interpret the natural world’s scientific Interpretation. [TML7] Meaning that they have the extensive scientific experience, that can be established through reading lessons, to at least have a clue about the various science units such as the earth, plants and human sciences. The general scientific knowledge is the first step that each student is anticipated to have in this pilot curriculum.

Who can evaluate and generate scientific explanation and evidence? [This] can be achieved through the experiments that are set aside for the practical lessons. The main aim of the practical lessons is to give the students the feel of scientific tests aimed at getting scientific evidence.

That can appropriate the development and nature of scientific knowledge and at the same time, participate proficiently in scientific discourse and practices. In other words, the curriculum is designed to ensure that the students enjoy science as a subject; of course, it is not for every student. But it will propel those interested in having enthusiasm about science. This is because students who [are] interest[ed] and passion[ate] in the subject have a better shot at being productive in scientific practices.[TML8]

Goals: Fair 70-79% C 6.3 (3.5%)–7.18 (3.99%) points

Grammar: Fair 70-79% C 12.6 (7%)–14.38 (7.99%) points

You need to take the time to proofread your work for errors. You have grammatical errors throughout your document. I will not highlight all the errors in your paper. You need to take the time to proofread your work more.

References 

Only sources cited in the body paragraphs can be listed in the references section. Hamilton, for instance, was not mentioned in your paper. Therefore, you cannot list this source in the References section.

School District of Philadelphia. 2018 July 23rd. Retrieved from https://www.philasd.org/about/

Curriculum Reform in the Nation’s Largest School Districts by Lisette Partelow & Sarah Shapiro. August 29th, 2018. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2018/08/29/454705/curriculum-reform-nations-largest-school-districts/

K-12 by Margaret Rouse. May 28th, 2019. Retrieved from https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/K-12

Forman, J., Gubbins, E. J., Villanueva, M., Massicotte, C., Callahan, C., & Tofel-Grehl, C. (2015). National Survey of STEM High Schools’ Curricular and Instructional Strategies and Practices. NCSSS Journal, 20(1), 8-19.

Hamilton, L. S., Stecher, B. M., & Yuan, K. (2017). Creating an Indicator of K-12 Classroom Coverage of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Content and Practices. RAND Corporation.

PAPER 2

 

Introduction

The curriculum is considered the soul of any education systems of society (Tyler, 2013). The phenomenon defines all processes that take place in an education system. It is the guideline of what facilitators should offer to their learners to ensure that the goals of education of the state are achieved. For this case, the school district of Philadelphia is among the most prominent public school district in the United States. This insinuates that the country relies on the District for the production of competent and independent citizens.

Since the curriculum determines the quality of education that the learners are exposed to, the quality curriculum is inevitable. Quality is assured through development aimed at correcting glitches identified. This paper will provide a curriculum pilot model for the K-1&2 grade based on science education.

Summary of Assignment One.

As the most significant public school district in the United States, the population is characterized by different dialects ranging from Spanish to Creoles and others. Urgent attention is required to improve the quality of education despite the differences. This pilot program is based on K-1&2 grades Science education that is essential in providing scientific knowledge to the learners. The information will be shared to learners who are considered not to belong to the science community.

The pilot will emphasize on human science, physical earth, the standards of life, and space. The K -1&2 grades science education will equip the learners with the ability to think logically. Generally, science subjects aim at enabling learners to think critically and reasonably about a particular phenomenon. Experiments and the historical evaluation of the branches of science help learners in developing the instructional skill.

The second instructional goal is open-mindedness of the learner. The open-mindedness of a learner is essential, as a learner can face a real-life situation with an open mind. It helps in conflict resolution, as the mind of the learner is flexible. The concept has been of great importance in solving challenges associated with gender and politics that are the common issues in society. Open-mindedness also aids in the development of interpersonal skills required in school and future life for interaction.

Science is based on facts that can be empirically proved. This call for the submission of precise results used to back the findings. Through presentation of the honest results, the learners will develop the virtue of integrity. Science findings cannot be compromised. This will encourage learners to submit honest information.

A curriculum is accompanied by the instructional goals that the learning process should be exhibit through the learners. The instructional purposes are the observable characteristics that students demonstrate after following the instructions. For this case, the curriculum will produce students who are proficient in science. The nature of science education will aid this that learners should evaluate and understand any scientific information. In the end, the curriculum will produce a motivated scientist for the nation. Secondly, the students will interpret the occurrences of the world scientifically as they will have learned the best methods of interpreting information on a scientific basis. The students will have an understanding of concepts such as planets, plants, etc.

Third, the students will come up with scientific evidence. The skills will be developed through the practical lessons taken in the classes. The feeling of experimental tests will motivate learners. Finally, the student will enjoy learning the science subjects through various units, thereby assisting in the development of scientific knowledge that will be exhibited by the understanding of concepts.

Approach to Curriculum Development

There are various approaches used in the designing and implementation of a curriculum, which is humanistic, system, and behavioral approach. The approach to be employed is defined by the goal and objectives of the particular curriculum. In this case, the behavioral approach will be utilized. The approach has a deep-rooted history in education, as Fredrick Taylor claims. It is the best approach used in scientific and technical disciplines. This makes it more applicable to the development of the K-1&2 grades science curriculum (Preedy, 1989).

The requirement of the curriculum to fulfill the discussed instructional goal makes the behavioral approach more applicable. Generally, the approach requires that any process undertaken by the learner should be observable. It is the case of the instructional goals is. The second requirement in the approach is that; learning processes should be founded on scientific principles such as empiricism, rationalism, and skepticism. Skepticism will be used in the production of proficient science students who van understand the occurrences in the world.

Empiricism will be essential in providing empirical evidence required for the understanding of scientific concepts. The principle will be used in the generation of evidence that is a requirement for most studies. Rationalism requires that students will use logics I the understanding of scientific concepts. It is through this principle that the student will use to enjoy their studies in the respective units in science (Preedy, 1989).

Philosophical/Theoretical Approach to Curriculum Development

In this case, scientific studies are associated with finding the truth using the readily available evidence. Scientists dispute the reasoning that the ultimate is not prevalent as it is in the case of idealism. Idealists perceive that reality is a construct of the mind that is not as constant as the mind of an individual varies from one person to another. Since the curriculum to be implemented is based on a scientific approach, the philosophical approach of realism will be employed. Claims that an absolute reality exists backs up the approach (Priestley & Minty, 2013).

Realism has been used in the study of the world through scientific principles. In this case, the learners will learn about the planet, the plants, and other scientific phenomena that exist in the globe. To conceptualize the concepts, they should be ready to view the world using a realistic approach. Logical reasoning is an instructional objective in the curriculum; in the case of realism, logical processes are used to explain particular occurrences. This requires learners to logically evaluate the processes to understand (Priestley & Minty, 2013).

Realism helps learners in understanding the environment. The relationship between human beings and the nature of the world should be explained through this ideology. Practical processes will be used to make the students understand concepts through practical lessons that aim at equipping the learners with skills required for availing empirical evidence regarding the ideas (Priestley & Minty, 2013).

A Psychological, Motivational Approach to Curriculum Development

Psychology has been essential in the learning processes. It is the instrument used to study the behavior of human beings. Since education aims at molding or modifying the behavior of the learner, the concept is efficiently used in the evaluation. Education psychology has been essential in the development of aims, objectives, and goals of an education program. In this case, the behavioral will be used.

Philosophers such as Thorndike and Skinner proposed it. According to the theory, all activities that human beings engage in are regarded as behaviors. Instructional objectives aim at changing the behavior of the learners. Therefore, their character traits after the learning process should be evaluated (Ormrod et al., 2006).

The theory will be essential in the development of the curriculum as according to the behaviorists, human learning is highly influenced by the external and internal factor of a system. In this case, the learning process is influenced by the relationship prevalent between the learner and the facilitator. The theory also called for the stipulation of the desired goal before beginning to teach the students. Rewards are a better reinforcement strategy that should be used to encourage the learners to continue working hard (Ormrod et al., 2006).

The approach is in line with the science curriculum as science is based on empirical evidence that will be availed through the behavior of the student. The instructional objectives are also behavior-based. Therefore, this psychological approach will be efficient in the developing of the curriculum.

The Cultural Influence that has the Most Significant Impact on the School District

The way of life of an individual has a high impact on the education process. Curriculum developers aim at providing a clear presentation of the society through the school. Therefore, a society characterized by the diverse individual may be problematic to the curriculum designers as they try to provide a sample of it through the school. School. Different communities that do not use a common language of instruction characterize the Philadelphia School District. In this case, learners do not use English.

The language used has a significant impact on the learning process as it is used as the language of instruction. Apart from the Spanish who make the highest population in the District, other minor languages are prevalent. Spanish is also used is a language of instruction in the United States. The problem emerges as the other languages are not used that is Mandarin Chinese, creoles, Vietnamese, among others.

An Effective way to Integrate the Cultural Influence into the Planned Curriculum

Since the school should be a depiction of the society, the curriculum needs to develop a multilingual curriculum that will accommodate all the languages. Learners understand concepts better when their natural language of instruction is used. In this case, the facilitators need to understand the different significant languages that are internationally recognized as the language of instructions. Among the languages, in this case, including Arabic, Spanish English, and Russian.

Understanding the major languages will assist the facilitators in efficient content delivery. Elements can only experiment in their natural setting for the active collection of information. The behavior of the learners in Grades 1 and 2 would only be examined through their native language that they learn intrinsically and naturally. The instructional goals are based on the behavior exhibited by the learners after the learning process; using a multilingual designed curriculum will be essential. The design will, therefore, be learner-centered, which is the best approach (Meier,2014).

Strategy for Incorporating Critical Thinking Skills

The facilitators develop critical thinking skills through the teaching strategies they employ. In the case of this curriculum, providing a free learning environment will provide the learners with the sufficient time required for the evaluation of particular concepts (Hooks, 2010). Through this element, learners will be able to recall simple facts about scientific concepts learned. The freedom will also help the learners to comprehend concepts effectively.

The essential element in the cognitive approach used in facilitating creative thinking is applied. The freedom allows the learners to apply the concepts they have learned in real-life occurrences. Since science involves the learning of processes, learners will be required to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate ideas.

Science is complex, and grades 1 and 2 learners need to associate with the world freely to understand it. This will involve learners, as they are curious; therefore, they will ask questions about a particular phenomenon. This will require the facilitator to provide a logical rationale that can be supported by an experiment to validate the findings, which are the instructional goals.

The Rationale for the Strategy

Learners in the lower levels learn basic numeracy and literacy skills. This I because their cognitive elements are still developing, thereby making it hard for them to learn complex subjects as it is in the case of science. In this stage, learners are curious as they try to understand the world. Providing a free learning environment based on the science curriculum will give ample time for the learner to associate with the environment.

References

Hooks, B. (2010). Teaching critical thinking: Practical wisdom. New York: Routledge.

Meier, G. (2014). Our Mother Tongue is Plurilingualism: A Framework of Orientations for Integrated Multilingual Curricula. The multilingual turn in languages education. Bristol, 132-157.

Ormrod, J. E., Anderman, E. M., & Anderman, L. H. (2006). Educational psychology: Developing learners.

Preedy, M. (Ed.). (1989). Approaches to curriculum management. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

Priestley, M., & Minty, S. (2013). Curriculum for Excellence: ‘A brilliant idea, but…’. Scottish Educational Review, 45(1), 39-52.

Tyler, R. W. (2013). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. In Curriculum Studies Reader E2(pp. 60-68). Routledge.