TEAC 801
Day 1
Readings: Chapter 1-2, Posner
Discuss Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is Curriculum?
What is Reflective Electicism?
Briefly discuss the 5-concurrent curricula in your school (approx. 3 lines on each).
Why did M:ACOS only include university scholars? How is this related to curriculum
development?
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TEAC 801
Day 2
Readings: Chapter 3, Posner
1. What are the five theoretical perspectives on curriculum presented in this chapter? In
what ways are the perspectives presented in this chapter connected to the “cast of
characters” (Chapter 2, Posner) participating in curriculum development?
2. On page 45, Posner provides the central questions underlying the multiple theoretical
perspectives on curriculum. How can we modify these questions to delineate the
multiple theoretical perspectives that exist for the varying mathematical curricula? For
example, what may the “traditional” perspective central question be for a mathematics
curriculum? What are the examples of contemporary mathematics curricula that
represent the five theoretical perspectives?
3. Consider your current curriculum (whatever this may mean to you at this point).
a. What theoretical perspectives represent the “background” to your curriculum?
b. What theoretical perspectives represent the “background” to your instruction?
c. In what ways are the theoretical “backgrounds” for your curriculum and
instruction both convergent and divergent?
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TEAC 801
Day 3
Readings: Chapter 4-5, Posner
This chapter focuses on what should be the content and purposes of education. The reading
you will do focuses on trying to acquire a historical perspective on how changes in societal
values over time have influenced educational aims, goals and objectives.
1. p. 69-82 What distinctions does this author make among the definitions of aims, goals
and objectives? What does he see as the relationship among them?
2. p. 72-76 Give examples from the test of how changes in educational aims over time
have influenced educational aims, goals and objectives.
3. How do you see current societal values influencing educational aims, goals and
objectives?
4. Think about the “Hegemonic Function of Objectives” on page 123-125. Be prepared to
discuss the official, hidden and null curriculum of your textbook.
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TEAC 801
Day 4
Readings: Chapter 6-7, Posner
1. What is the difference between content structures and media or method structures?
Where would you look and what would you look for within a curriculum to figure out
the content structure and the media structure?
2. What would it mean to look for organizational principles within a curriculum regarding
subject matter, learners and learning, and teachers and teaching?
3. What is meant by milieu? How would you go about identifying milieu that have
influenced the organization of a curriculum?
4. What is the relationship between the theoretical perspectives of chapter 3 (summarized
on pp. 146-147) and the organization of a curriculum?
5. What are the advantages and limitations of a curriculum that supports tracking as
response to diversity?
6. Read through chapter 7 for the purposes of gaining an understanding of three
approaches to curriculum organization: top-down, bottom-up, and project approach.
Look in your course binder for a 1 page handout on top-down/bottom-up curricula (and
read it). What are the epistemological assumptions (view of knowledge) that underlie a
curriculum with each of the approaches?
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TEAC 801
Day 5
Readings: Chapter 8, Posner
Reading Questions:
1. Read pp. 191-201. How do each of the following frame factors impact the
implementation of curriculum: temporal frames, physical frames, political-legal frames,
organizational frames, personal or personnel frames, economic frames, and cultural
frames?
2. Read pp. 201-205. How do different frame factors interact with different theoretical
perspective on curriculum? Which frame factors become problematic in the context of
particular theoretical perspectives?
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TEAC 801
Day 6
Readings: Chapter 9, Posner
As you read through this section think about your own math curriculum. Work through the
questions on page 21 in the Posner book as this will greatly help you with your curriculum
review.
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TEAC 801
Day 7
Readings: Chapter 10-11, Posner
Reading Questions:
1. What is the advantage and disadvantage of using standardized testing as a means of
making decisions?
2. The text (p. 249) points out curriculum materials often provide evaluation data,
suggestions, and instruments. Did you find any instruments or suggestions for
collecting data on student learning from your own textbook?
3. What are the differences between “outcomes-based evaluation” and “intrinsic
evaluation” in curriculum analysis?
4. What are the differences between “measurement-based evaluation” and “integrated
evaluation”?
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