EDUC 5220 - Curriculum Design and Instructional Decision Making

Assignment One- January 31, 2022

Upon reading the required pages from this book and researching this topic, I have decided to

select 3 questions and give a response to each. On the first paragraph on page 303, Eisner asks

the question: “Do students participate in the assessment of their own work? If so, how?”

Pertaining to this question, Eisner highlights that student should be part of assessing their own

work to understand what went well and what needs to be fixed or improved.

This approach would encourage students to take ownership of their learning by being aware of

their learning process. This will further allow life building skills such as responsibility and self-

awareness that they will need to be successful in their professional life. Sometimes students are

not given the opportunity to self-assess their own work and achievement.

As an educator, I sometimes allow my students to critique, assess, and reflect on their own work.

The worldbank.org (n.d.) also states that: “Assessment of student learning and achievement can

be a powerful agent for change in schools by informing policymakers about the learning outcome

of the nation’s children, helping teachers understand how to improve classroom instruction, and

influencing societies as they think about education quality and learning goals.”

On page 303, the eight paragraph Eisner raises the question: “Are parents helped to understand

what their child has accomplished in class?” In the article, Eisner postulates that education and

schools are so focused on the end roduct that they easily ignore the process that students

accomplished during each stage of their learning over time. This approach critical and
competitive thinking among all the key stakeholders in the education system which includes

students, parents, teachers, and the community.

Student grades are used to determine if a child is doing well in class. This is often the deciding

factor. But I believe that each student is different. Not all students will be good academically.

For example, what about the student who is good at the arts or sports? Will they be left behind

because they cannot get an eighty percent in English? The system should be structured that the

potential of all students is explored.

On page 303, in the fifth paragraph, Eisner asks: “What opportunities do students have to work

cooperatively to address problems that they believe to be important?” Eisner postulates that it’s

unlikely to evidence these opportunities in school. Research, however, shows that students learn

and understand more when they discuss and collaborate. Many educators that I know encourage

their students to work in a cooperative atmosphere and address problems that they believe to be

important.

According to www.valamis.com the more employees continue to work cooperatively the more

their corporate environment becomes productively beneficial. As an educator, I believe it is not

of utmost importance that our students are not just developing academically but are also

progressing socially. Asoodeh, etal (2012) highlights that researchers found students with

disorderly behaviour who did not receive social skills instruction, performed poorly in some

aspects.

Reference
Asoodeh, M. H., Asoodeh, M. B., & Zarepour, M. (2012). The Impact of Student - Centered

Learning on Academic Achievement and Social Skills. Procedia - Social and Behavioral

Sciences, 46, 560–564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.160

Eisner, E. What does it mean to say a school is doing well? In Flinders, D.J. ＆ Thornton, S.J.

(Eds.), The Curriculum Studies Reader, Fourth Edition (pp. 297-305). New York, NY: Routledge

Assessment of Students. Retrieved from https:// www.worldbank.org/content- Date accessed

January 31, 2022

www.valamis.com/hub/cooperative learning (2017)- Date accessed January 31, 2022