Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Method
Methods are the instructional decisions, approaches, procedures, and routines
that teachers use to engage all students in meaningful learning. These choices support
the facilitation of learning experiences in order to promote a student’s ability to
understand and apply content and skills. Methods are differentiated to meet student
needs and interests, task demands, and learning environment. Methods are adjusted
based on ongoing review of student progress towards meeting the goals.
Materials
Materials are the tools selected to implement methods and achieve the goals of
the curriculum. Materials are intentionally chosen to support a student's learning.
Material choices reflect student interest, cultural diversity, world perspectives, and
address all types of diverse learners.
Assessment/Evaluation
Assessment in a curriculum is the ongoing process of gathering information
about a student’s learning. This includes a variety of ways to document what the
student knows, understands, and can do with their knowledge and skills. Information
from assessment is used to make decisions about instructional approaches, teaching
materials, and academic supports needed to enhance opportunities for the student and
to guide future instruction.
Hidden curriculum
Definition
Hidden curriculum refers to the unwritten, unofficial, and often unintended lessons,
values, and perspectives that students learn in school. While the “formal” consists of the
courses, lessons, and learning activities students participate in, as well as the knowledge and
skills educators intentionally teach to students, the hidden curriculum consists of the
unspoken or implicit academic, social, and cultural messages that are communicated to
students while they are in school.
Generic Skills
Definition
In Australia and internationally, generic skills are known by a number of terms
including core skills, key skills, essential skills, basic skills and workplace know-how.
In some countries they are specifically employment-related, while in others, greater
emphasis has been placed on the social relevance of generic skills. As Kearns notes:
It is desirable to find agreement on terminology that is acceptable to all stake
holders schools, VET, higher education, employers, individuals, and communities and
which recognises that the new agenda of generic skills for the 21st century is about
essential life skills as well as enterprise and employability skills.
Common elements of various listings of generic skills
a) Basic/tundamental skills: such as literacy, using numbers, using technology
b) People-related skills: such as communication, interpersonal. team work,
customer service skills
c) conceptual/thinking skills: such as collecting and organising information,
problem-solving, planning and organising, learning-to-learn skIlls, thinking
innovauvely and creatively, systems thinking
d) Personal skills and attributes: such as being responsible, resourceful, flexible,
able to manage one's own time, having self-esteem
e) Business skills: such as innovation skills. enterprise skills
f) Community skills: such as civic or citizenship knowledge and skills
Integrated Curriculum
An Integrated curriculum, is an educational approach that prepare children for
lifelong learning. It is believed that education should be a procces for developing
abilities required by life in the twenty first century.
An Integrated Curriculum Implies, learning that is synthesized across traditional
subject areas and learning experiences that are designed to be mutually reinforcing.
An Interdisciplinary Curriculum, is collaboration among two or more academic
disciplines to investigate a central problem.
Disciplinary Approaches, is involve a single content area, such a science, social,
math, etc
Curriculum Stakeholders
The Stakeholders Theory
Most articles using the term 'stakeholder' appear in business or ethics journals.
So who are these stakeholders and "what is the appropriate balance between
shareholders and other stake-holdersUnfortunately the stakeholder theory has had its
greatest influence on theorists and academics rather than practictioners, yet the
challenges of the current environment are making the stakeholder perspective more
relevant than ever for the practicing entrepreneur Stakeholder theory offers a "unique
and neglected contribution to decision-making processes, particularly in innovative
and entrepreneurial fields"
The principles for materials design can be derived from the lists drawn up by applied
linguists, and there is a good deal of agreement and overlap between the three lists we have
described. However, it would seem sensible to accord an important place to more intuitive
processes based on long practical expertise, as described in proposals from practitioners and
an alternative approach above. The proposals of Hadfield (2014) appear to have particular
merit being based on careful self-observation and analysis in the performance of a practical
materials-writing task.
I have attempted to present a number of sets of principles – both those proposed by
applied linguists and by materials writing practitioners. One conclusion which can be drawn
from this is that principles need to be based on pragmatic experience, not simply on
theoretical systems. I have also discussed both macro- and micro-processes involved in
materials design and writing. What emerged, once again, was the need not only for sets of
processes and procedures based on the principles but also the essential role of personal,
human creativity in materials design, which may often involve tacit knowledge. Designing
and writing materials needs to allow space for the creative spark if it is not to become a soul-
destroying manipulation of Lego elements, leading almost inevitable to cloning.
One final point is that materials are only as good as the teachers who use them. Even
the best of materials can, in the hands of the unimaginative, unenthusiastic or untrained
teacher, turn to dust. I have suggested that materials should be flexible so as to allow space
for teachers to adapt and exercise choice. But for this to succeed, teachers need to take the
initiative too if they are not to become robots enslaved by the materials.
Methods of teaching English have developed rapidly, especially in the previous 40 years. As a
language learner, training manager, or teacher, it is important to understand the various
methods and techniques so that you are able to navigate the market, make educated choices,
and boost your enjoyment of learning a language.
Each teaching method is based on a particular vision of understanding the language or the
learning process, often using specific techniques and materials used in a set sequence.
The main methodologies are listed below in the chronological order of their development:
• inquiry-based methods
• discovery learning
• Problem-based learning
• Project-based learning
• resource-based learning
• Computer-assisted learning