Developing an Integrated Curriculum Using the Story Model - Assignment Example

Curriculum story Name Instructor’s name Name of institution Subject Curriculum story Part A According to [Kel99] in [Kel99], a curriculum could be defined as systematic learning organized in learning institutions to facilitate the achievement of specific objectives as per the institution. In this light, the following essay comprises my curriculum story; an aspect of my curriculum story, an analysis and explanation of the story in the light of key ideas arising in the reading and relevant literature as well as an analysis of the implication of the story on the values on the values that I hold about secondary school education and my future as a teacher. In this curriculum story some key developments taking place throughout my secondary education will be featured. In addition, I will narrate a particular encounter during the course that influenced my studies to great extent. Just like any other youth in the world young men and women join high school full of ambition and high expectations aimed at shaping their future. Some would want to become analysts, doctors, businessmen and teachers among many other highly ranked professions. To start with, this story reflects an event that took place in Sweet waters high school in 2003 during the second year of study. This curriculum story focuses on preparing students to run business enterprises after successfully completing their high secondary education course. At Sweet Waters school students are exposed to an extensive curriculum ranging from social sciences, financial accounting, economics, mathematics, language and sciences. However my curriculum story will focus on financial accounting and economics. It happened that in my second year during I attended lessons facilitated by a mathematics and business teacher who was known for his charisma and ability to positively influence student’s performance. During this specific occurrence, the teacher was tackling a section on maximizing profits in business by advertising products to increase sales and minimizing the cost of production. During this event students in my class were involved in the following ways; to start with we were exposed to vigorous mathematical problems involving computing the cost of production, balance sheet, trial balance among others. These calculations were carried out by students in groups with minimum supervision from the instructor and students were to carry research before making presentations in class. After vigorous training courses and numerous presentations the section involving calculations was over ushering in the next level. Once again this section was carried out in groups through which team work was the main theme. This stage was a fact finding mission and the model business was to be carried out within the Sweet Waters fraternity therefore each group was to find out what snack most students in the school would like served at the schools’ canteen. In addition, the groups were to establish the average amount of money that students were willing to spend on the snack. This amount would help students to estimate average consumption hence projected sales and this is vital in regulating production. Students were therefore allowed to interact freely with the rest of the school including the administration before reporting the same in class. Having obtained the necessary information the second year class was turned into an analysis unit to evaluate data collected to establish the most popular snack in the school. Consequently, more training ensued and students had to gather information from snack preparation from various sources with the help of the tutor and bakers from around the school. During this venture students came across more information about cost analysis and different varieties of products in the market. Later production began with students being involved throughout the process starting with the purchasing of ingredients, preparing snacks and packaging them. During production there was division of labor with each student in class playing his/her role to the level best for the success of the entire mission. The roles were performed in group form therefore the input of every individual was very important particularly during problem solving and team playing. The last bit of production involved disposing the products through the canteen however, we were yet to advertise. To facilitate the selling of the product, student an assignment was given and students were supposed to revisit our course work on advertising before preparing the actual event. Our influential tutor asked us to use all possible avenues to achieve our goal however; we had to keep in mind that our chosen options were cost effective. Even though the challenges were numerous group members would solve them via consultations and concerted efforts. Eventually, the projects was a success, we had to carry out actual calculations to determine the profit from our small business. The results were amazing since the project helped us students to understand more about business starting with research, production to book keeping. However, our success was not without questions for instance the proceedings from the projects did not exactly match the production. Therefore, were left wondering how events took place and whether disparity was as a result of some students being dishonest or it emerged in relation to errors expected over the counter. In summary this was a worthwhile experience and many students within the group were exposed to an event worth remembering and thanks to the teacher because a number of participants joined related coursed in later years’ while other became very successful businessmen. Part B. This section contains reflections on the curriculum story narrated above with respect to the curriculum questions below; 1. What does you story say about knowledge learnt in school and how it is valued (by the student and the society?) 2. What does your story say about the relationship between curriculum experience and what you see to the key purposes of schooling? According to [Sus92] in [Sus92], society expects secondary education curriculum to help students to learn team playing. The author asserts that during play students should learn to be part of a team by learning the importance of team work. In the curriculum story above the class the business teacher uses an elaborate practical to impart very important business skills in students and in the process students get to work in groups through which they become perfect team players [Sus92]. Similarly, knowledge acquired in schools should equip an individual with better ways of earning a living. The curriculum story above depict a situation in which the learner is exposed to a curriculum that mind assures him/her a bright future. For instance the leaner is equipped with advanced skills in business because he can carry out research and launch a product into the market and maximize profits. The leaner can also boost profits realized by minimizing the cost of production and this could be applied in real life situation. The society expects the curriculum to equip the learners with such skills therefore it meets the expectations of the society[Sus92]. The society also expects the curriculum to offer relevant courses to the learner to enable him deal with emerging issues in the society. For instance it should enable the learner to analyze situations before making valid conclusions concerning the same. In addition the learner should be in a position to solve difficult situations encountered in life using knowledge acquired in school. In any case the story above conquers with the societal expectations because the project equipped the leaner with a variety of skills at the interaction level. Another skill learnt in the curriculum is effective oral and written communication that was acquired as the learner carried out the project[Tho]. This was affected during research, online advertising and classroom presentations taking place after every step accomplished[Tho][Sus92]. Moreover, the society expects the curriculum to provide enough learning resources to facilitate learning. In the case mentioned above the learner had access to a variety of resources within the school namely unlimited internet access, free consultation services offered by the tutor and baking equipment as well as the market knowledge highly valued by the society. According to [Tho] in [Tho], the relationship between curriculum experience and the key purposes of learning can be summed as follows. To start with, the author argues that education should impart physical, social and mental development to an individual by enhancing his/her ability to interact with other people in the society. In this curriculum social development comes with the learner being able to learn the importance of team work and eventually forming functional teams. In addition, the learner is equipped with skills that allow him/her to develop and fit in a civilized society. The curriculum takes the leaner to this level by inculcating moral values such as accountability achieved when dealing with financial resources during project work. However, this aspect of the curriculum did pose challenges because transparency lacked[Tho]. Hewitt also argues that the curriculum reflects societal values and expectations and political developments. According to him schooling should produce human resource assets in the society. It should manufacture responsible leaders and individuals who can lead the society by making informed decisions. The curriculum story depicts this value by equipping the leaner with useful knowledge on situational analysis thus enabling informed decisions. Schooling also fosters specialization by equipping the leaner with technical skills in field of choice for instance; in the curriculum story above learners have access to a wide range of professions to draw role models from. However, the learner is exposed to valuable skills in mathematics through calculation as well as planning beforehand. In addition the learner is assisted to develop efficient communication skills, problem solving skills, research skill and team work. When the learner accesses business skills and eventually employs such in his/her daily life to become very successful in the society as expected societal goals are realized. In my opinion the experience acquired during this project tallies with the purpose of schooling[Tho]. Another curriculum experience acquired in this project is the ability to think and participate in daily activities and understanding life because when the learner achieves these goals self fulfillment is realized. These experiences reflect the society’s expectations concerning the purpose of teaching because the society expects positive change after subjection to an effective curriculum[Gre09]. Part C The curriculum story narrated above would shed light on curriculum developers and curriculum implementers on areas to emphasize and areas in dire need for urgent changes for effective performance[Gre09]. To start with, the curriculum stories above clearly indicate that story centered curriculums help to facilitate learner centered teaching and learning. For instance, activity oriented learning allow the learner to involve himself fully in learning making a long lasting experience in the learner. In addition, as the learner gets deeply involved this curriculum allows him to develop research skills such as enquiry and investigative skills. Therefore, it is important to involve curriculum implementers in restructuring their modes of delivery to evoke interest from the learner thus enhancing learning[Tho]. Another implication of this curriculum story is that the approach fosters professionalism by manufacturing experts in different fields. For instance story centered curriculum help to instill permanent changes because students find it easy to remember learning experiences acquired there on. Thus this option would be vital to parents as they guide children towards relevant carrier choices. Finally, instructors should learn to use this method because it creates room for formative and summative assessment as well as keeping track of students’ progress[Gre09]. References Kel99: , (Kelly), Kel99: , (The curriculum. Theory and practice , 1983; 1999), Sus92: , (Drake), Sus92: , (Developing an integrated curriculum using the story model, 1992), Sus92: , (p. 23), Sus92: , (Drake, 1992), Tho: , (Hewitt, 2006), Tho: , (Hewitt), Tho: , (Understanding and Shaping Curriculum: What We Teach and Why, 2006), Gre09: , (Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Children, Schools and Families Committe, 2009), Gre09: , (Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Children, Schools and Families Committe), Read More