Ideal Curriculum for Professional Practice or Expertise - Case Study Example

Ideal Curriculum for Professional Practice or Expertise Name: Roll No: Class: Subject: Teacher: Date: 9th August 2008 University  Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Ideal Curriculum for Professional Practice or Expertise 3 Introduction 3 Ideal Curriculum and Inquiry Based Teaching 4 Problems Related to Designing and implementing of Curriculum 6 Curriculum Design and Evaluation 10 Conclusion 12 References 12 Ideal Curriculum for Professional Practice or Expertise Introduction Ideal curriculum needs to be designed by giving proper consideration to the professional studies that the student is going to attain at a professional level. For the students of medical profession, the selection of inquiry-based learning is the most appropriate option as they are in need of more investigation, discoveries, experimentations and questioning. Because of adopting inquiry-based strategy for designing their curriculum by teaching them by the use of inquiry-based teaching will accommodate the medical students with the best kind of learning and they will attain knowledge through pragmatic and practical means in place of theoretical means. The fact cannot be negated that theory is as important as practical but for the students of medical science, theory practical plays an important role. They are in need of proper practical along with theoretical study. Ideal curriculum that is designed for the students of medical science includes a major part in form of practical. Theory is given as much importance as that to practical. Fifty percent practical and fifty percent practical should be set in the curriculum by the trainers and teachers that are responsible for developing the curriculum. In this paper, the medical science curriculum based on inquiry teaching will be designed and evaluated, which will be proved as ideal. This paper will take into consideration all the aspects that are needed in the development of a curriculum that will be ideal in terms of inquiry-based teaching to medical science students. After introduction, an ideal curriculum that is needed by medical science students will be discussed and then problems related to designing and implementation of the ideal curriculum will be analyzed. Designing of curriculum and evaluation of the designed curriculum will come afterwards and after evaluation, the topic will be concluded. Ideal Curriculum and Inquiry Based Teaching Before designing an ideal curriculum, the teachers, administration or the trainers who are involved in the development of a curriculum should consider the following points: They must be able to identify the needs and requirements of the students and should construct a curriculum that fulfils all the needs of the students under consideration (Laird and Stevenson 1993). They should be able to identify the educational needs of children along with their social needs to facilitate them with the best kind of curriculum that allows them to enjoy as well as gain information and knowledge of the required discipline (Nowlem 1988). The objectives related to development of the curriculum should be identified in order to develop an influential and ideal curriculum (Romiszowski 1981). Content that needs to be considered in terms of inclusion in the curriculum should be identified and evaluated. All the details concerning organization and arrangement of the content with its accordingly set timelines should be considered while developing a curriculum. The administration, teachers and trainers are responsible for opting a suitable and appropriate strategy that should be set for the education purpose of the students (Romiszowski 1981). The strategy opted for teaching of medical science students is inquiry based teaching and their curriculum is developed accordingly. The teachers, administration and trainers should think of suitable methods of teaching the students such as for teaching medical science students, the opted method is that of inquiry based teaching in which, the students are allowed to ask questions for their understanding related to a topic and their knowledge is based on question and answer exercise. They are also responsible for thinking about how to evaluate the performance of students in terms of attainment of knowledge related to the subject matter (Nowlem 1988). They must also suggest ways by which, the curriculum is taken to the students like presenting through charts, diaries, printed photocopies for the students or through online websites (Seidel, et.al 2005). The teacher can also discuss the curriculum with the students to develop interest in them about the subject and its details. The most important aspect that should be considered by the administration is the educational environment that is provided to the students (Romiszowski 1981). The teachers, administration and trainers should consider and set an educational environment for the students that is flexible for them and lets them to study in a good environment (Spector, et. al 2005). The management procedure of educational practice should also be fixed by discussions between the relative personnel. In the management, the time needed for the completion of the course, the hours per day required in completing the educational course, number of teachers required for a class or a group of students, timings of practical and theory classes, holidays and other information related to the management of the educational course should be discussed by the management, teaching staff and training staff of the educational institutions (Laird and Stevenson 1993). All the above-mentioned points are needed to be considered in terms of developing an ideal curriculum. The curriculum that is designed after consideration of all the above-mentioned points will be ideal as all the aspects needed in relation to the commencement of course and students’ needs are considered and the curriculum is designed accordingly (Seidel, et.al 2005). The curriculum that is designed for medical science students needs to be developed through enough care (Romiszowski 1981). Along with inquiry-based teaching, the curriculum should be developed with following the above-mentioned strategy. The curriculum that is designed should be made that the teaching that should be inquiry based should be properly accommodated in the curriculum. Problems Related to Designing and implementing of Curriculum Problems that can be there in designing a curriculum accommodating inquiry based teaching are many in number. The first problem that can be there is in-supportiveness of the teachers, trainers or administration (Seidel, et.al 2005). While designing, there can be problems with teachers who consider their conventional teaching methodology as the most appropriate approach of working (Laird and Stevenson 1993). The students of medical science are in need of a curriculum that is divided into practical and theoretical based teaching but for both types, the curriculum that is developed should be divided in two equal parts. The practical involved in medical science are as important and significant as the theory. It is only possible through practical that students are able to learn more about theory. Initially, they should be taught theory through inquiry based teaching methodology and afterwards, they should be allowed to do practical on their attained knowledge. The administration and teachers can consider the situation of designing the curriculum difficult because they are used to their old style of designing and teaching. Change is mostly unwelcomed (Seidel, et.al 2005). There must be a pressure in terms of giving maximum space to theory and less space to practical but both should be equivalently divided (Stevenson 2003). While implementing the curriculum, which is divided into theory and practical, which are equal in ratio, the students will be greatly affected. They will love the change but the teacher will be required to give more effort. After designing and implementing the curriculum, the results should be assessed in terms of improvement in the current results of the students (Laird and Stevenson 1993). Generally, it is seen that those institutions that employ inquiry based teaching with a curriculum that is divided half into theory and half into practical, come up with improving results as students take more interest in the set syllabus because of teaching methodology and allowance of conductance of more and more practical (Smith and Ragan 2005). Medical science oriented questions focus on organisms, events and objects in the natural world; they associate to the medical science themes stated in the content standards (Shymansky 2000). They are in fact the questions that lend themselves to some empirical study and lead to collecting and using information to develop necessary explanations specifically for medical science phenomena (Hutchinson 1999). In the classroom, a particular question is fruitful and robust enough to compel an inquiry, which produces a ‘need to know’ in almost all students. Stimulating more questions of ‘why’ and ‘how’ a phenomenon occurs is also there. The teacher assumes a vital role in guiding the recognition of questions, especially when they are asked from students. Fruitful inquires surfaces from such questions that are relevant and meaningful for the students (Oxman, et.al 1995). Medical science distinguishes itself from different ways of creating understanding of empirical evidence as a primary basis for explanations about the manner in which natural world works (Rodriguez 2003). Medical scientists focus on getting precise data from observations of facts. They obtain evidence from measurements and observations, taken in particular natural settings like forests, oceans or in artificial settings like laboratories (Shymansky 2000). Medical science explanations are directly based on reason. They provide sufficient causes for effects and also establish relationships that are based on logical argument and evidence. They should be consistent with observational and experimental evidence about nature and life (Oxman, et.al 1995). They also respect different rules of evidence, are widely open to criticism and need the usage of many cognitive processes normally linked with medical science- for instance analysis, classification, prediction, inference and normal processes like logic and critical reasoning (Tamir 2005). Assessment and probable elimination on revision of clarifications is one characteristic that differentiates medical science from different other forms and nature of inquiry as well as subsequent explanations (Shymansky 2000). Medical scientists communicate their clarifications in such manner that their outcomes can be re-generated (Oxman, et.al 1995). This needs accurate articulation of questions, evidence, procedures, appraisal of alternative explanations and proposed explanations. It also provides for increased sceptical review along with the opportunity for different other medical scientists in utilizing the elucidations in work on different questions (Hutchinson 1999). Procedural and conceptual schemes unite science disciplines and support students with robust themes to understand the natural world and life (Rodriguez 2003). Due to the underlying themes embodied in medical science concepts, the abilities and understandings of inquiry based medical science teaching is linked with the unifying processes and concepts including (Spector, et. al 2005): Order, systems and organizations Models, evidence and explanation Constancy, change and explanation Equilibrium and evolution Function and form The medical science concepts are interlined with the integrative schemes that can specifically bring together many experiences of the students in medical science education (Oxman, et.al 1995). The unifying process and concepts standard can be the concentration of instruction at any particular grade level but should be closely associated with the results aligned with different other concepts (Hutchinson 1999). In the early grades, specific instructions should ultimately establish the usage and meaning of unifying medical science concepts, for example what is means by measure and what is the procedure of using measurement tools (Oxman, et.al 1995). At the upper grades, the inquiry teaching can enhance and facilitate the learning of different medical science concepts as well as principles by providing students with a larger picture of some medical science ideas (Tamir 2005). For instance, how measurement is significant in every scientific attempt. Inquiry teaching is in fact a step well beyond ‘medical science as a methodology’ in which students learn medical science concepts like inference, observation and experimentation (Rodriguez 2003). The process of inquiry teaching comprises ‘processes of medical science’ and particularly requires that students should combine their medical science knowledge and process as they use critical thinking and reasoning to develop their medical science concepts (Oxman, et.al 1995). Engaging students in the process of inquiry supports them to develop; understanding of medical science concepts; an appreciation of what and how we know in medical science; understanding the real nature of medical science; skills essential to become autonomous inquirers regarding life in natural world; and the dispositions for using abilities, skills and attitudes linked with medical science (Shymansky 2000). Curriculum Design and Evaluation The ideal curriculum for medical science students will be divided into many parts. The subjects that are needed to be studied by the medical science students are anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pathology, neurobiology, medical sociology, reproductive biology, genetics, pharmacology and many more (Stevenson 2003). For all the subjects of medical science, the theory related to each subject is kept in the curriculum but for each and every subject, the students are given proper chances to do various kinds of experiments regarding the subjects. Fifty percent weightage is given to theory while the other fifty percent is for practical (Hutchinson 1999). The students will get knowledge and information about all the subjects with theory as well as practical. Over the years, some educators have alternatively developed many learning and teaching paradigms related with classroom medical science teaching (Rodriguez 2003). Being aware of the weaknesses and strengths of such paradigms, teachers thoroughly examine the relationship that exists between the manner in which content is to be taught and the medical science content (Hutchinson 1999). Medical science teachers integrate a sound paradigm of learning and teaching, virtually a practical structure for the series of activities and the contents that need to be learnt (Smith and Ragan 2005). Inquiry teaching focuses on authentic questions that are generated from the experiences of students and considered as the primary strategy for medical science teaching (Shymansky 2000). Teachers concentrate inquiry predominantly on actual phenomena, in outdoors, in classrooms, or in particular laboratory settings. In case of medical science laboratory, students are given specific investigations or directed towards stylish investigations that are particularly demanding but in their capabilities (Oxman, et.al 1995). The available space as well as furnishing in medical science laboratories impacts the nature of learning that occurs (Rodriguez 2003). Medical science teachers need adequate and regular space for laboratory and plane to use this space for facilitating students to work in the form of groups and in safe environment at different tasks for the purpose of maintaining their entire work in progress and also to display their results (Hutchinson 1999). Medical science laboratories also provide students sufficient opportunity to contribute their practical ideas about furnishings and space (Tamir 2005). The evaluation of the curriculum set for medical science students that are divided equally between practical and theory proved itself successful in many institutions because it is generally believed and also assessed that students learn more in practical as compared to theory (Smith and Ragan 2005). Conclusion For designing an ideal curriculum, the administration, trainers and teachers have to assess the needs and requirements of the students. They have to develop an educational environment for the students that is flexible for the students in terms of attaining knowledge. Thy must assure that students get information through their own interest. While designing the curriculum, the management should make sure that the students are given most importance because the curriculum is designed for them. The teachers have to put in more effort in order to facilitate the students in terms of learning. Theory and practical both play an important role in offering knowledge to the students of medical science. Without practical knowledge, theoretical knowledge is meaningless. They both should be given equal importance. An ideal curriculum should be divided equally into theory and practical and inquiry based teaching approach should be employed in order to facilitate the students with the best kind of knowledge. References Hutchinson, L 1999, Evaluating and Researching the Effectiveness of Educational Interventions, BMJ, 318, pp. 1267-1269. Laird, D.J. & Stevenson, J.C 1993, Curriculum development in vocational education. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Vocational Education Research, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 71-92. Nowlem, PM 1988, A new Approach to Continuing Education for Business and the Professions, MacMillan, New York, pp. 45-68. Oxman, A.D., Thomson, M.A., Davis, D.A and Haynes, R.B 1995, No Magic Bullets: A Systematic Review of 102 Trails of Interventions to Improve Professional Practice, CMAJ 153, pp. 1423-1431. Romiszowski A.J 1981, Designing Instructional Systems, (Chapter 9. Theories of Learning and instruction, pp. 165-186), Kogan, New York, pp. 102-136. Rodriguez, I 2003, An inquiry approach to science and language teaching, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 291-296. Seidel, R.J., Perencevich, K.C., & Kett, A.L 2005, From Principles of Learning to Strategies for Instruction, Empirically based ingredients to guide instructional development, Springer. Shymansky, J. A 2000, A reassessment of the effects of inquiry-based science curricula of the 60's, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 127-44. Smith, P. L. and Ragan, T.J 2005, Instructional Design, 3rd Edition, Wiley-Jossey Bass, Victoria, pp. 126-143. Spector, J. M., Ohrazda, C., Van Schaak, A., & Wiley, D.A 2005, Innovations in Instructional Technology, Erlbaum, Mahwah, New Jersey. Stevenson, J.C. (Ed.) 2003, Developing Vocational Expertise. Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 52-68. Tamir, P 2005, Content analysis focusing on inquiry, Journal of Curriculum Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 87-94. Read More