Category: Curriculum

Introduction

Hong Kong is an example of a nation where English is taught as a second language. It is a unique representative of L2 teaching in that the language proficiency of the many students in the past has been conveyed as not living up to the expectation of the community. Similarly, many years of the British colonial rule did not leave a major language impact on the local population, as was the case with the colonization of the United States. The reason is perhaps that Hong Kong peoples mother tongue is culturally and linguistically distinct from English. It is against this backdrop that I analyze the territorys current ELT curriculum innovations successes or failures during its implementation.

Methodology

The report aims to analyze the Hong Kong senior secondary (S4-S6) English Language curriculum document. It is directed to the peers to give them detailed information on the current theories and issues underlying the ELT syllabus and how they manifest in this curriculum document. In addition, the issues and concerns that arise with major changes in the curriculum are discussed. Credible literature sources, including books, dissertations, book reviews, journals, curriculum documents and other relevant manuscripts, provide the cornucopia of information presented here.

Overview

A good TESOL curriculum development approach is the one in which the aspects of planning, implementation, and evaluation decisions are consistent and interdependent and not undertaken in a lockstep manner (Graves 2008). That is the case with the Curriculum and Assessment (C & A) guide (secondary 4  6), one of the many documents prepared for the Hong Kong English Language Curriculum. It was prepared in 2007 by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) and the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) and updated in 2014 and 2015 respectively (Education Bureau 2015).

Therefore, the C & A guide is a compulsory national document recommended for use in senior secondary schools in Hong Kong. It is updated regularly to comply with the medium period proposals of the New Academic Structure (NAS) review of curriculum and assessment (Education Bureau 2015). This ensures that students benefit from such alterations at the earliest opportunity.

The document is conceived to offer the basis and aims of the English subject syllabus, curriculum framework, planning, pedagogy, assessment, and use of learning and teaching resources (Cheng 2009). In addition to considering learning and instruction strategies as being important aspects of promoting learning to learn and entire-person development, the curriculum emphasizes on the recognition of assessment as a means for evaluating performance as well as improving learning. It follows the general direction for the development of English Language Curriculum established from primary 1 to secondary 3 and expounds on the previous knowledge, skills, and positive values and attitudes that learners gain through the basic education (Education Bureau 2015).

The curriculum is an innovation as it stipulates a specific approach to teaching English Language, i.e., introducing the communicative methods to language teaching. Hall and Hewings (2001) suggest that concept of innovation in the environment of language teaching elicits the question: Who adopts what, where, when, why and how? (p. 120). The curriculum provides these questions as well as their responses.

Relation to the Mainstream Curriculum

The senior secondary academic framework is reinforced by a flexible, smooth, and diversified curriculum meant to cater for students varied interests, requirements, and abilities. English Language is one of the core subjects taught in senior secondary schools. The others are Chinese Language, Mathematics, and Liberal Studies, providing Hong Kong with a bilingual education system (Vinci 2012).

The early exposure of learners to English makes it possible for them to cope with the school curriculum at senior level as both basic interpersonal communication skills and cognitive academic language proficiency have developed by the time they reach this level (Ping 2017). The senior secondary English Language curriculum (S4  6) is built on the notion that a persons development is a growing scale in which a lifelong approach is adopted for English Language curriculum planning and development, instead of a selective approach with separate and standalone syllabuses (Tse & Hui 2016, p. 1014). Hence, it is a part of a common English Language curriculum designed for meeting the needs of many students.

In addition, the common English Language curriculum serves all levels of school education from primary 1 to secondary 6. The primary curriculum insists on establishing the foundation of English Language development, while the secondary curriculum (both junior and senior) aims at the application of English for different daily learning and developmental purposes (Education Bureau 2015). Particularly, the senior secondary curriculum consists of a wide array of learning targets, goals, and outcomes intended to enable learners consolidate what they gained through basic education. Additionally, it broadens and deepens the learners experiences, enabling them to develop the required language knowledge and skills for their future needs either in vocational training, university education, or at work (Li & Yuan 2013, p. 440).

Organizing Principles

There are nine principles behind the design of the senior secondary English Language curriculum. The first one is the consolidation of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes developed at lower classes. The second principle is to support assessment for learning by improving on the expertise of school-based assessment and standards  referenced reporting (Education Bureau 2015). The third one is to offer assistance to the utilization of the standards to inform learning and teaching and further the association between curriculum and assessment. The fourth principle is to strike a balance between quantity and quality in language learning to enhance articulation to further study or entry into the workforce.

The fifth principle is to promote both language learning and use. The design also aims to provide an all-inclusive and accommodating curriculum to provide for students diverse needs, interests, and abilities (Education Bureau 2015) and stimulate an independent and permanent language by horning students learning how to learn skills and promoting learner-centered educational approaches involving inquiry and problem solving. It also seeks to avail a suitable progression plan to facilitate school-based curriculum planning and permit awareness of the many aspects of learning that learners are to come across at various year levels (Education Bureau 2015). Finally, the curriculum seeks to advance greater association between English Language and other subjects by encouraging cross-curricular alliance.

Approach

There have been controversies around grammar, mainly arising from the deeply embedded emphasis on the prescriptive grammar pedagogies that have customarily plagued the grammar instruction enacted in Hong Kong schools (Lam & Phillipson 2009). This curriculum has, however, tried to take an approach that provides learners with access to the grammatical forms that are linked to success in school and in society (Gartland & Smolkin 2016, p. 400).

Direct instruction, which involves instructor-led language presentation, is touted as an effective model in L2 acquisition. Humphrey and Feez (2016, p. 208) note that such text-based genre pedagogy is affiliated with the idea that learning is a socially mediated activity, which involves partnership and interaction between the teacher and the learner. The notion is based on a metalanguage derived from systemic functional linguistics. It also permits teachers and students to talk about the way syntax and rhetoric are used creatively in the composition of literary writings (Humphries & Burns 2015).

While the traditional grammar coaching approach entailed labeling the parts of speech and learning rules for their combination, a functional approach is concerned with how language has evolved in specific ways to enable us to do things in our lives. As such, a functional model denotes how language enables teachers and learners to, first, depict and construct their understanding of the world, second, to interact with others, and third, to generate rational, well-formatted spoken or written texts. It has the ideation, the interpersonal, and the textual functions of language (Lam 2015).

Genre is the different purposes for which language is used in the society. The importance of purpose as a persons reason for using language was long recognized (Derewianka 2003). Within the school setting, language is employed for purposes such as explaining phenomena, arguing for a position, recounting events, giving instructions, providing information, and creating and responding to literary works (Derewianka 2012, p. 135).

As the Hong Kong school communitys language purposes develop and change, new language genres arise. The senior secondary English curriculum indicates a variety of genres that are relevant and suitable for learners to involve with at this level of schooling. These are aimed at entertaining, persuading, and informing and comprise narratives, reports, reviews, procedures, poetry, exposition, discussions, literary analyses, and transformations of texts (Derewianka 2012).

Theory of Language Learning

The functional grammar approach solicited for in the curriculum is aimed at extending the students ability to make meaning and is taught in the setting of curriculum activities that engage students to utilize language to achieve communicative purposes (Derewianka 2012). The relevancy of the language is dependent on the task at hand. It is normally taught explicitly at specific points during a curriculum cycle that oscillates through the phases of promoting an understanding of the subject matter, molding the structure and language features of the genre, mutually constructing texts, and stirring students towards independent use of the language under attention (Derewianka & Jones 2013).

Such an approach is not only grounded on scaffolding, but it also mirrors the contemporary learning theory. An activity-based genre approach to teaching writing in a TESOL setup has been lauded for yielding several positive learning experiences related to students comprehension and production of well structured texts, the characteristic lexico-grammatical features of the targeted genres and the overall enjoyment expressed by the students (Derewianka 2012, p.143).

The cognitive theory is one of the main approaches that support the curriculum. The cognitive psychologys working memory has major impact on many aspects of language learning like language understanding, vocabulary acquisition, language performance, reading comprehension, etc., (Koo 2010). Researchers have singled it out to be a vital element of learning ability (the tendency people present during learning) of a second language (Guo 2016).

Cognitive information processing is utilized when the learner is actively absorbed in finding ways to understand and process information received and relate the information to what is already known and memorized (Guo 2016). Information processing is governed by mental processes rather than observable behavior or external circumstances. In line with the central curriculum, the English Language curriculum employs the co-construction methodology which stresses the class as a community of learners who contribute jointly to the conception of knowledge and the building of the standards for judging such knowledge (Guo 2016).

Suitability of the Curriculum to the Context

There are three perspectives in curriculum implementation. The first one is the fidelity perspective in which curriculum innovation is viewed as a technology where the change results when new behaviors and organizational patterns are taken up (Graves 2008, p. 149). It looks at the grade to which something has been implemented as scheduled and the match between design and consequence, irrespective of the implementation approach (Ananyeva 2014).

Thus, the mutual adaptation perspective is focused on how the curriculum is modified by both curriculum developers and teachers during the execution process. According to this perspective, curriculum knowledge is one area of a larger, complex social system that is indispensable (Cross 2016). Finally, the curriculum enactment viewpoint concerns itself with how the curriculum is modulated through the changing constructs of the teacher and student. It focuses on the reliability of teachers and learners to implement a curriculum with anticipated consequences and how to enable them to achieve that.

To foster the usefulness of grammar learning and teaching at the senior secondary level, the curriculum suggests consideration of the students previous knowledge of grammar (Adamson et al. 2010, p. 112). Further, it prevails upon the teachers to draft rational tasks for the use of their grammar knowledge in context. Kong and Hoare (2012, p. 94) observe that the learners at this level are expected to have met the majority of the essential structures and grammar items at junior secondary. Thus, grammar learning at this level aims at consolidating grammar knowledge and even exploring its advanced communicative functions (Kong & Hoare 2012).

Assessment

Assessment refers to a vital and integral part of classroom instruction that constitutes the process of gathering evidence of student learning (Konishi 2009). The role of assessment in learning and teaching English Language, the principles guiding the assessment process, and the requirement of both formative and summative assessments are aspects that a good curriculum document should address (Naeini & Shakouri 2016).

That is what the English C & A guide strives to achieve. It provides guidance on internal assessment as well information on public assessment of the language. Further, it gives information on how standards are set up and maintained and how results are reported with reference to these standards. The importance of the assessment stressed in the curriculum document includes providing feedback to stakeholders on the effectiveness of teaching and on the student capabilities and weaknesses in learning, provision of information to school and education system management to enable them to monitor standards and to assist in selection decisions, promote learning and monitoring students progress, and assessment for certification and selection (Education Bureau 2015).

The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education issues a universal certificate that gives access to university study, work, and advanced education and training (Education Bureau 2015). English is one of the core subjects examined. That being the case, the curriculum document caters for assessment of learning and assessment for learning purposes, but emphasizes on formative assessment over summative assessment.

The formative assessment proves vital when used for refining instructional choices in teaching and producing feedback to improve learning (Yurtseven & Altun 2017). It helps teachers adjust classroom instruction in a way that caters for the diverse needs of the learners in order to improve student achievement. Public examinations and moderated school-based assessments form part of public assessment process for all schools and are summative in approach (Yook & Lee 2016).

External influences on the Curriculum

There are evidences of external factors  the demands of the job market, government policies, mandated materials, local participants as parents and education authorities, teacher performance evaluations, and requirements of a school leaving or university entrance examinations  influencing the curriculum framework (Alvunger, Sundberg & Wahlstrom 2017). That being the case, the curriculum document provides a range of extension modules aimed at reinforcing different aspects of English Language learning, i.e., adding variety to the English Language syllabus, expanding students learning experience and supplying for their diverse needs and desires.

For instance, the non-art module, learning English through workplace communication, ushers learners to different text types in the workplace (Lien 2016). The module engages learners in a variety of workplace tasks intended to foster the learners knowledge and skills to use English in a practical way and gain confidence to communicate with others about work-related matters. Here, the learners develop language skills, organizational skills, presentation skills, and interpersonal skills (Lien 2016).

The Hong Kongs service business has been burgeoning and boosting the demand for English speakers recently. In the past few years, the English proficiency of university and senior school graduates entering the job market has plummeted. The situation forced companies to invest large sums of money on remedial language training and was blamed on the education systems failure to train students to work in the service industry (Yuen, Cheung & Wong 2012). The expectations within the community remain high given that English plays a pivotal role in higher education, the professions, and upper levels of commerce and governance. However, the situation is catered for adequately in the present curriculum.

The requirements of school leaving examinations affect curriculum implementation. The examination culture deeply impacts on the teaching practice. For instance, although consistent summative assessments help students to review and associate their learning and teachers to find out about student achievements, in case of imminence of public assessment, e.g., HKDSE, assessments could consume much of the lesson time. Therefore, it becomes necessary to allocate enough time for learning and teaching English Language, especially in final classes.

Tension in implementation

Efforts to usher communicative language teaching (CLT) into EFL countries have yielded several innovations, which, unfortunately, have had low rates of success. Dimensions of CLT include emphasis on communicative intent, learner centered, and knowledge- based outlook of second language teaching. Accordingly, each learner has unique interests, styles, needs, and goals that should be considered in the molding of instructional methods (Hall & Hewings 2001).

These are important aspects when we consider the case of Hong Kong English Language curriculum. However, the CLT implementation in the classroom has been difficult. Some of the limitations to its enactment include the context of the wider syllabus, old-fashioned teaching methods, class sizes and schedules, lack of resources and equipment, English teachers inadequacies in spoken English, and sociolinguistic and strategic competences (Hall & Hewings 2001). CLT is also used moderately as it requires a lot of preparation time (Li & Yuan 2013).

The grammar-focused English Language curriculum makes the English teaching condition difficult and the local use of CLT challenging. Further, the lack of relevant materials in a non-English speaking environment, the need to adopt textbooks to meet the requirements of communicative classes, and the reluctance on the part of the teachers and learners also hamper the execution of CLT in classroom settings. When the teachers own beliefs and the principles underlying a curriculum innovation clash, there is likelihood that the teachers would reject the change. Similarly, misconceptions regarding the values that underlie inventions in education hamper their implementation (Zheng & Borg 2014).

Summary

The Hong Kong senior secondary English curriculum is a good example of a TESOL curriculum. As it has been presented, the English curriculum is not static but is frequently modified subject to experiential inferences made during its implementation. It is also subject to internal and external factors. Sociocultural and inspirational problems linked to communicative use of English, bad grammar, inadequate vocabulary, and errors in written English are some of the challenges the curriculum aims at addressing as it endeavors to promote English as the second national language and English for special purposes. The three factors that are known to inhibit curriculum change have been singled out and discussed. These are the teachers expectations, external constraints, and the internal weaknesses.

Reference List

Adamson, B, Tak-Shing, JL, Wai-Ming, Y, Kin-Sang, JC & Hau-Fai, EL 2010, Making different sense of reform: school leaders perspectives on the new senior secondary curriculum in Hong Kong, Planning and Changing, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 110 -127.

Alvunger, D, Sundberg, D & Wahlstrom, N 2017, Teachers matter  but how?, Journal of Curriculum Studies, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 1-6.

Ananyeva, M 2014, A learning curriculum: Towards student-driven pedagogy in the context of adult English for academic purposes, English for specific purposes, and workplace programs, TESOL Journal, vol. 5, no.1, pp. 8 -31.

Cheng, Y C 2009, Hong Kong educational reforms in the last decade: reform syndrome and new developments, The International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 65-86.

Cross, R 2016, Language and content integration: the affordables of additional languages as a tool within a single curriculum space, Journal of Curriculum Studies, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 388-408.

Derewianka, BM 2003, Trends and issues in genre-based approaches, RELC Journal, vol. 34, no. 2, pp.133154.

Derewianka, BM 2012, Knowledge about language in the Australian curriculum: English, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 35, no. 2, pp.127146.

Derewianka, BM & Jones, P 2013, Teaching language in context, Issues in Educational Research, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 114-117.

Education Bureau 2015, English Language curriculum and assessment guide (secondary 4  6). Web.

Gartland, LB & Smolkin, LB 2016, The histories and mysteries of grammar instruction: supporting elementary teachers in the time of the common core, The Reading Teacher, vol. 69, no. 4, pp. 391  399.

Graves, K 2008, The language curriculum: a social contextual perspective, LanguageTeaching, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 147181.

Guo, Y 2016, The influence of working memory on second language learning, Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 6, no. 9, pp. 1819-1826.

Hall, DR & Hewings, A 2001, Innovation in English language teaching: a reader, Routledge, Taylor & Francis, New York.

Humphries, S & Burns, A 2015, In reality its almost impossible: CLT oriented curriculum change, ELT Journal, vol. 69, no. 3, pp. 239-248.

Humphrey, S & Feez, S 2016, Direct instruction fit for purpose: applying a metalinguistic toolkit to enhance creative writing in the early secondary years, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 207-219.

Konishi, C 2009, Prospective TESOL teachers beliefs, understandings and experiences of cooperative learning, State University of New York, New York.

Kong, S & Hoare, P 2012, The development of academic language proficiency: challenges for middle school immersion in Hong Kong and Xian, International Education, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 88-109.

Koo, W 2010, The Sense-making process of teachers in institutional change in curriculum: a case study on the implementation of the subject Liberal Studies in Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Lam, BH & Phillipson, SN 2009, What are the affective and social outcomes for low-achieving students within an inclusive school in Hong Kong?, Education Research Policy and Practice, vol. 8, pp. 135150.

Lam, R 2015, Language assessment training in Hong Kong: implications for language assessment literacy, Language Testing, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 169-197.

Lien, H 2016, Psychological Reports, Effects of EFL individual learner variables on foreign language reading anxiety and metacognitive reading strategy use, Psychological Reports, vol. 119, no. 1, pp. 124-135.

Li, H & Yuan, Y 2013, Comparison and Contrast of English Language Planning and Policy for Senior Secondary Education between Mainland China and Hong Kong, The Asia  Pacific Education Researcher, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 439-447.

Naeini, AV & Shakouri, N 2016, Preparing for a postmethod pedagogy: a transformative approach to curriculum development, Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 586-591.

Ping, W 2017, Understanding bilingual education: an overview of key notions in the literature and the implications for Chinese university EFL education, Cambridge Journal of Education, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 85-102.

Tse, S & Hui, S 2016, Chinese writing curriculum reforms in Hong Kong in recent years and their impact on teaching and learning, Reading and Writing, vol. 29, no. 5, pp. 1013-1037.

Vinci, N 2012, The decision to send local children to international schools in Hong Kong: local parents perspectives, Asia Pacific Education Review, vol.13, no.1, pp. 121-136.

Yook, C & Lee, Y 2016, Korean EFL teachers perceptions of the impact of EFL teacher education upon their classroom teaching practices, Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 44, no. 5, pp. 522-536.

Yuen, TWW, Cheung, ACK & Wong, PM 2012, A study of the impact of the first phase of the curriculum reform on student learning in Hong Kong, The International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 26, no. 7, pp. 710-728.

Yurtseven, N & Altun, S 2017, Understanding by design (UbD) in EFL teaching: teachers professional development and students achievement, Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 437-461.

.Zheng, X & Borg, S 2014, Task-based learning and teaching in China: secondary school teachers beliefs and practices, Language Teaching Research, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 205-221.

Introduction

Hong Kong is an example of a nation where English is taught as a second language. It is a unique representative of L2 teaching in that the language proficiency of the many students in the past has been conveyed as not living up to the expectation of the community. Similarly, many years of the British colonial rule did not leave a major language impact on the local population, as was the case with the colonization of the United States. The reason is perhaps that Hong Kong peoples mother tongue is culturally and linguistically distinct from English. It is against this backdrop that I analyze the territorys current ELT curriculum innovations successes or failures during its implementation.

Methodology

The report aims to analyze the Hong Kong senior secondary (S4-S6) English Language curriculum document. It is directed to the peers to give them detailed information on the current theories and issues underlying the ELT syllabus and how they manifest in this curriculum document. In addition, the issues and concerns that arise with major changes in the curriculum are discussed. Credible literature sources, including books, dissertations, book reviews, journals, curriculum documents and other relevant manuscripts, provide the cornucopia of information presented here.

Overview

A good TESOL curriculum development approach is the one in which the aspects of planning, implementation, and evaluation decisions are consistent and interdependent and not undertaken in a lockstep manner (Graves 2008). That is the case with the Curriculum and Assessment (C & A) guide (secondary 4  6), one of the many documents prepared for the Hong Kong English Language Curriculum. It was prepared in 2007 by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) and the Curriculum Development Council (CDC) and updated in 2014 and 2015 respectively (Education Bureau 2015).

Therefore, the C & A guide is a compulsory national document recommended for use in senior secondary schools in Hong Kong. It is updated regularly to comply with the medium period proposals of the New Academic Structure (NAS) review of curriculum and assessment (Education Bureau 2015). This ensures that students benefit from such alterations at the earliest opportunity.

The document is conceived to offer the basis and aims of the English subject syllabus, curriculum framework, planning, pedagogy, assessment, and use of learning and teaching resources (Cheng 2009). In addition to considering learning and instruction strategies as being important aspects of promoting learning to learn and entire-person development, the curriculum emphasizes on the recognition of assessment as a means for evaluating performance as well as improving learning. It follows the general direction for the development of English Language Curriculum established from primary 1 to secondary 3 and expounds on the previous knowledge, skills, and positive values and attitudes that learners gain through the basic education (Education Bureau 2015).

The curriculum is an innovation as it stipulates a specific approach to teaching English Language, i.e., introducing the communicative methods to language teaching. Hall and Hewings (2001) suggest that concept of innovation in the environment of language teaching elicits the question: Who adopts what, where, when, why and how? (p. 120). The curriculum provides these questions as well as their responses.

Relation to the Mainstream Curriculum

The senior secondary academic framework is reinforced by a flexible, smooth, and diversified curriculum meant to cater for students varied interests, requirements, and abilities. English Language is one of the core subjects taught in senior secondary schools. The others are Chinese Language, Mathematics, and Liberal Studies, providing Hong Kong with a bilingual education system (Vinci 2012).

The early exposure of learners to English makes it possible for them to cope with the school curriculum at senior level as both basic interpersonal communication skills and cognitive academic language proficiency have developed by the time they reach this level (Ping 2017). The senior secondary English Language curriculum (S4  6) is built on the notion that a persons development is a growing scale in which a lifelong approach is adopted for English Language curriculum planning and development, instead of a selective approach with separate and standalone syllabuses (Tse & Hui 2016, p. 1014). Hence, it is a part of a common English Language curriculum designed for meeting the needs of many students.

In addition, the common English Language curriculum serves all levels of school education from primary 1 to secondary 6. The primary curriculum insists on establishing the foundation of English Language development, while the secondary curriculum (both junior and senior) aims at the application of English for different daily learning and developmental purposes (Education Bureau 2015). Particularly, the senior secondary curriculum consists of a wide array of learning targets, goals, and outcomes intended to enable learners consolidate what they gained through basic education. Additionally, it broadens and deepens the learners experiences, enabling them to develop the required language knowledge and skills for their future needs either in vocational training, university education, or at work (Li & Yuan 2013, p. 440).

Organizing Principles

There are nine principles behind the design of the senior secondary English Language curriculum. The first one is the consolidation of knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes developed at lower classes. The second principle is to support assessment for learning by improving on the expertise of school-based assessment and standards  referenced reporting (Education Bureau 2015). The third one is to offer assistance to the utilization of the standards to inform learning and teaching and further the association between curriculum and assessment. The fourth principle is to strike a balance between quantity and quality in language learning to enhance articulation to further study or entry into the workforce.

The fifth principle is to promote both language learning and use. The design also aims to provide an all-inclusive and accommodating curriculum to provide for students diverse needs, interests, and abilities (Education Bureau 2015) and stimulate an independent and permanent language by horning students learning how to learn skills and promoting learner-centered educational approaches involving inquiry and problem solving. It also seeks to avail a suitable progression plan to facilitate school-based curriculum planning and permit awareness of the many aspects of learning that learners are to come across at various year levels (Education Bureau 2015). Finally, the curriculum seeks to advance greater association between English Language and other subjects by encouraging cross-curricular alliance.

Approach

There have been controversies around grammar, mainly arising from the deeply embedded emphasis on the prescriptive grammar pedagogies that have customarily plagued the grammar instruction enacted in Hong Kong schools (Lam & Phillipson 2009). This curriculum has, however, tried to take an approach that provides learners with access to the grammatical forms that are linked to success in school and in society (Gartland & Smolkin 2016, p. 400).

Direct instruction, which involves instructor-led language presentation, is touted as an effective model in L2 acquisition. Humphrey and Feez (2016, p. 208) note that such text-based genre pedagogy is affiliated with the idea that learning is a socially mediated activity, which involves partnership and interaction between the teacher and the learner. The notion is based on a metalanguage derived from systemic functional linguistics. It also permits teachers and students to talk about the way syntax and rhetoric are used creatively in the composition of literary writings (Humphries & Burns 2015).

While the traditional grammar coaching approach entailed labeling the parts of speech and learning rules for their combination, a functional approach is concerned with how language has evolved in specific ways to enable us to do things in our lives. As such, a functional model denotes how language enables teachers and learners to, first, depict and construct their understanding of the world, second, to interact with others, and third, to generate rational, well-formatted spoken or written texts. It has the ideation, the interpersonal, and the textual functions of language (Lam 2015).

Genre is the different purposes for which language is used in the society. The importance of purpose as a persons reason for using language was long recognized (Derewianka 2003). Within the school setting, language is employed for purposes such as explaining phenomena, arguing for a position, recounting events, giving instructions, providing information, and creating and responding to literary works (Derewianka 2012, p. 135).

As the Hong Kong school communitys language purposes develop and change, new language genres arise. The senior secondary English curriculum indicates a variety of genres that are relevant and suitable for learners to involve with at this level of schooling. These are aimed at entertaining, persuading, and informing and comprise narratives, reports, reviews, procedures, poetry, exposition, discussions, literary analyses, and transformations of texts (Derewianka 2012).

Theory of Language Learning

The functional grammar approach solicited for in the curriculum is aimed at extending the students ability to make meaning and is taught in the setting of curriculum activities that engage students to utilize language to achieve communicative purposes (Derewianka 2012). The relevancy of the language is dependent on the task at hand. It is normally taught explicitly at specific points during a curriculum cycle that oscillates through the phases of promoting an understanding of the subject matter, molding the structure and language features of the genre, mutually constructing texts, and stirring students towards independent use of the language under attention (Derewianka & Jones 2013).

Such an approach is not only grounded on scaffolding, but it also mirrors the contemporary learning theory. An activity-based genre approach to teaching writing in a TESOL setup has been lauded for yielding several positive learning experiences related to students comprehension and production of well structured texts, the characteristic lexico-grammatical features of the targeted genres and the overall enjoyment expressed by the students (Derewianka 2012, p.143).

The cognitive theory is one of the main approaches that support the curriculum. The cognitive psychologys working memory has major impact on many aspects of language learning like language understanding, vocabulary acquisition, language performance, reading comprehension, etc., (Koo 2010). Researchers have singled it out to be a vital element of learning ability (the tendency people present during learning) of a second language (Guo 2016).

Cognitive information processing is utilized when the learner is actively absorbed in finding ways to understand and process information received and relate the information to what is already known and memorized (Guo 2016). Information processing is governed by mental processes rather than observable behavior or external circumstances. In line with the central curriculum, the English Language curriculum employs the co-construction methodology which stresses the class as a community of learners who contribute jointly to the conception of knowledge and the building of the standards for judging such knowledge (Guo 2016).

Suitability of the Curriculum to the Context

There are three perspectives in curriculum implementation. The first one is the fidelity perspective in which curriculum innovation is viewed as a technology where the change results when new behaviors and organizational patterns are taken up (Graves 2008, p. 149). It looks at the grade to which something has been implemented as scheduled and the match between design and consequence, irrespective of the implementation approach (Ananyeva 2014).

Thus, the mutual adaptation perspective is focused on how the curriculum is modified by both curriculum developers and teachers during the execution process. According to this perspective, curriculum knowledge is one area of a larger, complex social system that is indispensable (Cross 2016). Finally, the curriculum enactment viewpoint concerns itself with how the curriculum is modulated through the changing constructs of the teacher and student. It focuses on the reliability of teachers and learners to implement a curriculum with anticipated consequences and how to enable them to achieve that.

To foster the usefulness of grammar learning and teaching at the senior secondary level, the curriculum suggests consideration of the students previous knowledge of grammar (Adamson et al. 2010, p. 112). Further, it prevails upon the teachers to draft rational tasks for the use of their grammar knowledge in context. Kong and Hoare (2012, p. 94) observe that the learners at this level are expected to have met the majority of the essential structures and grammar items at junior secondary. Thus, grammar learning at this level aims at consolidating grammar knowledge and even exploring its advanced communicative functions (Kong & Hoare 2012).

Assessment

Assessment refers to a vital and integral part of classroom instruction that constitutes the process of gathering evidence of student learning (Konishi 2009). The role of assessment in learning and teaching English Language, the principles guiding the assessment process, and the requirement of both formative and summative assessments are aspects that a good curriculum document should address (Naeini & Shakouri 2016).

That is what the English C & A guide strives to achieve. It provides guidance on internal assessment as well information on public assessment of the language. Further, it gives information on how standards are set up and maintained and how results are reported with reference to these standards. The importance of the assessment stressed in the curriculum document includes providing feedback to stakeholders on the effectiveness of teaching and on the student capabilities and weaknesses in learning, provision of information to school and education system management to enable them to monitor standards and to assist in selection decisions, promote learning and monitoring students progress, and assessment for certification and selection (Education Bureau 2015).

The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education issues a universal certificate that gives access to university study, work, and advanced education and training (Education Bureau 2015). English is one of the core subjects examined. That being the case, the curriculum document caters for assessment of learning and assessment for learning purposes, but emphasizes on formative assessment over summative assessment.

The formative assessment proves vital when used for refining instructional choices in teaching and producing feedback to improve learning (Yurtseven & Altun 2017). It helps teachers adjust classroom instruction in a way that caters for the diverse needs of the learners in order to improve student achievement. Public examinations and moderated school-based assessments form part of public assessment process for all schools and are summative in approach (Yook & Lee 2016).

External influences on the Curriculum

There are evidences of external factors  the demands of the job market, government policies, mandated materials, local participants as parents and education authorities, teacher performance evaluations, and requirements of a school leaving or university entrance examinations  influencing the curriculum framework (Alvunger, Sundberg & Wahlstrom 2017). That being the case, the curriculum document provides a range of extension modules aimed at reinforcing different aspects of English Language learning, i.e., adding variety to the English Language syllabus, expanding students learning experience and supplying for their diverse needs and desires.

For instance, the non-art module, learning English through workplace communication, ushers learners to different text types in the workplace (Lien 2016). The module engages learners in a variety of workplace tasks intended to foster the learners knowledge and skills to use English in a practical way and gain confidence to communicate with others about work-related matters. Here, the learners develop language skills, organizational skills, presentation skills, and interpersonal skills (Lien 2016).

The Hong Kongs service business has been burgeoning and boosting the demand for English speakers recently. In the past few years, the English proficiency of university and senior school graduates entering the job market has plummeted. The situation forced companies to invest large sums of money on remedial language training and was blamed on the education systems failure to train students to work in the service industry (Yuen, Cheung & Wong 2012). The expectations within the community remain high given that English plays a pivotal role in higher education, the professions, and upper levels of commerce and governance. However, the situation is catered for adequately in the present curriculum.

The requirements of school leaving examinations affect curriculum implementation. The examination culture deeply impacts on the teaching practice. For instance, although consistent summative assessments help students to review and associate their learning and teachers to find out about student achievements, in case of imminence of public assessment, e.g., HKDSE, assessments could consume much of the lesson time. Therefore, it becomes necessary to allocate enough time for learning and teaching English Language, especially in final classes.

Tension in implementation

Efforts to usher communicative language teaching (CLT) into EFL countries have yielded several innovations, which, unfortunately, have had low rates of success. Dimensions of CLT include emphasis on communicative intent, learner centered, and knowledge- based outlook of second language teaching. Accordingly, each learner has unique interests, styles, needs, and goals that should be considered in the molding of instructional methods (Hall & Hewings 2001).

These are important aspects when we consider the case of Hong Kong English Language curriculum. However, the CLT implementation in the classroom has been difficult. Some of the limitations to its enactment include the context of the wider syllabus, old-fashioned teaching methods, class sizes and schedules, lack of resources and equipment, English teachers inadequacies in spoken English, and sociolinguistic and strategic competences (Hall & Hewings 2001). CLT is also used moderately as it requires a lot of preparation time (Li & Yuan 2013).

The grammar-focused English Language curriculum makes the English teaching condition difficult and the local use of CLT challenging. Further, the lack of relevant materials in a non-English speaking environment, the need to adopt textbooks to meet the requirements of communicative classes, and the reluctance on the part of the teachers and learners also hamper the execution of CLT in classroom settings. When the teachers own beliefs and the principles underlying a curriculum innovation clash, there is likelihood that the teachers would reject the change. Similarly, misconceptions regarding the values that underlie inventions in education hamper their implementation (Zheng & Borg 2014).

Summary

The Hong Kong senior secondary English curriculum is a good example of a TESOL curriculum. As it has been presented, the English curriculum is not static but is frequently modified subject to experiential inferences made during its implementation. It is also subject to internal and external factors. Sociocultural and inspirational problems linked to communicative use of English, bad grammar, inadequate vocabulary, and errors in written English are some of the challenges the curriculum aims at addressing as it endeavors to promote English as the second national language and English for special purposes. The three factors that are known to inhibit curriculum change have been singled out and discussed. These are the teachers expectations, external constraints, and the internal weaknesses.

Reference List

Adamson, B, Tak-Shing, JL, Wai-Ming, Y, Kin-Sang, JC & Hau-Fai, EL 2010, Making different sense of reform: school leaders perspectives on the new senior secondary curriculum in Hong Kong, Planning and Changing, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 110 -127.

Alvunger, D, Sundberg, D & Wahlstrom, N 2017, Teachers matter  but how?, Journal of Curriculum Studies, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 1-6.

Ananyeva, M 2014, A learning curriculum: Towards student-driven pedagogy in the context of adult English for academic purposes, English for specific purposes, and workplace programs, TESOL Journal, vol. 5, no.1, pp. 8 -31.

Cheng, Y C 2009, Hong Kong educational reforms in the last decade: reform syndrome and new developments, The International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 65-86.

Cross, R 2016, Language and content integration: the affordables of additional languages as a tool within a single curriculum space, Journal of Curriculum Studies, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 388-408.

Derewianka, BM 2003, Trends and issues in genre-based approaches, RELC Journal, vol. 34, no. 2, pp.133154.

Derewianka, BM 2012, Knowledge about language in the Australian curriculum: English, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 35, no. 2, pp.127146.

Derewianka, BM & Jones, P 2013, Teaching language in context, Issues in Educational Research, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 114-117.

Education Bureau 2015, English Language curriculum and assessment guide (secondary 4  6). Web.

Gartland, LB & Smolkin, LB 2016, The histories and mysteries of grammar instruction: supporting elementary teachers in the time of the common core, The Reading Teacher, vol. 69, no. 4, pp. 391  399.

Graves, K 2008, The language curriculum: a social contextual perspective, LanguageTeaching, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 147181.

Guo, Y 2016, The influence of working memory on second language learning, Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 6, no. 9, pp. 1819-1826.

Hall, DR & Hewings, A 2001, Innovation in English language teaching: a reader, Routledge, Taylor & Francis, New York.

Humphries, S & Burns, A 2015, In reality its almost impossible: CLT oriented curriculum change, ELT Journal, vol. 69, no. 3, pp. 239-248.

Humphrey, S & Feez, S 2016, Direct instruction fit for purpose: applying a metalinguistic toolkit to enhance creative writing in the early secondary years, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 207-219.

Konishi, C 2009, Prospective TESOL teachers beliefs, understandings and experiences of cooperative learning, State University of New York, New York.

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Koo, W 2010, The Sense-making process of teachers in institutional change in curriculum: a case study on the implementation of the subject Liberal Studies in Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Lam, BH & Phillipson, SN 2009, What are the affective and social outcomes for low-achieving students within an inclusive school in Hong Kong?, Education Research Policy and Practice, vol. 8, pp. 135150.

Lam, R 2015, Language assessment training in Hong Kong: implications for language assessment literacy, Language Testing, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 169-197.

Lien, H 2016, Psychological Reports, Effects of EFL individual learner variables on foreign language reading anxiety and metacognitive reading strategy use, Psychological Reports, vol. 119, no. 1, pp. 124-135.

Li, H & Yuan, Y 2013, Comparison and Contrast of English Language Planning and Policy for Senior Secondary Education between Mainland China and Hong Kong, The Asia  Pacific Education Researcher, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 439-447.

Naeini, AV & Shakouri, N 2016, Preparing for a postmethod pedagogy: a transformative approach to curriculum development, Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 586-591.

Ping, W 2017, Understanding bilingual education: an overview of key notions in the literature and the implications for Chinese university EFL education, Cambridge Journal of Education, vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 85-102.

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Yuen, TWW, Cheung, ACK & Wong, PM 2012, A study of the impact of the first phase of the curriculum reform on student learning in Hong Kong, The International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 26, no. 7, pp. 710-728.

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.Zheng, X & Borg, S 2014, Task-based learning and teaching in China: secondary school teachers beliefs and practices, Language Teaching Research, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 205-221.

Education has long been termed as the universal key to success. This is attributed to the fact that it is only through good education that we equip ourselves with the best skills both mentally and physically so as to yield positive results in our journey for success. In todays aggressive business world, it takes more than mere raw skill and intuition to curve a notch in the market. A solid educational background proves invaluable and enables one to remain competitive in an environment that is constantly being flooded by skilled personnel.

In addition to this, the dynamic nature of the business world and the need for employees who are all rounded and well versed in every aspect of the business, that is; an employee who can take the business to another level, set the business on a success trajectory and recognize risk factors to avoid collapse is a major factor to be taken into consideration.

While there are various avenues through which students can attain their education, having a core curriculum is pivotal in ensuring that they equally acquire relevant information that may help them compete effectively in their future endeavors. To this regard, this study shall delve into the benefits that can be accrued from learning from a core curriculum.

A detailed analysis of supporting relevant literature shall be provided and the arguments raised by the opponents of this system of learning debated. To this end, an informative discussion in support of the core curriculum system of learning shall be provided.

The argument for core curriculum education

The essence of teaching a core curriculum is to ensure that students get the same information regarding politics, life, sciences, and arts in an organized and predetermined manner. Hirsch, as quoted by Coppola insists that students ought to be taught specific information about a given subject (29).

The fact is, every subject has a lot of information and at times, some of the information is not relevant or applicable to the lives of the students. As such, Hirsch advocates for a core curriculum because it conforms to the principle of schooling which is; to impart general knowledge to all students so that they can become more competent and literate members of society.

On the other hand, Stevens tends to disagree with these assertions and in his defense, he states that: Allowing curriculums, textbooks and tests to be the defining, driving force behind the education of a child is a hindrance in the home as much as in the school (3). In his article, the author proposes that the best way to acquire valuable knowledge is through unschooling (natural learning).

By definition, Stevens describes this system of learning as one characterized by a high degree of practical activities and instincts. He further states that it involves doing real things and following ones interests. According to him, these interests, in turn, leads to the subjects being taught in core curriculum systems (history, art, music, mathematics among others.

However, his assumptions are misplaced and half-truths according to Hirsch. The author states that no matter how talented a student is in mathematics, he/she cannot learn how to formulate equations or solve complex questions through osmosis (87).

The author further contends that curriculums are well thought out such that they enable the student to progressively acquire the skills and knowledge required to tackle any problem through the application of core knowledge. With this in mind, it stands to reason that while natural learning may seem appealing to some, the use of curriculum presents the students with better skills and knowledge that can be used to understand their environments better.

In addition, Hirsch asserts that learning is mainly hinged upon the efforts employed by the student during the process (87). In this regards, he refers to attention and repetition as necessary components to successful learning. Therefore, drills and practice are a prerequisite in the learning process.

In addition, he contends that the teachers role in directing and monitoring such efforts is pivotal in ensuring that the learning process is secure. These facts further highlight the weaknesses of natural learning. This can be attributed to the fact that without constant supervision and a proper learning environment, students are likely to get distracted or avoid tasks that are seemingly hard.

In addition, Hirsch reiterates that equipping all students with more knowledge constitutes higher competence levels and a fairer society. Using the theory of opportunity, Hirsch contends that knowledge is a great foundation on which equality can be attained  as such, teaching students a similar curriculum gives them equal opportunities in life regardless of where they originate from.

The author believes that through a common curriculum, disadvantages students can benefit equally thus acquiring the necessary skills (such as comprehension) needed to facilitate academic achievements, political and economic participations and better financial status. In his point of view, he believes that learning through a common curriculum improves the students reading and learning levels, thereby reducing the achievement gaps experienced in most parts of the world.

In a contrasting argument, Graf disapproves the mainstream learning system (core curriculum learning) stating that it focuses mainly on the development of the students thinking capacity and ignores other core attributes such as the feeling and willing development. In his point of view, Graf believes that the extensive reading and grilling experienced by children during the first few years in school subjects them to excessive mental demands which invariably affects their health even during their adulthood.

To further support his argument, he refers to studies conducted between mainstream students and Waldorf students. The results from these studies indicated that while the mainstream students excelled in most of the subjects during the initial years of grade school, children following the Waldorf system surpassed them in later grades. This not only proves that core curriculum systems are ineffective but also highlights the detrimental effects the system has on the holistic development of the children.

Despite the sense in this argument, core curriculum systems do a better job in preparing the students for the real world that the Waldorf system. As Hirsch states, I am gaining knowledge creates more room for knowledge. As such, despite their weaknesses, main stream students are better equipped to adapt to different situations than their counterparts utilizing the Natural learning or the Waldorf learning systems.

Conclusion

Arguably, the quest for knowledge is not an easy task. It requires commitment, attentiveness, practice, and most important of all, great tutoring. Despite its weaknesses, the core curriculum system of learning has proven to be the most applicable mode of attaining social justice and equality in an unforgiving, ever-changing world. As such, in a bid to guarantee their success, parents should ensure that their children follow this system.

Works Cited

Graf, Josef. Considerations regarding Waldorf Education. 2009. Web.

Hirsch, Eric. Why general knowledge should be a goal for education: common Knowledge. 1998. Web.

Stevens, Earl. What is Unschooling? 1994. Web.

Introduction

Compliance to a set curriculum is an important aspect in achieving the intended academic objectives in any unit. This entails proper development of the students ability to apply the knowledge they acquire in their career development. It also enhances good interaction of students and their teachers, which enhances development of a suitable learning environment with active participation of both the students and the teachers.

According to Mansilla, Duraisingh and Wolfe, a rubric is an essential requirement for any curriculum because besides being an assessment tool, it provides a basis for reflection and self-evaluation to both the teachers and students (2009, p.342). This paper explains the compliance of the unit, A Race with Grace: Sports Poetry in Motion, to a set rubric.

Compliance of the unit with the rubric

The lesson author has given the teacher a number of questions necessary in enhancing the students understanding of the unit. For instance, the teacher should ask the students to think about what they have seen in the websites and come up with words to use for the word wall. The lesson author also provides some questions that are essential for journal writing.

These questions act as guidelines in the unit since they prompt the students to think in line with the study topic. The lesson author also aligned the lesson to the NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts for benchmarking purposes. The unit also entails a variety of instructional strategies. The teacher facilitates the most of the learning activities such as providing reference sources as well as the equipments required by the students as outlined in the Resource and Preparation part of the lesson plan.

The teacher also encourages the students to work in groups to create an interactive environment between the students, which enhances further learning. The author also requires the teacher to work with the students to help them come up with ways of presenting their work.

The teacher has the obligation to answer the students questions. The lesson author has also given the teacher some guidelines of assessing the students which is a necessity in any academic curriculum.

At the beginning of every session, the lesson author requires the teacher to carry out an introductory activity. It is important for equipping the students with knowledge prior to the main lesson of the session (Goodrich, 1996, p.16). For instance, in the first session, the teacher is supposed to share website information with the students.

In the second and third session, the teacher divides the students into groups of four or three and sends them to collect pictures of bodies in motion in a variety of athletic activities. In the fourth session, the teacher is to engage the students in an activity aimed at helping them to make a good choice of words when writing poems.

As a requirement in the rubric, the unit contains more than three lesson plans with objectives, learning activities, teaching strategies as well as learning resources and products. The author has given a clear outline of the introductory activities in every session.

The learning activities in each session/lesson help in engaging students in the learning process besides helping them appreciate the unit. The activities for the first session are creation of a class word wall, writing and sharing journal prompts. The second and third sessions entail playing, taking photographs, collection of images and words, and presentation of the students findings in class.

However, the fourth and fifth sessions do not have the required number of learning activities. Most of the lessons lack technology based activities; actually, as photography is the sole technology based activity in the entire unit. In the learning activities, the teacher divides the students into groups hence complying with the rubric. These activities depend on the intellectual demand of the lesson/session.

The complexity of the activities increases as the unit progresses. The unit also requires the teacher to give the students assignments ranging from collection of information to the compiling of reports or even preparation of presentations. The unit employs several sources of learning materials including websites, books, magazines, newspapers and field activities as outlined by the author.

The lesson author also incorporated extension activities in the unit, which entails collection of sports poems and exploring of photographs of dancers of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, which complies with the requirements of the rubric. The author of the lesson has given a clear outline of the unit, giving proper descriptions of the activities and requirements of every session/lesson.

Conclusion

Most of the aspects of the unit comply with the rubric. These include the presence of essential study questions, a variety of instructional strategies, well-outlined assessment criteria and use of both study and introductory as well as learning activities among others.

However, there is need to increase the use of technology-based learning activities to keep the students in line with the global technological advancements. The unit also needs to outline the period between assessment tests and the least mark that the students should attain in these tests.

Reference List

Goodrich, H. (1996). Understanding Rubrics. Educational Leadership, 54(4), 14-18.

Mansilla, V., Duraisingh, E., & Wolfe, C. (2009). Targeted Assessment Rubric: An Empirically Grounded Rubric for Interdisciplinary Writing. Journal of Higher Education, 80(3), 334-353.

An examination and dissection of the students essay on what schools should teach reveals a mix of assumptions supported by facts and generalizations that go far beyond the data. The student has effectively responded to the first question and provided a clear analysis of the most important issues in this case.

However, in the analysis of the first case, the student fails to provide statements from strong background of knowledge. The student posits that the first issue is that there might be a misunderstanding on the parents and administrators parts about the problem being one of only cultural differences. The use of the word might expresses possibility or probability and therefore fails to ascertain whether the student has clear cut knowledge on his assertions.

The second issue is not only an assumption and a generalization; it has no evidence and has not been presented as a fact. By simply noting down that the civilizing impulse attitude of white settlers thinking that they were instrumental in bringing about a new world is the same impulse that justified residential schools, the student fails to provide evidence and can be best described as a personal bias thinly disguised as a fact.

The third issue is well represented and articulated. However, the student fails to provide a strong point on how a full-time Tsimshian administrator and or teacher would resolve the conflict in the Setsco School curriculum.

The strongest part of this case is the analysis of the second question on the true nature of the problem at Setsco Lake School. The student approaches the question from an informed perspective and brings to light the specific nature and parties involved in Setco Lake Schools problems. It is within this section of the essay that the student explains how a Tsimshian teacher would balance between the demands of the current curriculum and the Caucasian population.

The third question lacks evidence and data to support major assumptions. The student notes that the reality is that the stakeholders in North American schools dont necessarily share the same goal of encouraging students how to grow into more autonomous& This is an assumption that demands support from data or citation. However, the student makes some very important and noteworthy discoveries in the case study.

The exclusion of students opinion in what should be taught in schools indicates that the student has shown signs of having thought long and hard about the issues. The resources used to support sections of the paper are relevant, but the student should have used recent resources to demonstrate research and current status of the issues under examination.

Despite the fact that the student has managed to demonstrate a clear cut understanding of the issues within this case study, some issues are not well supported by facts and data. Assumptions and generalizations that have been made have to a large extent been supported by citations from other sources.

The student exercises caution in making most assumptions and moves away from contradictory evidence. In fact, one strong part of this essay is how the student avoids adopting contradictory undertones. The student would have done better by using data from the most recent articles to support most assumptions and generalization. However, despite these shortfalls such as suggestions for actions that are not rooted in data in the conclusion, the essay demonstrates hard thought and dissection of the case study materials.

Zemelman, Daniels and Hyde (2012) point out that one of the ways of ensuring effective dispensation of knowledge is through effective planning. This will ensure that both the teacher and the student are on course towards achieving the specific and overall goals of the learning process.

According to Zemelman, Daniels and Hyde (2012) the main objective of any learning process should be to ensure that the teacher has managed to pass on knowledge effectively onto the students. The student on their part has been able to grasp and understand the knowledge being passed onto them. There are many tools at the teachers disposal that are aimed at assisting the teacher achieve this objective. One such tool is the curriculum map (Zemelman, Daniels & Hyde, 2012).

Zemelman, Daniels and Hyde (2012) note that a curriculum map is an indispensable document that outlines the topics to be covered, the methods through which the teacher will use to effect dispensation of learning, objectives of the learning process, and methodologies for assessing the students progress. The curriculum map that I have used outlines six activities that will be employed in order to ensure that the outlined objectives of the learning process are attained, and the six activities are lecturing, descriptions, question and answering, discussions, group activities and internet research.

These activities are a reflection of the various education theories including behaviorism, cognitive and constructivism educational theories. Behaviorism educational theory asserts that learners have the inherent ability to learn from their environment. This is only when the conditions they are placed in is a conducive learning environment (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2012).

Olson and Hergenhahn (2012) point out that behaviorism applies the use of measurable or observable behavior to assess the impact of the learning activity. The second theory, cognitive theory, differs from behaviorism because it places more emphasis on the learners cognitive ability., for instance, the ability to memorize and store information, as opposed to merely assessing observable behavior (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2012). The third and final theory is the constructivist theory.

According to Olson and Hergenhahn (2012), this theory emphasizes the role of the leaner (with the teacher merely providing guidance) in constructing their own knowledge. Olson and Hergenhahn (2012) assert that constructivism theory differs from the other two since it focuses on the learner, as opposed to the teacher as the individual who plays a significant role as far as knowledge construction is concerned. A look at the six learning activities as outlined by the map reveals a close relationship between each of these activities with the three aforementioned educational theories.

The first activity, which is lecturing, applies the use of constructivism theory. This is because it accords the learner with an opportunity to construct their own knowledge based on the teachers guidance. The second activity, which is description, is more closely linked with cognitive education theory. This is because this activity involves the teacher describing a phenomenon and relying on the cognitive abilities of the student, to comprehend and memorize this description (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2012).

Thirdly, the question and answering format applies the use of behaviorism education theory, and this is because this activity involves the teacher applying the use of observable behavior (the students capacity to respond correctly to questions) as a tool to assess and dissipate knowledge. The fourth activity, which is discussion, also applies the use of behaviorism as the teacher discusses with the students.

He observes their input and responses to questions (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2012). The fifth and sixth activities which are group activities and internet search respectively both apply the use of constructivism since the activity relies on the student, to engage in activities that will assist them in constructing their own knowledge regarding the issues that are being addressed (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2012).

In planning these six activities, I was guided by the need to have an all inclusive curriculum map that ensured that all educational theories shave been incorporated in the dispensation of knowledge to student thus enhancing the wholesomeness of the learning experience itself. The plan is also in line with the best practices recommendations that seek to encourage both the teacher and student participation in the learning process so as to increase the overall effectiveness of the process (Udelhofen, 2005).

In addition to ensuring compliance with best practices approach, the map through its activities, is also in compliance with the institutions overall learning objectives. This involves enhancing the competency of the students in various areas that are addressed by the learning process. Some of the illustrations of this alignment in objectives are contained in the standards that the map aims at achieving on a week by week basis.

This includes the enhancing the ability of students to use writing, listening and speaking to foster understanding, ability of students to enhance their literary response, and expression. Finally, they should be able to use the writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills to carry out a critical analysis and evaluation of different subjects. These three objectives in terms of standards to be achieved illustrate how the map seeks to enhance both the specific and overall competencies of students.

My curriculum map reveals a careful plan of activities that align with some of the most fundamental learning theories while at the same time incorporating the objectives and standards of the institution. The plan clearly outlines all the tasks that should be covered and the timelines for each of the planned activities. In addition to that, the map also outlines some of the time limited objectives. These include explaining the meaning of conflicts, identifying various types of conflicts within their societies, demonstrating key issues and events of the rebellions in the classical society, and identifying outcomes of conflict from different perspectives for the first week.

The objectives for the second week are demonstrating various ways or strategies through which conflict can be resolved, explaining the management of conflict, applying the concepts of managing conflict within their immediate environs, explaining the situation of conflict within the current society and understanding the relationships between classical and contemporary society in respect to conflict.

These objectives, as much as they touch on the area that is being addressed by the course have had the effect of ensuring that the students are able to develop competencies in other areas. This includes critical thinking and analytical capacities, thus aligning with the overall objective of the institution, which is to improve the overall competencies of the students.

In addition to aligning the objectives of the plan with those of the institution, the application of various teaching methodologies has also served to align the plan with the aforementioned learning theories. The incorporation of various teaching techniques such as lecturing, question and answer sessions, group sessions and group research activities have all served as already mentioned, to ensure that the plan employs the use of various education theories for the purpose of attaining its objective (Udelhofen, 2005).

Moreover, the plan has been able to employ the use of several assessment techniques such as multiple choice questions, quiz in class, questions and answers, group assessments, group research papers and individual research papers and weekly exams (Udelhofen, 2005). The application of various assessment methods is aimed at ensuring that the teacher assesses the progress of the class as a whole, and that of individual students effectively (Udelhofen, 2005).

As much as the curriculum map has been effective in assisting me to discharge my duties as a teacher and improving the overall quality of teaching in the school, there are several shortcomings with the schools mandated curriculum that in my view can use some improvements. First of all, the amount of content that is covered with the mandated curriculum in my view needs to be increased.

This will ensure that students increase their knowledge base in the areas being addressed. Pollard and Collins (2005) explain the link between curriculum content and student competency and points out that an all inclusive curriculum that takes into account and addresses various aspect of the topic being covered is essential for the development of overall student competency.

In addition to increasing the amount of course contents, the period allocated for coverage of the curriculum in my view should also be increased. This is because the current period allocated for covering the issues addressed by the curriculum is not adequate. Consequently, students with learning difficulties, which require them to take longer in order to grasp various concepts, might be left behind as far as curriculum coverage is concerned.

The third aspect of the schools mandated curriculum that can also use an improvement is on the nature of teaching methods that have been applied in its coverage. As much as there are various teaching methods that seek to ensure that every student are accorded due attention by the teacher, there is still a limitation when it comes to student teacher personal interaction (Pollard & Collins, 2005).

Perhaps, incorporation of one on one student teacher interactions in my view, will enable teachers to be in a better position to understand the needs of each and every student. Finally, additional resources should be employed to increase the effectiveness of the teaching/learning processes.

The use of audio and video equipment that accord the students with a more realistic view of the issues being addressed by the course, in my view, will significantly enhance the teaching and learning processes. In addition to that, a visit to some of the relevant institutions such as national museums, relevant companies and organisations that are directly related to the courses being covered will serve to enhance the understanding of the students significantly.

Pollard and Collins (2005) note that reflective decision making is a hugely crucial aspect as far as teaching is concerned. This is because, the teacher looks back at some of the issues that have been covered, and make appropriate adjustments. In addition to that, reflective decision making also accords the teacher with an opportunity to improve their own practice. This is because they will be in a position to use evidence and information from past activities, for the purpose of improving their future practices.

On a personal level, the reflective process has been tremendously instrumental in enabling me to better my practice as a teacher. An analytical review of the curriculum map has enabled me to enhance my analytical skills. I am now in a better position to analyse various aspects of the learning critically, and be in a position to identify their strong and weak points.

Besides enabling me to improve my analytical skills, the reflective process has been singularly instrumental in enabling to appreciate and understand the various educational theories using a practical approach. This is because the process has enabled me to identify the impact of each of the theoretical approaches of learning and how they can be applied for the benefit of the student. Lastly, the process has enabled me to appreciate the importance of various aspects of the learning process.

This includes the importance and impact of setting educational objectives, the importance of student teacher interaction which results in the teacher understanding the students needs, and the importance of proper planning in enabling one achieves their educational objectives. The appreciation and understanding of various aspects involved in the teaching process have been tremendously helpful as far as improving my professional practice as a teacher is concerned because it has meant that I am now in a better position to discharge my duties effectively as a teacher (Pollard & Collins, 2005).

References

Olson, M. H., & Hergenhahn, B. R. (2012). An Introduction to the Theories of Learning. London: Pearson Education.

Pollard, A., & Collins, J. (2005). Reflective Teaching. New Jersey: Continuun International.

Udelhofen, S. (2005). Keys to Curriculum Mapping: Strategies and Tools to Make it Work. London: SAGE.

Zemelman, S., Daniels, H., & Hyde, A. (2012). Best Practice: Bringing Standards to Life in Americas Classrooms. New York: Heinemann.

The article From Teacher-Centered to Learner-Centered Curriculum: Improving Learning in Diverse Classrooms is written by Kathy Laboard Brown, an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and an executive director for the South Carolina Association of Teacher Educators. Throughout her life she has been exploring the subject of education contributing greatly to the development of new methods of studying; it can be stated that her interest in the topic is both personal and scholarly. The title of the article draws the readers attention at once and reflects the content of the work. The article comes from the journal Education which is a publication dealing with writings on education. The article is up-to-date and is addressing the issues which have recently become controversial.

The materials presented in the article are important for the development of the topic of learner-centered paradigm shift since they deal with it directly. The article has a clear introduction where the author states why the teacher-centered curriculum needs to be replaced by the learner-centered one. She also describes learner-centered classrooms and informs what the transition to this kind of classroom involves. Learner-centered classrooms place students at the center of classroom organization and respect their learning needs, strategies, and styles (Brown, 2003). The introduction is followed by the purpose of the article and several issues the author addresses.

The intended audience is general though specialists and scholars will also find the necessary information in Browns research. The article does not use any terms specific to this area of study. The language is precise and the organization of the article is accurate.

The article is aimed at finding out whether a paradigm shift is required when moving from the traditional teacher-centered to a new learner-centered approach. The author emphasizes that planning and learning characteristics are essential for this kind of approach; the approach itself is all about focusing on the learning characteristics of each learner separately taking into account his/her background, needs, capacities, special interests, and experiences. She examines the study of another scholar, McCombs, who has been also exploring this subject. Brown refers to this scholar throughout the article and is mostly supporting the discoveries of the scholar. She also relies on the studies of other scholars and is comparing their discussions of the concept of learner-centeredness.

The article gives an overview of a teacher-centered approach outlining its main strengths and weaknesses. Student achievement is at the forefront of teacher-centered curriculum, but teachers are driven to meet accountability standards and often sacrifice the needs of the students to ensure exposure to the standards (Brown, 2003). Further, the teacher-centered approach is contrasted with the learner-centered one and the latter is presented as more beneficial since it pays attention to differences between the students and their learning characteristics. The learner-centered approach allows the students to develop critical thinking rather than simply listening and absorbing information without processing it.

Brown notes that reflective inquiry contributes to a successful implementation of a learner-centered approach. This process is all about an engagement of teachers into analysis assumptions and feelings they have about their practice and then acting being guided by the results of this analysis. She emphasizes the importance of assessment which is necessary for measuring the quality of the programs which are carried out. The article concludes that the transition from a teacher-centered approach to a learner-centered one does require a paradigm shift and stresses the importance of reflective inquiry and assessment of program quality for the successful implementation of a learner-centered approach.

References

Brown, K.L. (2003). From Teacher-Centered to Learner-Centered Curriculum: Improving Learning in Diverse Classrooms. Education, 124(1), 49.

The goal of curriculum alignment is to make sure that every student can acquire necessary knowledge and skills that will help him or her in the future. Moreover, its purpose is to help learners cope with standardized tests. This paper will show how the task is addressed by educators who teach algebraic thinking at elementary level.

The purpose of this lesson was to help student understand algebraic equivalence and find the correct order of operations for solving mathematical problems. This is the main competency that learners were supposed to acquire.

The teacher, Ms. Soglin adhered to this purpose and every task that students were asked to do contributed to the eventual goal. Overall, the objectives of the lesson were clear and they manifested themselves in every activity of the class.

Furthermore, the teacher relied on the background knowledge and information from the previous lessons. According to the video, these students were used to working with pan balances in order to solve mathematical problems.

This attribute is very important because students have to see the continuity of tasks that they do and understand why these activities are necessary Thus, in terms of this criterion the lesson corresponds to the professional standards that are set for teachers.

The lesson had a clear delivery method; in particular, Ms. Soglin relied on inquiry. This method implies that a teacher should not give direct answers or instructions to the students; instead the task of a teacher is to encourage children to come up with their own answers and solutions by asking questions that are relevant to the experiences and background knowledge (Nilson, 2010, p. 175).

For example, Ms. Soglin asked students whether such a tool as pan-balance had been familiar to them. In response, they compared a pan balance to a seesaw or scales. Moreover, Ms. Soglin did not simply explain how to solve pan-balance equations, but prompted students to offer their solutions to particular problems.

Overall, she avoided giving direct answers. Moreover, the method of guided inquiry is closely related to experiment.

This is why the teacher encouraged students to work with pan-balances in order to understand how algebraic problems could be solved. This approach places more emphasis on students autonomy (Borich, 2011, p. 258). In this way, the teacher tried to make the activities more interesting and she achieved this goal.

The lesson was intended for students with various learning styles. For example, there were children who preferred kinesthetic learning. Such children usually prefer to carry out some physical activity in order to understand the concept of algebraic equivalence (Martin, 2011, p. 225).

This is why they worked directly with pan balances and weighed different objects to understand the concept of equivalence and solve problems. In turn, some of the students were visual learners. Their needs were also met. In particular, they could use various diagrams and drawings explaining equations. Finally, some of the children relied more on auditory learning.

This is why Ms. Soglin explained the way in which pan balance equations could be solved. Thus, this lesson was adjusted to various learning styles. The activities of the lesson were intended for students of various intelligences. For example, manipulation of balances is mostly oriented toward bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, whereas oral explanations were supposed to benefit students with linguistic intelligence.

Finally, the lesson provided for the assessment of student understanding. For example, Ms. Soglin asked children to explain how they intended to solve a math problem and use such operations as addition, subtraction, division, or multiplication. In this way, she determined whether students did understand the notion of algebraic equivalence and its implications.

Reference List

Borich, G. (2011). Effective Teaching Methods: Research-Based Practice, Seventh Edition. New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Martin, D. (2011). Elementary Science Methods: A Constructivist Approach. New York: Cengage Learning.

Nilson, L. (2010).Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

It goes without saying that as soon as the curriculum has been formed, the obvious necessity of choosing the proper instructional strategies that will help implement the curriculum into practice and will ensure the sequence of delivery of the material and its comprehension by students comes to the fore. Teachers may experience greater challenges in this respect each year because of the growing number of material on the subjects, the list of instructional strategies that are enriched annually, and the methods of material delivery that become more advanced each year with the development of computer technologies. It is also necessary for every teacher to understand that there is no universal procedure for finding appropriate instructional strategies for any particular element of learning due to the fact that they cannot be labeled and a unique situation at the lesson the teacher experiences with each separate group should be taken into consideration (Curriculum: Select Instructional Strategies, 2009).

Thus, the ultimate goal of every educator in this context should be finding appropriate strategies that he or she will effectively use in classes and will this way achieve the set of goals stipulated by the curriculum. There has been much work conducted in the sphere of instructional strategies that will aid every teacher to make classes more effective, and as a result, there appeared a list of six strategies that are more or less universal, but always helpful when implemented in a lesson (Instructional Strategies, 2009). They are:

1. Emphasize major concepts. The main implications of this strategy are to organize the material in such a way so that the students grasped major themes within the topic and would be able to use that knowledge in cross-topical studies. This effect can be achieved through efficient generalizing and structuring work and visual representation of the material in a schematic manner, or inclusion of big ideas in the study  they will outline the most important ideas and concepts that should be the indispensable minimum for students comprehension (Instructional Strategies, 2009).
2. Give a proper explanation for links and relations. This strategy is essential to ensure students understanding not only of concepts themselves but of the relationships between them and the way they are connected into the coherent scientific entity. The proper effect of this strategys implication may be achieved through much verbal explanation and application of schematic visuals that will help students understand the links. Teaching students to apply such techniques as mind mapping and outlining has also proven to be highly successful (Instructional Strategies, 2009).
3. Ensure proper treatment of background knowledge. This strategy is highly important for the teacher to be able to connect the students prior knowledge to the new concepts that are being learned according to the particular curriculum. To ensure such effect, the teacher should ask questions to raise associations of the currently studied material with the background knowledge in students, should be able to provide transparent comparisons of learned elements and, in case students lack background knowledge relating to the topic, provide access to proper educational materials for the students (Instructional Strategies, 2009).
4. Ensure proper support for learners. Along with the process of learning new material the teacher should optimally choose the portion of support that he or she will provide for students, gradually reducing it while students grasp the material and move toward independence in their studies (Instructional Strategies, 2009).
5. Apply universal strategies and models. The teacher should teach students how to apply particular strategies and models for problem solution, gradually reducing prompts as soon as the independence and proficiency of students are clearly felt (Instructional Strategies, 2009).
6. Arrange continuous revision and checks. This strategy is vital when the teacher needs to incorporate revision tasks in the overall curriculum  it involves checking knowledge of previously learned items, helping students to apply their knowledge in practice, thus ensuring that they have grasped and fixed the material in their heads (Instructional Strategies, 2009).

Proper application of these strategies will make any lesson efficient and will enhance the teaching effect in a group disregarding the curriculum chosen. These strategies are more student-oriented than curriculum-oriented, so before choosing the strategies and implementing them in a lesson or a course of studies the educator has to combine information both about the curriculum and the group in which he or she will work, moving further in the selection of instructional strategies.

References

Instructional Strategies (2009). Teaching Resources for Florida ESE. Web.

Curriculum: Select Instructional Strategies (2009). Web.

The analysis of recommendations for curriculum organization and improvement, as well as their effectiveness and role, should be based on the theoretical and practical value of developed strategies. The process of curriculum programs development presupposes the introduction of innovative and effective accommodations impacting results and education quality within the system of study.

There is a strong necessity to underline the effectiveness of teaching training courses as a part of curriculum planning improvement. According to the statistics based on education strategic organization, training courses should become the method of professionalism increase, allowing sharing qualification experience between the teaching staff absorbing new methods of educating.

The sphere of the school education system requires a separate approach to teaching and presenting educational material. There were offered the following methods: establishment of a new game plan based on a willing concept; security must be at the top of the list; classroom management development; and the increase of parental role in education. The recommendations provided are considered to be of practical value for the system of education. The involvement of students in the study process using special approaches development plays a crucial role in the improvement of the education system. (Roeser, and Downs, 2004).

The analysis of the second position of community improvement through educational approaches proved to be effective in understanding the following points: communication role should be increased; parents should actively participate in the education process; close cooperation between teachers and parents should be established. All the recommendations analyzed above appeared to be of great value to the modern education system. There is a need to make some clarifications and provide possible improvements for analyzed recommendations.

The administrations of education institutions should involve experts in the strategic development of the curricular program. The participation of parents and their close cooperation with the teaching staff should become a part of the specially developed program Parent-Teacher School Education. This method appeared to be popular in many countries through its modernized approach to ways of childrens understanding. (Orlich, Harder, and Callahan, 2009)

Considerable problems in education curricular development are associated with insufficient attention to training programs for the teaching staff. This aspect should be strongly analyzed through the development of appropriate steps:

• Organization of local conferences dedicated to teaching methodologies;
• Introduction of motivational methods for an increase of students participation in educating programs;
• Stimulate share of professional experience between the educator;
• Annual training programs increasing the level of professionalism among the educators.

Effectiveness of attracting qualified specialists proved to be centralized through the following stages: provide initiative packages; stimulate for being a part of a winning team; awards for student achievement as a whole, not just grade level; share pare concepts; assist with the required help; a General Briefing Sheet, which all members of the class should receive outlining the aims and suggesting for expert groups about the class formation.

References

Orlich, D., Harder, R. and Callahan, R. (2009). Teaching Strategies. 9^th Edition, Cengage Learning.

Roeser, R. and Downs, M. (2004). Auditory disorders in school children: the law, identification, remediation. Thieme.