What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
In his book, Ralph W. Tyler suggests that educational programs should, first and foremost, define what the appropriate learning objectives are. Tyler emphasized that curriculum planning is a continuous cycle; hence, these purposes must be converted into educational objectives since educational programs “do not have clearly defined purposes. ” Thus, an educator must establish broad goals and objectives. These learning objectives are statements of what the student will perform during the course of instruction. They are stated in terms of student output, which indicates the latter’s mastery over the course material.
In conjunction, the educator must also classify these goals or objectives taking into account the intellectual skills, emotional aspect and psychomotor abilities of the student. Another aspect that an educator must do is to define these learning objectives in behaviour terms. Setting these objectives ahead of time will increase the student’s motivation as he will be apprised of the tasks that he would do during the course of the instruction. Also, planning these objectives would provide the teachers with a clear view for the instructional program. The teacher must also establish useful learning experiences.
He must find situations in which the achievement of these objectives can be shown. These learning experiences serve as the student’s guide to manage his manner of absorbing the course instruction. It is from these experiences that he will steer himself towards the path of learning. In addition, the teacher must develop measurement techniques that will measure the student’s understanding of the course study. He must collect the student’s performance data and compare it with the behaviourally stated objectives. This way, the teacher could properly assess the student’s progress.
2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes? “The teacher can provide an educational experience through setting up an environment and structuring the situation so as to stimulate the desired type of reaction” (Tyler, 1949). Mr. Tyler puts that these educational experiences must be based on the student’s behaviour, and not that of the teacher. Accordingly, the teacher must set up a method that is suitable to the learning objective sought by structuring the instructional activity to produce the desired learner behaviour.
Mr. Tyler adds that these educational experiences may be established through: (i) practice, (ii) reward system, (iii) performance, (iv) variety, and (v) multiple outcomes. The student must accustom himself to a certain pattern of behaviour that is required by the learning objective. The required behaviour, however, must be patterned in a way that the student may be able to accomplish the learning objective. In return, the teacher may positively reinforce the student by means of a reward system.
The purpose of these rewards is to give the student a sense of satisfaction. It must also be noted that different experiences should be used to accomplish the learning. In addition, the same experience usually brings about several outcomes. 3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized? “In order for educational experiences to produce a cumulative effect, they must be so organized as to reinforce each other” (Tyler, 1949). Due to the complexities of this ever-changing world, the teacher must reinvent the traditional system of learning and teaching.
These learning experiences must be so organized as to identify and achieve the levels of structural elements of the learning objective targeted. In his book, Mr. Tyler provides for the basic guidelines for organizing educational experiences: 1. Continuity refers to the vertical reiteration of major curriculum elements. During the course of instructional activity, the student may be required to perform repetitive processes Repetition of certain activities provides an opportunity for the student to practice and learn this activity. 2. Sequence emphasizes the importance of having each successive experience
build upon the preceding one but to go more broadly and deeply into the matters involved. This means that calls for the progression of certain activities from simple to complex. 3. Integration refers to the horizontal relationship of curriculum experiences. To illustrate, activities in one subject may involve skills required in another subject. Thus, the learning activities for both subjects are so intertwined that it has become an integrated learning experience with respect to the required skill. 4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?
“The process of evaluation is essentially the process of determining to what extent the educational objectives are actually being realized by the program of curriculum and instruction” (Tyler, 1949). It must be emphasized that these evaluations are necessary to determine the changes of the student’s behavioural objectives. It is essential in determining the student’s progress and learning. Mr. Tyler has suggests these methods, among others, in measuring the student’s progress: a. tests and examinations; b. observation; c. interviews; d. sampling; or e.
submission of term papers. Reflections on the Book Basically, Mr. Tyler has overly emphasized in his book that curriculum planning is a continuous cycle. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to defining educational objectives. However, one must bear in mind that curriculum planning must be patterned based on what are the educational objectives. It is only through these educational objectives that the teacher shall define the manner and method of teaching. Source: Tyler, R. (1949). Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. Chicago: University of Chicago.
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