Teacher's Learning and Growth: General Training Course for New Curriculum

Author: Guan Laojian et al. / Country:
Publisher:
Publishing Time: 2003-05-01
Features: Chapter 3: The Goals and Implementation of Curriculum Reform In June 2001, the Ministry of Education issued the "Outline for the Reform of Basic Education Curriculum (Trial)," as the first guiding document for the reform of basic education curriculum in the history of the country, was officially released. In the same September, the new curriculum standards and experimental textbooks were implemented in 38 national curriculum reform experimental zones in China. This year, the work will be fully rolled out. This marks a critical step forward in the reform of basic education curriculum in China. With the substantive launch and gradual deepening of the reform of basic education curriculum, people have invested unprecedented enthusiasm and expectations in it. Understanding the goals and related knowledge of curriculum reform is a necessary condition for teachers to participate in curriculum reform. The main content of this chapter includes: (1) Curriculum; (2) Curriculum Reform; (3) Goals of Curriculum Reform and Challenges to Teachers. Section 1: Curriculum What is Curriculum? Curriculum is the core of education, a blueprint for implementing training objectives, and the main basis for organizing teaching and learning. The curriculum embodies educational philosophy, concepts, and inherent qualities. The English term "curriculum" is interpreted as "subjects in a course of study taught at a particular school, college, etc.," emphasizing the teaching (all subjects) curriculum. The Latin term "curriculum" has the concept of a "racecourse," meaning the process a person experiences from the age of 6 to 18. During this growth process, everything that is influenced belongs to the curriculum, making it a systematic engineering from function, results, content to teaching, evaluation, and management. American humanistic educator, Foshay of Columbia University (1969), also proposed the "Experience Theory." "Experience" refers to the perceptual knowledge acquired by individuals and the scientific knowledge systematically organized on this basis and repeatedly tested by practice, as well as the impact of personal experiences on the physical and mental development of individuals. From the perspective of the concept of experience, curriculum is considered an experience, the perceptual knowledge acquired by learners under the guidance of the school, and the scientific knowledge systematically organized and tested by practice on this basis, as well as the impact on the physical and mental development of individuals. Since the "Experience Theory" originates from the English-speaking world, it is also necessary to look at the English interpretation of "experience." A common interpretation is: ① the gaining of knowledge or skills from practice rather than from books. Something that happens once and has an effect on the mind and feelings. Here, the second meaning refers to the impact of "experience" on a person's physical and mental development. In the curriculum theory, "experience" clearly cannot be limited to the former, because learners acquire their "experience" both from practice and from books in school, while the former excludes books, which does not align with the actual learning of students. Therefore, scholars advocate the use of both. These definitions of curriculum, through compromise, deduction, or synthesis of different definitions, have formed a situation in the field of curriculum research where schools are numerous, opinions vary, and there is no consensus. As Scott (Scott, R. D. V.) said, "Curriculum is a term widely used but poorly defined in education." American scholar Oliver (Peter F. Oliva) also believes that compared to action-oriented terms in other aspects of education, such as management and supervision, curriculum indeed has a mysterious quality. He summarized a total of 13 definitions of curriculum. The "Concise International Encyclopedia of Curriculum" also summarizes 9 different interpretations of curriculum. According to G. A. Beichem's statistics, there are as many as 119 definitions of curriculum! Due to different understandings of the essence of curriculum, "curriculum" has yet to have a widely accepted concept! Clarifying "what curriculum is" is the logical starting point of curriculum theory research, it determines the methodology orientation of curriculum research, curriculum development models, as well as the scope, direction, and strategies of curriculum implementation and curriculum management. Exploring the essence of curriculum is not only a necessary condition for entering the field of curriculum research but also the primary theoretical issue of curriculum. Section 2: Types of Curriculum Essence Views 1. Curriculum's Subjective Essence View In China, the term "curriculum" had not yet appeared when the six arts—ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics—were already practiced. Therefore, historically, China's curriculum practice has always been ahead of curriculum theory, or it simply equated curriculum with a syllabus or guide. We have been blindly copying the Soviet Union's system of "teaching includes curriculum." In China's "Pedagogy," the term "curriculum" is discussed in the chapter on "Teaching." Many of us are accustomed to understanding and using the term "curriculum" as a synonym for "subject content." Coincidentally, medieval Europe long、、、、、、. In the modern era, encyclopedic courses have also emerged. These courses were also organized from the perspective of social needs, emphasizing the transmission of the knowledge system of disciplines, essentially focusing on teaching procedures and teaching methods. It is easy to overlook the significant impact of students' intellectual development, emotional cultivation, creative expression, personality development, and teacher-student interaction on their growth. Comenius's universal education curriculum theory, the utilitarian curriculum theory of Spencer, Huxley, and others, and Herbart's cognitive curriculum theory are no exception, all viewing curriculum as subject content. 2. Curriculum's Goal Essence View Viewing the expected results and goals as the curriculum and considering content or experience as means is a common curriculum view in the United Kingdom and North America. F. Bobbit, R. W. Tryler, R. M. Jagmin, M. Johnson, and W. J. Popham are representatives of this view. They believe that curriculum is the primary teaching goal that educators attempt to achieve or the learning outcomes they hope students will achieve. For example, Popham and Beck