Systematic Curriculum Research Articles

A Curricular-Sampling Approach to Progress Monitoring

Progress monitoring is an important component of effective instructional practice. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a form of progress monitoring that has been the focus of rigorous research. Two approaches for formulating CBM systems exist. The first is to assess performance regularly on a task that serves as a global indicator of competence at the relevant grade level. The second approach is to systematically sample the year-long curriculum so that each skill is represented and receives the same emphasis on each alternate form. In this article, the systematic curriculum sampling approach is illustrated for monitoring progress in mathematics concepts and applications systems. A description of the system's components, background, and technical properties is provided. Then, a sample case explains how the CBM system can be used in a special education setting to monitor progress, plan instruction, and enhance communication.

A Case Study on Comparison Between Korea nd America in Accreditation System of Engineering Education

The Purpose of the study was to analyze system of accreditation for mechanical engineering education between A university in Korea and M university in U.S.A. which were evaluated in 2007 under EC2000. Literature review through self-study report and homepage of two programs was used to accomplish objectives of the study. Strengths of U.S.A for accreditation evaluation system were systematic curriculum operation, design education with cooperation system, course based program outcome evaluation system, supportive circumstances for research of faculty and guidance to students. On the other hands, strengths of Korea were likely to use quantitative data for educational improvement and were able to systematic guide to students with portfolio. In the future, plan and research for design education, curriculum operation and program outcome evaluation are needed to establish ABEEK evaluation.

A conceptual framework for the teaching and learning of generic graduate attributes

In recent years universities have attempted to articulate the generic outcomes of the educational experiences they provide, beyond the content knowledge that is taught. These outcomes have come to be known as generic skills or generic graduate attributes in Australia, although they are also referred to by a range of other terms. Akin to some aspects of a mission statement, universities have claimed that these are the core outcomes of higher education and that every graduate of every degree will possess these. A recent phenomenographic investigation into academics' conceptions of these generic attributes revealed that, far from a shared understanding of such attributes as core outcomes, academics hold a variety of disparate understandings of the nature of generic attributes and their place amongst the outcomes of a university education. This variation is described in the Conceptions of Generic Attributes model. The present article extends this model by considering the way academics understand the teaching and learning of such attributes. The various pedagogical intentions and understandings identified in the present analysis are related to the conceptions of graduate attribute outcomes reported in the earlier study. The relationships between these two aspects of academics' understandings of generic attributes (what it is that is taught/learnt and how it is taught/learnt) are seen to be internally consistent. The conceptions identified in this analysis provide a way of making sense of the range of curricula approaches reported in the literature. Moreover, these integrated conceptions of generic graduate attributes provide a tool to support current attempts to implement systematic curriculum reform in universities.

Richard Mercer Dorson: Institutionalization and Internationalization of the American Folklore Science

Richard Mercer Dorson made great strides in fieldwork theory and technique, influ­encing especially his own students' work. He pioneered the analysis of oral style in folk narratives and of the role of folklore in American literature, here too stirring up considerable controversy. He was an architect of intellectual bridges between folklor­ists of the United States and their counterparts in Europe, Africa, and Asia, both through his own writings and through the published works and conferences he stimu­lated others to bring about. And, more than anyone else, he agitated for the establish­ment of academic programs in folklore in the United States, with the respected pro­fessional instructors, systematic curricula, and scholarly bibliography needed to sus­tain them. The legacy of Dorson's writings to future American, and folklorists world­wide, is rich and complex, requir­ing the long term for its full significance to be appre­ciated.

The Use of “Contexts” as a Challenge for the Chemistry Curriculum: Its successes and the need for further development and understanding

In this paper we reflect on the experiences and results of the development and implementation of context‐based chemistry education. This development is discussed with respect to five challenges defined for chemistry curricula (Gilbert, 2006). Five context‐based approaches were selected that will provide the data for this study (Bennett & Lubben, 2006; Bulte, Westbroek, De Jong, & Pilot, 2006; Hofstein & Kesner, 2006; Parchmann, Gräsel, Baer, Nentwig, Demuth, Ralle, & the ChiK Project Team, 2006; Schwartz, 2006). These approaches have been presented using a model to represent the spiral development of an ideal curriculum until the experienced and attained curriculum (Goodlad, 1979; Van den Akker, 1998). For each of the five approaches we analysed their contribution to the five curricular challenges, the essential characteristics of the outcomes and products, the conditions that were fostering and hindering the development, the design principles, the tools and the procedures used. The outcomes of the analysis are related to Gilbert’s criteria for the ‘use of contexts’ in chemistry education. This leads the identification of priorities as new hypotheses and challenges that set the future agenda for systematic curriculum development of context‐based chemistry education.

Producing tomorrow's doctor: the new challenge for today's undergraduate medical curriculum

The training and education of doctors is a complex process. The traditional apprenticeship model of clinical medical education following a pre-clinical sciences curriculum had many strengths and produced a doctor who met the needs of several generations of patients. More recently, medical training has been criticised for not adapting to the more holistic needs of contemporary society, whilst the scientific literature has highlighted deficiencies in both the procedural and humanistic clinical skills of newly qualified doctors. External bodies have called for radical curriculum reforms and failure to deliver risks increasing political interference. Apprenticeship style training has largely been abandoned as insufficiently systematic in its methods and educational responses have focused on the process of learning. Modified curricula emphasise a humanistic and student-centred approach. Although implementation is widespread, there is little evidence that the finished product is better equipped to meet the demands of postgraduate medical practice. The General Medical Council has defined the desired outcomes of the undergraduate programme. Supporting the best of apprenticeship with contemporary process models offers optimum opportunity for practicebased learning within a systematic curriculum framework. If rapid change is to be achieved, however, then assessment offers an accepted and powerful driver for medical behavioural change. Combining practice-based learning and appropriate formative assessment of generic and vocational endpoints offers the means of effecting changes in both learning behaviour and medical practice that meet the needs of today's patient.

The UWI HIV/AIDS Response Programme

Prologue At the core of this paper is the belief that strong political will confront the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) epidemic in an organized way is the key progress in mitigating the impact of this disaster. The paper describes the formation and early development of the University of the West Indies HIV/AIDS Response Programme (UWI HARP) and identifies the requirements for its sustainability and success. The leaders of the UWI HIV/AIDS Response Programme (UWI HARP) describe the university's programme as a partnership to promote awareness and appropriate action in response the HIV/AIDS The UWI HARP leadership warns, Let us neither over-emphasize nor under-emphasize Early History Discussions leading the formation of UWI HARP began in the year 2000 when the UWI Vice-Chancellor approached three academic leaders and called for increased UWI involvement in the response HIV/AIDS. A meeting of representatives from the three campuses was held in March 2001 acknowledge and review the involvement of UWI staff in HIV prevention and care , research and community service and brainstorm the future shape of UWI's response the growing epidemic. The consensus of that meeting was that UWI needed organize and accelerate its activities in the face of the growing threat posed by HIV/AIDS. The meeting recognized HIV/AIDS as a multifaceted threat requiring a multidisciplinary response. Delegates accepted that the university as a communal institution had a responsibility join the regional response the epidemic and that a range of talented persons within the university had the potential ability mount a meaningful response in collaboration with other contributors in the field. Following the March meeting, the first UWI HARP Committee was formed on the Mona Campus under the chairmanship of Professor Brendan Bain in August 2001. Then, in February 2002, similar committees were started on the Cave Hill and St Augustine Campuses at the time of Professor Michael Kelly's first visit the Caribbean. Almost coinciding with the Vice-Chancellor's call for a more obvious response the HIV/AIDS epidemic from the university community was an invitation UWI from the Caribbean Community Secretariat in Guyana participate in a project aimed at Strengthening the Institutional Response HIV/AIDS/STI in the Caribbean (SIRHASC). This project had begun in December 2000 and, in fact, was provide the first significant external funding UWI HARP - a grant of approximately Euro $2.7 million over a three-and-a half year period from the European Union (EU). The EU grant enabled UWI join five other regional organizations in the SIRHASC project. Under the aegis of the project, UWI has employed a project officer and six lectures and has embarked on a programme of systematic curriculum review and development in areas relevant HIV/AIDS. In addition, lecturers from Cave Hill and St Augustine have undertaken ground-breaking studies document the current and possible future socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS in Barbados, Guyana and Suriname. Also through the project, the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication on the Mona Campus has collaborated with the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) in sensitizing Caribbean media owners and practitioners issues pertaining HIV/AIDS. While building capacity within the university, UWI HARP is beginning reach out other tertiary level institutions and is helping strengthen other national and regional organizations, including the Caribbean Regional Network of persons living with HIV/AIDS. Mission and Aims The mission statement of UWI HARP is To build and harness capacity within the university in order contribute maximally the national, regional (Caribbean) and international effort control the HIV/AIDS epidemic and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on the university itself and on the wider society. …

1.6.3 Cognitive and Personality Characteristics of Successful Systems Engineers

AbstractAccording to the title, an extensive research was conducted with an objective to identify the characteristics of engineers with high ‘engineering systems thinking’ thinking skills and the processes by which it is acquired. The main question of the research was “what are the qualifications (knowledge, skills and aptitudes) required from systems engineers?” The General Systems Theory (GST) and the SCAW Model (Systematic Curriculum Alignment and Watch Model) for curriculum design of engineering disciplines constitute the theoretical frame of the research. Eighty‐three categories were found in 28 interviews, 14 lectures and 2 observation sites which may be assorted as follows: Ten categories referring to the definition of engineering systems thinking. Four categories deal with various types of systems thinking. Fifteen categories relate to knowledge required from systems engineers. Thirty‐one categories cover the skills demanded of systems engineers. Fifteen categories explore the personal aptitudes demanded of the systems engineers. Lastly, eight categories examine processes through which the system thinking capability is developed.

Developing curriculum evaluation research in higher education: Process, politics and practicalities

Demands for greater accountability, globalcompetition, and concern about standards have allcontributed to the increasing interest in evaluationin universities in the UK. At the same time, bothpedagogic research and teacher development in highereducation are gaining prominence. This paper describes the initial development of aprogramme of systematic curriculum evaluation researchwithin a `new' university. The focus of the research is a newundergraduate curriculum which emphasises graduateoutcomes and incorporates the development of core`capabilities' within the subject context. Our taskhas been to develop a longitudinal programme ofresearch that will combine both a summative evaluationof educational outcomes with formative evaluation oflearning processes to inform continued curriculumdevelopment. Questions of performance indicators, measurement, andeducational outcomes all come under scrutiny in acontext of multiple purposes and stakeholders, themicropolitics of the university and wider debatesabout the purpose and effectiveness of undergraduateeducation. This paper explores these issues and theirimplications for the development of a curriculumevaluation strategy, describing the initial stages ofthe multi-level longitudinal design that is emerging.

Systematic Curriculum of English for Science and Technology and Computer Assisted Instruction

To attain certain educational achievement in English education, a defi-nite educational goal and a curriculum which executes it are essential. We have introduced a systematic curriculum of English for Science and Technology which students can choose basic courses to advanced ones, including a course of Computer Assisted Instruction. As a result, significant educational effects have been obtained.In this paper, we describe our new English curriculum. Its effects and problems to be solved in future are also discussed.

Art Education: Issues in Curriculum and Research

The fine arts have never gained a major place in either public school curricula or educational research, even though specialists in art education have been active for many years and the fine arts are generally recognized as important aspects of past and present culture. A major obstacle to progress in art education has been the inability, or perhaps the unwillingness, of artists, art critics, and art educators to define art in a manner that makes systematic curriculum development and research possible. Criteria for such a definition are suggested, and a definition is proposed as the first step toward over-coming the observed problem. Positive implications for curriculum development and instructional research are outlined for further debate and discussion.

Paradigms in curriculum development: Critical comments on the work of Tanner and Tanner

Daniel Tanner and Laurel Tanner, in their widely read textbook Curriculum Development: Theory into Practice (1980), make the claim that by the middle of this century the field of curriculum had emerged as a distinct area of study. They also suggest that a consensually based paradigm for systematic curriculum development has arisen from the work of Tyler (1949) and Dewey (1902). They further contend that the various elements of the curriculum paradigm were discussed in a report of the Eight-Year Study, Exploring the Curriculum (Giles, McCutchen, & Zechiel, 1942). The articulation of these elements, in a format sufficiently well developed to be considered a paradigm for the curriculum field, began with Ralph Tyler in 1949 and is often referred to as the "Tyler rationale." This guideline for curriculum development states that the interacting influences of organized scholarship, the learner, and society should provide the dominant source and influence for curriculum development. Robin Barrow (1984), on the other hand, claims that a desire to impose such an overall design (or, presumably, paradigm) is an impediment to clear thinking about school in general. He further states:

Social Skills

A systematic social skills curriculum should be given high priority in the education of LD students.

Designing Systems that Train Learning Ability: From Theory to Practice

Empirical and theoretical evidence is presented to support the conclusion that improvement of learning ability is an important and viable educational goal. However, the improvement of learning ability necessitates development not only of specific learning skills, which we know how to teach, but also an executive control mechanism that automatically accesses and combines learning skills whenever they are needed. Metacognitive theorists are currently investigating evidence that some executive skills can be imparted through direct training. However, a theme that emerges repeatedly in our review is that executive learning skills cannot be trained easily or by direct instruction alone, but must be developed gradually and automated over an extended period of time. It follows that genuine improvement of academic aptitude is not likely to result from anything less than a thoughtful, systematic curriculum that complements direct training in learning strategies, and thereby “engineers” the gradual evolution of important executive control skills.

Designing Systems That Train Learning Ability: From Theory to Practice

Empirical and theoretical evidence is presented to support the conclusion that improvement of learning ability is an important and viable educational goal. However, the improvement of learning ability necessitates development not only of specific learning skills, which we know how to teach, but also an executive control mechanism that automatically accesses and combines learning skills whenever they are needed. Metacognitive theorists are currently investigating evidence that some executive skills can be imparted through direct training. However, a theme that emerges repeatedly in our review is that executive learning skills cannot be trained easily or by direct instruction alone, but must be developed gradually and automated over an extended period of time. It follows that genuine improvement of academic aptitude is not likely to result from anything less than a thoughtful, systematic curriculum that complements direct training in learning strategies, and thereby “engineers” the gradual evolution of important executive control skills.

The Sampling Issue in Engineering-technology Curriculum Updating

SUMMARY In the framework of the development of a model for ‘Systematic Curriculum Alignment and Watch’ (SCAW) in high-technology disciplines, the need for reliable mapping of the technologist's professional profile has arisen. This paper deals with the issue of sampling members from various establishments (industry, services, etc.) to be interviewed for determining the occupational requirements from engineering-technology manpower at work. The distribution of engineers (26,815) and engineering technicians (30,865) in the various economic branches in Israel is presented and analysed, and a sampling procedure from this population is presented.

A Demonstration of a Successful Parent-Conducted Remedial Reading Program

This paper demonstrates the use of parent training in behavior management, a systematic curriculum, and a system for maintaining consistent parental involvement to develop a parent conducted remedial reading program. The program utilized short and long-term extrinsic rewards, frequent feedback, and massed practice. Two children, from different families, an eight and one-half-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy, had been labelled as learning disabled and required to repeat a grade because of their extremely low levels of reading achievement The program produced impressive gains in the children's reading abilities as measured by standardized tests. The girl's Gates-MacGinitie grade score increased from a pre-program composite score of 1.1 to 4.2 after five months of intervention whereas the boy's grade score increased from 1.1 to 3.8 after 20 months. Both children have made appropriate grade level academic progress since they have become fluent readers and are reading above grade level. This demonstration suggests that interested and appropriately trained parents can play an important and effective role in remediating their children's reading problems.

Remediation of intonation contours of hearing-impaired students

Incorrect production of intonation contours is a common phonatory problem among the hearing impaired. Programs designed to remediate this problem include those that employ a systematic sequence of training steps as well as those that use sensory aids to provide visual or tactile feedback of contour production. A speech-training program that incorporates both is described. The program utilizes a hierarchical curriculum with either a tactile or a visual display of fundamental frequency for the remediation of incorrectly produced intonation contours. The displays are interfaced with a microprocessor, thus allowing regular collection of data and monitoring of the program's effectiveness. Three case studies are presented as representative examples of the student's progress. Implementation of the systematic curriculum with the use of the sensory aids results in improved performance in the phonatory skills of these students. The successes and difficulties encountered in speech training are discussed.

A Systematic Model For Curriculum Development

Curriculum development is not a simple process, says this writer, who encourages the use of a systematic curriculum de velopment model. Such a model is provided here.

Psychoeducational Training in Counseling Psychology Programs

The need for a defined and systematic curriculum in psychoeducation is considered. Areas of importance in a psychoeducational curriculum are proposed: (a) preparatory coursework in the foundations, principles, and concepts of psychoeducation and program development; and (b) practicum training in psychoeducation and program development.