CURRICULUM

Philosophical

Foundations

of Curriculum

Psychological

Foundations

of Curriculum

Social

Foundations

of Curriculum

Historical

Foundationsof Curriculum

Psychology is the scientific study of mental functions and behavior including:

perception cognition emotion behavior

personality interpersonal relationships

It is a basis upon which something stands or is supported.

Curriculum is interpreted to mean all the organized activities, courses and experiences which a student have under the direction of the school

whether in classroom or not.

Behaviorist theories: Focuses on

stimulus response and reinforcers;

Studies conditioning, modifying, or shaping behavior through reinforcement and rewards

Cognitive theories: Focuses information

processing in relation to the total environment

Studies developmental stages, understanding, multiple forms of intelligence, problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity.

Phenomenological and Humanistic theories:

Focuses on the whole child, their social, psychological, and cognitive development.

Studies focus on human needs, attitudes, feelings and self-awareness.

Thorndike Connectionism

Pavlov &WatsonClassical

Conditioning

B.F. Skinner Operant

Conditioning

Connectionism

Defined learning as a connection or association of an increasing number of habits.

Three Laws of Learning

1. Law of Readiness2. Law of Exercise3. Law of Effect

Classical Conditioning

He is best known for his experiment with salivating dogs.

Classical Conditioning Eliciting an unconditioned

response by using previously neutral stimuli.

Unconditioned stimuli create reflexes that are not “learned,” but are instinctual.

Neutral and unconditioned stimuli are introduced at the same time. Unconditioned stimuli are gradually removed, and the neutral stimuli elicit the same reflex.

•Watson took Pavlov’s findings to another level.•Emphasized that learning was observable or measurable, not cognitive.•Believed the key to learning was in conditioning a child from an early age based on Pavlov’s methods.•Nurture vs. Nature

Watson’s theories strengthened the argument for the influence of experiences as opposed to genetics.

• Desired operant behaviors must be reinforced in a timely manner. Delay of reinforcement hinders performance.

• By selecting which behavior to reinforce, we can direct the learning process in the classroom.

• Learners can acquire new operants.

“Education is what survives when what

has been learned has been forgotten”

B.F. Skinner

Jean PiagetCognitive Development

Stages

Lev Vygotsky• theory of sociocultural

development• Zone of Proximal Development

(ZPD)

Robert GagneHierarchy of Learning

Piaget- Cognitive development stages

Formal

operations

begins @ 11-15

abstract thinker

Concrete operations

(ages 7 to 11)

begins to think abstractly, needs physical, concrete

examples

Preoperational stage (ages 2 to 4)

Needs concrete interactions (no

abstract) use of symbols (pictures, words) to

communicate

Sensorimotor stage (Birth to 2 years old)learning by movement and sensory

exploration

•Russian psychologist•theory of sociocultural development•Culture requires skilled tool use (language, art, counting systems)•The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD):

distance between a student’s performance with help and performance independently. •learning occurred in this zone

1. Signal Learning: Classical Conditioning - Response to a signal

2. Stimulus-Response:Operant Conditioning – Response to given stimulus

3. Motor Chains:Linking two or more stimulus response connections to

form a more complex skill

4. Verbal Association:Linking two or more words or ideas

5. Multiple Discriminations: Responding in different ways to different items in a set

6. Concepts:reacting to stimuli in an abstract way

7. Rules:Chaining two or more stimulus situations or concepts

8. Problem SolvingCombining known rules/principles into new situations

to solve a problem

• Five Learning Outcomes (observable and measurable)1. Intellectual Skills

• “knowing how” to organize and use verbal and mathematical symbols, concepts and rules to solve a problem.

2. Information• “knowing what” – knowledge and facts

3. Cognitive Strategies• “learning strategies” needed to process information

4. Motor skills• Ability to coordinate movements

5. Attitudes.• Feelings and emotions developed from positive and negative experiences.

What is learning?•Individual must construct own knowledge- make meaning•Learner must reshape words-mimicking is not enough. •Learners must make knowledge personally relevant

“A common misunderstanding regarding constructivism is that instructors should never tell students anything directly but, instead, should always allow them to construct knowledge for themselves. This is actually confusing a theory of pedagogy (teaching) with a theory of knowing. Constructivism assumes that all knowledge is constructed from the learner’s previous knowledge, regardless of how one is taught. Thus, even listening to a lecture involves active attempts to construct new knowledge.”

Cognitive Psychology -focus their attention onhow individuals processinformation and how themonitor and managethinking.

Abraham MaslowHierarchy of Needs

Carl Rogers

Lower level must be satisfied first before one

could function at the higher level.

Client-centered therapyhe proposed that classrooms

should become learner-centered and teachers should facilitate learning

Humanistic Psychology -concerned with howlearners can develop theirhuman potential.