Assignment+1

Assignment 1: Curriculum and Purpose
The starting point for any discussion about curriculum needs to address purpose. Purpose drives decision making when we try to determine the kinds of experiences we want students to have and what we hope they achieve according to those experiences.

In Ralph Tyler's seminal work, //The Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction//, he notes that four questions drive curriculum work. He seeks the answers to four questions:


 * What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?**


 * How can learning experiences be selected which are likely to be useful in attaining these objectives?**


 * How can learning experiences be organized for effective instruction?**


 * How can the effectiveness of learning experiences be evaluated?**

As Tyler noted more than fifty years ago, curriculum begins with purpose, and it is animated by experiences. We often forget this - particularly when the language surrounding curriculum is limited to such things as standards and benchmarks. We focus on the target instead of the process it takes to develop one's skills and capacities to hit the target.

Here are some links for additional information about Ralph Tyler and his //Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction//:

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__After reviewing the above links as well as any other appropriate resources, submit a four-five page paper answering the four questions above.__

I'd encourage you to explore more of his work, and if you are interested in working in curriculum as a school leader, his book should definitely be on your shelf.

This assignment should be submitted to me via EMAIL as a .doc (NOT .docx) document with the following header and assignment title:

Message Header: EPSF 7450 Assignment 1 Paper Title: LastName_FirstInitial_Assignment 1