curriculum and pedagogy
Presented by: Rommel M. Gonzales, MAST
Taken from: Workshop on Ignatian Curriculum and Pedagogy (2007)
curriculum and pedagogy
Three Essential Questions
1. How does LEARNING happen?
2. What is LEARNING?
3. Given the above, how should we teach (PEDAGOGY), and how should we
organize our content (CURRICULUM) – an essential component of the
Curriculum?
The way we teach (Pedagogy) and the way we organize our content
(Curriculum) should depend on the way students learn.
WICP, 2007
curriculum and pedagogy
Two Problems in Education Today
1. Superficial Coverage: Total coverage is neither possible nor
desirable.
2. Education by Exposure (Learning WITHOUT
understanding) leads to:
a. Amnesia: Students forget what they learn ten minutes after
the test.
b. Misunderstanding: Students know the correct answer, but
don’t “get it.”
c. Rigid or Inert Knowledge: Students are unable to apply
what they learn beyond the test. (rigid = unyielding; inert =
lifeless, unmoving, static)
WICP, 2007
curriculum and pedagogy
HOW DOES LEARNING HAPPEN?
THE 4 C’s of LEARNING
Contextualized in Previous Learning
Understanding is always contextualized in previous knowledge.
We never learn tabula rasa. We never learn beginning with an
empty canvas. Previous knowledge (prior skills, knowledge,
beliefs, and concepts) influences data-gathering, interpretation,
understanding, and MIS-understanding.
People construct new knowledge and understanding based on
what they already know and believe.
Previous knowledge can help lead to UNDERSTANDING –
or hinder it, leading to MIS-understanding.
WICP, 2007
curriculum and pedagogy
HOW DOES LEARNING HAPPEN?
THE 4 C’s of LEARNING
Constructed Actively by the Learner
Understanding is constructed actively by the learner.
Active Learning: It is DOING that leads to
UNDERSTANDING.
From Subject Area to Discipline: Students must “do” the
subject and not just accept the results other people got from
doing the subject.
An Example from Geometry: When students don’t know how
to find the area for an irregularly-shaped geometric figure, the
teacher should not bail them out prematurely by solving it or
giving clues too early, thereby depriving them of the
opportunity to struggle with the problem and construct their
understanding.
WICP, 2007
curriculum and pedagogy
HOW DOES LEARNING HAPPEN?
THE 4 C’s of LEARNING
Connected and Organized in a Conceptual Framework
Understanding happens when ideas are connected and organized in a conceptual
framework.
Learning with Understanding happens only when the student has the means for the
effective organization of knowledge.
Conceptual Framework: Learners must be able to connect and organize new
knowledge around important concepts that can serve as organizing principles. “Big
Ideas”: To serve as pegs or organizing principles.
Big Ideas are general concepts, principles, or processes underlying the topic or
lesson that teachers should UN-cover. They recur again and again throughout a
student’s schooling in one or more disciplines, repeated each time in a more
creative, deeper, and more enriching manner.
WICP, 2007
curriculum and pedagogy
HOW DOES LEARNING HAPPEN?
THE 4 C’s of LEARNING
Connected and Organized in a Conceptual Framework
New facts and ideas are understood in the context of their
conceptual framework. One difference between an EXPERT
and a NOVICE lies in their ability to recognize patterns: The
EXPERT notices meaningful patterns of information that
escape the NOVICE. S/he is able to do this because of the
sophistication of one’s conceptual framework.
WICP, 2007
curriculum and pedagogy
HOW DOES LEARNING HAPPEN?
THE 4 C’s of LEARNING
Capable of Transfer
There is understanding when it is capable of transfer – that is, use or application in
a different context (beyond the test).
TRANSFER: Application in a different context, situation, or problem, but involving
similar concepts and principles, or a combination of. The primary goal of education
is Transfer: For students to use their knowledge and acquire flexible adaptation to
new problems and settings. Students should be able to do more than what the
teacher taught.
Example from Literature: Explain the meaning of the proverb, “Haste makes
waste.” The student who understands knows not only the meaning of the proverb,
but also the conditions in which it is true, the situations when it can be applied
(transfer). Compare “Haste makes waste” with “He who hesitates is lost.”
WICP, 2007
curriculum and pedagogy
HOW DOES LEARNING HAPPEN?
THE 4 C’s of LEARNING
Capable of Transfer
Example from Science: A multiple-choice item regarding
arteries will measure the student’s recall of the elasticity of
arteries and their function of pumping blood from the heart.
However, it fails to measure understanding or transfer. A
Performance Task that asks students to design an artificial
artery will require them to apply their understanding of how
arteries work and why they must be elastic to the task.
WICP, 2007
curriculum and pedagogy- personal reflections
1. Look back at your own present curriculum. Is it responsive to
the challenges of present education? What does your
curriculum uphold or promote?
2. Does it promote learning among your students?
3. Examine your teachers in your school. Are they pedagogically
equipped? Or do they show signs of mediocrity?
4. How do you respond to these realities in your school, given
what you have learned from these workshops on leadership
and the trends that beset the present educational system?
5. What plans do you have in mind to slowly address this being
mindful of our school’s context?
