Designing curriculum for “understanding” with the case of upcoming 2015 revised national curriculum in Korea Presenter : J.D. Ohn

Understanding by Design: Backward Design Goal & Content- Understanding Understand vs Know By Design- Backward design

6 facets of understanding (if you understood, you should be able to Explain Interpret Apply Take a perspective (critical & insightful points of view) Develop empathy Have self-knowledge

Traditional processes of curriculum design- Tyler’s model Identify aims & objectives Select and organize content Organize teaching and learning Develop assessment & evaluation

Stages of Backward Design Stage 1 Identify desired results Stage 2 Determine acceptable evidence Stage 3 Plan learning experiences and instruction

Stage 1: What is worth teaching? Prioritize content Why study it? What couldn’t we do if we didn’t understand it? What understandings are desired? What essential questions will be considered? What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result?

Stage 2: What’s the evidence of successful learning? Think like an assessor Performance tasks, other evidence, self- assessment & reflection Emphasis on performance Application of knowledge in real life context Assessment tasks and other evidence anchor curricular units and guide instruction

Stage3: How can we select organize learning experiences? Engaging and effective Where & why Hook & hold Equip Rethink, reflect, & revise Evaluate Tailored Organized

Upcoming 2015 revised national curriculum in Korea (not published yet) Identification of key competency required to be an educated person in the 21 st century Creative & integrative person

Major features of upcoming 2015 revised national curriculum in Korea Excellence & Equity- high quality learning for “all” students Balanced learning in humanities, science, technology Emphasis on literacy(e.g. scientific literacy) Student choice based on ‘common experience’

Direction for subject curriculum development in the upcoming 2015 revised national curriculum in Korea Identification of subject-specific competency Organization around key concepts Development of achievement standards Emphasis on formative as well as summative assessment

Subject-specific competency General competency vs subject-specific competency Societal-referenced vs curriculum-referenced, & general ability vs specific ability An ability to successfully complete a task in a subject

Statement of achievement standards Reflect key concepts in each subject Demonstrate what students can do as a learning outcome Embodies subject-specific competency

Role of achievement standards Guides instruction that emphasize application of knowledge and use of processes Becomes a basis for assessment

Further tasks Changes in the role of teachers From quality control to quality management

Reference Kim, K. J., Kang, T. J., Kang, H. S., Ku, J. H., Kim, D. H., Kim, D. J., Park, C. E., So, K. H., Kang, H. S., Hwang, G. H.(2014). A research for 2015 revised national curriculum. Ministry of Education. Committee of National Curriculum Revision. Lee, K. W., Lee, K. H., Jeong, Y. G., Paik, N. J., Ohn, J.D. (2014). An exploration of subject curriculum development. Research report. KICE Ohn, J.D. (2014). Implications for standards-based curriculum in Korea through the comparative analysis of Korean and the US social studies curriculum documents. The journal of elementary education. 27(2) Paik, N. J. & Ohn, J.D.(2014). The meaning of standards and performance in a competency-based curriculum. The journal of curriculum studies. 32(4) Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design.(expanded 2ne ed.) ASCD