Conflicting Perspectives in Curriculum Organization.

Top- down and bottom- up.

Top-down approach. Definition: It is the breaking down of fundamental concepts, themes, and ideas, to understand their components gradually from the more general to the more specific.

Reminder: Top-down approach is employing the ‘deductive method’ to curriculum organization. According to Schwab(1962) “Top-down approach assumes that any discipline has both substantive and syntactical structure.

The differences between these structures: Substantive structures are formed by the basic concepts, while the syntactical structures are the techniques through which we derive conclusions logically and naturally. The most general serves as the basis for understanding more specific details.

The major claims of top-down approach:

How can we understand this approach? We need to develop away of describing its epistemological foundation, and its content structure about curriculum organization.

Advantages and disadvantages: Its good for skillful and fluent learners. Its logical and gradual. It matches harmoniously with the learning theories deal with human growth like baby. Its not suitable for weak learners. It doesn’t meet all individual differences. In grammar situation it might not work successfully. It deemphasizes decoding and perception that low level learners require.

Bottom-Up Approach It assumes that the possessions of prerequisite skills are the most important factor to foster learning. Its inductively applied which first provides students with rules and then examples. It examines how people learn, while top-down approach concerns on how knowledge is organized in disciplines.

The major claims of the Bottom-up approach:

How can you implement this approach in regard to listening/ reading ? Bottom-up strategies are text- centered. The listener relies on decoding the language of the text: sounds, words and grammar that create meaning. What do bottom-up strategies include? Listening to specific details. Recognizing cognition. = word order patterns. = between phonemes. = = allophones. In reading, bottom-up strategies are text- centered, where the theoretical rules are derived from behaviorism.

Advantages and disadvantages: It suits almost all individuals. It reinforces discovery learning mainly in grammar. Its inadequate because it underestimates the learners participation in the text. It freezes students thinking ability. Decoding system destroys the chance of comprehension. It fails to recognize the structure of knowledge.

The project approach. The sources of topics and students activities: The main idea of the project to transform the education into a real life through the actual practice and helping students to obtain information themselves rather than memorization. The sources of topics and students activities: Issues and problems in the social world which is surrounding the school. Experiential projects.

Merits and demerits: Help apply skills rather than acquire them. Address proficiency in children's learning rather than deficiency which leads to self- confidence. Stress intrinsic motivation more than extrinsic. Engage students in integrated real work tasks. Encourage students to determine what to work on rather than the teacher directs them. It fails to show students how knowledge is structured. It fails to provide students systematically with the prerequisites necessary for successful completion of tasks.

Definition: It refers to a set of teaching strategies that enable teachers to guide students through in- depth studies of real- world topics.

Dewey laid the epistemological foundation of the project approach to curriculum in two ways: In his elaboration of scientific (problem- solving) method within the context of pragmatic philosophy. With his evaluation of social knowledge “experience in which the widest groups share,” to a dominant position (Dewey,1916

The strengths and weaknesses of three approaches (Summary): Its failure to recognize the difference in ability, background knowledge, experiences, interests and aspiration between adult scholars and young students. The attempts to respect the structure of the disciplines and the students as neophyte of the community of scholars. Top-down

Continue Bottom-up Project Its blindness to the structure of knowledge. Its recognition that the young students learn differently than adult scholars in terms of prerequisite skills. Bottom-up Its failure to show students the structure of knowledge and provide them systematically with the prerequisite necessary for successful completion of tasks on their own. Its attempts to engage students in integrated real world tasks. Project

Which one is most suitable for the Palestinian context and why? No approach is considered perfect. The merits of one approach could be demerits of other approaches; therefore, we need to incorporate all of them into a successful curriculum organization.

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