1. Planning Goals and Learning Outcomes Professor: Mavis 9610005M Eric Tien

2. Key Assumptions About Goals ► People are usually motivated to pursue certain goals. ► The goals in teaching improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning. ► A program will be effective that its goals are sound and clearly described.

3. The debate of curriculum goals ► Is there any value in teaching students a foreign language at school if they have no practical need for it? ► Should a language program for immigrants just teach practical life skills or should it seek to prepare immigrants to confront racial and other forms pf prejudice? ► So on.

4. Five curriculum ideologies: Eisner, 1992 ► 1. academic rationalism ► 2. social and economic efficiency ► 3. learner-centeredness ► 4. social reconstructionism ► 5. cultural pluralism

5. Academic rationalism ► It stresses the intrinsic value of the subject matter and its role in developing the learner ’ s intellect, humanistic values, and rationality. ► It is sometimes used to justify certain foreign language in school curricula where they are taught as social studies. ► It is also sometimes used for literature or American or British culture.

6. The academic rationalism of United Kingdom: Clark, 1987 ► The maintenance and transmission through education of the wisdom and culture of previous generations. ► The development for the elite of generalizable intellectual capacities and critical faculties. ► The maintenance of stands through an inspectorate and external examination boards controlled by the universities.

7. Social and economic efficiency ► It emphasizes the practical needs of learners and society and the role of an educational program in producing learners who are economically productive.

8. Social and economic efficiency ► Critics: such a view is reductionist and presupposes that learners ’ needs can be identified with a predetermined set of skills and objectives.

9. Learner-centeredness ► It stresses the individual needs of learners, the role of individual experience, and the need to develop awareness, self-reflection, critical thinking, learner strategies, and other qualities and skills.

10. Learner-centeredness: Marsh, 1986 ► Individualized teaching ► Learning through practical operation or doing ► Laissez faire- no organized curricula ► Creative self-expression by students ► Practically oriented activities- needs of society ► Not teaching-directed learning

11. Social reconstructionism ► It stresses the roles of schools and learners can should play in addressing social injustices and inequality. ► Curriculum development is not a neutral process.

12. Social reconstructionism: Critics ► Freire, 1972: teachers and learners are a joint process of exploring and constructing knowledge. ► In addition, students are not the objects of knowledge. ► Therefore, they must find ways of recognizing and resisting.

13. Cultural pluralism ► It emphasizes school should prepare students to participate in several different cultures, not just the dominant one which means none culture group is superior to others.

14. Cultural pluralism ► ACTFL has recently identified three dimensions to intercultural competence in foreign language program: ► 1. the need to learn about cultures. ► 2. to compare them ► 3. to engage in intercultural exploration

15. Stating curriculum outcomes: Aims ► It refers to a statement of a general change which a program seeks to bring about in learners. ► It is the ideology of the curriculum and show how the curriculum will seek to realize it.

16. Aims: purposes ► 1. clear definition of the purpose of a program ► 2. guidelines for teachers, learners, and materials writers ► 3. a focus for instruction ► 4. describe important and realizable changes in learning

17. The aims of teaching English at the primary level in Singapore ► Our pupils learn English in order to: ► 1. communicate effectively ► 2. acquire good reading habit to understand, enjoy ► 3. so on …

18. Aim statement: EX ► A business English course ► 1. to develop basic communication skills for use in business context ► 2. to learn how to participate in casual conversation …… so on..

19. Aim statement: non-English- background students ► Studying in English-medium universities ► 1. understanding lectures ► 2. participating in seminars ► 3. taking notes during lectures ► 4. reading at adequate speed ► 5. presenting ideas and information in written assignments

20. Aim statement ► Bad one: ► 1. Students will learn about business-letter writing in English. ► 2. Students will study listening skills. ► So on …..

21. Aim statement ► Better one ► 1. Students will learn how to write effective business letter for use in the hotel and tourism industries. ► 2. Students will learn how to listen effectively in conversional interactions and how to develop better listening strategies. ► 3. so on ……

22. Objectives ► It is a statement which have more specific purposes. ► It refers to a statement of specific changes, a program seeks to bring about and results from an analysis of the aim.

23. The characteristics of the objectives ► Describe what the aims seek to achieve in terms of smaller units of learning. ► Provide a basis for the organization of teaching activities. ► Describe learning in term of observable behavior and performance.

24. The advantage of describing objectives ► 1. they facilitate planning. ► 2. they provide measurable outcomes and accountability. ► 3. they are prescriptive.

25. The characteristics of the statement of the objectives ► 1. Objectives describe a learning outcome. (will have, will learn how to …..) ► 2. Objectives should be consistent with the curriculum aims. (be related) ► 3. Objectives should be precise. (learn something for …..) ► 4. Objectives should be feasible (work).

26. Example of aims and objectives ► A short English course of traveling and tourism ► Aim: to prepare students to communicate in English at a basic level for purposes of travel and tourism. ► Objectives: 1. the students will have a reading vocabulary of 300 common words …… so on.

27. Example of aims and objectives ► For first-year university students in Thai. (Frankel, 1983) ► Aim: to read authentic, nonspecialist, nonfiction text in English …….. ► 1. to use linguistic information in the textas clues to meaning, including: a …… b ….c ….

28. Example of aims and objectives ► Listening comprehension course in Singapore Primary Syllabus: ► At the end of the course, pupils should be able to demonstrate listening competence in the following ways: 1 ….2 ….3 ….4 ….

29. Objectives ► Objectives cannot be regarded as fixed. As instruction proceeds, we have to revise some, drop some, or add some for addressing gaps.

30. Criticisms of the use of objectives ► 1. Objectives turn teaching into a technology. (meaningful and worthwhile may be lost) ► Comment: this is more applicable for the behavioral objectives. (appendix 1.)

31. Criticisms of the use of objectives ► 2. Objectives trivialize teaching and are product-oriented. (every purpose in teaching can be described as an objective) ► Comment: objectives need not be limited to be observable outcomes.

32. Criticisms of the use of objectives ► 3. Objectives are unsuited to many aspects of language use. (ex: critical thinking) ► Comment: objectives can be written in domains, such as critical thinking.

33. Competency-based program outcomes ► Competency-Based Language Teaching (CBLT) ► It seeks to make a focus on the outcomes of learning.

34. The nature of competencies ► They refer to observable behaviors that are necessary for the successful completion of real-world activities. ► These activities may be related to the field of work and social survival in a new environment.

35. The process for refugee program to develop language skills: Mrowicki, 1986 ► Reviewing existing curricula, resource materials, and textbooks. ► Needs analysis ► Identifying topic for a survival curriculum. ► So on ……

36. Examples of competencies: Mrowicki, 1986 ► Topic: housing ► 1. identify common household furniture/rooms. ► 2. answer simple questions about basic housing needs. ► 3. so on ………….

37. The Australian program competencies ► Divide competencies into smaller components. ► Specify the minimal performance in order to achieve a competency. ► Set limits for the performance of the competency. ► Sample texts and assignment tasks with examples that relate to the competency.

38. Criticisms of the use of the competencies ► 1. Definition of the competencies: no valid procedures are available for competency specifications. ► 2. Hidden values underlying competency specifications: for example: ► A refugee resettlement training program in Philippines: it encourages refugees to consider themselves fortunate to find minimum-wage employment.

39. Nonlanguage outcomes and process objectives ► Eight broad categories of nonlanguage outcomes in teaching: ► 1. Social, psychological, and emotional support in the new living environment ► 2. Confidence ► 3. Motivation ► 4. Cultural understanding ► 5. So on ……..

40. Nonlanguage outcomes and process objectives ► The on-arrival program for immigrants: ► 1. to assist students to identify major local providers of services. ► 2. to assist students to identify the main functions of the services. ► 3. so on …………..

41. Process objectives: Example ► 1. to initiate and develop in youngsters a process of question posing. ► 2. to teach a research methodology where children can look for information. ► 3. to help youngsters develop the ability to use a variety of firsthand information. ► 4. so on …………

42. Learning strategy theory ► Effective learning: ► 1. develop a skill which can be applied to different learning. ► 2. select appropriate strategies for different tasks. ► 3. monitoring strategies: change if don ’ t work.

43. Learning strategies ► Effective organization and time management: (Jackson, 1993) ► 1. make students understand the concept of time of studying. ► 2. help them to make the good use of time at home and learning center of studying. ► 3. help them prioritize the study, activities, and others. ► 4. help them create a timetable for studying.

44. The categories of process objectives at primary level in Singapore ► Thinking skills: at the end of the course, pupils should be able to ………… ► Learning how to learn: ► Language and culture:

45. The philosophy of cultural pluralism ► For example: ► 1. students can show their understanding of culture via comparison of culture studies and their own. ► 2. students get information and recognize the different viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its culture.

46. Thank you