Course Description
The purpose of our class is to examine changes and developments in the way our public school elementary systems curriculums are designed. Our end goal will be to take a close at elementary school curriculums from a few different decades and to make hypotheses as to why certain aspects of elementary school education have changed (or have not changed).
Week 1:
In our first week of class, we will brush up on the foundations of childhood development. Before discussing elementary school education, it is important to be familiar with the prevailing theories of development, which educators use to understand the population of children they are teaching. It’s a lot of reading but is foundation for understanding the rest of the material in the course
1) Experiencing the Lifespan
Janet Belsky (2nd Edition)
Part III: Childhood
Chapters 5: Physical and Cognitive Development
- Motor development
- Physical growth
- Piaget’s preoperational and concrete operational states
- Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, language
Chapter 6: Socioemotional Development
- Developing sense of self
- Social skills
Week 2:
In week two, we will begin to take a look at the potential idea that elementary school children are given expectations that are beyond what is age-appropriate.
1) The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon
Dr. David Elkind, (2006 Edition)
Chapter 3: Dynamics of Hurrying: Schools
The Hurried Child is a landmark work on the topic of childhood development. In this chapter, Elkind argues that the “factory model” of education hurries children because it ignores individual differences in ability and learning style.
2) “Report Debunks ‘Earlier is Better’ Academic Instruction for Young Children”
Washington Post
Author Valerie Strauss reports on a paper written by Lilian G. Katz, professor emerita of early childhood education at the University of Illinois. This report collects a number of research studies that suggest that there is no evidence to supports that children must be pushed academically from the onset to optimize early brain development.
Week 3:
So far, we’ve been looking at childhood development and the education models are accommodating or perhaps unaccommodating to the stages of development. A crucial component in all of this is the parental influence.
1) Experiencing the Lifespan
Janet Belsky, (2nd Edition)
Part III: Childhood
Chapter 7: Settings for Development: Home and School
- Parenting styles
- Child abuse
2) The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon
Dr. David Elkind (2006 Edition)
Chapter 2: The Dynamics of Hurrying: Parents
In this chapter, Elkin discusses the parental pressure to have their children grow up quickly. He argues that this pressure reflects the parental need, not the child’s need or inclination.
3) How To Raise Successful Kids Without Over-Parenting
Julie Lythcott
https://www.ted.com/talks/julie_lythcott_haims_how_to_raise_successful_kids_without_over_parenting
Lythcott talks about what she called a “checklisted childhood,” one in which “every piece of homework, every quiz, every activity is a make-or-break moment for this future we have in mind for them.” She discusses applauding and encouraging academic achievement to foster development.
Week 4:
A large focus going forward will be on developments and changes in elementary school education that may have taken place over the last decades. We will ease off the readings this week and begin with a couple of videos that are good food for thought for the rest of the research in store.
1) “Let’s Teach For Mastery- Not Test Scores”
Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy
https://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_let_s_teach_for_mastery_not_test_scores/transcript?language=en
Sal Khan suggests a new and different model of education that steers away from the traditional academic model. Khan argues that grouping students together, and teaching them all together at the same pace creates gaps between the mastery levels of children in the same grade.
2) “The Best Kindergarten You’ve Ever Seen”
Takaharu Tezuka
I thought this would be a fun addition to our syllabus- a look at an innovative classroom design in a school in Tokyo.
Week 5:
The Struggle for the American Curriculum 1893-1958
Herbert M. Kliebard
2004, 3rd Edition, RoutledgeFalmer New York
Traces the progress of the American curriculum over the first half of the 20th century. Topics include:
- The rise of social efficiency as an educational ideal
- The era of the Great Depression
- The expansion of the school system in the midcentury
Childhood and Society, Erik H. Erikson, 1950, W.W. Norton & Company
Erikson is one of the archetypes of childhood development psychologists. His book “Childhood and Society” outlines sentiments on childhood of the midcentury. It is important to learn because elementary school education reflects the wide held notions and beliefs of the time. The chapters that are of focus are Part One: Childhood and the Modalities of Life. Further chapters look at later childhood development.
Week 6:
Open Education and the American School, Roland S. Barth, 1974, Shocken Books New York
A look into education in the 70’s. Topics include:
- The role of the teacher as a facilitator of learning, authority figure, and encourager
- Ideas on motivation, conditions for learning, and intellectual development
- How principals help teachers and the role of administration
Beyond Surface Curriculum, Anne M. Bussis, Edward A. Chittenden, Marianne Amarel, 1976, Westview Press Inc.
A study in educational research that carefully examines the understandings and assumptions teachers bring to instruction. The authors are all research psychologists who aim to map out different teacher perspectives on curriculum, children’s learning, and professional development.
Week 7:
The Whole Child: Early Education for the Eighties, Joanne Henrick, 1984, Times Mirror/ Mosby College Publishing
This textbook discussing education in the 1980’s covers a large range of material. Part One, “Beginning to Teach,” and Part Eight “What Lies Ahead” will be good starting chapters to focus on. The remaining chapters might also be of interest, as they look at creativity, developing language, fostering social development, and nourishing emotional health.
Week 8: Common Core State Standards: Backgrounds and Issues, Jayden Lang, 2014, Nova Science Publishers
This paper gives a good overlook into current elementary school education legislation. It discusses the increased emphasis on assessment in schools, the country-wide standardization of curriculums, and recent reforms in schools.
