Creative Teaching

An Approach to the Achievement of Educational Objectives

S. Howard Nicholls, Audrey Nicholls

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780815368939
• eBook ISBN: 9781351253222
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

In their highly successful practical guide, Developing a Curriculum, Howard and Audrey Nicholls provided a basic guide to curriculum planning for both practising and prospective teachers. In this second volume, originally published in 1975, some of the ideas outlined there at an elementary level are developed, with the aim of encouraging and guiding the development of 'custom built' curricula.

Grasping the fundamental ideas and concepts of curriculum development is one problem for teachers, translating them into practice is another, and this book will go a long way to solving both problems. The development of justifiable and purposeful curricula for the particular pupils he is teaching is a primary task for any teacher, as is the modification of these curricula as circumstances and ideas change and the teacher forms his assessment of pupils' needs and progress. The theoretical background to be taken into account when arriving at general curricular decisions is considered throughout, and groups, aids, organisation, records and assessment are all treated as essential items for the curriculum planner. Nor is the final problem, which the theorists often neglect, forgotten, namely that of implementing modifications or innovations once the curriculum has been created.

Chapter 1
The Nature of the Problem

Education, like the society of which it is such a vital and integral part, has undergone many changes in recent years and, indeed, is continuing to change. Teachers and, more particularly, head teachers in this country still exercise considerable influence and control over education and since teachers differ considerably in their atttitudes to change, the extent to which changes have taken place and the nature of these changes vary throughout the country. Teacher control and influence over curriculum matters affect not only the rate at which any changes might take place but also largely determine the nature of the curriculum and result in tremendous variations in different schools. Teachers are not the only influence on educational change: national and local authority decisions frequently have considerable effect in bringing it about. Although decisions of this kind are often reached after consultations with teachers or with teacher participation, they affect teachers as a whole, many of whom are not directly involved in the decision-making. Other influences on change such as teachers' centres, local advisers, HMIs, in-service courses, national figures and educational literature, usually have their effect more directly on individual teachers.

To an observer of our educational system the picture of change probably appears to be confused and yet it is possible to indentify some general trends which have emerged or are emerging. A major trend is that of greater concern with and interest in education. Parents, employers, the press and the general public as well as the students themselves now tend to take a lively and often well-informed interest in education. They also show a serious concern with its quality, its form and its purposes. The practical aspects of this greater interest show themselves in the increasing numbers of pupils who continue their education beyond the statutory leaving age and the increasing numbers receiving further education and studying for qualifications of all kinds. Less obvious, and far more difficult to assess, is the influence of students, parents, employers and the press on what is included in the curriculum. Increasingly students state their views on what and how they should be taught and sometimes use more active ways of showing their dissatisfaction. Pressure groups of parents are heard more frequently expressing their views on education. Critical and constructive articles on education appear increasingly in the press. While some of the comments and observations from these various sources might be ill-informed, others show considerable insight into educational matters. The extent to which these influences are actually reflected in curricula is hard to assess, but there can be little doubt that they reflect widespread interest.

Along with this greater interest in education is a concern that there should be equality of educational opportunity for all. Translated into practical terms, this concern has led, among other things, to a widespread abolition of selection of pupils at the end of the primary stage and to a considerable reorganisation of secondary education along comprehensive lines. With the realisation that in many comprehensive schools the selection that had not taken place at the primary stage was being carried out at the secondary stage, a slight but clearly discernible trend is now emerging, namely a call for the abolition of streaming within comprehensive schools. To stream or not to stream has long been an issue, both in primary and secondary schools, but within comprehensive systems it raises further considerations.

Concern for equality of educational opportunity has also led to positive discrimination being made in an attempt to compensate for social deprivation. Several major researches had suggested the existence of a relationship between educational attainment and social and cultural background, but it was the Plowden Report that advocated forms of positive discrimination in favour of primary schools in which there are many socially deprived pupils.

In some quarters a trend has emerged of genuine and positive attempts to include in the education process more than just the acquisition of a body of knowledge which is to be remembered and regurgitated in examinations. These attempts manifest themselves in a variety of ways. In some instances there is a concern for the development of a wide range of intellectual abilities such as the ability to detect fallacies in arguments, the ability to relate cause and effect, the ability to present a logical argument, the ability to separate the relevant from the irrelevant. In addition, there is a positive concern for the inclusion of social and emotional objectives. Objectives such as these have been stated by teachers for a long time but on the whole it has been largely a question of merely paying lip-service to them. In the case of the development of intellectual skills, it was frequently assumed that these are an automatic by-product of learning academic subjects, while in the case of emotional and social objectives the assumption was that these were achieved automatically through the house-system, out-of-school activities and the general 'ethos' of the school, or simply by exhortation. The current trend is for positive attempts to be made to include learning opportunities for the achievement of these objectives in the curriculum (which includes 'out-of-school activities'), rather than simply leave them to chance.

There is also an increased concern for each individual child. The concern is very real, both at the primary and secondary levels, and a great deal is said and written about inter- and intra-pupil differences. To provide for individuals in the curriculum is very difficult and makes great demands on teachers. At the practical level, moves have been made towards individualising learning, perhaps more so at the primary than at the secondary level, but we still have a long way to go in this direction.

The above general trends are reflected in the curriculum: in what is taught and learned, in approaches to learning, in forms of school and pupil organisation, in pupil-teacher relationships and in methods of examining and forms of assessment, A wider range of subjects is now taught. In both primary and secondary schools teachers are experimenting with a variety of approaches to learning instead of relying on a particular and favoured approach, and are using a wider range of ancillary aids. In many schools pupils might be seen working by themselves on occasions, at other times working in groups of varying sizes and sometimes as a whole class. Links have been established with the community, two-way links so that pupils go out into the community and use its various resources in a variety of ways, and parents and other visitors come into the school for a variety of purposes. It is not unknown for parents to be seen working with their own children when attempts are being made to link more closely the home and the school.

Such a brief sketch of some of the present trends in education as they appear to the writers can do no more than to indicate the range and variety of changes and developments and illustrate the point that current educational change is complex and widespread and has many forms. In a situation in which education is seeking to further a wider variety of objectives in a multiplicity of ways and in which education is open to a wider range of social influence and in which change is proceeding at a greatly increased speed, teachers are faced with more complex and fluid conditions than those which existed only twenty or thirty years ago. It is not surprising, therefore, to find in such circumstances that some curriculum changes appear to have been made in a haphazard and piecemeal fashion and without any rational basis. The basic idea which runs through this book is that educational change is more likely to be effective and justifiable when it is carefully planned with clear and reasonable purposes in mind and when the curricula thus devised reflect what is practically possible and not just theoretically desirable.

There are a number of ways of planning the whole or part of a curriculum, each way having its own strengths and weaknesses, as well as its own advocates. One procedure, described by the writers elsewhere¹ and outlined briefly by the Schools Council² is sometimes described as an 'objectives approach'. (A similar approach is also advocated by many other writers such as Saylor and Alexander (1966), Taba (1971), Tyler (1969) and Wheeler (1967).³)

This procedure is rational and logical and requires a rigorous application of knowledge from the major educational disciplines. In essence the procedure favoured by the writers calls for the detailed analysis of one's actual teaching situation, the selection of objectives, the selection and organisation of content and methods thought likely to achieve the objectives, and the assessment of the extent to which the objectives have been achieved, followed by feedback of knowledge and experience to improve or modify the curriculum—so that the procedure becomes cyclical in nature. Stated simply and somewhat starkly in this way, this approach to curriculum development appears to be acceptable to teachers. However, further analysis and more detailed discussion of the process frequently reveal opposition from some teachers, so that although the approach has some following in this country it has not yet been adopted on a widespread scale by practising teachers. Some of the possible reasons for this state of affairs will be examined in the next chapter.

One of the major purposes of this book is to make a close and detailed examination of certain aspects of the approach to curriculum planning that has just been briefly outlined. In particular this will be concerned with the many and varied considerations to be taken into account in the creation of learning opportunities to achieve stated objectives. It is hoped to show how objectives can be used to give greater clarity and objectivity to curriculum planning without imposing undue restrictions on teacher initiative and freedom. Other aspects of curriculum planning to be studied include assessment and evaluation, record keeping and the implementation of new approaches.

Several general points about an 'objectives approach' to curriculum planning might usefully close this introductory chapter. Such an approach lends itself well to, and indeed is probably most effectively operated by, co-operative effort by groups of teachers. When teachers come together to undertake curriculum planning using this framework, certain advantages may accrue, over and above the new curriculum itself.⁴ It is quite likely that many ideas which were vague and unclear will become clearer. Vagueness in thinking and the consequent loose use of words causes much confusion and many difficulties in education. A rigorous approach to curriculum development, based on a logical framework, can do much to overcome this and can lead to clearer thinking and more precise use of educational terms.

Moreover, by going back to fundamental principles and by asking (and answering) searching and difficult questions about what they are trying to achieve, teachers frequently find themselves involved in real rather than superficial curriculum change. If thinking and discussion of this nature take place during curriculum planning not only is the curriculum more likely to prove effective, but the planning activities can provide a most valuable form of in-service education, which is at the same time of both an intellectual and practical kind.

However, it should not be thought that such advantages are automatic by-products of this approach to curriculum planning; they can only occur under certain circumstances. A most important factor is the quality of leadership available, whether this is embodied in a formal leader or distributed more informally among group members. The leadership should be knowledgeable and skilful in a variety of matters including the particular approach to curriculum development being used, the relevant disciplines of education, group dynamics, organisation and administration, resource materials and assessment techniques, and also should have personal qualities which will enable group members to accept the leadership offered. In addition, the leadership should be aware of the potential benefits of using this approach and have the skill to enable group members to derive these benefits.

Time is a vital factor in curriculum planning. If it is to be carried out properly and if the kind of advantages mentioned above are hoped for, then adequate time has to be made available. This is not to suggest that there should be no time-limit or that dead-lines should not be set. Indeed, these are important as a means of keeping work moving, but they should be realistic and should allow time for full discussion and thought, especially if attitudes are to be changed. The time factor can be a very real practical problem if all or part of a school staff are working together. Too often curriculum planning has to be carried out in hurried sessions during lunch times or after school. This might be one reason why comparatively little real curriculum innovation has its origin in the school. Teachers frequently take innovations originating outside the school and adapt these, just as they adapt or modify existing school courses and practice. These activities are less demanding in terms of time but not necessarily so in terms of knowledge and expertise.

There are other factors which are important to any approach to curriculum development: money, material resources, administrative support, adequate manpower, to mention but a few. It is suggested, however, important as these are, that skilled leadership and adequate time are absolutely fundamental to the approach described here.

Notes

1 A. arid H. Nicholls, Developing a Curriculum (Allen & Unwin, 1972).

2 Schools Council Working Paper No. 10, Curriculum Development: Teachers' Groups and Centres (HMSO, 1967).

3 J. G. Saylor and W. M. Alexander, Curriculum Planning for Modem Schools (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1966); H. Taba, Curriculum Development: Theory and Practice (Harcourt, Brace & World, 1971); R. W. Tyler, Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction (University of Chicago Press, 1969); D. K. Wheeler, Curriculum Process (University of London Press, 1967).

4 See also Nicholls, op. cit., and Taba, op. cit.

Chapter 2
An Approach through Objectives

The approach to curriculum planning outlined briefly in the previous chapter is not widely practised by teachers in this country, partly because of lack of familiarity and partly because of lack of sympathy with it. Increasingly, however, newly-qualified teachers are entering the profession having studied this and other approaches to curriculum development, while in-service courses are making good the lack of familiarity on the part of serving teachers. The problem of unfamiliarity, therefore, is likely to decrease but the problem of lack of sympathy with or, in some cases, downright opposition to the structured approach of the ends-means model remains a serious and fundamental one.

Most of the arguments raised against this model are centred on the specification of objectives. The arguments tend to fall into two main categories: those which reject the whole idea of specifying objectives in advance of teaching-learning activities and those which criticise the stating of objectives in behavioural terms. Proponents of the former type of argument are likely to believe that a teacher cannot possibly know the whole range of responses which pupils might make in a learning situation and that to state objectives and to work towards these is restricting pupils' growth. There are several implications which may be inherent in this belief. One is that it is the pupils who decide what they will learn and that the teacher's responsibility is simply to present the stimulus or learning material. This is a perfectly tenable viewpoint but one wonders whether all teachers who take up this position actually permit in the classroom the variety of individual responses they talk about and whether they encourage pupil participation in planning what is to be learned. If they do not, and instead guide or direct their pupils along certain lines of their (the teacher's) choosing and/or reward particular behaviours then, whether they recognise it or not, they are working towards certain predetermined objectives. In selecting what to teach and how to teach it in the first place, they are pursuing certain objectives, albeit unstated ones, as they also do when they select certain pupil responses...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Original Title
• Original Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• 1. The Nature of the Problem page
• 2. An Approach through Objectives
• 3. Social Factors
• 4. Some Psychological Considerations
• 5. Decision-making
• 6. Groups and Grouping
• 7. Aids to Learning
• 8. Organisation for Learning
• 9. Records, Evaluation and Judgement of Teaching
• 10. Implementing Innovations
• 11. Conclusion
• 12. Appendixes: A. Some 'Difficult' Objectives
• Index