Post date: Mar 31, 2014 10:02:41 AM
GROUP C
Q1. What principles best define curriculum evaluation in T VET?
Answer.
Principles for curriculum design. Curriculum evaluation in VET is designed on the basis of the following principles:
Challenge and enjoyment
Breadth
Progression
Depth
Personalization and choice
Coherence
Relevance.
The principles must be taken into account for all children and young people.They apply to the curriculum both at an organizational level and in the classroom and in any setting where children and young people are learners.
The principles will assist teachers and schools in their practice and as a basis for continuing review, evaluation and improvement. They apply to the curriculum at national, education authority, school and individual levels and must be taken into account for all children and young people Although all should apply at any one stage, the principles will have different emphases as a child or young person learns and develops.
Challenge and enjoyment-Children and young people should find their learning challenging, engaging and motivating. The curriculum should encourage high aspirations and ambitions for all.
At all stages, learners of all aptitudes and abilities should experience an appropriate level of challenge, to enable each individual to achieve his or her potential. They should be active in their learning and have opportunities to develop and demonstrate their creativity. There should be support to enable children and young people to sustain their effort.
Breadth -All children and young people should have opportunities for a broad, suitably weighted range of experiences. The curriculum should be organized so that they will learn and develop through a variety of contexts within both the classroom and other aspects of school life.
Progression -Children and young people should experience continuous progression in their learning from 3 to 18 within a single curriculum framework.
Each stage should build upon earlier knowledge and achievements. Children should be able to progress at a rate which meets their needs and aptitudes, and keep options open so that routes are not closed off too early.
Progression in the experiences and outcomes
Depth-There should be opportunities for children to develop their full capacity for different types of thinking and learning. As they progress, they should develop and apply increasing intellectual rigor, drawing different strands of learning together, and exploring and achieving more advanced levels of understanding.
Personalization and choice-The curriculum should respond to individual needs and support particular aptitudes and talents. It should give each child and young person increasing opportunities for exercising responsible personal choice as they move through their school career.
Once they have achieved suitable levels of attainment across a wide range of areas of learning, the choice should become as open as possible. There should be safeguards to ensure that choices are soundly based and lead to successful outcomes.
Coherence-Taken as a whole, children and young people's learning activities should combine to form a coherent experience. There should be clear links between the different aspects of children and young people's learning, including opportunities for extended activities which draw different strands of learning together.
Relevance-Children and young people should understand the purposes of their activities. They should see the value of what they are learning and its relevance to their lives, present and future.
Q2. What curriculum evaluation models are most effective for T VET?
Answer.
TVET curriculum is developed by aligning the development of science and technology and the increasing demands of graduate skills competencies required by the industrialized world. This condition requires that the organizer of educational improvement efforts in a comprehensive and sustainable curriculum based on evaluative studies of curriculum used. This is reinforced by the authority of the educational unit in planning, developing and using curriculum independently.
In this position, the organizers should have a curriculum development pattern in which one of them is a curriculum evaluation model developed in a systemic and systematic as well as having validity, reliability, feasibility, effectiveness and efficiency in its use. Thus the results of the assessment and evaluation can give proper consideration to the provider of technology and T VET in its efforts to repair and improve its curriculum.
Models.
Various curriculum evaluation model are developed by experts, the models are classified into two groups ,i.e. a groups of quantitative and qualitative.
In Selection of curriculum evaluation models for use in technology and vocational education, at least to two things are considered : (1) principles and characteristics of T VET, and (2) curriculum model that is used.
1. Stake Countenance Model. This model uses a more holistic approach and pragmatic, thus facilitating the implementation of technological and vocational education providers data collected and organized into three categories, e.i.: (1) Antecedents is existing condition before learning, (2) Transactions is interaction activities occur as part of learning process, and (3) Outcome is learning results obtained after learning process or implementation. The three categories is compared to the two different conditions, which are desired condition (intent)and conditions relating to the implementation of the curriculum in the field is observed in the scope of the goals, objectives, methods and results. Category antecedents, transactions and outcomes was correlated with a series of conformity assessment (contingency) vertically, while the comparison between the expected conditions (intent)and the observed associated with the assessment that is horizontal (congruence)
2. Problem-based model-Another curriculum integration model can be referred to as the problem-based model. Ideally, this model places technology education at the core of the curriculum. Since we live in a highly technological society and technology is a human endeavor, this is a natural way to design the curriculum. With a technological problem at the center, disciplines lend their support in helping to solve the problem. An example problem might be to determine how the waste produced in a community could be turned into an asset. In this instance, the social studies class can address the role of local government in collecting and disposing of waste; in science the emphasis could be on reducing materials to their basic elements and recombine them; and in mathematics one could study measurement, area, volume, and so forth. In technology education, the focus might be on the various technologies used to separate waste into categories as well as the transformation of waste into usable materials.
An advantage of this model of integration is that it offers high potential for the identification of relevant, highly motivating problems. On the other hand, a disadvantage of this model is the difficulty of assuring that state frameworks and/or national standards are fully addressed in a given grade level.
An example of the application of this model is the Technology, Science, and Mathematics (TSM) Project directed by LaPorte and Sanders (1996). The project resulted in 17 connection activities that encourage middle school students to learn the concepts of science and mathematics by motivating them with real world situations of interest to them. The activities use design-under-constraint and hands-on technology (in contrast to hands-on science) to motivate the learning of science and mathematics. The goals are to increase the ability of students to apply concepts of science and mathematics to real world situations; to strengthen communications among science, mathematics, and technology teachers; and to explore the role and effectiveness of technology-based activities.
3. Theme- based models- Advantages of this model are that teachers can still identify with a given discipline, it is easier to connect the curriculum with national standards and state frameworks, and students are able to make connections among objectives from various disciplines. There could be a tendency, however, for a given theme and/or key concept to have little relationship with a specific discipline, causing the tendency for teachers to engage students in shallow or irrelevant learning.
An example of the use of this model is the Integrated Mathematics, Science, and Technology (IMaST) Program. IMaST is a two-year integrated mathematics, science, and technology curriculum for the middle grades. The program is composed of 10 modules, which provide the full curriculum for each of these disciplines. The program is designed to be taught by a team of three teachers for approximately 120 minutes per day for the full year.
The IMaST program integrates mathematics, science, and technology into a coherent theme-based curriculum; promotes experiential based, hands-on learning set in a learning cycle; promotes teaming among teachers from three or more disciplines; provides an opportunity for students to apply the concepts and skills to new situations using problem solving strategies; utilizes authentic assessment; makes frequent use of student group work; fulfills benchmarks, national standards, and state frameworks in mathematics, science, and technology; connects to other disciplines, such as social studies and language arts; and responds to the latest research in teaching/learning as well as to systemic reform initiatives. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation with headquarters at Illinois State University.
After reviewing the aforementioned generic models of curriculum integration, one can readily see that researchers and practitioners must have a strong belief system in favor of the integrated curriculum if, in fact, they are to succeed in a sustained manner.
4. The Maker model-Maker (1982) devised a very practical model of curriculum differentiation. The model shows how content can be adjusted to accommodate the ability of gifted students to manipulate abstract ideas and deal with complexity. The process component of the model involves the methods that are used by teachers to present information, the questions asked of students and the mental and physical activities expected of them. The dimension of curriculum design is focused on higher-level thinking, creative problem-solving, decision-making, planning and forecasting.
Maker (1982) also emphasizes the importance of allowing students to create products that solve real-world problems. It is also important to provide gifted students with the opportunity to present work to a variety of audiences for constructive appraisal. Gifted students benefit from negotiating evaluation criteria and being involved in the process of evaluation itself. Ideas are consistent with the practices recommended in the document Quality teaching in public schools: Discussion paper (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2003).
Maker model provides a framework for developing optional material that can be
incorporated into a program for gifted students. Not all of the possible adjustments need to be adapted; only those that will lead to meaningful outcomes for gifted students should be incorporated.
5. CIPP Model.-The context-input-process-product (CIPP) model formulated by Stufflebeam and his associate, is indented to provide useful information for making decision in relation to planned change. The CIPP Model serves the following four types of decision respectively; planning decision, structuring decisions, implementing decisions and recycling decision ( Isaac and Michael, 1983)
6. Illuminative model-The illuminative model involves detailed study of the curriculum to determine how it operates, its difficulties, rationale, and achievements in terms of its particular effects on trainees as a basis for improving the training and educational products or process. According to Esternby and Smith (1998) illuminative model prefer to use questionnaires, progressive observation, in-depth interview, discussion with participants (trainees, trainer and administrators) and analysis of document to illuminate problems and salient programmed features.
Question3
What criteria should be used to develop a curriculum evaluation in T VET
Answer.
An effective curriculum evaluation model does the following;
1. Can be implemented without making in ordinate demands upon district resources.
2. Can be applied to all levels of curriculum (programmed of study, field of study, and course of study).
3. Makes provision for assessing all significant aspect of curriculum the written, the taught, the supported, the tested and the learned curricular.
4. Makes useful distinction between merit ( intrinsic value) and worth ( value for a given context).
5. Is responsive to the special concern of district stakeholders and is able to provide them with the data they need for decision making.
6. Is goal oriented, emphasizing objectives and outcomes.
7. Is sensitive to and makes appropriate provisions for assessing unintended effects.
8. Pays due attention to and makes provisions for assessing formative aspect of evaluation
9. Is sensitive and makes provision for assessing the special context for the curricular.
10. Is sensitive to and makes provision for assessing aesthetics or qualitative aspect of the curriculum.
11. Makes provision for assessing opportunity cost- the opportunity cost by those studying the curricular.
12. Uses both quantitative and qualitative methods for gathering and analyzing data.
13. Present findings in reports responsive to the special needs of several audiences.
Question4
How can learning experiences be organized for effective instruction in T VET.
Answer
1. Teachers' knowledge of the subject matter is essential to the implementation of important teaching tasks-Teachers who know their subject matter thoroughly can be more effective and efficient at organizing the subject matter, connecting the subject with the students' previous knowledge, finding useful analogies and examples, presenting current thinking on the subject, and establishing appropriate emphases.
2. Active involvement of the learner enhances learning-Learning is an active process which requires that the learner work with and apply new material to past knowledge and to everyday life. Some of the methods that encourage active learning in the classroom are: discussion, practice sessions, structured exercises, team projects, and research projects. In the words of William James:
Teaching without an accompanying experience is like filling a lamp with water. Something has been poured in, but the result is not illuminating.
3. Interaction between teachers and students is the most important factor in student motivation and involvement-Interaction between students and faculty, particularly informal interaction, is one of the most important factors in student motivation for learning. The opportunity to know a few faculty well often enhances students' intellectual commitment and provides valuable role modelling.
4. Students benefit from taking responsibility for their learning-Students are more motivated when they take control of their own learning. This is the belief which has stimulated active interest in self-directed learning.
5. There are many roads to learning-Students learn in different ways and vary in their abilities to perform certain tasks. Understanding that each student has unique strengths and weaknesses related to the ways in which they approach learning is an important component of effective education. Providing a variety of learning activities for a class enables individual students to choose the activity which is the most effective for them at the moment.
6. Expect more and you will achieve more-Simply stated, if an educator conveys to students that he or she believes in their ability to succeed learning is enhanced.
7. Learning is enhanced in an atmosphere of cooperation-Learning is enhanced when it is perceived as a collaborative and cooperative effort between students. The opportunity to share ideas without threat of ridicule and the freedom to respond to the ideas of others increases complexity of thinking and deepens understanding.
8. Material must be meaningful-If new material is presented in a pattern or framework that the learner can perceive, it is more readily learned and retained. New material will be more easily learned if the learner is helped to see its relationship to what s/he already knows. Material which is seen by the learner as relevant to his or her own problems and experiences will be more readily learned.
9. Both teaching and learning are enhanced by descriptive feedback-Without feedback neither learner nor teacher can improve because they will not know what they need to know or to what extent they are fulfilling their goals. The learners' behavior will more quickly reach the objectives if they are informed (or given feedback) frequently about the correctness of their responses. Correct responses should be immediately reinforced to increase the "permanence" of learning. A positive reinforce is anything that will increase the probability that the desired behavior will be repeated. A smile or comment to let the learner know he or she has successfully completed the task is especially good because awareness of successful completion is, in itself, the most effective of all reinforces.
Feedback about progress is helpful because learning is facilitated when the learner is aware that he or she is progressing towards the goals.
10. Critical feedback is only useful if the learner has alternatives to pursue-There is no use giving teachers or students feedback about their performances unless they can do something about it, that is, unless they have some alternative course of action or behavior.
11. Time plus energy equals learning-Lectures or seminars that are cancelled will not help the learner. Conversely, teachers who arrive at their lecture or small group setting a little before the scheduled time and stay around for a few minutes afterward provide opportunities for valuable interaction between students and teachers. Office hours also help students to arrange time to talk with teachers. Students must learn how to organize their time so that they can find time to study. And the curriculum must be organized to allow students time to study.
12. Experience usually improves teaching -Experience is associated with increasing teacher effectiveness for some teachers, probably for those teachers who obtain feedback about their teaching and who are flexible enough to modify their methods in response to the feedback.
QUESTION5
How can effectiveness of learning experiences be evaluated in T VET?
Answer.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Learning experiences.
The question of how to evaluate the effectiveness of learning experience is a problematic one. That is, how do we determine whether a change to a course has been successful in improving student learning? In most cases, it is left to judgment as to whether the change was effective or not. However such judgments are susceptible to cognitive biases, such as selective observation, the teacher may seek out evidence that confirms what they want to believe, while ignoring or downgrading contrary evidence (Neuman, 2000).
Clearly, there is a need for more systematic way of evaluating learning effectiveness. These may include;
The use of Performance Based Assessments of Learning.
Theoretically, the best way to evaluate learning effectiveness is to measure improvement on achievement tests (Cashin, 1995). This means measuring changes in performance on final examinations. There are two alternative ways of doing this:
•Between-years (longitudinal) comparison: comparison in achievement between one year.
•Within-year (two group) comparison: comparison between two randomly selected groups within the one year.
The first approach represents a quasi-experimental design. However it is difficult to make any sensible comparison between exam results from year to year, because of the number of potential confounding variables:
•There will be differences in student characteristics which may provide an alternative explanation for any differences (selection bias).
•It is usually not practicable to use the same exam from year to year, so differences in the exam itself may represent a possible confounding variable (instrumentation).
•The graders are likely to be (at least partly) different from year to year, differences in results may be therefore attributable to the leniency/harshness of the graders.
•In most undergraduate courses, there will be a tendency to normalize grades, which will tend to obscure any real differences in performance.
•There may be learning effects as a result of giving the same subject another time (or boredom effects of giving it too many times!).
The second approach is a true experimental design, and is the only way to show a causal link between the experiences and student learning. However there are a number of practical problems applying such a research design in a university context:
•There is likely to be problems of diffusion of treatments, as it is difficult to isolate groups from each other.
•There is likely to be problems of selection bias, as it is difficult to randomly assign students to groups.
•If groups are run at different times, in different locations or using different instructors, these all represent potential confounding variables.
•It raises issues of equity and fairness, as a result of the fact that students in one of the groups may receive an unfair advantage.
QUESTION6
How can a field of study be evaluated in T VET?
Answer.
The processes of evaluating a field of study include five important phases;
1.preparing for the evaluation
2. assessing the context.
3. Identify evaluation issues.
4. Developing the evaluation design and
5. Implementing the evaluation.
Preparing for evaluation
Three major steps are involve. They include;
1. Setting the project parameters.
2. Selecting project director and evaluation task forces and preparing evaluation document.
3. Preparing evaluation document.
In setting parameters, district administrators in consultation with the school board should determined both the purpose and the limits of the project. They should, first of all, be clear about the central purpose of the review, because purpose will affect both issues to be examine and methods to be used.
The parameter set the project director and evaluation task force should be selected.
Assessing the context
This stage enables the evaluator to identify both the selected aspect of the educational environment that impinge on the educational need of the learners.
Identify evaluation issues
Evaluation issues are identify to be sure that the evaluation is sensitive to the special concern of the stakeholders and will provide the information needed. Here, the distribution between the several aspect of the curriculum are essential: the written, the support, the taught, the total and the learned curriculum subsume quite different assessment issues.
Developing the evaluation design
With the evaluation ,issues identified, the project director and task force should cooperatively develop the evaluation design. One historic and yet useful framework for such a design was proposed by Worthen (1981). For each evaluative question (or evaluation issue to use the terminology employed here), identify the information required, the sources of information, and the methods for collecting that information. Thus, in an example used by Worthen, if the evaluation proposes to answer the question, “Do student attitudes demonstrate that the curriculum is producing the desired result?” the attitudes of students with regard to the value and concept taught constitute the information required. Students are the source of information, and the methods employed might include a comparative design using attitude scales and simulated situations requiring an attitudinal response.
Implementing the evaluation design
With the design developed, the evaluation team can move expeditiously to implement the design and report the results. Two matters should be stressed here. First the implementation process should be flexible. If new issues develop or if additional data sources become apparent, they should be built into a revised process. Second, the result should be reported in ways that will accommodate the special need of the several audiences. Thus, several reports might be envisioned: a summary written in plan language for the public, an action plan presented to the board and school administrators, and a detailed technical report for the broader educational community.
QUESTION7
How can effective teaching be identify in TVET
Answer.
Traditionally, policymakers have attempted to improve the quality of the teaching force by raising minimum credentials for entering teachers. Recent research, however, suggests that such paper qualifications have little predictive power in identifying effective teaching. We propose federal support to help states measure the effectiveness of individual teachers—based on their impact on student achievement, subjective evaluations by principals and peers, and parental evaluations. Effective teaching depends on the teacher and his teaching environment. For teaching to be effective therefore, the teacher must possessed the following qualities;
An effective teacher loves to teach. The single most important quality that every teacher should possess is a love and passion for teaching young people. Unfortunately, there are teachers who do not love what they do. This single factor can destroy a teacher’s effectiveness quicker than anything else.Teaching who do not enjoy their job cannot possibly be effective day in and day out. There are too many discouraging factors associated with teaching that is difficult enough on a teacher who absolutely loves what they do, much less on one who doesn’t have the drive, passion, or enthusiasm for it. On top of that, kids are smarter than what we give them credit for. They will spot a fake sooner than anyone and thus destroy any credibility that the teacher may have.
An effective teacher demonstrates a caring attitude. Even teachers who love their job can struggle in this area, not because they don’t care, but because they get caught up so much in the day to day routine of teaching that they can forget that their students have lives outside of school. Taking the time to get to know a student on a personal level takes a lot of time and dedication. There is also a line that no teacher wants to cross where their relationship becomes too personal. Elite teachers know how to balance this without crossing that line and once a student believes the teacher truly cares for them, then there is no limit to what that student can achieve.
An effective teacher can relate to his or her students. The best teachers work hard to figure out how to relate to each of their students. Common interest can be hard to find, but exceptional teachers will find a way to connect with their students even if they have to fake it. For instance, you may have a student who is a Lego fanatic. You can relate to that student if you do something as simple as ordering a Lego catalog and then going through it and discussing it with that student. Even if you have no actual interest in Lego’s, the student will think you do and thus naturally create a connection.
An effective teacher is willing to think outside the box. There is no one set cookie cutter way to teach. A cookie cutter approach would likely be boring for both teachers and students. What makes teaching so exciting is that kids learn differently, and we have to find and utilize different strategies and depreciated learning to reach every student. What works for one student, will not work for every student. Teachers have to be willing to be creative and adaptive in their lessons, thinking outside the box on a continual basis. If you try to teach every concept in the same manner, there will be students who miss out on key factors because they aren’t wired to learn that way.
An effective teacher is an excellent communicator. To be the best possible teacher you must be an effective communicator. However, in this area you are not just limited to being a skilled communicator to your students although that is a must. You must also be a strong communicator with parents of your students as well as your faculty staff team within in your building. If you have a difficulty communicating with any of these three groups, then you limit your overall effectiveness as a teacher.
An effective teacher is proactive rather than reactive. This can be one of most difficult aspects for a teacher to conquer. Intense planning and organization can ultimately make your job all the more less difficult. Teachers who plan ahead, looking for aspects that they might have issues with, and proactively looking for solutions to solve those problems will have less stress on them, than those teachers who wait until a problem arises and then tries to address it. Being proactive does not replace being adaptive. No matter how well you plan, there will be surprises. However, being proactive can cut down on these surprises tremendously, thus making you more effective overall.
An effective teacher strives to be better. A teacher who has grown complacent in what they do is the most ineffective kind of teacher. Any teacher who is not looking for new and better teaching strategies isn’t being an effective teacher. No matter how long you have taught, you should always want to grow as a teacher. Every year there is new research, new technology, and new educational tools that could make you a better teacher. Seek out professional development opportunities and try to apply something new to your class every year.
An effective teacher uses a variety of media in their lessons. Like it or not we are in the 21st century, and this generation of students was born in the digital age. These students have been bombarded by technological advances unlike any other generation. They have embraced it, and if we as teachers do not, then we are falling behind. This is not to say that we should eliminate textbooks and worksheets completely, but effective teachers are not afraid to implement other forms of media within their lessons.
An effective teacher challenges their students. The most effective teachers, are often the ones that many students think are the most difficult. This is because they challenge their students and push them harder than the average teacher does. These are the teachers who are often students’ least favorite teachers at the time, but then later on in life they are the ones that we all remember and want to thank, because of how well they prepared us for life after our time with them. Being an effective teacher does not mean you are easy. It means that you challenge every one of your students and maximize your time with them so that they learn more than they ever thought they could learn.
An effective teacher understands the content that they teach and knows how to explain that content in a manner that their students understand. There are teachers who do not know the content well enough to effectively teach it. There are teachers who are truly experts on the content, but struggle to effectively explain it to their students. The highly effective teacher both understands the content and explains it on level. This can be a difficult skill to accomplish, but the teachers who can, maximize their effectiveness as a teacher.