|
|
The
Curriculum Offer
7.1
The Northern College's curriculum consists of the courses or programmes
of learning that it organises and offers in its educational provision.
To talk of the College's curriculum as if it were a homogeneous entity
may be misleading; it is perhaps truer to say that there is no singular
curriculum but that the College has diverse curricular traditions.
In reality, these curricular traditions have included:
- adult
and continuing education
- trade
union education
- information
communications technology
- access
to higher education and higher education itself
7.2
Over the years a large number of influences have impacted on the College's
curricular traditions. The College's curriculum as a whole has, for
example, been influenced by the changes in government policy, the
numbers and kinds of students enrolling for courses or on programmes,
the variations in funding methodologies, and so on.
7.3
The College has, like other adult educational institutions, followed
a curriculum model that has been seen as valid for the education of
adults. This model contains the elements that occur in nearly every
teaching and learning process. It includes:
- a
statement of aims (or purpose) and of outcomes (or objectives)
- some
selection and organisation of content or subject matter
- certain
patterns of teaching and learning
- a
programme to assess outcomes
7.4
It may be useful to highlight some issues concerning each of the above
elements.
- We
need to examine the relationship between aims (or purpose) and
outcomes (or objectives) and more particularly whether the latter
reflect the former. Recently there has been an emphasis on behavioural
objectives or outcomes, but this, even though it may be appropriate
on a skills-based course, say in Information Technology (where
it is easier to identify what students 'can do'), may not be so
useful in cognitive-learning or knowledge-based courses, say those
in the Humanities and the Social Sciences. The assessment of analytical
and critical-thinking skills that the cognitive-learning courses
require (and that can, for example, be demonstrated through essay
writing) are of a very different order from the assessment of
competency that a skills-based course requires. Assessment for
the two types of course is therefore fundamentally different.
- We
also need to be aware of the criteria for the selection of content
or subject matter. Curriculum content may, for example, be influenced
by the tutors' personal or professional interests and their view
of the relevance and usefulness of given topics or areas of knowledge.
This has tended to be the basis of deciding the curriculum content
in the College's long courses. However, in the College's short
courses there has been more scope to negotiate the subject matter
between tutors and students. Tutors are able to identify the students'
learning needs prior to the course and to join with them in planning
and organising the content.
- What
the students learn, where their learning takes place and how their
learning is facilitated should all relate to, and be appropriate
for, their learning needs and their learning styles. What tutors
use as 'teaching methods' relates not just to the subject matter
but to either their individual or shared educational philosophy.
Where the methods allow the students to enhance their skills and
knowledge as well as their self-worth and humanity, the methods
can be seen as 'good practice'. The tutor's effectiveness thus
relates to the use of appropriate methods to achieve cognitive
and humanistic goals.
- The
aims (or purpose) and outcomes (or objectives) of a course form
the starting point for its evaluation. Evaluating the success
of students in achieving intended outcomes may, however, be of
limited value. Given that students may deviate from the selected
aims and even from the subject matter to go beyond the intended
outcomes, it is useful that both the tutor and students are involved
in the evaluation. Good practice in teaching and learning implies
that both tutor and students are involved in the formal process
of evaluation.
7.5
In its formative years the College placed much emphasis on student-centred
learning, and this emphasis has been reflected in the development
of the curriculum model to which the College subscribed. Below are
the most salient assumptions underlying this model.
- Adults
are self-directed in their learning.
- Their
experiences constitute a rich learning resource per se.
- They
become more motivated to learn if they know why they are learning.
- Their
own motivation for learning is paramount.
- They
study to enhance their skills, knowledge and understanding
- They
focus more on learning 'really useful knowledge'.
- Their
learning is directed towards the performance of valued social
roles or jobs.
- They
are life-centred and also life-long learners.
- They
learn more effectively as collaborators rather than as competitors.
- They
want to learn in order to contribute more effectively to community-based
initiatives.
- Adult
learning is constantly self-assessed.
- Adult
learning produces critical thinking.
In curricular terms this implies that course content should relate
to the experiences and needs of students themselves.
7.6
Course content can be decided on the basis of two broad sets of criteria:
- Criteria
concerning the selection of skills and knowledge that meet the
individual students' motivation and needs
- Criteria
concerning the selection of courses that have relevance for the
economy and society of the future
More specifically, a number of things can be done:
- Some
parts of the curriculum can be devoted to help students acquire
basic skills and knowledge so as to enhance their competence to
communicate with others and to access knowledge.
- Some
parts of the curriculum can be devoted to help students acquire
a general education, one or more 'specialisms' or 'concentrations',
and an understanding of the integration of theoretical and practical
knowledge.
- Some
parts of the curriculum can be devoted to help students acquire
'an education for citizenship'. The last implies that we accept
that an informed, engaged and critical citizenry constitutes,
in a democratic society, the most important agency for change
processes in this century
|
