Module 2: Philosophical Foundations of Education and Curriculum Design Planning

Over the past week, Ashley Pagan and I collaborated on the philosophical foundations of education & curriculum design planning module 2 assignment. We decided to use Popplet to create a visual representation of our learning from the course readings. At the beginning of the process, we decided to use a google doc to share our notes with each other. In the google doc we color-coded our notes so we could easily see each other's ideas. In order to engage in an ongoing two-way conversation, we used the comment function within the google doc. This allowed us to easily share ideas and move forward with creating the mind map. Through our notes and ongoing conversation, we were able to begin to highlight different ideas and see the relationship between conceptions of curriculum, philosophical foundations, and curricular designs. 

Here is our collaborative work demonstrated in a Popplet visual representation. In the mindmap, we were able to show the relationship between conceptions of curriculum, philosophical foundations, and curricular designs.

Through this process, it became clear that there is an interconnected relationship between conceptions of curriculum, philosophy, and curricular design. As a teacher, I am most familiar with the elements of curricular design including objectives, content, learning experiences, and assessment. Prior to engaging in this module I often considered how standards such as the Common Core State standards drive my classroom instruction and assessment practices. By engaging in these readings, I began to realize the importance of considering philosophy and curriculum conceptions when thinking about curricular design. Through this process, I realized that the lenses that each educator has when designing curriculum are rooted in the philosophical foundation and conceptions of curriculum. Allen and Ornstein (1990/1991) also highlighted that, “an individuals philosophy evolves and continues to evolve as long as there is personal growth, development, and learning from experience” (p. 103). I now realize that when designing curriculum is it necessary to dig deeper than simply understanding standards within a curriculum but to consider philosophical views and conceptions of the curriculum which influence the curricular design. By considering philosophies and conceptions of curriculum it allows the curriculum designer to have a much broader view of how and why a curriculum has been designed.

Another important idea that surfaced through this process is the importance of ensuring that curricular design is reflective of the school and community philosophy. Allen and Ornstein (1990/1991) state, “ Teaching, learning, and curricular are all interwoven in school practices and should reflect a schools and communities’ philosophy” (p.108).  The idea of examining curriculum to ensure there is alignment with the school's philosophy is something that connects with professional experience. I am currently working at an international school that is working to examine if our assessment and reporting practices are in alignment with the school philosophy. Beginning last year our secondary (grades 6-12) teams began meeting by the department to examine our assessment practices and how they align vertically from grades 6-12. We also reviewed and closely examined our assessment and reporting practices to discover if they were in alignment with the school philosophy. Specifically, our school's philosophy is rooted in value for students to, “design their future” through an emphasis on applied learning. In our ongoing process, we are examining if our assessment and reporting practices, in fact, support a philosophy which values students application of knowledge. This process is something that will continue into next year. The readings from this module made me more aware of the importance of practices like this in order to ensure that there is alignment between philosophy, curriculum conception, and curricular design. 

I greatly enjoyed collaborating with Ashley on this project. I appreciated that she was a clear communicator and engaged in ongoing conversation throughout the process. It was helpful to share ideas and get regular feedback throughout the week. Though our regular conversation we were easily able to create a visual that was representatives of the different concepts in our readings. I look forward to continuing our work in module three. 

Feedback on our work is greatly appreciated.