| 520 |
|
|
|b Foresight of educational leaders is vital so that a vision of the ideal is possible. Efforts need to be made to achieve the vision. It is an ongoing process. Much knowledge of the curriculum is necessary to attain and grow. Purposes need to be involved in moving from what is to what should be. The educational leader needs to provide support to those working positive changes in curriculum improvement. Staff development is needed in making these changes. Collaboration among participants is necessary to work toward a desired curriculum. Diverse theories of instruction that have stood the test of time may be used by teachers to guide pupils to achieve as much as possible. The theory used must harmonize with what assists the learner(s) to attain and achieve. Each theory provides the teacher guidance and direction in making educational decisions. Quality supervisors/principals are able to communicate well with others. Diverse forms of communication must be used to achieve purpose in the school setting. The goals and objectives of the school need communicating to parents and the lay public. Learning opportunities being emphasized in the school setting should harmonize with quality goals and objectives. Monitoring of learner progress in goal attainment is a must. There need to be high standards for pupil achievement with time on tasks involved. Incentives for learning and for teaching should be in the offing. Society changes rather continuously making it necessary for the school curriculum to change. Higher levels of cognition must be stressed in teaching-learning situations. Knowledgeable, skillful leaders should possess abilities to work effectively with others, especially teachers. These leaders must be proficient in curriculum development procedures. Child growth and development characteristics should be used in improving teaching and learning. Good interpersonal relations are needed to guide staff development efforts as well as involved parents in matters pertaining to curriculum improvement. There are principles of learning from educational psychology which teachers and educational leaders tend to agree with. These principles of learning provide guidance in choosing objectives of instruction, learning opportunities for pupils to achieve the objective, as well as appraisal procedures to ascertain what pupils have learned. Ediger (1994) lists these principles of learning as follows:
|b 1. Pupils need to attach meaning and understanding to ongoing lessons and units of study. 2. Pupils need to experience interest in learning. 3. Pupils need to perceive purpose in learning. 4. Pupils need to experience sequence in learning opportunities. 5. Pupils need to experience rational balance among objectives in the curriculum, such as knowledge, skills, and attitudinal goals. The long range goal of educational leaders is to assist teachers in guiding pupils to achieve more optimally. Supervisors/principals need to challenge teachers to provide the best curriculum possible for pupils in the school setting. Ward, et. al. (1996) wrote the following: As students continue to explore the observations and relationships found in the above activities, the teacher guides students to “construct” the concept that air expands when heated and contracts when cooled. The teacher then provides opportunities for pupils to apply that concept to new situations in which difference in air pressure are caused by the temperature changes. Providing a classroom environment that encourages collaborations among students is an important component of a constructivist classroom environment. When teachers use questions that probe, clarify, and explore the relationships between student’s prior experiences, students develop more accurate science concepts. Students within this classroom environment change from passive receptors to active learners responsible for their own construction of meaning. The challenge for teachers is how to help students effectively construct meaning. Teachers continued to be responsible for selecting which science concepts to study and how their students learn these concepts. Within a constructivist environment, however, these decisions are based to a much larger degree on the abilities of teachers to know what their students bring to the classroom. When teachers are attuned to students’ prior knowledge, they enable students to accommodate their previously held “understandings” by providing experiences that develop increased understanding of science concepts.
|
