Curriculum Comparisons

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Curriculum Comparisons

One of the foremost developers of modern curriculum was Ralph W. Tyler. Tyler had a passion to teach, and to do it well. In his early years in education, both as a student and as an educator, Tyler witnessed many deficiencies in the American Education system. This paper will discuss Tyler's understanding of the nature and structure of knowledge and the needs of the learner. It will also compare two approaches to curriculum development, product and process models. It will discuss their impact on curriculum development in relation to Tyler's interlocking system.

Nature and structure of knowledge and needs of the learner

Tyler's extensive travels and educational experiences, helped to influence his writings on the nature and structure of knowledge. For example, during his doctorate work at the University of Chicago, Tyler assumed the same position as his mentor Dr. Judd, that "students can learn how to generalize while acquiring facts" (Kral, 2008). Kral, in his article, goes on to point out that Tyler's research also brought him in contact with some of the newest and radical theories in education to date. From the works of Dewey, Counts, and others, Tyler too, believed that children learned best by doing (2008). Active learning, previously, had never been heard off, nor utilized in the scholastic arena. Tyler was quickly becoming an advocate of change in the area of teaching and education.

One such area was testing (Kral, 2008). Tyler believed that testing, at the present, only served to evaluate what pupils had memorized. Actual learning in the majority of American schools was failing to occur. Tyler felt that testing should be utilized to determine if understanding was taking place ...

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...lum Development, Advisory Role. Retrieved January 28, 2012, from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2517/Tyler-Ralph-W-1902-1994.html

Kral, E. (2008). Ralph Winfred Tyler: Curriculum, instruction, and evaluation reformer ranked among world's fifty modern thinkers on education. Retrieved January 28, 2012, from nsea.org: http://www.nsea.org/news/RWTylerProfile.htm

Mednick, F. (2006, March 13). Cirriculum Theories. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from ncx.org: http://cnx.org/content/m13293/latest/

Sheehan, J. (1986, January 17). Curriculum models: product versus process. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from Journal od Advance Nursing: http://www.hci.sg/admin/uwa/MEd7_8678/Curriculum_models- product_versus_process.pdf

Smith, M. (1996, 2000). curriculum theory and practice. Retrieved January 27, 2012, from infed.org: http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm

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