Week 11

It is finally week 11.I cannot believe it and it turns out that only three students including myself attended class.In class,Mr Wan told us that we had to read the articles the course leader gave to us.That is the reason why she did not give us any slides because the examination with only consist of articles which I think is really smart of the course leader because I think assignments and problem solving questions are what prepares us for the world after university.Mr Wan also told us to make sure our assignments were all handed in by Thursday or else no marks will be given which I think is very fair because the deadline has been stated since the beginning of the semester.Since there was only three students Mr Wan let us off early.I told Mr Wan to give us extra marks because my other two friends and I never skipped a class before and we clearly deserved extra marks for participation but he told me that all participation marks will be taken from our forums.I guess this is fair since the course leader stricly mentioned that our participation is from our forums but I honestly think that the next time,marks should be given for attendance since a lot of my classmates often skip classes.It isn't fair for those who always attend classes like me.We finished our syllabus so that wasn't any teaching today.That is all from me for this reflection.Till next time.

It's finally Week 10

I can't believe it!We're finally in week 10!This week we actually learnt the final chapters but there is still class next week.This week we learnt about evaluating the curriculum which is very important to test whether the curriculum is worth pursuing.There are two reasons for evaluation:-
1.Evaluation for justification and accountability
-The need to render an account of the curriculum to agencies

2.Evaluation for improvement
-Designed to enhance or develop a particular aspect of curricular provision.As for me,I feel that no matter how great a curriculum is there is always room for improvement.Take Finland,as an example,they already have an amazing education system but they are constantly trying to improve themselves.According to a review I read online and many other websites,Hong Kong has the best education system.Bill Gates said this himself but I do not find this true but I will get to that later but my point is that although Hong Kong was listed as the best country for education,they constantly try to improve themselves which is something other countries should follow.They send their teachers for training programs and they make sure their teachers get feedback to improve themselves.I do not think Hong Kong has a good education system because I feel that they focus too much on test scores and maths and science.They do not make room for the arts.

Thankfully,there are many evaluation models we can follow to evaluate a curriculum.

The Saylor,Alexander and Lewis model-seek evaluation of these components:
-The goals
-Sub-goals
-Objectives
-The program of education a totality
-Specific segments of the education
-Instruction and evaluation program


There are two types of evaluation which are the product evaluation and process evaluation.
1.Product evaluation

Product evaluation is suppose to examine the impact of the program on the target audience,the quality and significance of outcomes and the extent to which the program is sustainable and transferable.This is really important because there are so many different types of audiences in the world.Not every nation is the same,that is why they have different types of education systems and curriculum to cater for their needs but at the same time curriculum implementers need to make sure that what they are implementing is of good quality for their students who are pursuing the curriculum to work anywhere in the world but the thing I find weird is that although English is the international language of this planet,why is it that so many countries do not make English a priority?I have been to Japan,China and Korea and we had a difficult time communicating with the people there because they do not study English.They do but much later in their curriculum.According to my tour guard,you are still able to survive in Japan if you do not know English.I also read an article on Facebook that many companies in China are interested in hiring Malaysians who can speak Mandarin and English since many of the people in China cannot speak English.Since English is so important I do understand why they do not make it a priority in their curriculum?This makes me really glad to be a Malaysian because I am able to speak English,Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia.

There are also advantages and disadvantages of product evaluation .

Advantages of product evaluation.
1.It is logical and rational-sure we want to make some assessment in the light of the intended curriculum purposes
2.It is straight forward to use
3.It is relatively economical
4.I can be applied at any level of the education system

Disadvantages of product evaluation
1.It uses easily measurable output-might neglect hard to measure outcomes such as students' moral,social or spiritual development.This is a point I really agree on.I really think that we Malaysians lack a lot when it comes to students' moral,social and spiritual development.Our moral education in Malaysia is a joke.Memorizing 36 moral definitions to me does not make you a better citizen in society.I have been to Japan before and I think their citizens practice high moral values.In Japan you hardly see any rubbish bins but the streets are still so clean.Way cleaner than any street in Malaysia.This is because Japanese people have been taught since a young age in school to always keep their country clean and to not litter.They were even taught to pick up rubbish on the street and throw them at their own homes.This is what I call good moral education.
2.It does not measure the range of multiple intelligence
Albert Eistein once said,if you judge a fish's ability by climbing a tree,it will believe its whole life that it is stupid.There are so many different kinds of people in this world with multiple intelligence.Maybe this video will help you understand.

There are people who are interpersonal learners.They are people smart.They understand the needs of people very well.For example,Nelson Mandela,Gandhi,Pope Francis and Mother Teresa.There are people who are body smart.For example,Lee Chong Wei,Pandelela Rinong,Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps.These people have their own kind of talents.Sadly in our asian country we mostly focus on the logical-mathematical smart and we consider people who are not logic smart as stupid or dumb.This really needs to change

3.Ignores unplanned outcome and fail to explore the value and worth of the prescribed objectives and purposes

4.Neglects students' motivation and level of satisfaction with their courses of study.This is what I find quite weird.Although they are trying to evaluate the curriculum,they rarely ask us students for feedback and we are the target audience.

Furthermore,we have process evaluation which focuses on the perspectives and interpretations of participants,qualitative data and acknowledges multiple realities.There are four general concepts that should be measured for a process evaluation 

-type of inputs

-activities

-outputs

-the integration of these components

Generally the suggested evaluation process contains nine steps :

1.Define the purpose and scope of the evaluation

2.Specify the Evaluation questions-what do you want to know?

3.Specify the Evaluation Design

4.Create the Data Collection Action Plan

5.Collect Data

6.Analyze Data

7.Document Findings

8.Disseminate Findings

9.Feedback to Program Improvement

There are many approaches to process evaluation such as :-

As for me,I think they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.It depends on the target audience you are evaluating the curriculum for.

Curriculum Issues were also touched on.

1.Academic area initiatives

a) Strengthening the academic programs

b) Diversification of programs

c) Personalising of the curriculum 

Malaysia has done some changes such as KBSR/KBSM being changed to KSSR/KSSM and the delivery language change from Bm to English and to Bm again.Let me tell you about my sentiments regarding our country's change.I do not think they are doing a great job.I mean I give them credit for trying to change but the country's education system is still so exam based which is not something we need right now.We want to teach students to be better people to contribute to society.Here is something I found on Facebook about the Japanese Education system

And I think this is something we should really follow because students these days are studying for the sake of test scores and not really improving themselves.

2.Alternative schooling arrangements 

a)Parental choice Eg,Homeschooling.To be honest I really wished I was homeschooled because I think I would have learnt more.This is the reason why so many people in the states want to homeschool their children because they find it more effective.This is because many teachers these days are not passionate about their jobs and they do not put in effort to teach their students.In my school,many teachers were like that.I depended on my tuition classes to learn things.Tuition teachers have to teach well and put in effort to their job because if they don't they won't get paid.That is why my tuition teachers were excellent.Sometimes I would skip school because I did not learn much at school and I find studying at home more effective.

b)School fees

c)Cluster schools

I think we should have cluster schools for quick students so that the students there can be taught at a faster space.

3.Billigual/bicultural education

I think Malaysia has done the right job by asking us to not only study Bahasa Malaysia but English as well because English is so important.I have been to Australia and I had no problem communicating with the people there because I have learnt English before as compared to some people living in Japan and Korea who have not learnt much English.I highly suggest parents sending their children to Chinese schools because you will be learning three languages and the more languages you know the easier it will be to find a job.

4.Cencorship

-Books

-Websites

Mr Wan told us that in countries like China they band websites like Youtube and Facebook because they feel that their citizens will misuse them somehow.

5.Religion in public education

I am quite thankful to be living in Malaysia where I can practice my own religion without interruption.I think that is the beauty of our country because we are free to practice our beliefs.I know that there are many conflicts right now in places like Israel or the middle east where christians are being persecuted for their faith.I feel thankful that we do not have religion conflicts in our country as compared to some schools in other countries.There some schools in the states that segregates their citizens.The black students will go to a school with low quality facilities whereas the white students will get the better education.This is very unfair and it has to change

6.Scheduling arrangements 

-Schools hours

I honestly think that our school hours are too long.A student's attention span is not long enough for our school hours.That is why I prefer studying in university where the hours are short so that I can fully concentrate.

-School year

I also think that we have too many days of schooling.I like the academic calendar of the schools in the states.They would have three months off per year and during those three month holidays,students would get to do amazing things like travel or do volunteering work or internships or even explore what they love and what their passion is

-Class and School size

The class size is Malaysia is way too big.There will be more than 40 students in the class and teachers would not be able to cater to every single one of them.Hence,many are left behind.

Week 9

It's week 9!In Week 9 we learnt about the curriculum implementation.The class started off with Mr Wan asking us the meaning stakeholders of the curriculum were.From the word stake,I assume that stakeholders are people who take risks on something.Hence,I told Mr Wan that stakeholders meant people who take chances and risks on something and I was right.We,students are considered stakeholders as well when we enter a university.We dedicate our time and energy hoping to get a good education.

Mr Wan then said that learners are the centre of the curriculum.This is because the very reason why a curriculum is developed is to influence students to become better people and be ready for the outside world.Right now,having a secondary education is not enough unless you have a mind like Bill Gates,Mark Zuckerberg or are extremely smart and talented in a certain field,it can be quite tough to find a job that would pay well for you to live a comfortable lifestyle but that doesn't mean people who do not have a degree cannot live a comfortable lifestyle.In fact,I came across an article on Facebook about a man who survived with only RM3 a day.Here's his story.

He is really an inspiration for those many people who did not get a tertiary education or even get a secondary education.I am very blessed to have a father who works extremely hard to put me through a university.My father wants me to have security.Hence,we gave me an opportunity to study in a university.

Moving on,Mr Wan also taught us that teachers are curriculum developers and implementers.They create content and implement their content which is very vital.He also mentioned about the curriculum managers and administrators.For example the PK1,PK2 and principal.They supervise,select and recruit,admit and procure.They are the ones who plan for the school's improvement.Before Mr Wan told us what the principal did,I always assumed that the principal would usually dump all the work to the PK1 and PK2 and all they do is just wonder around the school or what we Malaysians call 'makan agin' which means enjoying themselves but Mr Wan said they did more than that.They walk around the school to supervise the teachers and make sure that their teaching methods are effective.I told Mr Wan that I hardly see my principal in school but he told me that sometimes they have things to do outside of school.It changed my mind and how I saw principals.I guess they are really busy.I always thought that they were lazy.Other than that,parents are also supporters in the curriculum and are actually the best supporters.I told Mr Wan that during the PIBG meetings they have in school,almost none of the parents show up.Mr Wan said he wonders why none of them show up and that it is good for them to show up because teachers need feedback.Without feedback,teachers will not know what is needed of their children.Furthermore,Mr Wan also said that community members are community resources.They substitute for what is needed to implement the curriculum.For example,we need sponsors,public speakers and coaches for students.He also mentioned that organisations like SSPCA or the Sarawak Cancer Society are stakeholders for curriculum because the curriculum influences the minds of the students who are the future of our country to run organisations like SSPCA and Sarawak Cancer Society.If we do not educate our young minds on the importance of helping other people,they would never partake in such activities.This reminds me of when I first entered secondary school.When I was in Form 1,all the clubs in school were packed with members because my seniors placed high importance in co-curriculum but as the year past by,the curriculum started placing less importance on co-curriculum and more on public examinations.Hence,there was less participation in any clubs and societies in our school.

We also discussed about the role of technology in delivering the curriculum.There is media technology like Facebook,Twitter and Youtube.I think you can learn anything on Youtube.I can give you an example.I had  no idea to cook.My mother passed away when I was 16 and I had no idea how to cook.Hence,I learnt from a myriad of Youtube videos by chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver.I now am able to cook for myself.There are also learning technology available.

The question is why is technology selected to help us with the curriculum?Here are the answers:

1.It is practical.

Take a look at this video about teenagers reacting to encyclopaedias and you will get what I mean.

2.Objective-matching

3.Appropriateness in relation to the learner

4.Activity/Suitability

Basically anything can be learnt through technology.It is so suitable for the young minds who loves learning through videos and games.It helps them learn in a fun and interesting way.This reminds me of a video I saw on Youtube.Here it is and it will reinforce my sentiments on why technology is important to help students learn and succeed.

The roles of educational technology in delivering the school curriculum:

-Upgrading the quality of teaching and learning in schools(Sadly,even though the use of technology has been increasing in many schools and the country,I still do not think we use it enough to help our students.Especially those that are still in secondary school because teachers think it will be distracting for secondary school students.Sal Khan,founder of Khan Academy has a great idea of how technology can reinvent education.The video can be found down below)

-Increasing the capability of teacher to effectively inculcate learning and for students to gain matter of lessons and courses

-Broadening the delivery of education outside of school

-Revolutionizing the use of ethnology to boost educational paradigm that gives the importance to student-centred learning and holistic learning.

We also learnt about the pilot testing,monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the curriculum.Pilot testing or field try out is a process where you gather empirical data and it usually follows some form of research design.It has an experimental method and assures the teachers and the school that indeed the curriculum materials are ready to be used but to be brutally honest,I do not think the Malaysian Education System does this.I mean WHY IS OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM still so terrible?Students are still learning to memorise 36 moral values' definitions for SPM.This is not how we are suppose to plant kind and ethical minds.I think the Malaysian Education System should pilot test more or at least get opinions from education systems like Finland or America.

We also need to monitor the success of the curriculum.If we don't.We won't know where we went wrong or where we went right.It should happen from time to time like a formative evaluation.This helps to see whether the curriculum is relevant and working.I am not sure if the Ministry of Education is actually doing this in our country though because I don't see a ton of changes in the education system.There is also curriculum evaluation.It is the process of judging the value and effectives and adequacy of curriculum.There are two ways of evaluation:-

1.School-Based Evaluation

-An approach to curriculum evaluation which places the content,design and operation of evaluation procedure

-The school personnel participate in planning and conduct of school evaluation activities

(I guess this is what the principal who I thought does nothing,actually does.I guess my lesson from this is to not jump to conclusions so quickly)

-It is a participative  evaluation where the control and the process rest on the school personnel themselves

-A range of evaluation make take place in the school

(This is actually a great idea because the curriculum does take place in school.Hence,what other better way is there to evaluate the curriculum?)

Advantages of School-Based Evaluation?

1.Accountability is shared by all.Hence bias and conflict are minimised

2.The school personnel develop evaluation skills

3.The real concern of the school and community are addressed by the evaluation

4.Broad participation of school personnel provide opportunities for building school cohesiveness
5.Provide reliable and valid information on curriculum,resources and general school functioning.

2.Accreditation
-A voluntary process of submitting a curricular program to an external accrediting body for review in any level of education.
-Studies the statement of he educational intentions of the school

Reflection:I think this is a good idea because we need a big professional association to help us decided whether our education is worth pursuing.Just like my degree in Unitar,if it isn't accredited by the Malaysisan government,I won't bother studying there.

There are also areas professionals need to look into for accreditation.Firstly and I dare say most importantly,is the curriculum and program of studies.They need to evaluate whether what is being learnt is relevant and of a certain standard.Classroom management is also important to look into.How does a teacher manage his or her classes?Does he give arbitrary test scores to his students?Does he or she provide opportunities to develop independent lifelong learners?Instructional process or methodologies needs to be looked into as well.Professionals need to confirm whether the right principles and theories are used to enhance learning outcomes.Areas such as graduation requirements,administrative support for effective instruction and evaluation of academic performance have to be looked into as well.This is because a university cannot have requirements that are too low for students to graduate.It doesn't guarantee them the tools and skills they need to work in the real world.Low graduation requirements will only make the students suffer more when they leave.As for the academic performance of students,the learning outcomes of the students must be evaluated to determine whether the students have learnt something.It will serve as proof that the curriculum is worth pursuing.

References

5 Reasons You WILL Succeed. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 4 December 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQy4mm4YgN4

Let's use video to reinvent education | Salman Khan. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 4 December 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTFEUsudhfs&t=5s

MALAYSIAN STORIES: I Survived On RM3 A Day For 6 Months. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 4 December 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttMwRYqcM2o&t=1s

TEENS REACT TO ENCYCLOPEDIAS. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 4 December 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aJ3xaDMuM&t=145s