Essay Sample on Creating Quality Education: Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment & Professional Development

Introduction

The key elements of the education system are curriculum, instruction, assessment and also professional development. Thus, learning should be in line with the context of advanced study and the curriculum most specifically needs to align with the advanced study. Creating a climate of possibility for students is by fostering learning with understanding. The design for the same should be around organized principles and the provision of genuine opportunities for quality instructions and multiple points in the subjects learned.

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A curriculum that creates a climate of possibility for students should be able to structure the concepts, factual content as well as procedures that comprise the knowledge base of the specific discipline (Steyn). Students should be able to explain concepts as they are presented in particular areas of study. They need to also organize their principles by documenting the big ideas in the domain. That way, the curriculum will be guiding their thinking by stating what their objectives should be at the end of the day.

The curriculum should also be able to link new knowledge to what students already know. This linkage is through presenting concepts in a more conceptually and logically sequenced manner (Steyn). It helps to build upon the previous learning across the grade levels. Students should thus have the ability to connect what is already known and the new concepts being learnt. This way, students are helped to reconstruct misconceptions and understand bits of information as it provides for the holistic performance of complex tasks in challenging environments.

Changing the curriculum to a new one will also need to include structured learning activities which could either be in rea or simulated fashion. These allow the students to experience situations of problem-solving and inquiry in a personalized way and also in real-world applications. An effective curriculum allows for incorporating necessary activities like socialization into the discourse and also the practices of academic disciplines such that the students can apply strategies according to the domains (Hinke,). A change in the curriculum should towards making it stronger in a way that it appreciates the features of the distinctive disciplines which are rather integrated to enhance learning.

The new curriculum should ensure integration of activities in and out of school. It will be possible by emphasizing the interdisciplinary connections and also integration which helps the students to make connections between learning in school with the issues, problems, and experiences that they encounter out there (Hinkel). The organization of the new system of learning should cater for the needs of the children in every setting as it helps to apply what they have learnt in other aspects of their lives and put into use their knowledge and skills to concrete real-world problems or situations.

The curriculum should also recognize the preference of students and their varying abilities to process different symbol systems. It should also be able to engage students in worthwhile tasks where they are able to access ideas and practices and attain more fundamental principles by developing understanding. The curriculum should also structure a learning environment where students can collaboratively gain experience in using ways to think like experts in the disciplines of learning. It should also create expectations and social norms in the classrooms to allow the students to experience success as well as develop confidence in their learning abilities.

Works Cited

Hinkel, Eli. Effective curriculum for teaching L2 writing: Principles and techniques. Routledge, 2015.

Steyn, Diane. "Enabling knowledge progression in vocational curricula: Design as a case study." Routledge, 2016.