2003 - Volume 26, Number 2
Editor, David L. Hough, Missouri State University
Meeting Standards without Sacrificing Quality Curriculum in the Middle School
Abstract
The purpose of this research was to examine how effective learning could be curriculum-driven while still addressing mandated content standards at the middle school level. Having recently participated in planning and implementing a team interdisciplinary unit, the researcher sought to address three questions: 1) How did students perceive their learning experiences after participating in such a unit, 2) Could a quality interdisciplinary unit be developed without initially being derived from content standards guidelines, and 3) Would participation in such an extended curricular unit affect student achievement? The primary positive aspects for the unit that were cited most often by students were making journals, watching videos, experiencing a "real" archeological dig, the field trip, and being a student teacher.
For classroom teachers, the issue of addressing content standards and benchmarks as a matter of instructional accountability has become a mandate. As the demand for high-stakes testing and the pressure for schools to raise student test scores increases, teachers are feeling the strain of being required to document meeting the standards criteria in their planning, instruction, and assessment. As a result, teachers might be getting the impression that the only alternative is to forego creativity and spontaneity in their work so that the record keeping can progress. In this climate, teaching and learning are in danger of becoming standards-driven, not curriculum-driven.
At the middle school level, for example, curriculum should be integrative and exploratory. Integrating curriculum can help early adolescents establish connections among various content areas, making learning more meaningful. Thinking and problem-solving skills are developed using this approach, and teachers often focus on a particular theme. To integrate concepts across the subject areas, classroom teachers attempt to create an environment where students feel secure as risk-takers in embracing new learning opportunities. Teachers may use a variety of assessment techniques in assessing early adolescents to accommodate a broad range of intellectual and developmental characteristics (National Middle School Association, 1995).
For the classroom teacher who shares this vision, a standards-driven approach that focuses on discreet sets of departmentalized content skills seems, quite simply, inappropriate. Admittedly, there is nothing inherently wrong with having standards for what students should be able to learn or know. The problem arises when teachers are made to feel that all learning experiences should be derived from them exclusively. Much profound and valuable information is learned by students in schools that does not appear anywhere on a list of content standards and benchmarks. Teachers who know their content and their students do not necessarily need to begin from the list; they can begin instead with ideas of what they believe would be engaging and productive for their students.
ISSN 1084-8959