Professional Development Activity 10-A
Submitted by Bernard Badiali, Penn State University
(Comment option available at the bottom of the page.)

This activity relates to Standard 10.1

The Q-Sort below can be completed individually, then discussed by pairs or small groups of pre-service or in-service supervisors.

Curriculum Platform Q-Sort

Below you will find twenty statements that describe our public system of education. These statements are arranged in four categories: they address (a) the aims of education; (b) the nature of knowledge, (c) the role of the teacher, and (d) the purpose of the curriculum. Your task is to prioritize these statements by numbering them from one to five in each category. Assign the number 5 to the statement you believe best represents your beliefs, 4 to the statement you believe represents your belief next and so on until you have assigned a number to all five statements in each category. When you have completed this task, follow the directions in the Rating Guide to summarize your responses.

Aims

_____ A. To improve and reconstruct society; education for change.

_____ B. To promote democratic, social living; to foster creative self-learning.

_____ C. To educate the rational person; to cultivate the intellect through transmitting worthwhile knowledge that has been gathered, organized and systematized.

_____ D. To provide for the construction of active citizens; to nourish civic literacy, citizen participation and political responsibility.

_____ E. To promote the intellectual growth of the individual; to educate the competent person for the benefit of humanity.

Knowledge

_____ A. Focus on skills and subjects needed to identify and ameliorate problems of society; active concern with contemporary and future society.

_____ B. Focus on past and permanent studies, mastery of facts and universal truths.

_____ C. Focus on reconstructing a visionary language and public philosophy that puts equality, liberty and human life at the center of the notions of democracy and citizenship.

_____ D. Focus on growth and development; a living-learning process; active and relevant learning.

_____ E. Focus on essential skills and academic subjects; mastery of concepts and principals of subject matter.

Teacher’s Role

_____ A. Teachers are critical intellectuals who create democratic sites for social transformation. They empower students to question how knowledge is produced and distributed.

_____ B. Teachers serve as change agents for reform; they help students become aware of problems confronting humankind.

_____ C. Teachers should help students think rationally; based on Socratic method, oral exposition; explicitly teach traditional values.

_____ D. Teachers are guides for problem solving and scientific inquiry.

_____ E. Teachers should act as authority figures that have expertise in subject field or content areas.

Curriculum

_____ A. Curriculum centers on classical subjects, literary analysis. It is constant.

_____ B. Curriculum centers on social critique and social change dedicated to self- and social empowerment.

_____ C. Curriculum centers around essential skills (three Rs) and major content subjects (English, Science, History, Math, and Foreign Language).

_____ D. Curriculum centers on examining social, economic and political problems, present and future, on a national as well as international level.

_____ E. Curriculum centers on student interests; involves the application of human problems; subject matter is interdisciplinary.

Rating Guide for the Curriculum Platform Q-Sort

When you have completed the Q-Sort, go back and look at each category. Place the number that you assigned to each statement in the space provided. Add the columns to determine the educational philosophy with which you most agree. Grouped together, these statements represent the major tenants of each philosophy.

	Perennialism	Essentialism	Progressivism	Reconstructionism	Critical Theory
AIMS	C	E	B	A	D
KNOW	B	E	D	A	C
ROLE	C	E	D	B	A
CURR.	A	C	E	D	B
TOTAL

Making Sense of Your Ratings

The chart below will help you determine to which philosophy your beliefs are most closely aligned. It is rare when ratings indicate a strong alignment with only one philosophy. Usually ratings indicate an eclectic mix with one or two ratings emerging as preferences. Compare your own preferences using the chart to make sense of your ratings. Then compare your ratings with a partner. Discuss how your philosophies are different or similar and why.

Characteristics of Philosophical Orientations

	Philosophical Base	Instructional Objective	Knowledge	Role of Teacher	Curriculum Focus	Related Curriculum Trends
Perennialism	Realism	To educate the rational person; To cultivate the intellect	Focus on past & permanent studies; Mastery of facts and timeless knowledge	Teacher helps students think rationally; Based on the Socratic method and oral exposition; explicit teaching of traditional values	Classical subject; Literary analysis; Constant curriculum	Great books; Paideia proposal (Hutchins, Adler)
Essentialism	Idealism; Realism	To promote the intellectual growth of the individual; To educate the competent person	Essential skills and academic subjects; Mastery of concepts and principles of subject matter	Teacher is authority in his or her field; Explicit teaching of traditional values	Essential skills (the three r’s) and essential subjects ( Eng., math,, science, history, for. Language)	Back to basics; Excellence in education (Bagley, Bestor, Bennett)
Progressivism	Pragmatism	To promote democratic, social living	Knowledge lends to growth and development; A living-learning process; Focus on active and interesting learning	Teacher is a guide for problem solving and scientific inquiry	Based on students’ interests; Involves the application of human problems and affairs; inter-disciplinary subject matter; activities and projects	Relevant curriculum; Humanistic education; Alternative and free schooling (Dewey, Beane)
Social Recon-structionism	Pragmatism	To improve and reconstruct society; Education for change and social reform	Skills and subjects needed to identify and ameliorate problems of society; Learning is active, concerned with contemporary and future society	Teacher serves as an agent of change and reform; Acts as a project director and research leader, helps students become aware of problems confronting humanity	Emphasis on social sciences and social research; Examining social, economic, and political problems; Focus on present and future trends	Equality of education; Cultural pluralism; International education; Futurism (Counts, Grant & Sleeter)
Critical Theory	Marxism	To challenge and deconstruct society, the status quo, powerful oppressors; To teach citizens to act politically for social justice	Focus on how the world works to privilege some and not others; Awareness of race, class, gender, sexuality, and (dis) ability politics	Teacher acts with conscience and resolve as a social agent of change in the world with students	Teacher opens up societal norms to criticism and action	Some forms of service learning; Socially active, alternative education programs (Freire, Apple, Giroux)

The Q Sort exercise can be helpful with members of any group working together on curriculum. It is useful to put a master chart of ratings on display so that everyone can see the range of ratings. A group display will make it easy to compare and contrast ratings. As a supervisor, knowing your philosophical orientation and that of your coworkers can help you understand where conflicts may arise and why.

Assessment Criteria: Evaluation Rubric for Curriculum Orientation

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Identified Curriculum Orientation	Articulates how the curriculum orientation connects to my current practice.	Describes several relationship between curriculum orientation and my practice.	Sees little relationship between curriculum orientation and my practice.	Sees no relationship between curriculum orientation and current practice.
Compares Curriculum Orientation to that of a colleague	Describes numerous similarities and differences in orientations using workplace examples.	Describes similarities and differences in orientations using workplace examples.	Describes few similarities and differences in orientations.	Identifies no differences with colleague in orientation.
Compares Curriculum Orientation to that of the group	Describes numerous similarities and differences in orientations with group.	Describes several similarities and differences in orientations with group.	Describes few similarities and differences in orientations with group.	Identifies no similarities or Differences in orientations with group.
Sees Implications for Curriculum Development	Articulates numerous implications for curriculum development and for group processes.	Articulates several implications for curriculum development and for group processes.	Articulates few implications for curriculum development and for group processes.	Articulates no implications for curriculum development and for group processes.

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Professional Development Activity 10-A Submitted by Bernard Badiali, Penn State University (Comment option available at the bottom of the page.)

This activity relates to Standard 10.1

Aims

Knowledge

Teacher’s Role

Curriculum

AIMS

C

KNOW

B

ROLE

C

CURR.

A

TOTAL

Making Sense of Your Ratings

Professional Development Activity 10-A
Submitted by Bernard Badiali, Penn State University
(Comment option available at the bottom of the page.)