In my previous years of schooling, I have witnessed firsthand the product model approach to curriculum and practice. This approach is something that I enjoyed as a neurotypical high school student who succeeded easily at tests and other product-type assessments. My previous beliefs solely in favor of this teaching model were supported by my personal bias and success within it. Looking at the narrow-minded outline of this model now, I can see how many students would not excel or potentially produce good products while having a lack of understanding. I feel that the belief of this model being ‘teacher proof’ (Smith, 2000, p.4) as mentioned in Curriculum and theory practice is just impossible to obtain. The educator of a class will constantly change the experience of students, and if a model is attempting to take that factor out of education there would be a crucial aspect of student development and relationships stripped from the curriculum
The product model approach to education places limits on diversity and individual success and development. When the curriculum is so narrowed down to achieve specifically targeted products, and solely those products, an educator will witness different levels of success as student capabilities fluctuate. I think that within this model some students will lack understanding as well as motivation to learn. Smith states how the product model can create “education and assessment which resembles a shopping list. When all the items are ticked, the person has passed the course or has learnt something” (Smith, 2000, p.5). This analogy is one that I found easy to understand as it lays out clearly how standardized the planning of a product model can be. Furthermore, it is easy to see within this simple analogy how easy it could be for a student to fail; A student forgets a check, and the list is no longer complete.
The product model can benefit both students and teachers due to its simplicity. With an end product that is made clear some students will experience great success, as everything is laid out they can complete the tasks to reach the target. Although some students may not find this model the most supportive and suitable. As for educators, the simplicity of the product model makes clear what they need to do to see success in their students. The Saskcurriculum is an example of the product model made clear for educators. An educator can simply follow the outcomes and indicators presented and see success within their classroom (at least that’s the concept that this model believes in).
Sources Referenced
Smith, M. K. (2000) ‘Curriculum theory and practice’ The encyclopedia of pedagogy and informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm.
This post was put together very well and you even included quotes and a bibliography. I agree that this model benefits are students and not others. I also like your point that a curriculum cannot be teacher proof since their teaching will influence the learning. Curriculum is not student proof either since students are unique and their actions will influence how classes go as well.
Hi Jarhico, I really enjoyed reading your blog post! My favorite part of your blog was how you referenced the quote in the article that talks about the Tyler rationale being like a shopping list. You went on to explain that when all the items are checked off that the student has succeeded. I thought it was very important that you talked about how this is very clear and straightfoward but in addition how easy it can be for a student to fall behind and fail. When I started to think about the Tyler rationale I really started to think about how easy it could be for a student to not succeed and how that puts many kids at a disadvantage. Overall, I think you talked about many of the key points about the Tyler rationale and brought up some very interesting thoughts.
As someone who would consider themselves a neurotypical student, I also had the same successful experiences when it came to the final product based focus of many of my curriculum that I have been through. Referencing the way Smith describes education and assessment as a shopping list to be ticked off is a great way to provide some perspective for people trying to understand the basic goals surrounding the Tyler rationale, especially for others that also had the privilege being neurotypical.