Tyler Rationale

I found the Tyler rationale to be somewhat confining. I found it significant that the first step was to determine the need, assuming every student will be similar (Smith 4). Tyler looked at the systematic way of teaching and emphasized the outcome of lessons (Smith 4).

I have experienced the Tyler rationale in my schooling using class outlines in high school. I particularly found this in math class. We were told what to learn and then were expected to use the same method to learn it. In some ways this was beneficial to attain course objectives and outcomes, however, if a concept was difficult to understand it could be a challenge. With most high school classes there were forms of evaluation through unit exams, midterms and finals. At times these exams were a good reflection of learned knowledge but at other times they were not.

One limitation of the Tyler rationale is the flexibility of a lesson (Smith 4). With this rationale it puts great emphasis on the program and outcome. This can limit a teacher’s ability to explore and adapt to certain students’ needs. Another limitation of the Tyler rationale is the focus on predetermined results (Smith 5). By having a set of results, it limits the students ability to explore new findings and learnings that might not have been thought of prior.

Some potential benefits of the Tyler rationale could be an accountability of teachers. By having a structured course of action (with room for modification) classes would be learning relatively similar things. By having consistency between classes means that all students would have an equal opportunity for a fulfilling, beneficial educational experience in school.