Curriculum development from a traditionalist perspective is widely used across schools in Canada and other countries. Think about: (a) The ways in which you may have experienced the Tyler rationale in your own schooling; (b) What are the major limitations of the Tyler rationale/what does it make impossible; (c) What are some potential benefits/what is made possible. Be sure to refer to the assigned article in your post; you may also include information from lecture if you wish.
In the article “Curriculum Theory and Practice”, Smith outlines various curriculum approaches, including the Tyler rationale. Throughout my schooling experience, Tyler’s approach had brought upon heavy influence with test taking based on the goals and outcomes of the curriculum by grading students based on the specific curriculum objectives rather than based on individual growth and learning. In my experience, many outcomes were “black and white” in each subject, there was only one right answer to each question. This meant that if you had a different point of view or answer, you were immediately labelled as wrong. In another aspect, teachers had a timeline for each learning outcome and if us students were having difficulty in comprehending a certain topic, we still needed to move on without proper understanding due to the timeline. In our classroom lecture, we discussed that the Tyler rationale forms a “teacher-proof curriculum”, meaning that this approach enforces the impossibility for teachers and students to have their own voice. The Tyler rationale limits students in making their own individual interpretations and force the student to be graded based on using “rationality and relative simplicity” beliefs in learning outcomes (4). This also poses difficulty for those of different races and cultures, with many objectives and outcomes being based on white, middle-class, Eurocentric views. Teaching outcomes in this regard, causes limitations for meaningful learnings and possibly failure for students who aren’t classified in this one specific group in society. Another issue in this approach is that “teachers experience difficulty with objectives because of the approach being imported from technological and industrial settings” (5), this overlooks finding meaning and significance in these lessons and places focus on only theory and practice – turning teachers into “robots”. The Tyler rationale is beneficial in the sense of teacher organization and lesson planning by having the specific goal planned prior to each lesson with clear expectations. This approach also benefits students as it emphasizes on teaching outcomes that individuals need to know in order to work and live their lives comfortably in doing so. This approach is important for teachers to use for lesson planning and classroom goals but also needs to be critiqued to allow for teacher flexibility and adjustments based on the desired learning outcomes and needs of each individual student in the classroom.
Smith, M. K. (1996, 2000) ‘Curriculum theory and practice’ the encyclopaedia of informal
education, www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm.