"EDUCATIONAL IMAGINATION, THE" (ELLIOT EISNER).   Term Paper ID:25040 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Reviews work on designing & evaluating school programs, curricula, teaching, educational criticism.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Reviews work on designing & evaluating school programs, curricula, teaching, educational criticism. Paper Introduction: The Educational Imagination Introduction The Educational Imagination, On the Design and Evaluation of School Programs, Third Edition by Elliot W. Eisner (1994) begins with the point that American students fail to meet minimal standards of academic achievement; this leads to the search for understanding education, learning, teaching, and schools. The author states that motivation for educational reform at the turn of the century and today's motivations come from the same source which is a discontent with existing practices and a desire for solutions (pp. 1, 12). Next the author discusses the concept of curriculum, which is what schools teach; for some this includes not only courses but everything the child experiences in school. However defined, curriculum must occur (pp. 25-32). Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Schools are the basicunit of educational excellence and must provide optimal growth for thestudent (pp. This work provides the reader with usefulinformation and it stimulates thought needed for change to be implemented. Teaching involves more than instruction, it needs to becreative, flexible, innovative, artistic, and personalized (pp. Learning is secured and experienced in differentways; people use different knowledge systems. Effective criticism involves powers ofperception. Concern forthe educational process is a multifaceted undertaking. New York: MacmillanCollege Publishing Company.----------------------- 1 Explicit and implicit curriculum aretaught. What is learned in the classroom reaches far beyond the lessonplan. Education is concernedwith aims that are considered worthwhile; it must participate in a set ofvalues. Sciencehas too often determined what is studied and regarded as important in theclassroom. Evaluative procedures have a profound effect on the content andform of schooling; the student's experience has been ignored. Eisner (1994) begins with the pointthat American students fail to meet minimal standards of academicachievement; this leads to the search for understanding education,learning, teaching, and schools. Education is not the same as schooling or learning. The main difference betweenconnoisseurship and criticism is that connoisseurship is the act ofappreciation and criticism is the art of disclosure. Interpretation of Author The author states that citizens want good schools that teach basicskills and prepare children for the world of work or college and help themavoid evils such as drugs. The educational imagination, on the designand evaluation of school programs, third edition. Teaching is different from other activities because it has an end-in-view which is learning. Fields do have expressive modes thatare indigenous, the musician performs with voice or instrument, howeverstudents may also express themselves with modes that are not indigenous tothe discipline (pp. Other ideologiesinclude religious ideology, Rational Humanism, Progressivism, CriticalTheory, Reconceptualism, and Cognitive Pluralism. If teachers believe that thestudent should play a role in curriculum development they will givestudents curricular responsibility. Assessment has differentfunctions, one is that of educational temperature-taking, to describe theeducational health of the nation. Commercial publishers influencematerial published. 376-381). Programs develop overtime and content areas need to be organized. Educationalconnoisseruship involves the ability to perceive and the ability torecognize particulars of a part of a structure within the classroom; itrequires attendance and comparison. With evaluation comes the term assessment. The federal government provided resources thatinfluence the curriculum (pp. The curriculum involves more than a list of subjects to betaught. Assessment also performs a gatekeepingfunction; this serves bar examinations, medical board exams, and finalcourse exams. This book offers an opportunity for becoming conscious of the manyfactors involved in education as well as those pertaining to changes neededto improve the quality of education. Students learn culture, values, reward systems,compliance, competitiveness, as well as science, art, physical education,social studies, and foreign languages (pp. Criticism has an empirical undertaking andanything can be subject matter. (1994). Next the author discusses the concept ofcurriculum, which is what schools teach; for some this includes not onlycourses but everything the child experiences in school. 195, 2 1-21 ). The Educational Imagination Introduction The Educational Imagination, On the Design and Evaluation of SchoolPrograms, Third Edition by Elliot W. Students are expected to learn and express this learning onexaminations (verbal and written). Teaching is known by its effect which is learning. Students are expected tolearn and demonstrate learning with examinations; other modes of learningand expression need to be considered as well (pp. The school providesthe basic unit of educational excellence; it provides a set of socialparameters as well as an education. Objections to this philosophy are that itmay oppose the goal of education which is the growth of the individual (pp.134-135). 88-91). However defined,curriculum must occur (pp. W. The author states that motivation foreducational reform at the turn of the century and today's motivations comefrom the same source which is a discontent with existing practices and adesire for solutions (pp. Teaching can be performed withskill and grace to the point that it is aesthetic. Work Value & Recommendations This book offers a valuable tool for practitioners in the field ofcurriculum. 1, 12). Concern for education needs to include a broad view of curriculumwhich is provided by the author's perception of explicit and implicitcurriculum aspects. 126-133). Schools must function as a living organism, availableto change (pp. Examples of educational criticism are noted and criticisms ofeducational criticisms are offered. Another function of assessment is that of providing feedbackto teachers regarding the quality of their work. The author sums up his major points which include major views ofeducation and problems and issues pervading educational planning andevaluation. Normative theory argues that education needs to foster the growth ofthe individual and this growth includes development of modes ofintelligence that enable students to secure meaning from experience; theseideas are central to educational theory in general. 171-188). Educational criticism is composed ondescriptive, interpretative, evaluative, and thematic dimensions. 55). Concernfor the objectivity of criticism is raised. Connoisseruship is necessary foruseful educational criticism. Features of new assessment ineducation include tasks that assess the following: what students know andcan do, reflecting what they will encounter in the outside world; howstudents solve problems; the values of the intellectual community; tasksthat require group efforts; if students have more than one acceptablesolution to a problem; what has been taught besides curriculum; if studentscan display a sensitivity to wholes and not just elements; and they shouldallow the student to select a form of representation to display what hasbeen learned (pp. Successful attempts at curriculumchange require the recognition of the variety of interacting factors thataffect the school's function. 154-165). Evaluations need to be reported and made vivid to the public.Report cards have been viewed as a measure of how well the child and theschool is doing. Schools and curriculumshave behavioral objectives, however problem-solving objectives allow morefor flexibility and intellectual exploration (p. 158-165). However forms in which knowledge andunderstanding are constructed, stored, and expressed are more than verbalor written discourse. Educational criticism is an undertakingthat involves everyone, and all need to be informed. He states that our images of schooling and teaching have aprofound consequence for our educational values and views of schooling.Dominant images of schooling and teaching and learning in America thatinclude the factory and the assembly line, do not include the complexitiesof teaching and the differences between education and training. Schools have the role of offering the young an opportunity to developintellectual processes that will be useful in life. 359-379). This process involves more than test data,educational criticism offers an additional evaluative format. In either case the role of theteacher is important because the teacher serves as the interpreter ofeducational policy and is the mediator of what is taught in the classroom.School districts and staffs of state departments of education or committeesworking under chief state school officers also contribute to curriculumdevelopment. Evaluation can be used to diagnose, revise curricula, compare,anticipate educational needs, and determine whether objectives have beenmet. 135-149). The classroom is not a factory, good teaching requires more thaninstruction (pp. This book should be recommended to all involved in the field ofeducation, as well as parents. Standardized testing is another vehicle for reporting howschools are doing. Students have differentaptitudes; they may learn more from reading a story or from the experienceof it in a painting, film, or poem. Evaluation is a process directed toward the curriculum teaching, andoutcomes. Connoisseruship is aprivate act that does not involve public opinion. Assessment also focuseson the quality of the program provided. Noneducationexperiences are undergone with no significant effect on the individual,miseducation thwarts abilities to have further experiences, education mustcontribute to individual growth 35-37 Some state that the goal of school is to help students learn toparticipate effectively in the democratic way of life. Americans want goodschools that prepare good people for their good society. Teaching achieves that which is created in the process, just as a craft isconceived. University research and development facilitates educationaldevelopment and curriculum planning. 346-357). Religious orthodoxy andRational Humanism are found in schools, Progressivism prevalent in Americanschools (pp. Features of this meta-criticisminclude the following questions: how does the author proceed; whatlanguage is used; what metaphors and categories are provided; what insightsare yielded; how are conclusions supported; and how can the reader verifywhat is read. Referential adequacychecks the relationship between what the critic says and the subject matterof his criticism; it is necessary since structural corroboration can leadto false conclusions. The art of teaching is discussed. 118). An ideal school must be a growth environment that allows forteachers to provide optimal growth for the student. Anyone can provide educational criticism (pp. Curriculum planning includes the aim of teaching the democratic wayof life as well as goals for curriculum content. The good person living the good life in a goodsociety learns to be punctual, compete, and achieve (p. 147-149). References Eisner, E. Curriculum planning includes the teacher's role; a general plan isprovided, and the teacher plans accordingly. Schools teach more than what is intended, there arehidden impacts. Curriculum is portrayed as based on ideologies. This is an expression of the meaningful beliefsabout the individual and his relationship to society. The author discusses assumptions, principles, and procedures found ineducational connoisseurship and criticism. The teaching activity is not dominated by routine, it isinfluenced by unpredicted contingencies and the teacher must be innovative. Schools must allow forflexible, creative, innovative, and artistic teaching so that individuallearning can occur. Also included is information regarding assessment andevaluation of the curriculum. A recent learning experience for myselfincluded the experience of observing a child; the learning occurred on alevel that may not have been possible through reading about it. 25-32). Whether the teacher focuses on selling material to be learned or attemptsto provide an environment in which learning takes place, learning is theobjective. Parents and educatorsare involved in the process of change whether they are conscious of it ornot. What is rendered by the educational critic depends on purposeand tools or theories used. Structural corroboration is aprocess that gathers data and uses it to establish links and create a wholesupported by evidence, this adds to objectivity. Other instances include the teachersgoal of meeting specific objectives. This is importantbecause it includes teaching a point of view and a set of values that thecommunity subscribes to. Most educators state that these methods do not capturethe educational experience, however, parents want a report of their child'sactivities and alternatives for relating school performance are notavailable (pp. Teachers, like otherartists, make judgments based on qualities that unfold during the actioncourse. 212-225, 236-244). 56-82). Teaching is different from instruction, good teaching involvesartistic and personalized methods that are innovative, creative, andflexible. Educational criticism makes clear the importance ofattending to the processes of schooling as a basis for understanding whatchange is needed (pp. Teachingrequires more than instruction, it is an artistry. Other goals includefocus on instructional content. Simplistic notionsthat disregard all that is taught in the school will not provide knowledgenecessary to make appropriate changes. 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