In the online article "Three Trends That Will Shape the Future of Curriculum," Tina Barseghian (2011) discusses three key changes in education that will likely have an important impact on curriculum in the future. All three are likely the result of the rapid changes in technology that are occurring. The first change discussed has to do with material and resources going far beyond the textbook. The author mentions several online tools of interest that I hope to have an opportunity to explore more as well as some with which many teachers are already familiar. The second topic discussed is that of curriculum that is tailored to student interest and increases their motivation for learning. This is actually not that recent an idea in education, but may be more easily accomplished with the technology available today. Thirdly, the writer discusses "21st Century Skills" and what that means for the future. Again, the ideas mentioned here like collaboration, critical thinking, and a focus on communication as skills that students need in all areas of life are not new ideas of focus, but are being emphasized more as a result of the ease in retrieving most data in a matter of moments using today’s technology. This has given rise to the idea of “emphasizing skills over fact.” Barseghian (2011) also points to the fact that students in the future will learn from a variety of sources and need to be able to make sense of the information and test its authority as a skill. The writer states “instead of learning from others who have the credentials to ‘teach’ in this new networked world, we learn with others whom we seek (and who seek us) on our own and with whom we often share nothing more than a passion for knowing.” I believe that Barseghian (2011) makes some very interesting observations and valid points in the article, and I look forward to researching many of the topics mentioned in more detail. Please feel free to share your ideas concerning this topic in the comments.
Link to the article:
Link to the article:
https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/02/04/three-trends-that-will-shape-the-future-of-curriculum/
References:
Barseghian, T. (2011). Three Trends That Will Shape the Future of Curriculum. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/02/04/three-trends-that-will-shape-the-future-of-curriculum/
References:
Barseghian, T. (2011). Three Trends That Will Shape the Future of Curriculum. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/02/04/three-trends-that-will-shape-the-future-of-curriculum/
The online free curriculum and open source software movement is very interesting. I use some open source materials in the classroom. My only wish is that there was a more unified site that listed all of the available resources. I am not a big fan of the Dept. of Ed., but that would be a great job for them.
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