ducational policy and is the mediator of what is taught in the classroom. School districts and staffs of state departments of education or committees working under chief state school officers also contribute to curriculum development. University research and development facilitates educational development and curriculum planning. Commercial publishers influence material published. The federal government provided resources that influence the curriculum (pp. 126-133).
Curriculum planning includes the aim of teaching the democratic way of life as well as goals for curriculum content. Programs develop over time and content areas need to be organized. Students are expected to learn and demonstrate learning with examinations; other modes of learning and expression need to be considered as well (pp. 135-149).
The art of teaching is discussed. Teaching can be performed with skill and grace to the point that it is aesthetic. Teachers, like other artists, make judgments based on qualities that unfold during the action course. The teaching activity is not dominated by routine, it is influenced by unpredicted contingencies and the teacher must be innovative. Teaching achieves that which is created in the process, just as a craft is conceived. Teaching involves more than instruction, it needs to be creative, flexible, innovative, artistic, and personalized (pp. 154-165).
Evaluation can be used to diagnose, revise curricula, compare, anticipate educational needs, and determine whether objectives have been met. Evaluation is a process directed toward the curriculum teaching, and outcomes. 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 the school is doing. Standardized testing is another vehicle for reporting how schools are doing. Most educators state that these methods do not capture the educational e
...