Critical Reflection:
The central argumentof the paper relates that “The curriculum decision making process cannot be undertaken effectively without adequate psychological considerations.” (This critical reflection will focus more on the “Attitude side of the Behavioral Learning Theories).
The idea that I found to be particularly challenging from the paper is that “Attitudes affect learning” which is one of the principles that govern the teaching and learning process under the Behavioral Learning Theories. It is the students’ attitudes that determine their readiness to learn the subject. The role of the teacher, on the other hand is to understand the curriculum content, so he or she could transfer the learning to the students that however uninteresting the lesson or content is, he or she must find ways to make it relevant to the needs of the learners. It is the role of the teacher to tap students’ ideas, make the content or the subject friendly or easy to understand. Once students are motivated, they could act as co-teachers who could create their own lessons. Given the opportunity to act as teachers, these students could add and suffice lessons truly relevant to them because they are the ones who did it. On creating reports in Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions, I have found my students’ positive behavior by having them prepare their own slides or PowerPoint Presentations on particular lessons in Architecture, Weaving, Carving, Performing Arts, Plastic Arts and the like. Students share their own accumulated products — their own presentations which my class and I have benefitted a lot. It is like sharing what they have discovered, although they are not very much particular with the said arts. These positive experiences along with the influences of that kind of environment are unconsciously being reinforced which could add to their likeability to prepare more materials that they could use and share in the class in their next level of study. Therefore, “what one learns is influenced by the environment,” as what Behaviorists believe — the kind of belief that affects ATTITUDE positively.
The points I didn’t agree withis the definition of the Curriculum made in the Introduction which said, “Curriculum is the sum total of all the experiences that a pupil undergoes within the guidance of the school. Not every experience of the said pupil or student comes from what he or she has accumulated in school. Before a child entered school, he or she had already accrued characteristics and behaviors that have shaped him or her. His or her home and environment have played the great part of his or her individuality. Negatively influenced, these behaviors might only be realigned, readjusted and improved if he or she has been pliant and his or her attitudes have been positively shaped by his or her daily engagement in school’s formal lesson. The definition entails the ever expected goal to be aimed by every teacher, but this couldn’t be 100% possible.
The implications of the argument to my area of expertise or context are:1)As a teacher, I have come to see the impact of ‘Psychologizing the Curriculum Content’. This way, ‘my students and I’ have learned to adjust, adopt and incorporate lessons that are useful to us; 2) The sharing of what have been searched and learned encourages students to be more resourceful and responsible for inputting or producing materials; 3) Having students prepare materials as co-creators enforces creativity on their part; 4) Letting them act as co-teachers empowers them to take the stage and share their piece of work to the class; 5) Being a teacher of the new curriculum, I have accumulated lessons from my students that I could use next time; and 6) With the materials at hand contributed by my students, we could improve it to be more interesting through incorporating varied activities; 7) A lot of possibilities have flooded my mind as to how I could recreate or improve the inputs that my students have contributed.
What is desirable here is the topic itself “Psychological Influences in the Curriculum Decision Making Process” has taken us teachers to a recollection – a flashback of what we should really be doing. Having read and analyzed the article has prompted us to realize the following: 1) Reading it has reminded us teachers of the important lessons we took up in college; 2) It has reminded us again to stay grounded on matters of psychology and our profession as teachers; 3) What was once a routine to us and what was once or seems static has become clear and obvious; 4) The routines that we have been doing all along have taken shape – it has become definite, solid enough to help us teachers to see the value of Psychologizing the content which we could not have realized or recognized if we had not met this article; and 5)How my students prepare and contribute to the lesson has given me great pleasure which inspires me to be better and more equipped with my chosen career.
By: Lilia S. Crisostomo | Senior High School Teacher atBataan National High School 03-28-2017 | BNHS – Balanga City, Bataan
