Although this book was originally published 60 years ago it continues to sell more than one million copies per year and still finds its way onto the syllabi of graduate-level courses of the theoretical (and practical) approaches to curriculum design and school reform. Tyler’s model, though not always followed exactly is often still the standard used in many educational settings.
Reading this book was like a review of the undergrad training that I had in lesson planning and the graduate courses that I took in Instructional Design, but much more concise, direct, and with supporting examples. Although these are all concepts that I learned either in those classrooms, or through my own real-world experiences, I picked them up nonetheless; this book seemed to serve as a primer for the textbooks and veteran teachers that I learned from.
I was an undergraduate student in a teacher education program just as the No Child Left Behind Act was going into effect. I was taught to design curricula, by: 1) viewing the state standards, 2) modifying them into measurable performance objectives, 3) devising an assessment method for such objectives, 4) creating learning experiences that would give students sufficient and appropriate practice with the material. Unfortunately, my own observations have shown me this process altered in many schools and creativity on the part of the teacher removed from the pedagogy.
While I agree with Tyler that the process he outlines is a solid paradigm for curriculum and instruction, all too often the instructor is left out of the curriculum as it has become dictated by the assessment which is dictated by the objectives that did not take into account many of the sources of selection of objectives he posits such as using the students’ contemporary lives, or any particular philosophy. This makes it difficult for the classroom teacher to view such concepts as horizontal and vertical alignment, and although one could argue that an education authority has already ensured that and removed the responsibility from the teacher, it has the negative effect of removing the allowances for individual variance from education.
This book does, however, lay out the basic process of designing an entire curricula, though not always limited to the classroom teacher’s purview. He mentions some good points about how to include student interests into the design and how to organize a curriculum from a macro level.
Citation
Tyler, R. W. (1969). Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
sure