Tyler's Model as a Planning Tool
Tyler’s Model as a Planning Tool
Why Tyler’s model
- It is the most do-able model.
- It is global in nature and helps a teacher conceptualize the whole curriculum.
- It shows the big picture at school level and grade level.
What Tyler’s questions let teachers do
- Identify learning outcomes.
- Develop learning strategies.
- Establish assessment criteria and procedures.
There are several models of curriculum development, but for a school actually doing the work, one stands out. Tyler’s model is the most do-able. This guide has been built around it, and this article says plainly why it earns that place.
Why Tyler’s model is the most workable
Three qualities make Tyler’s model the practical choice.
First, it is global in nature. It does not get lost in one corner of the curriculum; it covers the whole arc from purposes to evaluation. Second, it is helpful to conceptualize. Its four questions give a teacher a clear mental map of what curriculum development involves. Third, and following from the first two, it helps a teacher view the big picture of the curriculum at both the school level and the grade level. A teacher using Tyler’s model can see where any single lesson fits in the larger program.
Put simply, Tyler’s model answers the question “what is the goal of education?” and then, as a planning tool, helps teachers identify the content of the curriculum. The process of curriculum development it drives enables teachers to formulate the behaviours they want from learners and to develop appropriate, reflective experiences for them.
It is global, helpful to conceptualize, and shows the big picture
It covers the whole arc from purposes to evaluation, gives teachers a clear mental map, and lets them see where any lesson fits at school and grade level. That is why it is the most do-able model.
What Tyler’s questions let teachers do
The value of Tyler’s four questions is what they enable a teacher to do. They form the basis for a curriculum development process that lets teachers:
- Identify learning outcomes, the results they want learners to reach.
- Develop learning strategies, the experiences and methods to get there.
- Establish assessment criteria and procedures, the ways to check whether the outcomes were reached.
Outcomes, strategies, assessment. These three map directly onto Tyler’s questions about purposes, experiences, and evaluation. A teacher who can answer the four questions can plan a coherent program, because the questions cover everything a program needs: what to aim at, how to get there, and how to know if it worked.
Identify learning outcomes, develop learning strategies, and establish assessment
These map onto his questions about purposes, experiences, and evaluation. Answering the four questions lets a teacher plan a coherent program: what to aim at, how to get there, and how to check it worked.
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