RIGOROUS CURRICULUM

Rigorous Curriculum

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background of the Study

Opinions differ on the direction education will take, and library shelves are filled with volumes describing current and anticipated changes in society and education. Despite disagreements, however, it is likely that certain trends in particular will increasingly affect curriculum planning in the near future. Some of the more important of these trends are noted in the following discussion.

The emerging curriculum responds to the urge to break away from traditional disciplines, to develop more interdisciplinary approaches. In the curriculum of the future, subject matter most likely will be less compartmentalized and more integrated and holistic. Although traditional subject boundaries will remain, there will be increased cross subject material. Knowledge will no longer be considered fragmented or linear, but multidisciplinary and multidimensional; it will also be integrated with more visual and auditory resources and rely less on verbal and reading materials.

For more than 2 decades, curriculum and its accompanying focus on standards and accountability for learning have dominated serious conversations about improving education. Today, discussions about how to provide equity in achieving the curriculum, how to achieve compatibility between equity and high standards, and what constitutes a meaningful curriculum are commonplace and serve to focus attention on the performance and progress of all children.

Significance of the Problem

In many cases, high schools are offering only college preparatory classes or higher to students. The idea of schooling is that students come to class each day and learn.

Statement of the Problem

Is a Rigorous Curriculum Getting More Kids to College?

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Middle Schools Still Matter

As new school configurations grow, unique needs of young adolescents deserve attention.

The core curriculum is the focus for the instructional day. Board-approved academic standards are reinforced through instruction in all classrooms. Principals evaluate teachers on the progress that students make toward academic learning objectives. A gifted and talented program operates in both the K-8 and middle school settings. A performing arts program is visible in both.

Middle school education is a transition period, focusing on the changing needs of students moving from the primary to the secondary school. It must take into consideration the fact that the 10- to 14-year-old is changing physically, emotionally and intellectually faster than at any other time in his or her life. It requires flexible learning modalities that maintain a balance between structure and choice. It must maintain the close relationship between student and teacher and foster good communication and involvement of the parent. It must demand accountability but provide for opportunities to improve.

The effective middle school must involve the student in the life of the school through an array of activities where success is bred and self-concept is fostered.

Developing curriculum based on the brain learning principles and curriculum integration have learning make sense and have meaning in the minds of middle -school children. A group of 8th grade girls developed a science project titled "Melanoma Barbie," using the classic doll as part of a detailed study to help illustrate the meaning of skin ...