The document discusses the Core Project curriculum approach. It emphasizes that Core Projects provide structure through project ideas and guidelines while allowing freedom as they are templates that can be modified. Core Projects are vehicles for language practice and developing skills through authentic communication rather than objects of learning themselves. The teacher takes on an advisory role, diagnosing needs and providing support, while students work actively on project activities and communication.

1. To advance to the next screen, click the left mouse button. To pause or go forward or back or to a specific slide, click the right mouse button, then click Go , and then Slide Navigator . CURRICULUM TRAINING MODULE #4 Mark Feder Director Curriculum and Training

2. As we have said, the conventional curriculum focuses on the subject matter, cuts it into chunks, and delivers it to students to digest over the course of the term. #2 Training Module #4 http://bloughrecipes.files.wordpress.com

4. Student-centered Experiential Needs-based Inductive Heuristic Individualized Autonomy-oriented #4 Training Module #4 The goal of the curriculum is to foster instruction that is:

5. #5 Training Module #4 To be successful, a curriculum must successfully join two antagonistic yet complementary principles – structure and freedom. Without sufficient structure, the teacher does not know what to do in class. Without sufficient freedom, teachers are handcuffed to Procrustean* guidelines that restrict their autonomy and limit their freedom as human beings, frustrating both them and their students.

6. #6 Training Module #4 Procrustes altered the size of the occupant to suit the size of the bed, rather than vice-versa. A Procrustean “one-size-fits-all”curriculum that cuts or stretches teachers and students to accommodate it, rather than the other way around, is obviously not desirable. www.mythweb.com/today/ today07.html You may recall that Procrustes was a rather nasty character in Greek mythology, ultimately vanquished by the hero Theseus. He demonstrated a peculiar form of hospitality by providing his guests with a bed that was either too short or too long. If it was too short, he chopped off the offending limbs, if too long, stretched them, to accommodate visitor to bed.

7. Each Core Project is a template -- a basic form which may be modified to meet specific needs. #7 Training Module #4 The mechanism that has been devised to allow structure and freedom to coexist in our curriculum is the Core Project which is composed of a series of interrelated activities that students work on in class and independently outside of class. Structure is furnished by providing project ideas and guidelines. Freedom is preserved by structuring the Core Projects as templates rather than recipes.

8. #8 Training Module #4 http://www.regalweb.co.uk/loony/gifpanel.html#objects Core Projects are the medium or vehicle for learning and not the actual objects of learning. Core Projects are vehicles for learning rather than actual objects of learning. They may be thought of as pretexts for language use, providing practice through authentic communication. Core Projects provide opportunities for enhancing academic skills and developing cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity as well as language proficiency. Core Projects do not contain any specific language elements but provide opportunities for comprehensible input and require that students participate actively.

9. Core Projects have products, but are process-oriented. The focus is on what is accomplished while the product is being prepared. #9 Training Module #4 www.worldartfoundation.nl/ The ultimate goal of Core Projects is not the creation of a product, but improvement in linguistic, academic, and cross-cultural skills achieved in the process of creating a product. It is not a specific research paper, ad campaign video or presentation that is important, but the learning that takes place while these tasks are being worked on and the skills that are developed which can be applied to other tasks in the future.

10. The Core Project is a blank canvas and not a fully formatted schedule of activities. #10 Training Module #4 Core Projects are not intended as additional elements to be squeezed into an already full instructional program, but rather, the main event. The Core Project is a blank canvas to be splattered by rich and swirling layers of shapes and colors -- evidence that the sloppy, unwieldy, creative, mysterious process of learning has taken place.

11. #11 Training Module #4 Teacher: Throughout Core Project activities, the teacher acts as advisor, monitor, and coach - diagnosing language deficiencies and providing direction, correction, and suggestions as needed. Students: In working on the Core Project activities, the students are the primary participants. Students constantly use English to communicate with one another, to perform research tasks, and to create project presentations. www.teamtechnology.co.uk/ Earlier, we considered the roles of student and teacher with respect to bicycle riding. Now, let’s think about the roles of student and teacher in the Core Project.

12. Setting up activities – to make them fun, efficient learning opportunities suitable for class members and circumstances Monitoring activities – to make sure things are working smoothly and to help things along Diagnosing problems, prioritizing areas needing attention, and charting progress – to promote progress and development in each student Providing feedback, support, error correction, encouragement – to create an awareness in the student of what s/he needs to work on #12 Training Module #4 Let’s take another look at the teacher’s role.

13. Failure to use any and all available materials to promote learning is like tying your hands behind your back. #13 Training Module #4 The role of books and other materials is to support Core Project activities. Teachers should use whatever tools and resources are available to promote learning – books, newspapers, magazines, recordings, videos, TV, the Internet, guest speakers.

14. Textbooks should be used to support Core Project activities and should not be used if they interfere with them. #14 Training Module #4 However, a textbook should not have a dominant role in the class and assume the position of a secondary curriculum. Some textbooks demand a fixed progression of activities that may not be consistent with Core Project activities.

15. #15 Training Module #4 “ The teachers who get "burned out" are not the ones who are constantly learning, which can be exhilarating, but those who feel they must stay in control and ahead of the students at all times.” Frank Smith www.jamesshuggins.com/ One aspect of Core Projects that should be noted is that they make each class unique and fresh for the teacher as well for the students. Presenting the same material or using the same textbook each semester creates a deadening routine, but a project will never be the same twice. The activities can vary and the interactions will certainly be different. Core Projects do not prescribe what elements to teach, how to teach, or how to diagnose and correct errors. The teacher has almost unlimited freedom to use the Core Projects to match student needs and his own teaching preferences and proclivities.

16. Typical Structural Curriculum Teacher-Centered teacher dispenses information Theoretical focuses on knowledge about language Deductive student depends on teacher for rules Discrete Language Lessons elements are taught in isolation Student is Passive student receives teacher’s instruction Pre-Determined Syllabus what is to be taught is established in advance Project-Based Curriculum Student-Centered student is focal point Experiential encourages direct use of language Inductive, Heuristic self-discovery promotes autonomy Holistic skills are integrated Student is Active student initiates and controls learning Needs-based learning is individualized and customized #16 Training Module #4 Core Projects lay the foundation for a classroom dynamic very different from that of the conventional curriculum that focuses on the presentation of information.

17. 1. Classes are student-centered 2. Students are best served by humanistic, holistic approaches 3. The focus is on learning rather than teaching #17 Training Module #4 www.ai.mit.edu/ Keep in mind that it is not the Core Projects themselves that produce successful classes and successful students but rather the teacher’s skill in using them to create an effective learning environment. The Core Projects support the three basic instructional tenets of our program:

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