Identifying and Selecting Curriculum Materials

Chapter 9

Types of Curriculum Materials

Printed Material
teacher manuals student manuals textbooks workbooks modules study guides

Types of Curriculum Materials

Audiovisual Materials
videotapes transparencies computer software Internet sites posters graphics

Types of Curriculum Materials

Manipulative Aidsmust be physically handled

experiments games models specimens puzzles

Need for Securing Curriculum Materials

Wise use of all resources Lack of time to make all materials from scratch Costs- may be cheaper to buy Quality Control- Most curriculum materials have been field tested and revised.

Selecting Curriculum Materials

Must be carried out in a planned logical sequence See a sample Materials Assessment Form in Appendix A of the text

Curriculum Materials Assessment FormAppendix A-p.302

Section I- General Information.

This information will be important in filing and referring to the material at a later date for ordering and etc.

Curriculum Materials Assessment Form

Section II- Assessment Areas

Is the material bias?

sex-role stereotyping (Figure 9-1 Sex bias awareness guide p.212.) ethnic, race or age bias job denigration -to belittle or defame

ECO- Sex Bias

Pratt (1980) created a procedure called ECO (evaluation coefficient analysis). 1. Identify the subject to be studied 2. List all value terms (positive or negative) about the subject 3. Multiply the number of positive terms by 100 and divide by the combined total number of positive and negative terms

ECO
0.0-50.0 represents material containing unfavorable content
50.0-100 indicates material with favorable content

Curriculum Materials Assessment Form

Section II- Assessment Areas

Is the material at the correct reading level (readability?)

Readability
Procedures to determine readability:
Flesch formula Cloze Procedure Forecast formula

Flesch Formula
You can go to a web site cut and paste text and it does the work for you Or you can go to Fleschs website and use his formula for yourself

Sample Flesch Formula Analysis Results

Flesch Formula Analysis
Text Statistics Number of Sentences: 136 Number of Words: 1678 Number of Syllables: 2443 Analysis Results

Flesch Score: 71 Reading Age: 12 years Text Difficulty: Fairly Easy Analysis Successful

Cloze Procedure- requires student testing

1. Select sample paragraphs 2. Retype the first and last sentence as it appears. For the second and succeeding sentences omit every fifth word until there are 50 blanks. 3. Have students read, reread and fill in the blanks. 4. Score their responses- the words they provide must match exactly

Cloze Procedure
23 or more correct responses- independent reading level 19-22 correct responses- instructional levelinstructor assistance is needed Fewer than 19 correct responses- students are frustrated, material is too difficult to understand even with instructor assistance

Forecast Formula
Select a 150 word passage Count the number of one-syllable words Use the following formula to determine reading grade-level (RGL): 20 - Number of one-syllable words = RGL 10

Curriculum Materials Assessment Form

Section II- Assessment Areas Content- accuracy, up to date, appropriate? Presentation- easy to use, appeal?

Curriculum Materials Assessment Form Section II- Assessment Areas Learning

1. Principle of Association- does it build on previous knowledge 2. Principle of Practice- is student asked to apply the content 3. Principle of Effect- are the materials appealing 4. Principle of Readiness- does the material prepare the student for what follows

Curriculum Assessment
Section II- Assessment Areas Support- other needed resources? Cost Benefit- is it reasonable?

Curriculum Assessment
Section IIIStrengths and Limitations

Section IVAssessment Summary

Software Assessment
Appendix B- p.308

Basic Technical Aspects Continuing Technical Aspects Interface- user friendly Try-Out- efficiency of use

Touchstones for Textbook Selection Inventory

p. 217 Warming and Baber (1980)