School Subjects' Goals - Colegio Luso Internacional do Porto - A Study by Artur Victoria By Artur Victoria At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The goals defined for different subjects or groups of subjects indicate the focus of studies and the concepts with which every pupil is to be made familiarly, together with the essential skills which the pupil must learn to employ.

The various main teaching items indicate subject matter shedding light on the concepts and to be dealt with by the pupils, as well as various ways of practicing skills. In addition, teachers and pupils may also choose to cover other fields of subject matter serving to familiarize the pupils with the concepts indicated in the goals.

Planning in class -or in work units or in other forms chosen by the school concerned implies that teacher and pupils decide how much time they will devote to various main items, the order in which various questions are to be dealt with, the methods whereby questions are to be approached and the teaching materials which can be used.

But the planning process must also include the indication by teachers, together with their pupils, of the insights on a particular point or the skills which must have been attained after a certain time. Pupil motivation is essentially dependent on the existence of clearly defined, readily attainable interim objectives to work for. The pupils must be able to feel that they are succeeding, learning things and making progress it is also important that the reason for acquiring a particular body of knowledge be made clear. Vague indications have a devastating effect on motivation. Since planning is jointly undertaken by teacher and pupils, the teacher can make allowances for the different aptitudes of different pupils. Planning must emanate from the central concepts.

The starting point should wherever possible be provided by observations and experiments. Facts are endless. The stock of knowledge -i.e. insights concerning the relations between different facts is overwhelming and is being augmented every day by the progress of research. The skills which we need to command are of many different kinds and require a great deal of practice. Schools therefore have to make a strict selection of subject matter.

The selection of suitable teaching materials -field trips, a textbook, newspapers, and experiments should not come until after this stage. Concrete planning in school must be based on the time available. If it has been agreed that part of the time available for a subject is to be allotted for project work, the volume of subject matter must be adapted accordingly. Adequate time must be allotted for practical implementation, for the study of relevant subject matter and for an investigatory approach to studies. The acquisition of knowledge through reading is both necessary and desirable, but school work must not be limited to book studies in order to make possible the presentation of more subject matter.

One such selection has already been made through the goals laid down for the different subjects and groups of subjects. The main teaching items amount to a further restriction, because they indicate essential fields of relevance to the goals.

But teachers and pupils also have to select subject matter within the scope of a main teaching item. In doing so they should be guided by the following principles.

-Teachers and their pupils must try to agree on the nucleus of knowledge which everybody needs to be familiar with in present-day society and which is needed for further studies. Work should be aimed at giving all pupils a firm command of this basic course. In this way they will acquire a fund of secure knowledge which will make it easier for them to work independently in dealing with optional courses, projects and free activities and, later on, in work and further studies.

-Teaching materials also include a great deal of otherwise desirable knowledge for in depth studies in various contexts. This knowledge is not to be confused with necessary basic knowledge.

-Pupils must be given opportunities of practicing the basic skills of speech, reading, writing and arithmetic in many subjects. This training must not focus one-side on English and mathematics. Nonfiction occurs mainly in subjects other than English. Written work and arithmetic problems relate to a group of subjects. The capacity for pictorial expression is similarly connected with many subjects.

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