Reading Response 2

(a) In my own schooling, I have experienced the Tyler rationale in a number of ways. First, in almost every one of my classes in high school, I received a course outline that clearly stated what the specific outcomes were in the class, how I was to achieve them, and how I would be evaluated on the work that I was to do. In most cases, I had little to no say in any of the content of the course outline, although some teachers ignored parts of course outline altogether and let the class help choose topics. Second, my work was often evaluated based on a checklist. If my work met certain expectations, and a certain number of boxes were checked, I passed. There was no thought put into whether or not I presented a unique idea or argument (except in English class). Finally, in certain classes like French there were certain ways of doing things (which is understandable), but sometimes there was an alternative way discovered by a student or teacher that was completely disregarded.

(b) There are a number of limitations to the Tyler rationale. First, as the reading explains, most of the emphasis is placed on the plan itself, without room for additional material or input from the teachers and students. With this first limitation, the Tyler rationale essentially makes it impossible for teachers and students to have a voice. Second, as the reading explains, there is a focus on measuring behaviour, but how is this done? Essentially, the behaviour has to be broken down into smaller ideas or pieces, with the result often being long lists, with “check boxes”. These long lists essentially erase the “bigger picture” of the behaviour, with the focus now being put onto checking off each individual piece, when the “bigger picture” is in fact more important. Finally, as the reading explains, the Tyler rationale does not account for results that were not listed as objectives, which often leaves new ideas overlooked. In effect, this theory makes it impossible for higher levels of thinking and learning (at least those not listed as an outcome) impossible (Curriculum Theory and Practice).

(c) There are also a few benefits to the Tyler rationale. As outlined in the reading, the biggest is that it is very organized. This organization is able to translate into an easy-to-follow, step-by-step manual that is also rather simple to make. The Tyler rationale also makes learning objectives very clear, which, when disregarding the limitations, makes evaluation somewhat easier (Curriculum Theory and Practice).