Reflection on Module 1~2

A curriculum consists of the choices made by the teacher who designed it. While, on one hand and basically, I enjoyed having freedom to make choices in designing courses as the academic director of my own English language learning academy, on the other hand I often lamented too many choices. In a flood of ideas and resources, there was a question that kept arising endlessly in every stage: Is this the best choice? While following this lesson, I thought of the criteria of being the 'best’ in this old question in my mind.

Everything itself is right. As Graves (2000) said “there are multiple possibilities, multiple justifications, and multiple answers.” However, there are considerations that should be accounted for since a curriculum is not an assembly of random choices.

I agree that “designing a course is similar to designing a house” and “you need to have a lot of information in order to design a structure that will fit the context.” (Graves, 2000, p.14) I admit defining context helped me to make decisions about content, objectives, etc. in curriculums in my academy.

I have realized problematizing, though I didn’t know this term, played an important role to make the curriculum for my academy works. There were many constraints for a small private academy. I always tried to identify the challenges that can be met within the context and focus on them, which eventually became the strength of my academy. I think it’s critical to be aware of the context and to respond to it properly.

To me, the most meaningful finding of the lesson is that “beliefs provide a basis for making choices.” (Graves, 2000, p.26) By using Stern’s framework, I was able to articulate my beliefs underlying in curricula I designed, which I was not much aware of nor made explicit then, and surprised to see how much the curricula was affected by my beliefs about language, learning, and teaching.

In sum, I think Graves (2000) wonderfully summarized the formula for a curriculum, emphasizing all these aspects above: “your course design should marry your beliefs with the needs of the students within the context of the course.”

Self-Introduction and My Curriculum Experience

·        What is your B.A. degree major, where did you complete it, and when?

I got my B.A. degree in Art-Study from Hong Ik University in the year of 1996.

·        If you are currently teaching, what is the school, grade, subject? Are your current and target teaching levels the same or different?

I am freelancing at the moment. I work with a variety of companies including several cyber English academies, publishers, and academic institutes.

It is hard to define my current target teaching level according to age because I am teaching a number of anonymous students online, ranging from elementary school students to adult corporate workers and teachers in formal and informal education. However the majority of my classes are for basic to intermediate learners.

I have been teaching English online in non-formal education field since 2005 (I have over 15 years of teaching experience in total), and have just expanded my career to teacher training and teaching English at a cyber college graduation program. Therefore, my future target teaching level will include pre- and in-service teachers and adults attending a cyber university through a distance learning program.

·        What is your experience with the school curriculum as a learner and/or as a teacher?

I developed all the curricula when I ran my own English academy. To be honest, it was the most enjoyable activity I had ever done as an academic director.

·        What mobile technologies are you comfortable with? Which applications do you use on your cell phone? Have you ever used mobile devices for language learning or teaching?

I am pretty much comfortable with everyday computer/Internet use. However, to me, phone is just a phone. I don’t think I’m ready to expand my technology area to mobile devices. Although a company has recently developed an iPhone app for one of my English lessons, I do not even have an iPhone myself!

·        What your expectations form a curriculum design course would be?

I would like to reflect on my experience in curriculum development and expand the knowledge in an academic setting.