Alexander knew that in order to develop an effective curriculum they had to consider the nature of society and of the learner as critical factors. Alexander believed that in order for the curriculum to be effective, learners must see the relevancy of the instruction to themselves and that in some form or fashion it will prove some benefit. To be the most effective and to reach the widest student audience the curriculum content had to be couched in terms that every person understood. Today, relevance is a constant problem for teachers where diversity and differentiation have placed students of varying degrees of ability in the same classroom. Decades later, John Keller synthesized existing research on psychological motivation and created the ARCS model.
Alexander knew that without a desire to learn on the part of his student, retention of the content knowledge would be unlikely. He had seen in his travels students and teachers going through the motions to complete an assignment or schoolwork motivated only to "pass the test." ARCS stand for Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. The most important aspect of the model is gaining and keeping the learner's attention, and then the learner must believe the schoolwork is relevant. Next, the student must feel confident that they can complete the assignment within the time allowed, and finally, learners must get some type of satisfaction or reward from the learning experience.
The Depression allowed society to reveal itself in bread and unemployment lines aching for a drastic change. Poverty, hunger, and anxiety about the future are things that every human understands. If Alexander needed something that was relevant for everyone to acknowledge, the events of the Depression brought to sharp focus the problems of living in both rural and urban areas.
Despite the individual nature of human beings these were circumstances that brought people together for a common reason, whether to try to change the social order or just get a bowl of soup. There was a relevancy attached to the purpose for each of the participants in that society. Alexander had to find a focal point to construct the curriculum so as to make it meaningful. He centered on problems that the students faced as individuals and then making a connection to the larger social context within which students live. This connectedness was something Alexander had worked on before. Earlier, he had spent the period between the semesters in 1929, in Raleigh, North Carolina, assisting in an advisory capacity with the introduction of a high school program in which the work was centered on central themes or problems. Thus the curriculum for New College was not contrived as the immediate answer to the social problems of the day, but was rooted in Dr. Alexander’s experience and upon the research by one of his handpicked faculty members, Dr. Florence B. Stratemeyer (1900-1980).
Together, Alexander and Stratemeyer with some students sat down and formulated the “Persistent Problems of Living.” In her own right, Dr. Stratemeyer became a renowned scholar and teacher as a member of the faculty at Teachers College until 1965. Stratemeyer developed her reputation as a strong advocate for curriculum development and teacher education early on.
The core of the curriculum pattern is the “Persistent Problems of Living” that students face as individuals, as members of society, and as teachers of adults and children. These problems were developed in relationship to and revolving around four aspects of human existence: human relationships, natural sciences, the arts and aesthetics, and philosophy.
Alexander knew that without a desire to learn on the part of his student, retention of the content knowledge would be unlikely. He had seen in his travels students and teachers going through the motions to complete an assignment or schoolwork motivated only to "pass the test." ARCS stand for Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. The most important aspect of the model is gaining and keeping the learner's attention, and then the learner must believe the schoolwork is relevant. Next, the student must feel confident that they can complete the assignment within the time allowed, and finally, learners must get some type of satisfaction or reward from the learning experience.
The Depression allowed society to reveal itself in bread and unemployment lines aching for a drastic change. Poverty, hunger, and anxiety about the future are things that every human understands. If Alexander needed something that was relevant for everyone to acknowledge, the events of the Depression brought to sharp focus the problems of living in both rural and urban areas.
Despite the individual nature of human beings these were circumstances that brought people together for a common reason, whether to try to change the social order or just get a bowl of soup. There was a relevancy attached to the purpose for each of the participants in that society. Alexander had to find a focal point to construct the curriculum so as to make it meaningful. He centered on problems that the students faced as individuals and then making a connection to the larger social context within which students live. This connectedness was something Alexander had worked on before. Earlier, he had spent the period between the semesters in 1929, in Raleigh, North Carolina, assisting in an advisory capacity with the introduction of a high school program in which the work was centered on central themes or problems. Thus the curriculum for New College was not contrived as the immediate answer to the social problems of the day, but was rooted in Dr. Alexander’s experience and upon the research by one of his handpicked faculty members, Dr. Florence B. Stratemeyer (1900-1980).
Together, Alexander and Stratemeyer with some students sat down and formulated the “Persistent Problems of Living.” In her own right, Dr. Stratemeyer became a renowned scholar and teacher as a member of the faculty at Teachers College until 1965. Stratemeyer developed her reputation as a strong advocate for curriculum development and teacher education early on.
The core of the curriculum pattern is the “Persistent Problems of Living” that students face as individuals, as members of society, and as teachers of adults and children. These problems were developed in relationship to and revolving around four aspects of human existence: human relationships, natural sciences, the arts and aesthetics, and philosophy.
