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Curriculum Innovative Practices

1. Define Curriculum in innovative context.

Curriculum is termed as ‘Learning programme’ which comprises of Teaching ,learning & assessment materials---prezi by bob

Need for “Curriculum of the Future”:

According to Young, Curriculum of the Past consists of a concept of knowledge and learning ‘for its own sake’ which is only concerned with transmitting existing knowledge. It emphasizes more on subject knowledge rather than knowledge of the relationship between subjects. School curriculum should promote life long learning by“ changing from being heavily ‘designed’ in time-tables, syllabuses and lesson plans to relationships between learning at school and learning in non-school contexts”(Young,1999,p.472)

So he proposed the idea of the “Curriculum of the Future” which emphasizes on a transformative concept of knowledge that focuses on creation of new knowledge as well as transmission of existing knowledge. This curriculum also promotes interdependence of knowledge areas and relevance of school knowledge to everyday problems.

This idea is matching with the ideas of Daniel Pink(2011) who says that traditional curriculum expects students to solve problems related to single discipline which has one answer, but in real life actual problems are related to mixed discipline and which might have multiple answers. So according to him “ In some senses, the curriculum should be messier- just like the real world”(Daniel, 2011,p.13)

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Technology and Changing Curriculum

Table 1. Overview of pedagogy in the industrial versus the information society (adapted from Voogt & Odenthal, 1997; Wijnen, Zuylen, Mulders, & Delhoofen, 2000).

Active Less(pedagogy in an industrial society)

More(pedagogy in the information society)

Active

Activities prescribed by teacher

Whole class instruction Little variation in activities Pace determined by the progr

Activities determined by learners Small group Many different activities Pace determined by earners

Collaborative Reproductive learning Apply known solutions to problems

Productive learning Find new solutions to problems

Creative Reproductive learning Apply known solutions to

problems

Productive learning Find new solutions to problems

Integrative

No link between theory and practice

Separate Discipline-based subjects Individual teachers

Integrating theory and practice Relations between subjects Thematic Teams of teachers

Evaluative Teacher – directed Summative

Student – directed Diagnostic

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Analysing curriculum- Intended, Implemented & Attained

To analyse curriculum presentations an analytic framework is useful, which is proposed by many researchers(i.e., Goodlad, Klein & Tye, 1979; Travers & Westbury, 1989; Van den Akker, 1988, 2003) and also used by Voogt and Pelgrum for their research on relationship between ICT use and changes in curriculum using SITE M2 case studies.Accordingly, the curriculum framework consists of three sections:

(1) The intended curriculum- the underlying principles and goals for learning(2) The implemented curriculum- the pedagogical process taking place at classroom &

school level(3) The attained curriculum-learning outcomes of students and sometimes learning

outcomes of teachers as well

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Exploring SITES M2 conceptual framework-3 types of focuses

According to the results of the research study conducted by Voogt and Pelgrum, the nature and extent of curriculum changes seen in SITE M2 cases varied depending on whether innovation is applied in single disciplined-subjects, cross-curricular nature (using themes) or school-wide.Single-subject curricular Focus: The ICT supported pedagogical practices were used to improve understanding matter and concepts of a single discipline based subject.Examples: Single subject focus (CN003, CN010, DE006, FI004, IL009, KR004, NL025, NO007, PH002, PH003)

Thematic curricular Focus: The ICT supported pedagogical practices were cross-curricular nature. Curriculum content was offered through themes and ICT were used to facilitate the implementation of life long learning goals.Thematic focus (AU001, CZ002, CZ003, DE002, DE007, DE013, FR001, FR002, FR006, IL001, IT001, ZA008)

School-wide curricular Focus: The ICT supported pedagogical practices were integrated throughout the school curriculum and ICT helped in the realization of the school’s vision on teaching and learning.

School-wide focus (AU002, AU004, DE003, IL003, NO004, NO005, US014, SG004)

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Classroom level Intended goals for a Single-subject focus case study(CN005) & Padagogical practices using ICT Collaborative & organizational Skills---- In group of 4 or 5 , students investigated a topic using research using internet & group discussion. ICT was also used extensively for Comunication between students Information skills-----investigations used internet search to gather knowledge, also ICT is used for presentation of the project Motivate students----- this new approach provided contexts to develop creativity and assigning marks for Internet research students were motivated All-rounded Development—Working in a team developes communication skills, critical thinking skills

Improve Learning Attitude ----encouraged to self-learn & research. Use of ICT provides enough opportunities of learning by doing. Catering for Individual Difference---Open-ended nature of the project provides flexibility of learning. Also, while forming groups & assigning topics this can be taken care of

Attained Goals or Outcomes:Broaden students’ horizon and deeper learning is gainedFostered self-directed learning and collaborationCatered for individual differenceLearnt more ICT skills and knowledge

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Classroom level Intended goals for a Thematic focus case study(AU001)pedagogical practices using ICT

Critical thinking skills- Learning Tasks used were based on a structure governed by Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking Skills and the principles of Critical Literacy Collaborative & organizational Skills-group work helped pooling together their discoveries and collaborative work was involved in gathering ideas. Student activities were designed using ‘jigsaw' approach, i.e. students tried to do the tasks on their own then conferenced with a partner or through on-line discussions then contributed to a bigger group discussion. In some group activities, different students had different roles to play within the group such as scribe, editor, and presenter. Students collaborated spontaneously for the purpose of assisting one another with technological skills, sharing ideas about selection of content, discussing personal responses to concepts and author's experiences, making a decision about focus of an on-line discussion. Information skills-created multimedia presentations to share their learning and understanding with others. Empower students’ learning with ICT skills- Depending on the student's confidence levels and developing expertise in using ICT resources, students accessed scanning equipment, created hyperlinks, and inserted audio, video and image files, Microsoft Front Page, Microsoft PowerPoint, MediaGram, multi-media files, and digital cameras Motivate students-highly motivated for the tasks by various activites like sharing information with their group, making presentations Self-access learning—work at their own pace Provide authentic learning contexts to students—Use of Constructivist learning theory by combining

History and English using ICT provided contexts for creativity and learning. Also, Students were encouraged to interact and get information from outside experts through use of an integrative human approach. Ss can evaluate their own learning-Students used an electronic unit evaluation and reflection sheet to provide feedback to the teachers as well as reflect on their own learningOutcomes:Highly motivated studentsExcellent collaborative skills developedResponsibility of their own learningAcquired Advanced ICT knowledge Independent learning skills

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Classroom level Intended goals for a School-wide focus case study(AU004) & Pedagogical practices using ICT

Critical thinking skills----To produce Quality product students are supposed to research the project or problem and designing the process to find the solution developes this skills. Collaborative & organizational Skills- working in smaller and larger teams helps them learn this skills Communication skills---ICT helps in reflecting on the progress of the group work Empower students’ learning with ICT skills---Students explore range of software and use them creatively to complete the task Motivate students—Students are encouraged to talk about their work which increases self confidence and self esteem too. Provide authentic learning contexts to students— By learning using Units of inquiry a multi-disciplinary approach provides vast range of learning contexts. Ss can evaluate their own learning-- Student store their ICT work on a file and this becomes part of an assessment portfolio. Students in Junior school track their own progress by keeping a portfolio of work samples they have produced. Catering for Individual Differences----Forming pairs of confident & non confident student and let them work by taking turns, increases confidence of students in completing a task.

Outcomes:Workforce skills eg ability to work in groups, problem-solving skills, Communication skillsMultiage class promotes social skills and interaction abilities, provides assistance & mentoring opportunitiesHighly motivated and high self esteem,Independent learning skills and positive attitude towards learningHigher order thinking skills

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(Prepare a picture of Traditional approach/learning to learning in knowledge ageInsert a table from pg 158 Voogt)

Summary of results from research by Voogt & Pelgrum for analyzing curriculum goals in SITES M2 study:Intended curriculum GoalsThis cases shows innovations in presenting current curriculum content in a more effective way with the aim to develop life long learning competencies in students.Goals for Single-subject curriculum focus:Improvement of teaching of content & conceptsMore in-depth coverage of content Higher order thinking skills & reasoning skillsProblem solving & critical thinking skillsGoals for Thematic curriculum focus :Focus on new goals which are important for the information societyDevelops life long learning competenciesDevelop independent learning skills

Goals for School-wide curriculum focus:Realizing new goal of self responsibility of their own learningIn-depth & independent learning

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Implemented curriculum goals:Change in School interior:To realize the curriculum goals, learning environment was created for students in all 3 patterns.In some cases of school-wide curriculum focus interior design of the school was changed.Students Roles:Created products/carried out a research projectCollaborating & searching for informationSingle-subject curriculum focus : the Table 4 Overview of student roles per Curricular Focus

Table 4. Overview of student activities per Curricular Focus (in % and absolute).

Student activities Single-subject (n = 11) Thematic (n=13) School-wide (n=8)

Searching for information

63.6 (7) 76.9 (10) 100.0 (8)

Publish/present results 45.5 (5) 76.9 (10) 87.5 (7)

Problem solving tasks 54.5 (6) 23.1 (3) 62.5 (5)

Picked own tasks 27.3 (3) 46.2 (6) 75.0 (6)

Collaboration 90.9 (10) 61.5 (8) 87.5 (7)

Self- or peer assessment

27.3 (3) 53.8 (7) 75.0 (6)

Thematic curriculum focus :Students presented and published results of their project workSelf assessment & peer assessment School-wide curriculum focus: Students picked their own tasksStudents presented and published results of their project workSelf assessment & peer assessment

Teacher’s Roles: Overview of student roles per Curricular Focus

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Table 5. Overview of teacher activities per Curricular Focus (in % and absolute).

Teacher activities Single-subject (n = 11) Thematic (n=13) School-wide (n=8)

Lecture 54.5 (6) 0.0 (0) 37.5 (3)

Advise/ guide students 90.9 (10) 92.3 (12) 100.0 (8)

Create structure 90.9 (10) 92.3 (12) 100.0 (8)

Design/ prepare instructionalmaterials

81.8 (9) 72.7 (8) 54.5 (6)

Monitor/ assess student progress 72.7 (8) 69.2 (9) 87.5 (7)

Collaborate with colleagues 54.5 (8) 53.8 (7) 100.0 (8)

Generally teachers guided & advised students also provided structure Monitored /assessed students progressSingle-subject curriculum focus:Designed /prepared instructional materialTable5 pg 169Assessment practice:A small change in assessment practice was observed, in some cases formative & summative assessment were seen integrated & in some cases more emphasis on formative assessment was seen in stead of summative assessment

Attained curriculum goals:

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General finding for all 3 patterns:General Student Outcome seen in all 3 patterns:Students were very positive about the innovation and positive attitude towards learning and schoolWere motivated and this improved their self-esteem.Acquisition of ICT skills by studentsOutcomes for Single-subject curriculum focus :Subject matter knowledgeAcquisition of meta-cognitive skills

Outcomes for Thematic curriculum focus :Collaborative skills & communication skillsInformation handling skills-important skill for life long learning

Outcomes for School-wide curriculum focus :Collaborative skills & communication skillsResponsibility of their own learning processAcquisition of meta-cognitive skills

Outcomes seen in Teachers:Development of a positive attitude towards the innovative practice ( due to recognition given by colleagues) –a general outcome for all 3 patternsDevelopment of pedagogical skills –a general outcome for all 3 patternsAcquisition of ICT skills- but concern about continuous ICT training because of fast development of technologyAcquisition of collaborative skills in Thematic & School-wide focus

The end

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Technology and the changing curriculum- add diagram from pg 25 -lue book Analysing curriculum- Intended, Implemented & Attained Exploring SITES M2 conceptual framework-3 types of focuses Analysing curriculum goals in SITES M2 study

Classroom level goals for a Single-subject focus case study(CN005) & Padagogical practices using ICT Collaborative & organizational Skills---- In group of 4 or 5 , students investigated a topic using research using internet & group discussion. ICT was also used extensively for Comunication between students Information skills-----investigations used internet search to gather knowledge, also ICT is used for presentation of the project Motivate students----- this new approach provided contexts to develop creativity and assigning marks for Internet research students were motivated All-rounded Development—Working in a team developes communication skills, critical thinking skills

Improve Learning Attitude ----encouraged to self-learn & research. Use of ICT provides enough opportunities of learning by doing. Catering for Individual Difference---Open-ended nature of the project provides flexibility of learning. Also, while forming groups & assigning topics this can be taken care of

Attained Goals or Outcomes:Broaden students’ horizon and deeper learning is gainedFostered self-directed learning and collaborationCatered for individual differenceLearnt more ICT skills and knowledge

Classroom level goals for a Thematic focus case study(AU001)pedagogical practices using ICT

Critical thinking skills- Learning Tasks used were based on a structure governed by Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, Bloom's Taxonomy of Thinking Skills and the principles of Critical Literacy Collaborative & organizational Skills-group work helped pooling together their discoveries and collaborative work was involved in gathering ideas. Student activities were designed using ‘jigsaw' approach, i.e. students tried to do the tasks on their own then conferenced with a partner or through on-line discussions then contributed to a bigger group discussion. In some group activities, different students had different roles to play within the group such as scribe, editor, and presenter. Students collaborated spontaneously for the purpose of

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assisting one another with technological skills, sharing ideas about selection of content, discussing personal responses to concepts and author's experiences, making a decision about focus of an on-line discussion. Information skills-created multimedia presentations to share their learning and understanding with others. Empower students’ learning with ICT skills- Depending on the student's confidence levels and developing expertise in using ICT resources, students accessed scanning equipment, created hyperlinks, and inserted audio, video and image files, Microsoft Front Page, Microsoft PowerPoint, MediaGram, multi-media files, and digital cameras Motivate students-highly motivated for the tasks by various activites like sharing information with their group, making presentations Self-access learning—work at their own pace Provide authentic learning contexts to students—Use of Constructivist learning theory by combining

History and English using ICT provided contexts for creativity and learning. Also, Students were encouraged to interact and get information from outside experts through use of an integrative human approach. Ss can evaluate their own learning-Students used an electronic unit evaluation and reflection sheet to provide feedback to the teachers as well as reflect on their own learningOutcomes:Highly motivated studentsExcellent collaborative skills developedResponsibility of their own learningAcquired Advanced ICT knowledge Independent learning skills

Classroom level goals for a School-wide focus case study(AU004) & Padagogical practices using ICT

Critical thinking skills----To produce Quality product students are supposed to research the project or problem and designing the process to find the solution developes this skills. Collaborative & organizational Skills- working in smaller and larger teams helps them learn this skills Communication skills---ICT helps in reflecting on the progress of the group work Empower students’ learning with ICT skills---Students explore range of software and use them creatively to complete the task Motivate students—Students are encouraged to talk about their work which increases self confidence and self esteem too. Provide authentic learning contexts to students— By learning using Units of inquiry a multi-disciplinary approach provides vast range of learning contexts. Ss can evaluate their own learning-- Student store their ICT work on a file and this becomes part of an assessment portfolio. Students in Junior school track their own progress by keeping a portfolio of work samples they have produced. Catering for Individual Differences----Forming pairs of confident & non confident student and let them work by taking turns, increases confidence of students in completing a task.

Outcomes:Workforce skills eg ability to work in groups, problem-solving skills, Communication skillsMultiage class promotes social skills and interaction abilities, provides assistance & mentoring opportunitiesHighly motivated and high self esteem,Independent learning skills and positive attitude towards learning

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Higher order thinking skills

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st Option is comparing/explaining 3 types of curriculum practices using SITE M2 cases and types of activities used to achieve intended goals(one case for each curriculum type) and related student activities can be prepared.

The innovation also has many other positive outcomes for students including the acquisition of valuable skills, positive attitudes to learning and increased self-esteem. Important workforce skills that students are acquiring through the innovation include the ability to work in groups, and problem-solving and communication skills.Communication skills Social and interaction skills are promoted through group work and also through the school’s policy to place students in multiage classes over a two-year cycle. Students mix with both younger and older students and have opportunities to assist and mentor each other.The innovation fosters positive attitudes to learning. Technology plays an important role in engaging and challenging students. Parents and staff commented that students are very happy and highly motivated.Students benefit by being able to manage their own learning and being responsible for it (“I need to know this, how do I find out?”). They become independent learners. Higher order thinking skills are encouraged (Teacher: “What does this imply?”). Through the school’s constructivist approach to teaching and learning whereby students learn by doing, the skill of life-long learning is being fostered. The innovation has benefits for student self-esteem.multiage classes and students with differing experiences in using technology, there are opportunities for students to teach their peers and even their teachers.

Each term students produce a Quality Product (see Appendix for an example) which illustrates what they’ve learnt from the Unit of Study which has been undertaken. The program each term progresses through phases which include: researching the project or problem, designing the process for reaching a solution, accessing and organising the information needed, reflecting on what is being done and producing the Quality Product. We observed classes at the beginning of term.

Students are encouraged to talk about their work and this increases their confidence and feelings about themselves

The examples above illustrate that students experience a range of technology through the curriculum program. In this way they develop a good understanding of what technology can do for them. Students are also engaged in using a range of

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software creatively by applying their knowledge to complete authentic tasks. Other tasks which do not involve ICT also involve inquiry-based learning.

Slide 1Curriculum definition and need for curriculum of future

Slide2 Technology & changing curriculumVoogt table comparing Industial & inf. Society curriculum3Curriculum framework;Intended, Implemented and Attained diagrame from blue book4Analysing SITE M2 frame work in terms of 3 focuses5Selected cases from SITE M2 AU001,,AU004, CN005And ccopy paste goals practice and outcomes for each case6Analysis from Voogt

Innnovative practice trends and challenges:Different types of modes of change are observed from SITE M2 case studies. Top to bottom approachBottom up approachInside out or outside in approach

Chaging of teachers role & students role

(AU001--The focus was on the child to be researching, processing, analysing information as well as reflecting and collating what they had learnt. They particularly liked working in groups and being able to pool together their discoveries. The students thought that this was a quick way to get a lot of information and to get other people's opinions not just your own. In some classes students work at their own pace and become involved in co-operative and/or project based learning. Students are also involved in collaborative activities where the outcomes are based upon interdependent work. However, students are only involved to some degree in developing abilities to undertake independent learning, to learn by doing and to assemble, organise and integrate information. She believes that the innovation encapsulates all of the above elements and hence will serve as a useful PD model in assisting to bring about change in the way teachers currently think

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about Learning and Teaching.

 share their learning and understanding with others, students created a multi-media presentation.  share their learning and understanding with others, students created a multi-media presentation. Depending on the student's confidence levels and developing expertise in using ICT resources, students accessed scanning equipment, created hyperlinks, and inserted audio, video and image files, Microsoft Front Page, Microsoft PowerPoint, MediaGram, multi-media files, and digital cameras.)