Accompanying a session on curriculum design in post-compulsory education

1. Aspects of Curriculum
part 1

2. Aspects of Curriculum
part 1
James Atherton
5 December 2012

3. Just an aide-memoire
to complement your
own notes
Aspects of Curriculum
part 1

4. Just an aide-memoire
to complement your
own notes
Aspects of Curriculum
part 1
(And apologies for a
somewhat “banking”
slanted session—a la
Freire!)

5. • The ability to articulate what it is you have learned often
arrives after you have learned to control and manipulate the
the attempt to use
situation, if at all. Indeed,
conscious knowledge to guide learning
frequently turns out to be counter productive.
The effort to apply what you think is going on, or what you have
been told is going on, can actively interfere with the ability of your
brain to pick up useful but subtle aspects of the situation just
through trial and error.
Claxton G and Lucas B (2012) “Is vocational education for the less able?”
in P Adey & J Dillon (eds.) Bad Education: debunking myths in education
Buckingham; Open University Press, 2012

6. • The ability to articulate what it is you have learned often
arrives after you have learned to control and manipulate the
the attempt to use
situation, if at all. Indeed,
conscious knowledge to guide learning
frequently turns out to be counter productive.
The effort to apply what you think is going on, or what you have
been told is going on, can actively interfere with the ability of your
brain to pick up useful but subtle aspects of the situation just
through trial and error.
(Thanks to Sam Shepherd’s blog for finding the quotation)
We concluded last time that the simple model of “applying theory to practice”
was unrealistic and not true to experience. It makes more sense to use theory to
account for and to connect practice(s)—after the event, probably.
That is the spirit of this session.

7. Biggs’ 3Ps model of the
teaching-learning situation (1993)
P re s a g e P ro c e s s P ro d u c t
STUDENT
Feedback
P rio r K n o w le d g e
A b ilitie s D ire c t e ffe c ts
M e ta -
P re fe rre d w a y s o f le a rn in g e .g . a b ility
le a rn in g
V a lu e , e xp e c ta tio n s
NATURE O F O UTCO ME
S tu d e n t p e rc e p tio n s T e a c h e r p e rc e p tio n s T A S K P R O C E S S IN G S tru c tu re
D e ta il
T E A C H IN G C O N T E X T Feedback
C u rric u lu m M e ta - D ire c t e ffe c ts
te a c h in g e .g . tim e
T e a c h in g m e th o d
C la s s ro o m c lim a te Feedback
Assessm ent

8. This is Biggs’ basic 3-stage
model of the system: I’m Biggs’ 3Ps model of the
going to refer to “input”teaching-learning situation (1993)
“process” and output”
P re s a g e P ro c e s s P ro d u c t
STUDENT
Feedback
P rio r K n o w le d g e
A b ilitie s D ire c t e ffe c ts
M e ta -
P re fe rre d w a y s o f le a rn in g e .g . a b ility
le a rn in g
V a lu e , e xp e c ta tio n s
NATURE O F O UTCO ME
S tu d e n t p e rc e p tio n s T e a c h e r p e rc e p tio n s T A S K P R O C E S S IN G S tru c tu re
D e ta il
T E A C H IN G C O N T E X T Feedback
C u rric u lu m M e ta - D ire c t e ffe c ts
te a c h in g e .g . tim e
T e a c h in g m e th o d
C la s s ro o m c lim a te Feedback
Assessm ent

9. This is Biggs’ basic 3-stage
model of the system: I’m Biggs’ 3Ps model of the
going to refer to “input”teaching-learning situation (1993)
“process” and output”
P re s a g e P ro c e s s P ro d u c t
STUDENT
Feedback
P rio r K n o w le d g e
A b ilitie s D ire c t e ffe c ts
M e ta -
P re fe rre d w a y s o f le a rn in g e .g . a b ility
le a rn in g
V a lu e , e xp e c ta tio n s
NATURE O F O UTCO ME
S tu d e n t p e rc e p tio n s T e a c h e r p e rc e p tio n s T A S K P R O C E S S IN G S tru c tu re
D e ta il
T E A C H IN G C O N T E X T Feedback
C u rric u lu m M e ta - D ire c t e ffe c ts
te a c h in g e .g . tim e
T e a c h in g m e th o d
C la s s ro o m c lim a te He makesdthe important point that de
Fee back
Assessm ent
facto, what you have to start with
(students and setting and requirements)
is itself part of the curriculum.

10. Input-Output model
Input (fixed) Process (fixed) Output (fixed)
Threshold
Reject
JSA 10-Dec-12

11. So here is the basic
model of any open
system… Input-Output model
Input (fixed) Process (fixed) Output (fixed)
Threshold
Reject
JSA 10-Dec-12

12. So here is the basic
model of any open
system… Input-Output model
Input (fixed) Process (fixed) Output (fixed)
Which means any
system which
interacts with its
environment
Threshold
Reject
JSA 10-Dec-12

13. So here is the basic
model of any open
system… Input-Output model
Input (fixed) Process (fixed) Output (fixed)
Threshold
Reject …but you can’t fix
all three
components…
JSA 10-Dec-12

14. Degrees of Freedom
JSA 10-Dec-12

15. …so if you want to
Degrees of Freedom
put people through
a standard course…
JSA 10-Dec-12

16. …so if you want to
Degrees of Freedom
put people through
a standard course…
... And have them
come out with
capabilities at a set
level...
JSA 10-Dec-12

17. …so if you want to
Degrees of Freedom
put people through
a standard course…
... And have them
...then you need to come out with
be selective capabilities at a set
level...
JSA 10-Dec-12

18. …so if you want to
Degrees of Freedom
put people through
a standard course…
... And have (most
...then you need to of) them come out
be selective with capabilities at a
…and/or accept
set level...
dropouts and
failures
JSA 10-Dec-12

19. Degrees of Freedom
But if you are not
free to select
JSA 10-Dec-12

20. But if you are not
Degrees of Freedom
free to select, and
take all-comers
…to avoid dropouts
and failure you may
have to make the
course longer…
JSA 10-Dec-12

21. Degrees of Freedom
…and/or accept that even
when they complete (pass)
the course, some will not
have met the requirements.
JSA 10-Dec-12

22. Dewey:
Experiences are educative
if they lead in turn to other
“Education”
experiences, and are not
dead-ends
So education is about
openi ng up experiences
10 December 2012

23. Training
...whereas training is about
Closing d own
in the sense of not doing it wrong
JSA 10-Dec-12

24.  “Education” and “training”are
complementary
 but training can only operate in a
predictable system
 (where there are “right answers”)
 or convergence (Hudson) (?)
JSA 10-Dec-12

25. Planning
Aim s
Cycle 1
V alu es
N eed s
E valu atio n D esig n
Im p le m e n t-
a tio n
JSA 10-Dec-12

26. This is the simple process,
which supposedly applies to
all kinds of projects, in all
Aim s
kinds of contexts.
V alu es
N eed s
E valu atio n D esig n
Im p le m e n t-
a tio n
JSA 10-Dec-12

27. L e a rn e rs
T e a c h e rs
B u s in e s s
C o m m u n ity
Aim s
V alu es
N eed s
M o n ito rin g S tu d e n t-c e n tre d
E v a lu a tio n S u p p o rt In d u s try-c e n tre d
E valu atio n D esig n
R e v ie w /c h a n g e S ystem s N e g o tia te d
M a rk e tin g V a lid a te d ... e tc .
Im p le m e n t-
a tio n
This is someone’s well-meaning
attempt to elaborate the
process—which of course
bears less and less connection
T e a c h in g /le a rn in g
s tra te g ie s to the real world…
M o d e o f d e liv e ry
M a te ria ls
Assessm ent
JSA 10-Dec-12

28. Planning Cycle
S tu d en ts
E valu atio n T o p ic
OK—this cycle is fairly
practical—for planning
teaching, that is.
But! Does it create occasions
D elivery for learning? That’s not the C o n strain ts
same thing.
M eth o d s O b jectives
JSA 10-Dec-12

29. S e s s io n a l S c h e d u le S tu d e n t
Jo b
re q u ire m e n ts c h a ra c te ris tic s
A n a lys e
R e q u ire m e n ts L o c a te
S tu d e n t b a s e lin e
A v a ila b le fo rm s o f In s titu tio n a l
assessm en t c o n s tra in ts
T ra n s la te
D e -c o n te x tu a lis e
E q u ip S tu d e n t " d e fic it"
D o m a in s o f
S e le c t
k n o w le d g e
L e v e l o f d iffic u lty
D e s ig n C u rric u lu m
Q u e s tio n in g
C h eck
P re s e n ta tio n
u n d e rs ta n d in g
P u z z le s
E x e rc is e s
It’s much messier
than that— Assess
something like
this, perhaps S tu d e n t
p e rfo rm a n c e
S yn th e s is e P rio ritis e
R e -c o n te x tu a lis e
In fo rm a l m e n to rs
JSA 10-Dec-12

30. S e s s io n a l S c h e d u le S tu d e n t
Jo b
re q u ire m e n ts c h a ra c te ris tic s
A n a lys e
R e q u ire m e n ts L o c a te
S tu d e n t b a s e lin e
A v a ila b le fo rm s o f In s titu tio n a l
assessm en t c o n s tra in ts
T ra n s la te
D e -c o n te x tu a lis e
E q u ip S tu d e n t " d e fic it"
D o m a in s o f
S e le c t
k n o w le d g e
L e v e l o f d iffic u lty
D e s ig n C u rric u lu m
Q u e s tio n in g
C h eck
P re s e n ta tio n
u n d e rs ta n d in g
P u z z le s
E x e rc is e s
It’s much messier
than that— Assess
something like
this, perhaps S tu d e n t
p e rfo rm a n c e
Don’t worry if you can’t
S yn th e s is e P rio ritis e
read the individual
labels—it’s the R e -c o n te x tu a lis e
sprawling shape which
carries the message.
In fo rm a l m e n to rs
JSA 10-Dec-12

31. Jo b
We’ll return to this
in the “Critical
An a lys e
R e q u ire m e n ts Voices” section
below
The process of
“teachifying” T ra n s la te
practice knowledge, D e -c o n te x tu a lis e
as described by
Becker (1972)
D o m a in s o f
k n o w le d g e
L e v e l o f d iffic u lty
D e s ig n C u rric u lu m
Av a ila b le fo rm s o f
assessm en t
S e s s io n a l
re q u ire m e n ts
JSA 10-Dec-12

32. Jo b
An a lys e
R e q u ire m e n ts
The process of
“teachifying” T ra n s la te
practice knowledge, D e -c o n te x tu a lis e
as described by
Becker (1972)
D o m a in s o f
k n o w le d g e
L e v e l o f d iffic u lty
The key feature is that we D e s ig n C u rric u lu m
take that practice
knowledge out of context Av a ila b le fo rm s o f
assessm en t
and impose our own
“educational” logic on it.
S e s s io n a l
re q u ire m e n ts
JSA 10-Dec-12

33. Collection or Integration?
Forms of knowledge (Bernstein)
(Hirst/Phoenix)
Maths
Science
English
Humanities
Art
Etc.
JSA 10-Dec-12

34. Collection or Integration?
Forms of knowledge (Bernstein)
(Hirst/Phoenix)
Maths
A Science Once you decide to teach it, do you :
side issue?
(a) Teach the conventional disciplines, with their
English coherence, and then expect learners
academic
to select and apply? (The collection model)
Humanities
(b) Or do you pre-select the bits which matter,
across the disciplines? (Integrated model)
Art
More efficient and focused, but loses academic
coherence.
Etc.
JSA 10-Dec-12

36. Let this blob represent all the
confusing, messy, amorphous,
values, knowledge and skills which
make up practice in the real
world…

37. And then let’s think
about how we might
teach it
Let this blob represent all the
confusing, messy, amorphous,
values, knowledge and skills which
make up practice in the real
world…

38. And then let’s think
about how we might
teach it
In neat little packages Let this blob represent all the
which comply with confusing, messy, amorphous,
regulations, and values, knowledge and skills which
assessment regimes, and make up practice in the real
timetabling… world…

39. Ethics Legal
Political Aspects
Background

40. With the best intentions, we
populate the space with
nice, neat, regular
packages/courses/modules
which address important
elements of the “curriculum”
Ethics Legal
Political Aspects
Background

41. Philosophies
/ models of Ethics Legal
Practice
Political Aspects
Discipline- Background
Specific
Theory

42. Philosophies
/ models of Ethics Legal
Practice
Political Aspects
Discipline- Background
Specific Professional
Theory Studies
Technology
Practice
skills

43. Philosophies
/ models of Ethics Legal
Practice
Other Political Aspects
contributory
skills Discipline- Background
Specific Professional
Theory Studies
Technology
Practice
skills

44. But we still end up with areas
which have not been, and
cannot be, addressed—or
assessed.
Philosophies
/ models of Ethics Legal
Practice
Other Political Aspects
contributory
skills Discipline- Background
Specific Professional
Theory Studies
Technology
Practice
skills

45. Questioning
Presentation Check
understanding
Puzzles
Exercises
Assess
Student
performance
JSA 10-Dec-12

46. Questioning
Presentation Check
understanding
Puzzles
Exercises
Here is a close-up of
Assess
what we do, in order to
get student
performance up to Student
performance
the mark.
JSA 10-Dec-12

47. But that’s not the
same as practitioner
performance in the
real world. Questioning
Presentation Check
understanding
Puzzles
Exercises
Here is a close-up of
Assess
what we do, in order to
get student
performance up to Student
performance
the mark.
JSA 10-Dec-12

48. S e s s io n a l S c h e d u le S tu d e n t
Jo b
re q u ire m e n ts c h a ra c te ris tic s
A n a lys e
R e q u ire m e n ts L o c a te
S tu d e n t b a s e lin e
A v a ila b le fo rm s o f In s titu tio n a l
assessm en t c o n s tra in ts
T ra n s la te
D e -c o n te x tu a lis e
E q u ip S tu d e n t " d e fic it"
D o m a in s o f
S e le c t
k n o w le d g e
L e v e l o f d iffic u lty
D e s ig n C u rric u lu m
Q u e s tio n in g
C h eck
P re s e n ta tio n
u n d e rs ta n d in g
P u z z le s
E x e rc is e s
Assess
Here’s what
S tu d e n t
happens at p e rfo rm a n c e
the end of the S yn th e s is e P rio ritis e
process R e -c o n te x tu a lis e
In fo rm a l m e n to rs
JSA 10-Dec-12

49. As s e s s
Post-course
learning
S tu d e n t
p e rfo rm a n c e
S yn th e s is e P rio ritis e
R e -c o n te x tu a lis e
In fo rm a l m e n to rs
JSA 10-Dec-12

50. As s e s s
Post-course
learning
S tu d e n t
p e rfo rm a n c e
S yn th e s is e P rio ritis e
R e -c o n te x tu a lis e
So—bottom line—
there is still an
enormous amount
of learning to do
beyond the course In fo rm a l m e n to rs
JSA 10-Dec-12

51. As s e s s
Yes—we knew
that! So? S tu d e n t
p e rfo rm a n c e
S yn th e s is e P rio ritis e
R e -c o n te x tu a lis e
So—bottom line—
there is still an
enormous amount
of learning to do
beyond the course In fo rm a l m e n to rs
JSA 10-Dec-12

52. The argument is that the structure of the
curriculum within educational institutions
can potentially (weak form) /
does necessarily (strong form)
inhibit effective learning for practice.

53. Critical voices

54. Critical voices
So let’s hear
from some
critical voices

55. All of whom argue in their different ways that
all the preceding stuff was about top-down
curricula, imposed on learners in the ultimate
interests of someone else
Critical voices
So let’s hear
from some
critical voices

56. Paulo Freire
• 1921 - 1997
• Brazilian educator:
particularly adult
literacy
• Seen as political as
well as practical
• Pedagogy of the
Oppressed (1972)
10 December 2012

57. Find out more
about these
thinkers at
www.infed.org
Paulo Freire
• 1921 - 1997
• Brazilian educator:
particularly adult
literacy
• Seen as political as
well as practical
• Pedagogy of the
Oppressed (1972)
10 December 2012

58. “Banking”
education
a. the teacher teaches and the students are taught;
b. the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing;
c. the teacher thinks and the students are thought about;
d. the teacher talks and the students listen—meekly;
e. the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;
f. the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students
comply;
g. the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting
through the action of the teacher;
h. the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who
were not consulted) adapt to it;
i. the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his own
professional authority, which he sets in opposition to the freedom
of the students;
j. the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the
pupils are mere objects.
10 December 2012

59. This is how Freire
regards the standard “Banking”
top-down model of
education education
a. the teacher teaches and the students are taught;
b. the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing;
c. the teacher thinks and the students are thought about;
d. the teacher talks and the students listen—meekly;
e. the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;
f. the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students
comply;
g. the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting
through the action of the teacher;
h. the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who
were not consulted) adapt to it;
i. the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his own
professional authority, which he sets in opposition to the freedom
of the students;
j. the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the
pupils are mere objects.
10 December 2012

60. Freire
“This book will present some aspects of what the writer
has termed the “pedagogy of the oppressed”, a
pedagogy which must be forged with, not for, the
oppressed (be they individuals or whole peoples) in the
incessant struggle to regain their humanity.
This pedagogy makes oppression and its causes objects of
reflection by the oppressed,
and from that reflection will come their necessary
engagement in the struggle for their liberation.
And in the struggle this pedagogy will be made and
remade.”
From Freire P The Pedagogy of the Oppressed Penguin 1972:25
10 December 2012

61. (Personal take)
Apart from being almost unreadable, Freire’s
rhetoric is all well and good, but read up on
his practice and you find a clear sense of
“knowing what is best for the learners”
which is no less patronising for being cast in
the jargon of “liberation”
See Taylor, P V (1993) The Texts of Paulo Freire Buckingham: Open University Press
(Taylor would not agree with the note above.)

62. Ivan Illich • 1926-2002
• priest who thought there
were too many priests,
• lifelong educator who
argued for the end of
schools
• Argued hospitals cause
more sickness than
health,
• that people would save
time if personal
transportation were
limited to bicycles and
• that historians who rely
on previously published
material perpetuate
falsehoods.
10 December 2012

63. Ivan Illich • 1926-2002
• priest who thought there
were too many priests,
• lifelong educator who
argued for the end of
schools
• Argued hospitals cause
more sickness than
health,
• that people would save
time if personal
transportation were
limited to bicycles and
•that historians who rely
on previously published
And he makes very material perpetuate
good cases for these falsehoods.
strange claims.
10 December 2012

64. Ivan Illich • 1926-2002
• priest who thought there
were too many priests,
• lifelong educator who
argued for the end of
schools
• Argued hospitals cause
more sickness than
health,
• that people would save
For a short time if personal
introduction to his transportation were
ideas see his
limited to bicycles and
delightfully titled Tools • that historians who rely
for Conviviality
And he makes on previously published
(Fontana, 1975) very good casesmaterial perpetuate
falsehoods.
for these strange
10 December 2012
claims.

65. De-Schooling Society
Many students, especially those who are poor, intuitively know what the schools do
for them. They school them to confuse process and substance.
Once these become blurred, a new logic is assumed: the more treatment
there is, the better are the results; or, escalation leads to success.
The pupil is thereby "schooled" to confuse teaching
with learning, grade advancement with education, a
diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability
to say something new.
His imagination is "schooled" to accept service in place of value.
Medical treatment is mistaken for health care, social work for the improvement of
community life, police protection for safety, military poise for national security, the rat
race for productive work. Health, learning, dignity, independence, and creative
endeavor are defined as little more than the performance of the institutions which
claim to serve these ends, and their improvement is made to depend on allocating
more resources to the management of hospitals, schools, and other agencies in
question.
(from ch. 1)
10 December 2012

66. “Teachification”
• We set up special institutions to teach in
• We de-contextualise (uproot) knowledge from
its origins in practice
• Allocate it to separate “subjects”
• Taught by experts rather than practitioners
• And sequence topics from “simple” to
“difficult”
• Assess them in fragments (usually by writing)
• And then expect the student to put it all back
together again
Based on Becker H (1972) “School is a lousy place to learn anything in” originally published in
American Behavioral Scientist (1972): 85-105, and reproduced in
Burgess R G (1995) Howard Becker on Education Buckingham: OU Press
10 December 2012

67. The term is
mine rather “Teachification”
than Becker’s
• We set up special institutions to teach in
• We de-contextualise (uproot) knowledge from
its origins in practice
• Allocate it to separate “subjects”
• Taught by experts rather than practitioners
• And sequence topics from “simple” to
“difficult”
• Assess them in fragments (usually by writing)
• And then expect the student to put it all back
together again
Based on Becker (1972)
10 December 2012

68. Situated Learning
(Lave and Wenger 1991)
Initial
interaction
is with other The boundary
new entrants is constantly
moving
Progress is
being allowed
to take on
more
key, or risky, L & W explicitly reject
tasks this way of
Note: Lave & Wenger explicitly reject this kind of depiction of their model
representing the idea
10 December 2012

69. L & W’s work is based largely on
anthropological reports of how Situated Learning
people pick up their trades/skills (Lave and Wenger 1991)
where there is no formal
structure for training
Initial
interaction
is with other The boundary
new entrants is constantly
moving
Progress is
being allowed
to take on
more
key, or risky, L & W explicitly reject
tasks this way of
Note: Lave & Wenger explicitly reject this kind of depiction of their model
representing the idea
10 December 2012

70. Situated Learning
I’ve referred to a “Master” at the
centre because the form of this
learning with which we are most (Lave and Wenger 1991)
familiar is apprenticeship, although
that is not the clearest model
Initial
interaction
is with other The boundary
new entrants is constantly
moving
Progress is
being allowed
to take on
more
key, or risky, L & W explicitly reject
tasks this way of
Note: Lave & Wenger explicitly reject this kind of depiction of their model
representing the idea
10 December 2012

71. Wenger (1998) goes into
much more detail about meaning
how it works...
Participation forms
living in the world
points of focus
membership
experience acting world
documents
interacting monuments
mutuality instruments
projection
Reification
negotiation
Based on Wenger E (1998) Communities of Practice Cambridge; CUP p. 63
1 of 2

72. “Role of the Teacher”
meaning
Participation
Endlessly debatable
Contracts
experience Stories/cases world
Working Statutory requirements
myths
Job specifications
Reification
This variant shows how different the negotiation
role of
the “teacher” is in such a community of
practice—practitioners act as temporary
mentors, but remain primarily practitioners
2 of 2

73. Two metaphors:
• Acquisition
• Participation
Sfard A (1998) “On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just
one” Educational Researcher, vol. 27 no. 2 pp. 4-13.

74. Two metaphors:
These two images underpin
• Acquisition much of this critical debate
about curriculum.
Is learning something that you
get and possess?
Or is it something you do, and
take part in?
• Participation Both, of course, but each “lens”
or “frame” emphasises
different qualities
Sfard A (1998) “On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just
one” Educational Researcher, vol. 27 no. 2 pp. 4-13.

75. Mezirow:
“transformative learning” (1990)
• The most important aspect of adult
learning is:
 Not the content you learn, but
 The fact that you are learning, which
 Can lead to self re-evaluation.
10 December 2012

76. Mezirow:
“transformative learning” (1990)
• The most important aspect of adult
learning is:
 Not the content you learn, but
 The fact that you are learning, which
 Can lead to self re-evaluation.
Mezirow and others elevate this to the cardinal principle of adult
education—regardless of what you thought you were setting out to learn
10 December 2012

77. Illeris (2002)
Cognition Emotion
Society
10 December 2012

78. Illeris (2002)
Cognition Emotion
Illeris tries to help make
sense of the “tension
field” which underlies
debates about curriculum
by suggesting that any
curriculum will lies
Society somewhere in this
triangle...
10 December 2012

79. Institutionalised learning
Cognition Emotion
Practice learning Collective learning
... And be
associated with
the form of
learning in red. Society
10 December 2012

80. Notes, links etc. at
http://pce2011.blogspot.co.uk/