Instruments of the Curriculum
CPD: Subject Level Curriculum (by Kat Howard and Claire Hill), topic 6.1.1
Instruments of the Curriculum
The way we package our curriculum for delivery affects the way teachers and students regard it.
Workbooks
- The materials we use to support the delivery of the curriculum should offer the space for thinking and not just doing.
- When workbooks are well-designed and used judiciously, they can offer a long-term, high-impact strategy for effectively implementing the curriculum.
Design
- The design of a workbook should be agreed at a departmental level and established by the specialists of the subject.
- At all times, the design uses the discipline as a director.
Cohesive
- The workbook needs to present content in manageable chunks, carefully sequenced to mirror curricular intention.
- The workbook should naturally follow the hierarchies of the subject.
- This way, students develop an understanding of the subject through the format and design of the workbook itself.
Active
- Workbooks typically demand an active participant.
- Workbooks do not replace or remove the teacher or student from their relationship with the subject.
Value
- The workbook needs to be worthy of being central to our teaching.
- Preserving the value of the workbook requires continual review and refinement.
- Stripping the content of a workbook back to the necessary provides an effective framework without overloading the teacher or student.
Principles to follow
- Create materials that frame the curriculum, not confine it.
- Demand an active participant through effective design.
- Compose workbooks that convey value for both teacher and student.
Well done!
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Test yourself on Instruments of the Curriculum
The design of a workbook should be agreed at which level?
What kind of particpant does a workbook demand?