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MartinClarke GeographyEducationMA LeadingtheGeoCurriculum
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MA Geography Education 2015-16
How can a curriculum artefact be used to give students and teachers a holistic view of a syllabus?
[and thus a way of understanding and producing a Geography that both adheres to the demands of the examination syllabus and the values of
teachers?]
By
Martin Bernard Clarke
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Abstract
This report argues that awell-chosen curriculum artifact can be usednot only to
illustrateandilluminateaparticularsectioninaprogrammeoflearning,butalsoto
give students a ‘roadmap’ ofwhat they are to study. If successful, thiswill allow
themtomaintainaperspectiveontheirlearningthroughoutthecourseofacomplex
syllabus with a wide range of learning outcomes. For this to be successful, the
artifactmustinitiallyfulfilltherequirementsforanyusefulcurriculumartifact,and
criteriaforthisareoutlined.Itwillbearguedthatthisalsoallowsteachertogaina
greaterdegreeofcontrolofthecurriculummakingprocessandcaninspirehim/her
togaininspirationforteachingideasandgreaterpedagogicalcontrol.
Thereportgoesontoarguethatanartifactcan inspireteachersandhelpthemto
gain greater control of the curriculum, inspiring them to argue for changes in
imposed syllabuses and curriculums that benefit curriculum design as well as
pedagogy, using the example of the IBDP Environmental Systems and Societies
course.
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MartinClarke GeographyEducationMA LeadingtheGeoCurriculum
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Introduction
ThecurriculumartifactIhavechosenisaninfographiccalled“OurPlanetfromTop
toBottom”(Tate,2010http://tinyurl.com/gwap4ug.)Myintentionistousethis
artifactinanumberofways.FirstlyIwillattempttodefineacurriculumartifactand
todistinguishitfroma“starter”oranillustration.Secondly,Iwillexplorewhethera
curriculumartifactcanbeusedtoillustrateawholesyllabus(ratherthanatopicor
aunitofwork)inwaythatmakeitcomprehensibletostudents.Thirdly,Iwill
examinetheextenttowhichsuchanartifactcanbeusedbystudentsandteachers
asawayofturninganexamsyllabusintoacurriculum:incurriculummakingtouse
theGeographyAssociation’staxonomy(GeographyAssociation,2014)
1
WhatDefinesaGoodCurriculumArtifact?
Inmoredevelopedeconomies,teachershaveaccesstoanalmostunlimitedrangeof
sourcestoillustrate,challengeandinspirestudents.Withaconnectedcomputer
almostany‘object’-image,song,movieclip,cartoon–again,thelistgoesonandon
–canbecalledupinseconds.Outsidetheclassroom,studentsliveinaworldwhere
thisisalsoacommonplace.Tofindaphotographof,say,MountSt.Helenserupting
istrivialandonemightappearinanyGeographytextbook.Butwhyusea
photographwhenYouTubecanshowfootageoftheactualeruptiontakingplace?
Satelliteimageryisdisplayedwhenonecheckstheweatherononesphone.But1Thespellingofthiswordseemscontentious.FromthispointonMartinhasusedartifact,notartefact.
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curriculumartifactmustbemorethansimplyanarrestingimage,a‘starter’oran
illustration.Thisisnottosaythatsuchthingsarenotusefulpedagogicaltools–to
besure,agoodartifactwillbeengaging,illustrative,andpossiblysurprising-butto
assertthatsomethingmoreisneededforanobjecttobecomeacurriculumartifact.
Firstly,tobeacurriculumartifact,theimage(inthecaseofmyexample)mustbe
carefullychosenaspartofthecurriculummakingorcurriculumplanningprocess.It
mustbeintegratedintotheoverallschemeofworkandlearningoutcomesinawell
thoughtoutmannerdesignedtoincreasedepthofunderstandingortoportraya
conceptinanewlight.
Followingonfromthis,acurriculumartifactmust“havelegs”;thatisitmustbe
somethingthatcanbereferredbacktooveralongperiodoftime-inthiscaseover
thewholeofaniGCSEcourse.Ifsuccessful,thisreferencingwillnotjustbedoneby
theteacherbutwillbeadoptedbystudentsasaninstinctivetoolthatimprovestheir
understandingandaidsclarificationwhenthedemandsofasyllabusorschemeof
workthreatencloudunderstandingincomplexity,detail,oramultiplicityoftopics.
Inshort,itcanhelpstudentstomaintainanimageofthewoodwhenthetrees
threatentocrowdin.
Agoodartifactwillalsoprovideadifferentperspective.Theexampleofathesong
(GeographyAssociation,2012)giveninthecoursereadingsforthismodulecanhelp
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studentstoviewmigrationinanewwayandremindstudentsofthehumanstories
ofmigration,andperhapsgeneratehumanunderstandingandempathy.
Inaddition,suchperspectivescanleadstudentstodevelopinterdisciplinarylinksin
classandteachertodeveloptheseatthecurriculumplanningstage.Thesongmight,
forexample,promptaGeographydepartmenttoworkwithanEnglishdepartment:
could,Auden’s“RefugeeBlues”(Auden,citedinMedelson,2007)orasimilarly
themedpoembecoveredatthesametimeastheunitonmigration?Theresult
couldencouragestudents(andteachers)toemployabroaderrangeofthinking
skillswhenaddressingthetopic,allowingittobecontextualizedinawidersense
andapproachedwithgreatersubtlety.
Agoodcurriculumartifactshouldideallycontainsomethingforalllevelsofabilityin
aclass,keepingallstudentsintheZoneofProximalDevelopmentinVygotzky’s
(1978)terms.Allstudentsshouldbeabletoseeitasanillustration,ascaffoldoran
aidtounderstanding,andstrongeronesuseitasalaunchpadtomoredifficult
concepts,approachesandwaysofthinking.
Clearly,itwouldbeaskingalotforanyindividualartifacttomeetallofthese
criteria.Equallyclearly,theartifactinitselfcandoverylittleofthisjob.Foran
objecttobecomeacurriculumartifactitneedstobeembeddedinbothpedagogy
andthecurriculummakingprocess.Inmyownclassroomexperience,Ihavefound
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thatexaminingwhetheranobjecthelpstoconveyPowerful(Geographical)
Knowledgeisagoodtestofwhetheranobjecthas‘madethejump’toartifact.
Inaddition,theartifactneedsto‘hithome’;toresonatewithstudentsinawaythat
allowsitsimpacttobelongterm.Thisisoftenthehardestthingtopredict,andall
teacherswillbefamiliarwithusingaparticularanalogyorillustrationorevenajoke
thatstudentsrefertoorallyorinwritingbecauseithasmadeanimpactorhelpedto
clarifyadifficultconcept.
TheEnvironmentalManagementSyllabus
TheCambridgeEnvironmentalManagement(EvM)syllabus(Cambridge,2014
http://tinyurl.com/z7zdr6c)isapopularchoiceinmyschoolwith11students(athird
ofthecohort)choosingitasanoption.Itiswidelyviewedastheeasiestofthe
Humanitiessubjectsandsoattractsadisproportionatenumberofweakerstudents
keentoavoidHistoryorEconomics,aswellasanumberofkeenHumanities
studentswhoopttotakeitalongwithHistoryorEconomics,aswellaskeen
scientistswhoseeitasthemost‘sciencey’oftheHumanitiesoptions.Geographyis
notofferedasaniGCSEoptionatmyschool.ThismeansthatEvMisouronlyavenue
toinculcategeo-capabilitieswithintheformalcurriculumandthatwedosoto
classesofmixedability.
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Theaimsofthesyllabusareforstudentstoacquire:
(Cambridge2014,p.9)andhassustainabledevelopmentatitscentre(p.11).
ThestudyoftheEarthisbrokendowninto4spheres;Lithosphere,Hydrosphere,
Atmosphere,andBiosphere(p.12)witheachofthespheresbeingstudiedinthe
followingway:
(p.12)
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Table 1: Cambridge iGCSE Environmental Management Syllabus Matrix
(Cambridge 2014)
Assessmentisbyathreepaperexamination(myschoolhasoptedforthepaper4
AlternativetoCoursework-courseworkbeinganoptionthatformsPaper3)overa
totalof4hrsand45minutes.Clearly,thiscoursecoversawiderangeofcontentand
theexamboardprovidesagooddealofstrictguidanceabouthowthisistobe
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approached.Thecurriculumplanninganddevelopmenthaslargelybeendoneforthe
teachersanditcouldbearguedthatagooddealofthecurriculummakingisalso
outlinedinthesyllabus.Itisalsoworthnotingthattheexamcancoveraverywide
rangeoftopicswithinthesyllabus(seeAppendix1foranexampleofapastpaper).
CurriculumMakingandtheUseofArtifacts
Mychosenartifactanditsuses
Mychosenartifact,“OurPlanetfromToptoBottom”isaninfographicshowingthe
planetfromthedepthsoftheMarianasTrenchtotheedgeofspace.Itisillustrated
withvariousnaturalandman-madepoints(forexamplethewreckoftheTitanic,the
highestpointthatbirdsfly,thealtitude‘deathzone’forhumansetc.).Itisintended
tobenefitbothstudentsandteachersinthefollowingways:
(A)Forthestudent
(i)Asawaytoquicklyillustratethescopeofthesyllabus.
Wearerequiredtosendstudentsanelectroniccopyofthesyllabuswhichis,of
course,writtenprimarilyforteachersandinthiscaserunsto30pages.
(ii)Toillustrateandmakemorecomprehensibletheconceptofspheres.
Aperhapsmoreobviouswaytodothiswouldbesimplytostatethatwearestarting
formthecentreoftheearthandworkingoutwards,butinpracticemanystudents
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haveaproblemwiththeabstractconceptofdividingtheplanetintospheres,a
conceptattheveryheartofthesyllabus.Theartifactisusedasawayofmakingthis
conceptmorecomprehensibletostudents.
(iii)Toprovidea“safehome”.
Thissyllabusisverywide-rangingintermsofthecontentthathastobecoveredand
itiseasyforstudentstoloseanoverallpictureofwhatisbeingstudiedastheyjump
from,say,theimpactsofminesoncommunitiestothecompositionofgasesinthe
atmosphere.Theinfographicisahandyandeasytounderstand‘map’tohelp
studentsfindoutwheretheyareandtherelationshipbetweenapparentlydiverse
topics.Thisisparticularlyusefulinnon-traditionalsubjectthatmaynotfitwith
students’expectationsaboutwhataschoolsubjectshouldbe.
(iii)Toscaffoldandtoenhancewithdifferentlearners.
Inadditiontoillustratingspheressothatlessablestudentsgainapictureofwhat
theywillbestudyingforthenexttwoyearsandhowthisisbeingorganized,itcan
alsobeusedtostretchstrongerstudentsandtochallengethemwithothernew
concepts.Forexamplethesplittingoftheearthintospherescanbeusedto
illustrateideaoftaxonomyandthesometimesarbitrarynatureofsuchschemes.For
ableandlessablestudents,theartifactcanallowthem…
(iv)…tochallengethesyllabus.
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Forexample,itquicklybecomesclearfromtheartifactthattheBiosphereoverlaps
otherspheres.Notonlydoesthisencouragequestioningabouthowthecourseis
arrangedbutbringsupthevitalnotionofinterdependenceandinteractionbetween
thespheres.Also,studentsmightquestionwhetherthelistofspheresisexhaustive,
andIhaveusedtheBBCseries“LifeintheFreezer”(Attenborough,1993)to
illustratethecryosphere,somethingnotmentionedonthesyllabus.
(v)Tomakecross-disciplinarylinks
Forexample,betweentheideaofahumanaltitude‘deathzone’
(Biology/respiration)oroceandepthsandpressure(Physics/gaslaws)
(vi)Toquestiontheartifactitself.Whatpartsofthesyllabusdoesitfailto
convey?TwoobviousareasaretheLithosphere(lessablestudentswillusuallybe
abletogetthisveryquickly)andtheconceptsofexploitationandmanagementof
resources.Whenstudentshavebeenabletocomeupwiththese,Iwilluseanother
infographic,“MiningforOilandOre”(http://tinyurl.com/zsgpwlp)whichemploysa
similar‘top-to-bottom’scheme.Thiswouldlikelybethefirstexampleofanotheruse
oftheartifact,namelyassomething…
(vi)…tobeaddedtobystudents.
Whenitismadeintoalargeprintoutfortheclassroomwall,studentscanaddwork
toit,augmentitwithotherresources,anduseittoplot‘where’weareinthe
syllabus.Thisisanotherillustrationofthepointmadeaboveaboutanartifact
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havinglongevityasoneoftheattributesthatdifferentiatesitfromaresourceor
object.
(B)Fortheteacher/curriculummaker
Manyofthebenefitsfromusingtheartifactfromthepointofviewofthestudent
willalsoapplytoteachers.Forexample,itmayprovokethoughtsaboutinter-
disciplinarylinks,orwaysofscaffoldingtopicsandassignmentstoaccommodatea
rangeofabilities.Itmayalsoassistwithplanning,sequencing,andtime
management,particularlyifmorethanoneteacheristeachingthecoursetoa
particularclass.Inmyschool,forexample,thesplitisbetweenYear10(taughtbya
Biologist)andYear11.
Iwouldfurtherarguethatanartifactsuchasthiscouldhelpteachersascurriculum
makersmovefromasyllabustoamadecurriculum.Forexample“illustratingand
makingmorecomprehensibletheconceptofspheres”(Student(ii)–above)
illustratestheneedtodifferentiatebetweenasyllabus(spheres)anda
curriculum/pedagogy:howdoweinterpretasyllabus,runwithit,teachit?As
LambertandMorgan(2010,p.49)putit,
“…wecanbesurethatthecurriculumasexperiencedbychildrenandyoungpeopleintheclassroomis,atleastinpart,theonethathasbeenmadebyteachers.Teachersarethecurriculum-makers”.
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AndwhileRawling(2008,p.116)pointsoutthatthecurriculummakingprocess
neednotbemadeobvioustothestudent,Iwouldarguethatthismightnotbe
inappropriatehere,showingstudentshowanartifactcanbeusedto,“deepen[their]
knowledgeandbroadentheirunderstanding…graduallyreach[ing]awarenessand
gain[ing]understandingofthebigideasorconcepts”.Biddulph,Lambertand
Balderstone(2000)linkthisprocesstotheuseofcurriculumartifacts,pointingout
thatthey,
“…representanalternativewayto[think]aboutpreparingsequencesoflessons.Ratherthanstartingwiththetopicsandtheaims,westartwithanartifactofsomedescription”(p.67)
Inotherwords,theartifactratherthanthesyllabusbecomesthestartingpointfor
thethinkingofteachersaswellasstudents.Iwouldsubmitthatthiscomesinthe
curriculumplanningand–inparticular–curriculummaking-stagesusingtheGA’s
termsforthecurriculumprocess.
TheG.A.’scurriculumglossarydistinguishesbetweencurriculumdesign,
development,andmaking.Whiletherewillbesomeoverlapbetweenthese,the
modelmightlooksomethinglikethefollowingintermsofanationalexamination
syllabusornationalsubjectcurriculum:
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Table 2: Curriculum process (adapted from Geography Association
Curriculum Making Glossary, GA 2014)
GANomenclature GADefinition Conductedby… Degreeof
individual
teachercontrol
Curriculum
Development
An umbrella term that can
encompass design (national
specifications or
programme of study),
planning
Government(if
NationalCurriculum)
School(choiceofexam
subjectstooffer,the
examboard.
Zerotolow
CurriculumPlanning The process that results in
a scheme of work. It
involves taking account of
various factors and
influences, including the
needs and interest of the
young people,
developments in the subject
and wider policy and
society concerns such as
citizenship, diversity
education and community
cohesion
Schooland
Department
Lowtomedium
CurriculumMaking The creative process that
'puts the plan into action'
(although this is not
necessarily a simple, linear
process). All teachers apply
curriculum making skills,
whilst planning may be led
by a designated individual
such as the head of
department or geography
leader). Curriculum making
is concerned with balancing
pupil needs with content
selection and pedagogic
Subject
team/individual
teacher
Relativelyhigh,but
arguablybeing
diminished.
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strategy. It is concerned
with and 'making geography
happen'.
LambertandMorganemphasizehowthesestagesoverlapinthediagrambelow:
Figure 1: Lambert’s scheme showing interrelated aspects of curriculum
making (2010, p. 50)
Yetthisdiagramimpliesamuchgreaterdegreeofchoiceanddiscretionforthe
teacherthanisexperiencedbythoseofusgivenaniGCSEexaminationsyllabusto
teach.InShiro’s(2013)terms,the“scholaracademic”modewillbetothefore
becauseoftheexternallyimposedsyllabusandexternallyassessedexaminations.
Theselatterwillbeusedtoassesstheperformanceoftheteacheraswellasthe
students.
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However,inhelpingteacherstothinkaboutasyllabusandhowtoteachit,a
curriculumartifactcanhelpthemregainsomecontrolofthecurriculummakingand
planningprocessthattheymightotherwiseseeashavingbeentakenfromthem.
Theremovalofthiscontrolhasbeenanon-goingprocesslastingmanyyearswith
equallymanytwistsandturns,asoutlinedbyRawling(2001)andWalford(2001).
Inwhathecallsthe“culturalrestorationist”view(onegivenfurtherstrengthunder
MichaelGove):“school-basedcurriculumdevelopment[does]notfeatureinthis
vision”(p.35).Theteacherintheclassroommaythusfeelherselfconsignedtothe
roleofcurriculumdeliverer.Thismaybeespeciallytrueifthedemandsof‘box-
ticking’andothercommandandcontrolmeasuresmeanthatateachermaynot
havethetimetomakeacurriculumfromasyllabusevenifshefeltempoweredtodo
so.
Roberts(1995)pointsout,however,thatteachersarenotalwaysquitesosupine.
Herstudyexaminesthereactionsofteachersinthreeschoolswithdiffering
philosophiesofGeographyeducation,curriculumandpedagogy(whatRobertscalls
content-rich,framework,andprocess)andtheirreactionstotheimpositionofthe
UKNationalCurriculum.Ineachoftheschools,thefirstreactiontothenew
designedandmandatedcurriculumwastoaskhowwellitfittedwithwhatthe
teacherssawastheneedsoftheirstudentsandtheirviewsofwhatmadeforgood
Geographyeducation.Wheretherewasaconflict,
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“theheadsofdepartmentwanttopreservetheirwayofcurriculumplanning,theywanttocontinueenjoyingteachingandtheywanttokeepwithinthelaw,asfarastheycan.Thereisaprocessofadjustment,buttheinfluenceofthepreviousvaluesseemsdominant”.(p.201)
Inotherwords,whenfacedwithanimposedcurriculumorsyllabus,teacherstend
towonderhowtheycantakecontrolofit.Iwouldarguetheuseofcurriculum
artifactscanbeonetoolhelpingthemtodothis.Toexplain,Iwillcomparesomeof
myresponsestotheEvMsyllabuswiththereactionofsomeoftheteachersin
Roberts’studywhenfacedwiththeNationalcurriculum.
EvM and the National Curriculum
Inbothcases,curriculumdevelopmentandmostcurriculumplanninghavebeen
takenoutofthehandsoftheteachersandtheywillquicktofocusonwhatis
consideredpoororlackingintermsofcontentandmethodology.Inmyowncase
withEvM,IseeaclearlackofGeo-capabilites(mappingandscale,forexample)and
focusonEnvironmenttothedetrimentofSpaceandPlace.InRoberts’study,a
teachercommentsonthe,
“enormousoverloadingandIhaveaverygreatconcernthatwewillactuallycoverallthecontent.Istillfeelthattheydon'ttrusttheprofessionaljudgementofteacherstochoosecasestudyexamples.Ican'tunderstandwhyinthedevelopingworldyouhavetodoNigeriawhenyoucan'tdoGhana.”(p.198)
Weareboth,asRobertshasit,equatingcurriculum(syllabusinmycase)with
content,orlookingattheframework(thespheresinmycase)asdefiningthe
curriculum.
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Inthecaseoftheteachingthedevelopingworld(inthequoteabove)Iwouldargue
thatacurriculumartifactmighthelpteachersimprovecurriculummakinginthe
contextofthesetcurriculum,andtoadapttheirpedagogytoincorporateexternal
demandswiththeirandtheirdepartment’sviewsonwhatGeographyeducation
shouldlooklike.Forexampleavideo,picture,infographic,orobjectmightleadtoa
professionaldiscussionaboutwhattheteacherswouldlikestudentstolearnabout
sub-SaharanAfrica.Whatskillscanbeused,whatgeo-capabilitiespromoted,what
knowledge,insightsandunderstandingaretheyhopingtoconvey?Notonlymight
thismakethechoiceofcountryseemlessimportant,itmightinspireteachersto
bringinworkcontrastingcountries(GhanaandNigeria,say)inordertoavoid
givingstudentstheimpressionthatanundifferentiated‘GlobalSouth’exists.Inmy
ownteaching,forexample,IhaveusedanimageoftheCBDofLagos(Bappah,2015)
andaskedstudentstoguessthelocation.Africaisrarelyofferedasananswer.This
imagecouldbe‘workedup’intoanartifactthatallowstheteacherstofollowthe
Nationalcurriculumandpreparestudentsforassessmentwhilegivingincreased
curriculummakingpowertotheteacher.
InthecaseofmyEvMsyllabus,theinfographicallowsmetoseewaysofintegrating
morespatialconceptsandHumanGeography(thehighestcities,theeffectoftheBP
oilspill–bothofwhichareontheinfographic)intothecurriculum.WherecanIget
insomemapwork?HowcanIuseHongKongandChinaasexamples?More
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generally,howcanIseethesyllabusasastartingpointratherthanandending;how
canImakeasyllabusintoacurriculum?
Tobesure,notallcurriculumartifactsareintendedtoapplytoallofasyllabusor
nationalcurriculum(norshouldtheybe)andfindingandplanningtouse
curriculumartifactsisonlyonepartofcurriculummaking.Equally,anartifact
cannotmaketheexternalconstraints(thelawofthelandorthefinalexam)
disappear.However,itismycontentionthatwellchosenandskillfullyemployed
artifactscanempowerteachersaswellasstudentstoworkwithafuller,more
roundedcurriculumthatisbetterfittedtotheeducationalphilosophyoftheschool,
theviewsoftheteacher,andtheneedsofthestudents.Itmayalsoforceteachersto
answerthequestionposedbyLambertandMorgan(2010):“Whatkindof
geographerareyou?”(p.163).Thisquestionisparticularlypertinentwhenschools
andteacherscanfeelthemselvestobetossedaroundinshiftingideologicalwindsof
increasingintensity.Rawlings(2001)endshishistoricalsurveyoftheseshifting
ideologieswithaquotefromEducationGuardian:
“Inmoderntimeswehavebeenplaguedwithasuccessionofshort-livedideologiesineducation…likemarcherstowardsanewdawn,andnoonehastheslightestideathatitwillturnouttobeanuglymorning…Butonecannotsimplyditchallformsofideologyandassumethatthesystemwillcontinuetoworkequallywell.Theseideologysustainedteachers,helpedthemtogetoutofbedinthemorning,toworkwithasenseofpurposeandgocheerfullyintoschool…”(OrmellinEducationGuardian,March1992quotedinRawlings,2001)
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ThisechoesthesentimentsexpressedbytheteachersinRoberts’studywithschools
concludingthat,wehaveto‘getonwith’butwewilltrytodosoinwaysthatreflect
ourbeliefsaboutwhatconstitutesgoodeducationalandpedagogicalpracticeand
whichanswerstheneedsofourstudents.Curriculumartifactscanbeatoolhelping
teacherstoaccomplishthisbut,again,thisrequirestimeandfreedom.Increasingly
prescriptivecurriculumsandsyllabusesimposedfromabove(especiallywhen
coupledwithonerousbureaucracyandmoreexaminations)cantakethisaway.A
cynicmightarguethatthisistheintention.OneoftheschoolsinRoberts’study
facedwiththislatestiterationofideologyandcurriculumdesignfromonhighmore
orlessthrewinthetowel.Aseriesoftextbookswere“usedinalmosteverylesson”
andtheauthorwaspraisedforhaving,“donehisworkinmakingsurethatitfitsall
thestandardsofattainmentandsoon.He’sdoneitallandthere’sachecklist.”(p.
200)ThisremindedmeoftheoldsalespitchfromIBMtopurchasingmanagers
claimingtriumphantlythat,“nobodyevergotfiredforbuyingIBM”.Itistrueand
depressinginequalmeasure,acalltoabandonriskyinnovationandsensitivityto
individualneedsinfavourofbuyinginasafe,one-size-fits-all,ready-madepackage
thatcanbe‘delivered’easilyandthenunpluggedwhentechnology/ideological
fashionchanges.Textbookpublishers(andcomputerfirms)willbereadywith
anotherpackaged“solution”(nodoubtincludinga“checklist”)whenthisinevitably
happens.
Thatteachersatthechalkfacegetevidenceoftheefficacyofthese“short-lived
ideologies”onstudentlearningisusuallyignored,sothetemptationtobuythe
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textbookpackageandbecomeacurriculumdelivererisstrong.ButasIhave
suggested,theuseofcurriculumartifactscanhelpteachersfindwaysofthinking
thatallowthemtoregaincontroloverthecurriculummakingprocess,evenwhen
curriculumdevelopmentand(increasingly)planning,aredecidedonhigh.
StandingIntheWayofControl–thecaseofIBEnvironmentalSystems&
Societiesandteacherfeedbackinfluencingcentralizedcurriculumdesign.
Togofurther,itispossiblethatthetypeofthinkingonthepartofteachersthat
curriculummakingwithartifactscanengenderandinfluencecurriculumdesign.
TheIBdiplomaprogrammeforcedstudentstochooseonesubjectfromeachofsix
subjectgroupsincludingScience(Group4)andIndividualsandSocieties(Group3).
ThismodelofthesixgroupsformedthecoreofthedesignedIBcurriculumas
shownbytheIBCircle(itwasaoriginallyahexagon)below.
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Figure2:TheIBDiplomaProgrammeModel
Source: IBO Logos and Programme Models (n.d.)
Oneresultofthiswhichteachersfedbackinlargenumberswasthatstudentswitha
biastoHumanitiesofSciencesubjectsweretakingmakingparticularchoicesfor
their‘sixthsubject’–theonetheyleastwishedtodobutwereforcedintobythe
curriculumdesign.ScientistschoseStandardLevelEconomicsinGroup4,seeingit
asthemost‘Science-y’Humanity,whileHumanitiesandArts-inclinedstudents
pickedStandardLevelBiologyinGroup4asbeingtheleast‘science-y’/most
Humanitiesor‘Arts-y’oftheSciences.Teacherspointedoutforexample,thatifon
weretopickaSciencesubjectasthelasttobeformallystudiedbya17-year-old,
StandardLevelBiologywouldnotbethatsubject.Asimilarcasecouldbemade
againstanaspiringscientistendingherHumanitieseducationwithStandardlevel
Economics.
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Partlyasaresultofthisfeedbackfromteachers,theIBOrespondedintwoways.
OnewastointroduceEnvironmentalSystemsandSociety(IBO,n.d.,
http://tinyurl.com/hmmzjfk)whichwasspecificallydesignedtomakestudents’last
experiencewiththesesubjectareasmoreappropriateandmeaningful.More
radicallyfromtheIB’spointofview,theymadethesubjectcross-disciplinary,so
thatscientistscouldtakeitinGroup3astheirHumanityandHumanitiesandArts
studentscouldtakeitinGroup4astheirsciencesubject.Thisrepresentedahuge
changeintheIB’scurriculumdesign.
Iwouldnot,ofcourse,claimthischangeasavictoryfortheuseofcurriculum
artifacts.Iwould,however,suggestthatitinpartresultedfromthetypeofthinking
andcurriculummakingthattheuseofcurriculumartifactscanprovoke.
Conclusion
Mostcurriculumartifactsareconstructedtobeapplicabletoasubsetofa
programmeandtoallowstudentstoapproachatopicfromadifferentand
unfamiliarangleandtoenhancelearningbychallengingpre-conceptions,showing
widerrelevance,andhintingatcross-disciplinarylinks.Ihavearguedthata
curriculumartifactcangobeyondthisinanumberofways.
Firstly,anartifiactcanbeusedtoprovideanoverviewofacourseorsyllabus.As
suchitcanhelpstudentstocontextualizeindividualunitsofstudy,showthe
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connectionsbetweenthem,andprovideasafe“homeport”whenalargesyllabus
seemsoverwhelming.
Secondly,itcanhelpteachersintheplanningprocess.Bygivingstudentsand
teachersasharedoverviewtheartifactcanbeavaluableaidtocurriculumplanning,
andthisisperhapsamoretypicaluse.However,anartifactwithawiderscopesuch
astheonereferredtointhisreportcanalsobeatoolforcurriculumplanning.As
such,itiscapableofreturningtoteacherssomeofthepowerandautonomythat
theyhavelostinthefaceofincreasinglyprescriptivesyllabusesandnational
curriculums.Anartifactcanledtoprofessionaldiscussionsandcollaborationamong
teachersanddepartmentsthatallowthemtomakecurriculumsthatreflectthe
needsoftheirstudentsinplaceandtime.
Thirdly,thisfreedomcanmovebeyondsubjectareas,asacurriculumartifactthat
attemptstoprovideanoverviewoflearningandlearningoutcomescanfacilitate
cross-disciplinaryanddepartmentallinks.Thiscan,inturn,leadtoaschool’soverall
curriculumbecomingmorerelevantandappropriatetostudentsandtobemore
controlledbyteachers.Thiscaneventaketheformoffeedbackfromschools
resultingincurriculum-settingbodiessuchastheIBmakingchangestosyllabuses
andevenprogrammestructures.
Moregenerally,Iwouldarguethattheprocessofselectingandintegratinga
curriculumartifactcanhelpteacherstoanswerthequestion,“Whatkindof
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MartinClarke GeographyEducationMA LeadingtheGeoCurriculum
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Geographerareyou?”Itcallsforathoughtfulevaluationofthesyllabusandlearning
outcomes,aswellasthetypeofpedagogythatwillbeadopted.Thiscanhelp
teachers,departmentsand(throughinterdisciplinarylinking)schoolsmakea
curriculumthatreflectstheirvalueswhileconformingtotheneedsofexternal
syllabusandcurriculumdesigners.
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Appendix
1) Links to Syllabus, Past Papers and Mark Schemes for Cambridge Environmental Management (0680)
Syllabus
http://www.cie.org.uk/images/128370-2015-syllabus.pdf
Paper1
http://www.cie.org.uk/images/196687-november-2013-question-paper-
11.pdf
Paper2
http://www.cie.org.uk/images/196493-november-2013-question-paper-
22.pdf
Paper4(alternativetocoursework)
http://www.cie.org.uk/images/196689-november-2013-question-paper-
41.pdf
MarkschemePaper1
http://www.cie.org.uk/images/185795-november-2013-mark-scheme-11.pdf
MarkschemePaper2
http://www.cie.org.uk/images/185787-november-2013-mark-scheme-22.pdf
MarkschemePaper4
http://www.cie.org.uk/images/185797-november-2013-mark-scheme-41.pdf
2)IBEnvironmentalSystemsandSocietiesSubjectBrief
http://www.ibo.org/globalassets/publications/recognition/4_envirsyssl.pdf
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