Have teachers design at the lesson or course level rather than whole curricula¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (2 mixed) · 1 study (1 theoretical), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

Kirschner recommends that teacher participation in research and design be served by having teachers design at the lesson or course level rather than at the curriculum level. Curriculum-level design requires deep understanding of the content's role and function relative to everything taught over years, which is often beyond the competence of a teacher who teaches one subject within a curriculum. He also urges going beyond adaptation toward shared design and construction using open educational resources, as in Wiley's open textbook projects, to broaden and deepen teachers' domain-specific knowledge.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Design tasks must match teachers' actual competence, which typically covers their own subject within a curriculum

Constraints¶

• Curriculum-level design is described as ultimately desirable but often beyond individual teachers' competence

Target Learners¶

• in-service and preservice teachers

Target Learning Goals¶

• designing high-quality learning materials and resources

Claims¶

• Participatory design yields teacher ownership but carries tradeoffs and omits the learner [~W]
• Teachers designing TEL face serious constraints of time, expertise and endorsement [~W]

Related Strategies¶

• Provide teachers with exemplar NGSS-aligned CBL units and templates to customize rather than requiring design from scratch
• Organize participatory design meetings for one teacher with a small heterogeneous group of student co-designers

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Kirschner, P. A. (2015). Do we need teachers as designers of technology enhanced learning? Instructional Science, 43, 309–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-015-9346-9