Curriculum innovation and domain-specific instruction

Introduction
Many innovations have taken place in the secondary and primary school curriculum in the Netherlands over the past few decades. These innovations have been inspired by the continuing necessity to update both subject matter and teaching methods, as well as by recurring innovations in the education system. As a result, educational goals, subject matter and teaching materials in every subject significantly differ from those used forty years ago. Developments in many curriculum domains can be interpreted in terms of broader waves in curriculum innovation transcending national borders: an initial stage in the 1960s, in which 'the structure of the discipline' was central, a second stage in which the emphasis was on learning in real-life contexts, and a more recent stage in which socio-constructivist ideas have influenced the way learning processes are being organized. A focus on active learning and a focus on authentic learning are typical of innovations of the latter kind. Innovations aim at education that is geared to the needs of the learner and at learning from real-life (or simulated) problems and assignments. Besides the traditional cognitive educational goals, new learning goals are strived at, such as learning to learn, collaborating in groups, learning to communicate, learning to do research. These innovations have recently evoked a lot of discussion, among others about the status of knowledge and of the school subjects / disciplines. Innovators themselves often also struggle with questions concerning the structuring of learning processes, such as: how to build a balanced curriculum based on authentic tasks; how to guarantee that carrying out such tasks indeed evokes the intended need for knowledge and skills in students; and how can cohesion and structure in the acquired knowledge and skills be realized? Schools are experimenting with different solutions and also different solutions are proposed by educational scientists (e.g. an inquiry-based curriculum, or working with big ideas in a community of learners). In this master class the historical roots of recent curriculum innovations are discussed, and research is presented that aims at contributing to and evaluating such innovations in different curriculum domains. Both questions concerning the content of these innovations and the methodology of the research (a.o. design research) will be addressed: how do researchers try to find evidence for the success or failure of innovations? Although questions in various curriculum domains and in different school types may differ, we think that bringing together scholars, involved in innovations in different domains, is productive. The core of the master class will therefore consist of a number of lectures and workshops by scholars involved in research focussing on innovations in various curriculum domains, ranging from history to chemistry or in a specific innovation affecting several curriculum domains. The master class is particularly interesting for PhD students involved in research into curriculum innovations, but also for others who are interested in recent debates on educational innovation and the role of educational science in educational innovation.

Course Objectives
After having completed this master class, the PhD candidate has acquired

Knowledge and understanding of the historical roots of recent innovations in primary and secondary
education, and their implications for instruction in several curriculum domains implications for educational practice

Knowledge and understanding of theories on curriculum and instruction in several domains, and their

 Knowledge of methodologies used to investigate the effects of specific innovations in particular curriculum Knowledge of results of domain-specific research in education
Moreover the participants domains

Have become acquainted with (the work of) Dutch and foreign scholars involved in research in the Are able to judge proposals for innovation from a historical and curriculum theoretical perspective Are able to review research into curriculum innovation Are able to translate the acquired knowledge and understanding to the context of their own research
project. domain of curriculum innovation

Course Programme
The master class involves four days of face-to-face meetings. These meetings will include 1. formal lectures and expert panels, explaining and discussing theoretical perspectives, methodologies used and research examples in (innovation in) specific curriculum domains 2. workshops in which assignments are carried out which are related to the literature and the lectures 3. workshops in which participants present issues from their own research and receive feedback 4. final integrating assignment Day 1: orientation; introductory lecture; workshop: two lectures on innovation in primary and prevocational education; discussion with teachers Day 2: three lectures/workshops on innovations in secondary education in the languages/humanities and sciences; workshop own research Day 3: 3 lectures/workshops on innovations in the social science subjects; and on design research; workshop own research Day 4: workshop own research; discussion with secondary school students; integrating assignment and presentation; evaluation Before the start of the master class, participants are asked to study a number of articles which will be addressed during the meetings. Participants are invited to send the lecturers a summary of their research as well as an article on their research (if available).

Lecturers
Co-ordinators of the master class are prof. dr. Joop van der Schee and prof. Dr. Monique Volman (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam). They will form the permanent staff. Six senior members of the ICO-theme Domain-specific instruction and one foreign lecturer will participate. Also teachers, head of departments and secondary school students will be invited to explain issues from an educational practice perspective.

Joop van der Schee

Onderwijscentrum Vrije Universiteit De Boelelaan 1105 1081 HV Amsterdam tel (020) 5989213 / 22 fax (020) 598 9250 e-mail: j.vanderschee@ond.vu.nl

 Monique Volman

Onderwijscentrum Vrije Universiteit De Boelelaan 1105 1081 HV Amsterdam tel (020) 598 9246 / 22 fax (020) 598 9250 e-mail: m.volman@ond.vu.nl

Requirements
The course requires a total time investment of 100 hours, of which approximately 30 hours are for attending the meetings, and another 70 hours to study literature and prepare a discussion of points relevant in the own PhD-project. Participants will pass the course if they are present at and actively contribute to each of the course meetings, organize a relevant discussion of their own PhD-project and pass a group-assignment at the end of the master class showing the acquired knowledge.

Language
The language during the master class is Dutch, unless there are English speaking PhD-candidates attending. In that case the language will be English.

Literature
About three weeks before the first meeting participants will receive a reader with the literature to be studied.

Dates and location

Meetings are planned between 9.30 and 17.00 on Monday November 19, Tuesday November 20, Monday November 26, Tuesday November 27. All meetings take place in Utrecht at the Studiecentrum of the Open University of the Netherlands, which is located in the centre of Utrecht (see http://www.ou.nl/eCache/DEF/1/932.html).

Costs
Free for ICO PhD-candidates. For all others 850.

Registration
Deadline for registration is October 15th. PhD students may register for the course by completing the registration form. A maximum of 15 participants will be admitted to the master class. Students who want to register for the course after the deadline is due, are recommended to contact one of the course coordinators.