ECI 761

Advanced Seminar in Curriculum

Summer, 2013 – Session I

Course and Instructor Information

Instructor: Jeff Bloom Office: EEB 143
Phone: 928-523-0665 Email: jeff.bloom(at)nau.edu
Personal Website: http://www.jeffbloom.net Course Website: http://schoolsteachersparents.wikidot.com/groups:eci761

ANNOUNCEMENTS

This course may not occur, at least with me as the instructor. I will let you know when I find out. In the meantime, please feel free to download the readings for your own perusal.

Introduction

I'm assuming that everyone has certain background knowledge in a variety of areas in curriculum and curriculum theory, in the history of curriculum (at least over the last 120 years or so), and across a number of fields that impact our thinking about curriculum. You also should have a certain degree of expertise in the nature of paradigms and the research approaches embedded within these paradigms. Knowledge of paradigms should include what we may think of as the meta- or super-paradigms, such as positivism, holism, etc., as well as the basic level paradigms (e.g., constructivism, social constructivism, etc.) and the "sub"-paradigms, such as feminism, Marxism, critical theory, etc. An awareness of the philosophical heritages of current paradigms will be extremely helpful, as well.

In addition, you should be familiar with most of the following names, as well as many other scholars who have had in influence on our thinking about curriculum.

• Mortimer Adler • Jayne Fleener • J. Dan Marshall • Ronald Tharp
• Michael Apple • A. W. Foshay • Ference Marton • Ralph Tyler
• M. M. Bakhtin • Paolo Friere • Neil Mercer • Lev Vygotsky
• Benjamin Bloom • Karen Gallas • Hugh Munby • J. Wink
• John Bransford • Henry Giroux • Joe Novak • George Wood
• Jerome Bruner • Ivor Goodson • Annemarie Palincsar • and many others
• G. Butterworth • Maxine Greene • Vito Perrone
• Jean Clandinin • G. Stanley Hall • Jean Piaget
• Michael Connelly • John Holt • Bill Pinar
• Linda Darling-Hammond • Ivan Illich • W. B. Pink
• Brent Davis • Joe Kinchloe • George Posner
• Lisa Delpit • D. Kirshner • Dianne Ravich
• John Dewey • M. Klein • Lauren Resnick
• Bill Doll • Leo Klopfer • Barbara Rogoff
• Margaret Donaldson • Thomas Kuhn • Bill Schubert
• Robert Donmoyer • Jean Lave • Joseph Schwab
• Eleanor Duckworth • Jay Lemke • James Sears
• D. Edwards • Ann Lieberman • Dennis Sumara
• Kieran Egan • P. Light • Hilda Taba
• Elliot Eisner • Horace Mann • Daniel Tanner
• Gary Fenstermacher • Hermine Marshall • Laurel Tanner

Some of the landmark and other significant books with which you should be familiar include:

  • Eisner, E. W. (1970). The educational imagination: On the design and evaluation of school programs. New York: Macmillan. (and/or others by this author)
  • Eisner, E. W., & Valllance, E. (Eds.). (1974). Conflicting conceptions of curriculum. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.
  • Fleener, M. J. (2002). Curriculum dynamics: Recreating heart. New York: Peter Lang.
  • Freire, P. (1970/1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed (trans. M. B. Ramos). New York: Continuum. (and/others by this author)
  • Kuhn, T. S. (1962; 1970). The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Marshall, H. H. (Ed.). (1992). Redefining student learning: Roots of educational change. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.
  • Marshall, J. D., Sears, J. T., Allen, L. A., Roberts, P. A., & Schubert, W. H. (2007). Turning points in curriculum: A contemporary American memoir (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill/Pretice Hall.
  • Oliver, D. W. (with Gershman, K. W.). (1989). Education, modernity, and fractured meaning: Toward a process theory of teaching and learning. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
  • Pinar, W. F., Reynolds, W. M., Slattery, P., & Taubman, P. M. (1995; 1996). Understanding curriculum: An introduction to the study of historical and contemporary curriculum discourses. New York: Peter Lang.
  • Schwab, J. J. (Westbury, I., & Wilkof, N. J. [Eds.]). (1978). Science, curriculum, and liberal education: Selected essays. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Sears, J. T., & Marshall, J. D. (Eds.). (1990). Teaching and thinking about curriculum: Critical inquiries. New York: Teachers College Press.
  • Tharp, R. G., & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing minds to life: Teaching, learning, and schooling in social context. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Course Description

In this course, we will examine some of the issues and trends in curriculum theory and practice. An overview of some current issues will be provided. In addition, a variety of theoretical frameworks, philosophical orientations, analytical lenses, and other tools of curriculum analysis will be examined in some depth. Students will then examine and present issues of interest in greater depth.

Course Process

This course is a seminar. The three weeks or so will be devoted to covering the “tools” and frameworks discussed under the previous heading. After that students will be presenting material and leading discussions around key areas of interest. More detailed information will be provided below and in additional documents and on the course website (http://schoolsteachersparents.wikidot.com/groups:eci761).

Course Goals and Conceptual Territory

  1. Identify current critical issues and problems in curriculum theory and practice.
  2. Analyze current curricular issues using a variety of analytical tools, including phliosophical orientations, theoretical frameworks, and other lenses and analytical tools.

Course Expectations

  1. Participate fully in the course.
  2. Be prepared to discuss assigned readings and participate in all in person and online discussions.
  3. Be supportive of all colleagues in the class.
  4. Complete all assignments.

Tentative Course Schedule

Wk Dates Activities Readings DUE Assignments DUE
1 June 3—4 Introduction All required readings
Brief overview of philosophical and worldview orientations
June 5—6 Brief overview of curricular history in the U.S. All required readings
2 June 10—11 Curriculum Theory All required readings.
June 12—13 Curriculum Theory All required readings.
3 June 17—18 Complexity sciences and curriculum All required readings.
June 19—20 Other lenses and frames All required readings. Critical Analysis
4 June 24—25 Other lenses and frames All required readings
June 26—27 Presentations Presentations
5 July 1 Presentations Presentations
July 2 Wrap-up Discussion Final Project

Required Readings and Materials

Required, recommended, and optional readings are available in a password protected folder. Please see initial email message for the USERNAME and PASSWORD.

The readings provided below (and elsewhere on this site) are intended to provide a "taste" of various aspects of curriculum theorizing. I have chosen these reading to provide you with:

  • a brief historical view of curriculum
  • a sense of the effects of philosophy on thinking about curriculum
  • a taste of some of the current issues in curriculum theorizing
  • an introduction to some scholars of curriculum
  • a few other frames and/or lenses through which you can analyze curriculum.

You may have read some of these already. In which case, you may want to glance quickly through them. Others may be new to you. However, in all cases these are not meant to be read as content to be memorized, but as ideas to spark your own thinking and curriculum theorizing.

In general, when reading at this level you should be concerned with how the ideas of others affect your own thinking. Although it may be nice to read material that is well-written, engaging, etc., ultimately it doesn't matter. So, if some material is difficult to read or not particularly exciting, it's up to you to make it engaging in terms of what you want to learn.

These readings are for your use in this course. Please do not distribute to others.

Click on the File Name to download.

File Name Reference Status Due Date
Autobiographical Consciousness Autobiographical Consciousness: Locating Self and Finding Voice in the Academy — Jo Victoria Nicholson-Goodman Required 6/3/13
Pink1990SM-Ch9.pdf Pink, W. T. (1990). Implementing curriculum inquiry: Theoretical and practical implications. In J. T. Sears & J. D. Marshall (Eds.), Teaching and thinking about curriculum: Critical inquiries. New York: Teachers College Press. Required 6/3/13
MarshallEtAl2007Ch1Ch2.pdf Marshall, J. D., Sears, J. T., Allen, L. A., Roberts, P. A., & Schubert, W. H. (2000/2007). Turning points in curriculum: A contemporary American memoir. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. Required 6/3/13
Pinar2010.pdf Pinar, W. F. (2010). The eight-year study. An essay review of stories of the eight–year study…. Curriculum Inquiry, 40(2), 295-316. Recommended 6/3/13
Goodson1994c1HargreavesInt.pdf Goodson, I. F. (1994). Studying curriculum: Cases and methods. New York: Teachers College Press. Required 6/4/13
Schubert2010.pdf Schubert, W. H. (2010). Journeys of expansion and synopsis: Tensions in books that shaped curriculum inquiry, 1968–present. Curriculum Inquiry, 40(1), 17-94. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2009.00468.x Required 6/4/13
Miller2005.pdf Miller, J. L. (2005). The American curriculum field and its worldly encounters. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 21(2), 9–24. WN: 0519607253002 Required 6/4/13
Bredo2010.pdf Bredo, E. (2010). Mead's philosophy of education. An essay review of The Philosophy of Education (Med, G. H. G. Biesta & D. Thöhler, Eds. Boulder, CO: Paradigm, 2008). Curriculum Inquiry, 40(2), 317—332. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2010.00484.x Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/5/13
Irwin-Reynolds2010.pdf Irwin, R. L., & Reynolds, J. K. (2010). The educational imagination revisited. Curriculum Inquiry, 40(1), 155–166. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2009.00473.x Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/5/13
Urmacher2009.pdf Uhrmacher, P. B. (2009). Toward a theory of aesthetic learning experiences. Curriculum Inquiry, 39(5), 613–636. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2009.00462.x Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/5/13
Philosophical Orientations and Their Relevance to Education Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/5/13
Philosophical Territory of Curriculum This is a sketchy overview. The historical and contemporary layout of philosophical lineages is very complex (and contentious), but this is a start. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/5/13
Schools of Philosophy Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/5/13
Low-Palulis2006.pdf Low, M., & Palulis, P. (2006). A letter from Derrida: Of pedagogy and difference. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 22(1), 45–60. WN: 0610507253009 Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/6/13
Morris2005.pdf Morris, M. (2005). Woods, words, and witnesses: Curriculum as public text. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 21(1), 3–6. WN: 0510507253001 Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/6/13
Triche2005.pdf Triche, S. S. (2005). A Wittgenstein philosophy on history and culture: A discourse of "broken knowledge." Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 21(4), 83–96. WN: 0534907253010 Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/6/13
Stephen Pepper's World Hypotheses Required 6/6/13
Oliver1989Ch1Ch2.pdf Oliver, D. W., with Gershman, K. W. (1989). Education, modernity, and fractured meaning: Toward a process theory of teaching and learning. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. — Chapters 1 & 2 Required 6/10/13
Doll1993Ch1Ch2Ch7.pdf Doll, W. E. (1993). A post–modern perspective on curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press. — Chs. 2 & 7 Optional — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/10/13
Doll1993Ch1Ch2Ch7.pdf Doll, W. E. (1993). A post–modern perspective on curriculum. New York: Teachers College Press. — Chapter 1 Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/10/13
Short1990SM-Ch12.pdf Short, E. C. (1990). Challenging the trivialization of curriculum through research. In J. T. Sears & J. D. Marshall (Eds.), Teaching and thinking about curriculum: Critical inquiries. New York: Teachers College Press. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/10/13
Schubert1990SM-Ch13.pdf Schubert, W. H. (1990). The question of worth as central to curricular empowerment. In J. T. Sears & J. D. Marshall (Eds.), Teaching and thinking about curriculum: Critical inquiries. New York: Teachers College Press. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/10/13
Definitions of Curriculum Required 6/10/13
Three Foci of Curriculum Required 6/10/13
Fundamental Questions About Curriculum Required 6/10/13
“Next” Moment in Curriculum Studies Do We Want Something New or Just Repetition of 1492? Engaging with the “Next” Moment in Curriculum Studies — Chandni Desai Required 6/10/13
Giroux2000Intro.pdf Giroux, H. A. (2000). Stealing innocence: Youth, corporate power, and the politics of culture. New York: Palgrave. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/11/13
Roy2005.pdf Roy, K. (2005). Power and resistance: Insurgent spaces, Deleuze, and curriculum. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 21(1), 27–38. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/11/13
Block1997.pdf Block, A. A. (1997). I'm only bleeding: Education as the practice of violence against children. New York: Peter Lang. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/11/13
MarshallSM-1990Ch2.pdf Marshall, J. D., & Sears, J. T. (1990). An evolutionary and metaphorical journey into teaching and thinking about curriculum. In J. T. Sears & J. D. Marshall (Eds.), Teaching and thinking about curriculum: Critical inquiries. New York: Teachers College Press. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/12/13
Kliebard2001.pdf Kliebard, H. M. (2001). Curriculum theory as metaphor. Theory into Practice, 21(1), 1117. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/12/13
Carlson2001.pdf Carlson, T. B. (2001). Using metaphors to enhance reflectiveness among preservice teachers. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 72(1), 4953. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/12/13
Chen2003.pdf Chen, D. D. (2003). A classification system for metaphors about teaching. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 74(2), 24–31. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/12/13
Teachers and Teaching Metaphors Required 6/12/13
Osberg2010.pdf Osberg, D. (2010). Knowledge is not made for understanding; It is made for cutting. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 7(2), iii–viii. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/13/13
Chancellor2010.pdf Chancellor, B. (2010). Cheonggyecheon: Streaming currere. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 7(1), 16–31. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/13/13
Fleener2002Ch4.pdf Fleener, M. J. (2002). Logical foundations for an organocentric curriculum: Dewey's logic and complexity sciences. In W. E. Doll & N. Gough (Eds.), Curriculum visions. New York: Peter Lang. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/13/13
Davis2005.pdf Davis, B. (2005). Interrupting frameworks: Interpreting geometries of epistemology and curriculum. In W. E. Doll, M. J. Fleener, D. Trueit, & J. St. Julien (Eds.), Chaos, complexity, curriculum, and culture: A conversation (pp. 119–132). New York: Peter Lang. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/13/13
Reeder2005.pdf Reeder, S. (2005). Classroom dynamics and emergent curriculum. In W. E. Doll, M. J. Fleener, D. Trueit, & J. St. Julien (Eds.), Chaos, complexity, curriculum, and culture: A conversation (pp. 247–260). New York: Peter Lang. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/13/13
Crowell-ReidMarr2010.pdf Crowell, S., & Reid–Marr, D. (2010). The non–linear nature of emergent teaching: A multi–threaded tale. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 7(2), 116–119. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/13/13
Bloom2011.pdf Bloom, J. W. (2011). Relationships, systems, and complexity. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 10. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/17/13
Bloom-NatureofRelationships.pdf Bloom, J. W. (2013). The nature and dynamics of relationships in learning and teaching. In B. Griffith & D. J. Loveless (Eds.), The interdependence of teaching and learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/17/13
Bloom-EoM-CurrEnactment.pdf Bloom, J. W. (2012). Ecology of mind: A Batesonian systems thinking approach to curriculum enactment. Curriculum and Teaching, 27(1), 81-100. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/17/13
Volk-Bloom2007.pdf Volk, T., & Bloom, J. W. (2007). The use of metapatterns for research into complex systems of teaching, learning, and schooling. Part I: Metapatterns in nature and culture. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 4(1), 25–43 (Available at: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/complicity/issue/archive) Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/17/13
Bloom-Volk2007.pdf Bloom, J. W., & Volk, T. (2007). The use of metapatterns for research into complex systems of teaching, learning, and schooling. Part II: Applications. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 4(1), 45–68 (Available at: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/complicity/issue/archive) Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/17/13
Overview of Metapatterns Required 6/17/13
Gibney2006.pdf Gibney, P. (2006). The double bind theory: Still crazy–making after all these years. Pscyhotherapy in Australia, 12(3), 48–55. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/18/13
Stagoll2006.pdf Stagoll, B. (2006). Gregory Bateson at 100. Australian & New Zealand. Journal of Family Therapy, 27(3), 121–134. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/18/13
Garrison2003.pdf Garrison, J. (2003). Dewey, Derrida, and 'the double bind.' Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35(3), 349–362. Required — PASSWORD PROTECTED 6/18/13
A Living Curriculum of Place(s) A Living Curriculum of Place(s) — Mark T. Kissling Required 6/19/13
A Critical Pedagogy of Place A Critical Pedagogy of Place — Qiana Cutts Required 6/19/13
Identities-in-Practice Identities-in-Practice in a Figured World of Achievement: Toward Curriculum and Pedagogies of Hope — Limarys Caraballo Required 6/20/13
Theorizing Community ... with Diné Youth Theorizing Community and School Partnerships with Diné Youth — Hollie Anderson Kulago Required 6/20/13
Flawed Visions of Democracy Flawed Visions of Democracy in the United States: Influences on Current Critical Social Justice Research — sj Miller Required 6/20/13

For Classes on June 24 and 25, read from "optional readings" below or from other sources.

Optional Selected Background Readings and Materials

The materials listed below may be helpful for those students not familiar with some of the background ideas, paradigms, and theories that may be necessary for this course.

Some background materials on curriculum are available on the following web page: http://schoolsteachersparents. wikidot.com/analytic:curricular

You may find the following videos useful, as well: http://schoolsteachersparents.wikidot.com/video:videosindex and the Featured Videos on http://schoolsteachersparents.wikidot.com

Optional Readings:

  • Block, A. A. (2005). The following may eat: Part one. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 21(3), 7–20. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Block, A. A. (2005). The following may eat: Part two. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 21(4), 21–32. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Bloom, J. W. (2012). Ecology of mind: A Batesonian systems thinking approach to curriculum enactment. Curriculum and Teaching, 27(1), 81-100. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Bloom, J. W. (accepted). An ecology of mind: Teaching—Learning complex systems. Kybernetes. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Campbell, E. (2008). Editorial: Teaching and learning through lived experience. Curriculum Inquiry, 38(1), 1–5. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2007.00395.x — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • den Heyer, K. (2009). What if curriculum (of a certain kind) doesn't matter? A review of (chapters 1–4) The SAGE handbook of curriculum and instruction. Curriculum Inquiry, 39(1), 27-40. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2008.01435.x — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Elbaz–Luwisch, F. (2010). Narrative inquiry: Wakeful engagement with educational experience. An essay review… Curriculum Inquiry, 40(2), 263–279. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2010.00481.x — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Erdman, J. I. (1990). Curriculum and community: A feminist perspective. In J. T. Sears & J. D. Marshall (Eds.), Teaching and thinking about curriculum: Critical inquiries. New York: Teachers College Press. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Falk, B., & Darling–Hammond, L. (2010). Documentation and democratic education. Theory Into Practice, 49, 72–81. DOI: 10.1080/00405840903436103 — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Grimmett, P. P., & Chinnery, A. (2009). Bridging policy and professional pedagogy in teaching and teacher education: Buffering learning by educating teachers as curriculum makers. Curriculum Inquiry, 39(1), 125–143. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2008.01441.x — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Hargreaves, A. (2009). Presentism, individualism, and conservatism: The legacy of Dan Lortie's Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Curriculum Inquiry, 40(1), 143–154. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2009.00472.x — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Henderson, J. G. (2007). Transforming curriculum leadership (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Huntly, A. (2005). Returning teaching and learning to its original complexity. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 21(4), 97–116. WN: 0534907253011. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Miller, J. L. (2010). Curriculum as a consciousness of possibilities. (a review of M. Greene (1971).) Curriculum Inquiry, 40(1), 125–141. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2009.00471.x — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Pinar, W. F., & Grumet, M. R. (2001). Socratic caesura and the theory—practice relationship. Theory Into Practice, 21(1), 50–54. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Proulx, J. (2008). Some differences between Maturana and Varela's theory of cognition and constructivism. Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity and Education, 5(1), 11–26. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Trifonas, P. P. (2006). On knowledge, science, and epistemological postmodernity. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 22(4), 135–140. — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED
  • Turner, T., & Wilson, D. G. (2010). Reflections on documentation: A discussion with thought leaders from Reggio Emilia. Theory Into Practice, 49, 5–13. DOI: 10.1080/00405840903435493 — OPTIONAL — PASSWORD PROTECTED

Helpful Resources

Curriculum Journals

Websites, Blogs, et al.

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