Curriculum architecture - a literature review

The analysis of almost 400 abstracts, articles, books from academic sources, policy documents and the educational press has been undertaken to attempt to illuminate the concept of Curriculum Architecture. The phrase itself is not current in the Scottish educational discourse. This review has attempted to look at the international research literature, available over the past ten years or so, on the sub-themes identified in the SEED specification

Gateway to College: Lessons from Implementing a Rigorous Academic Program for At-Risk Young People

Despite efforts to improve the high school graduation rate in the United States, an estimated 7,200 students drop out of high school every day -- a staggering 1.3 million every year. Further, a recent report by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University projects that by 2020, nearly 65 percent of U.S. jobs will require at least some college education, out of reach for those who are unable to earn a high school diploma. Much more comprehensive alternative education programs are needed that put dropouts and students at risk of dropping out on a path to earn high school diplomas while also providing them with the academic skills and support necessary to be successful in their postsecondary pursuits

Exposing the Brilliant Facets of Pedagogical Content Knowledge: a Collective Case Study

A tremendous cultural richness exists throughout today\u27s urban communities. From language, race, culture, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status, PK-12 pupils enter the classroom with a multitude of lived experiences and academic proficiencies. In particular, it is the range of academic proficiencies and the inadequate preparation of urban educators that perpetuates a visibly widening achievement gap between urban pupils and their suburban counterparts. Add to this a skeleton curriculum and endless high-stakes assessment exams, the future success of urban pupils becomes bleak. A deep foundation in pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), also known as the amalgam of rich content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, becomes imperative for the successful preparation of future urban educators. Thus, this collective case study served as a vehicle to investigate how urban, pre-service teachers constructed and internalized an awareness of the complexities of teaching, learning, and PCK during a subject-specific pedagogy lab. These pedagogy labs focused on the subject areas of Political Science, Chemistry/Biochemistry, Environmental Science, and Mathematics, and acted as spaces where university students and faculty had opportunities to confront, construct, and reinvent teaching practices imperative for PK-12 urban pupil success. Each pedagogy lab was constructed and facilitated by two university instructors; one instructor had experience with the particular content and the other instructor had experience with the particular pedagogy. During the five weeks of each lab, pre-service teachers engaged in a space of liminality where they participated in critical discourse surrounding the various dimensions of becoming a teacher. Three common themes of: making content relevant, inquiry-based teaching, and reflections of self as an educator emerged as the skills and traits necessary for today\u27s developing educator. For individuals who were considering a profession in teaching, the participants of this study were advanced with their assertions of best teacher practice. The faculty and instructors who facilitated these pedagogy labs also experienced their own space of liminality as they participated in cross-disciplinary collaboration surrounding the dimensions of PCK. As such, a revision of the PCK framework emerged, which includes newly refined facets for the preparation of urban teachers. Those facets: knowledge of self as an educator, knowledge of culturally responsive teaching, knowledge of inquiry teaching, and knowledge of content and student learning realign to establish a brilliant skill set embodying content, pedagogy, and cultural responsiveness. As such, these facets fuse together to provide the opportunity to reemphasize a deeper development of culturally responsive pedagogical content knowledge (CRPCK), applicable for every urban classroom and the foundation for every burgeoning educator

Initial Primary Teacher Education in Lesotho: Multi-Site Teacher Education Research Project (MUSTER), Country Report Two

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

In-Depth Portfolio Assessment: Shelby County Schools, Memphis, TN

The 2013 merger of Memphis City Schools (with 103,000 students) and Shelby County Schools (with 47,000 students) was the largest school district consolidation in American history. In its first year of operation, the new Shelby County Schools (SCS) commissioned CRPE researchers to perform a critical review of the district's readiness to implement a portfolio strategy for managing its schools. Based on interviews with internal and external stakeholders and analysis against model system progress, this report outlines CRPE's baseline measurement of where SCS stands in relation to the seven main components of the portfolio strategy. The report also provides suggestions for how SCS can seek progress over the next year, and track progress or decline at future intervals