Digital Curriculum in the Classroom: Authority, Control, and Teacher Role

Abstract

Abstract-With greater online access and greater use of computers and tablets, educational materials are increasingly available digitally, and are soon predicted to become the standard for science classrooms. However, researchers have found that institutionalized structures and cultural factors in schools affect teacher uptake and integration of technology. Findings are sparse that detail the complexities of how teachers actually incorporate technology in their teaching as they negotiate the introduction of a new and potentially disruptive innovation. With respect to a digital curriculum in particular, teachers can be unclear about their role vis-avis the curriculum, as the "computer" potentially becomes an alternative source of authority in the classroom, and this can mean that the teacher is no longer in control. This paper reports on the implementation of two units of an innovative environmental science program, Biocomplexity and the Habitable Planet, as a digital curriculum. We discuss some of the lessons learned about the mix of challenges, anticipated and unanticipated, that confronted four high school teachers as they implemented the curriculum in their classrooms. We suggest that developers and users of digital curricula pay particular attention to how they envision where the authority for teaching and learning in the classroom should reside.

Consequences of curricular adaptation strategies for implementation at scale

“…When teachers adapt new materials with unfamiliar pedagogy, conceptual content, or evaluation methods, they can make changes which may render the result, the enacted curriculum, very different from the curriculum as intended by the designers (Anderson et al, 2018; McNeill, 2009; Schneider et al, 2005). The long‐standing cultural presumption of teachers' control of classroom process and discourse (Duschl, Schweingruber, & Shouse, 2007; Herbel‐Eisenmann, 2007; Puttick, Drayton, & Karp, 2015) may be more likely to surface in practice when a teacher is working with a curriculum for the first time, and especially if the curriculum's ideal enactment requires changes in a teacher's practice: changes will naturally be influenced by the teacher's background and educational philosophy (Arias, et al, 2016; Cohen, 1990; McNeill, 2009). Thus arises the paradox that in the earliest stages of implementing a new curriculum, a teacher may enact the curriculum with much apparent fidelity, but not with full understanding; as familiarity and ownership increase, the teacher's agency will grow as well (Hall & Hord, 1987), and their preferences, philosophy, and habitus (Bourdieu, 1980; Mauss, 1934) as practitioners will reshape the curriculum.…”

“I Broke Your Game!”: critique among middle schoolers designing computer games about climate change

“…Historically in US schooling, expertise has primarily resided with the teacher and the instructional materials he or she provides (Cornelius & Herrenkohl, 2015;Puttick, Drayton, & Karp, 2015). Rarely are students asked to contribute their expertise.…”

Student Experiences of Using Online Material to Support Success in A-Level Economics

“…The mindset behind the change was to allow teachers to focus on contextualising the subject, rather than gearing delivery to meet the demands of an external assessment [1]. The purpose of the reform seems ideal, however, as The Independent identified through a survey of over 5,000 learners aged 16 to 19, the new exams have led to a significant increase in mental health concerns, anxiety and self-harm [76]. The overwhelming response was that learners felt underprepared for their exams, with 84% struggling to cope with the increased academic demands [76].…”

“…The purpose of the reform seems ideal, however, as The Independent identified through a survey of over 5,000 learners aged 16 to 19, the new exams have led to a significant increase in mental health concerns, anxiety and self-harm [76]. The overwhelming response was that learners felt underprepared for their exams, with 84% struggling to cope with the increased academic demands [76]. The biggest factor for this outcome was the lack of practice papers, and more worryingly, especially in the context of the modern era of instant news access, textbooks being out of date [76].…”