Reform by the Book: What Is—or Might Be—the Role of Curriculum Materials in Teacher Learning and Instructional Reform?

Ball, Deborah Loewenberg; Cohen, David K.

doi:10.3102/0013189x025009006

Cited by 448 publications

(354 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Similar benefits of the role of materials have been identified by other researchers (Ball & Cohen, 1996;Vooght, 1997;Thijs, 1999).…”

Section: Video-making and Teacherssupporting

confidence: 61%

Facilitating digital video production in the language arts curriculum

McKenney

Voogt

2011

AJET

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Two studies were conducted to facilitate the development of feasible support for the process of integrating digital video making activities in the primary school language arts curriculum. The first study explored which teaching supports would be necessary to enable primary school children to create digital video as a means of fostering communications skills. A pupil workbook was determined to be the most appropriate solution, and a draft workbook was piloted. The second study evaluated how well the learner workbook, when combined with a teacher guide and an introductory workshop, contributed to supporting the process of digital video making for the purpose of fostering message design competencies. This article describes motives for linking video making to the language arts curriculum, as well as how those ideas and the study data informed the development of the primary means of support -the pupil workbook.

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“…Similar benefits of the role of materials have been identified by other researchers (Ball & Cohen, 1996;Vooght, 1997;Thijs, 1999).…”

Section: Video-making and Teacherssupporting

confidence: 61%

Facilitating digital video production in the language arts curriculum

McKenney

Voogt

2011

AJET

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“…In addition, a focus on curriculum analysis from the perspective of curricular autonomy can give the impression to beginning teachers that good teaching requires the development and creation of lessons that are textbook free (Ball and Feiman-Nemser, 1988). This, as Ball and Cohen (1996) note, does not utilize the potential power of textbooks as curricular resources for teacher learning. Our study provides a unique perspective and examines how elementary preservice teachers interpret, use, and possibly learn from curriculum materials in the context of a teacher education program.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Some research on curriculum materials has tended to focus on describing the content of texts (Schmidt et al, 1997) or how texts can be used to promote instructional change (Rickard, 1996). On the other hand, how curriculum materials might be used to support curricular innovation and teacher learning has become a topic of considerable debate (Ball and Cohen, 1996;Remillard, 2000;Apple, 1992;Ma, 1999). Apple (1992) for example, argues that texts provide opportunities for teachers to engage in a critical analysis of the economic, political, and social realities outside and within the classroom that help teachers construct and re-construct curriculum materials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Through an awareness of the social and political contexts of how and what knowledge is represented in texts, teachers could be freed from the "tyranny" of the text and more able to explore the curriculum potential of texts in selecting, adapting and developing material to suit their needs (Ben-Peretz, 1990). Others such as Ball and Cohen (1996) and Remillard (2000) suggest that curriculum materials can contribute to teacher learning particularly when texts are designed with that purpose in mind.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Learning to Teach with Mathematics Textbooks: How Preservice Teachers Interpret and Use Curriculum Materials

2006

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This study investigates how four prospective teachers interpret and use textbooks while learning to teach mathematics during university coursework and practicum teaching. Results indicate that prospective teachers had varied approaches to using textbooks ranging from adherence, elaboration, and creation. Factors influencing how they engaged with texts include their practicum classroom setting, access to resources, and their understanding of mathematics. Preservice teachers' attempts to modify textbook lessons raised pedagogical, curricular, and mathematical questions for them that were not easily answered by reference to the textbooks or teacher's guides. Findings indicate that the practicum can, however, challenge preservice teachers to be creative and flexible users of curriculum materials.

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“…Textbooks and other curriculum materials have been described by Ball and Cohen (1996) as "the stuff of lessons and units, of what teachers and students do" (p. 6). In a study of the use of mathematics textbooks in English, French and German classrooms, Pepin and Haggarty (2001) found that in some textbooks, exercises predominated, with few connections made between the concepts practised.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%