Keeping Up with the Curriculum
The Situation
Ella Johnstone was fresh out of college. On her first day at Lincoln Middle School, she met with the principal and eighth-grade team leader, received her teaching assignment, picked up textbooks, and visited her own classroom for the first time. It was an exciting day, but it held some surprises and challenges.
Ella had majored in history, and her teaching assignment was the history and regional geography of the United States. She had good grades in her history and social science courses and felt prepared to teach them. However, the team leader talked less about the subject matter than about ways to involve students in the learning process. The emphasis clearly was on student-centered instruction.
Ella wondered how to develop a student-centered approach to these subjects when her university's emphasis had been on mastering information in her major. Would the textbooks help? She hoped they would be treasure troves of activities and teaching suggestions, though she suspected they were not. However, the team leader had promised to introduce her to videodisk collections and show her how to find lesson plans and curriculum projects on the Internet. For instance, students could access electronic images of the Grand Canyon and interact with a U.S. Park Service geologist about its origins. That sounded fascinating! She also promised to introduce Ella to the Internet as a research tool for students.
Overall, as Ella prepared for her first class, she no longer felt like an "expert" ready to convey her knowledge to students; rather, she saw the curriculum and learning process as an ongoing challenge for teacher and students alike. In this era of shifting curriculum, innovative instructional approaches, and rapidly changing technology, Ella discovered that she needed to know less about specific, factual content and more about current trends and about using technology as a resource for teaching her subject.
Thought Questions
- Do you believe you would be comfortable in a school like Ella's-one that emphasizes student-centered instruction? Why or why not?
- What elements of the student-centered approach described in this chapter might Ella adopt as she plans her history and geography classes?
- How do you intend to stay apprised of the current trends in curriculum, instruction, and resources (particularly technological resources) after you finish your college coursework?
