Design and development of a large Business School core interdisciplinary unit to foster blended learning during the pandemic

The paper provides a process and design overview of a large Master of Commerce unit (from hereon referred to as 'The Unit') at a University in Australia. The skills flowing from a creative and analytical mindset have been noted as crucial in the future. The Unit develops these two mindsets as complimentary by taking a multidisciplinary approach to curriculum design. By outlining the theoretical frameworks applied in the curriculum design and development and the approaches to teaching and learning, especially during the Pandemic, it is hoped that other academics and learning design teams will be able to draw inspiration that they can apply to their contexts. It is possible that the challenges that have arisen during this process may be applicable and have been experienced by other teaching teams in higher education institutions and certainly during the emergence of online learning during the Pandemic. This paper first discusses the approach we took in the curriculum design, informed by the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Principles and Biggs' 3P's model of teaching and learning. The paper then focuses on design principles utilised to create the online learning management system for students.

Evaluation of Teachers’ involvement in English curriculum design and development in the Saudi Public School

Involving English teachers in designing and developing curriculum leads to producing effective curriculum, therefore, efficient learning process of English. This exploratory study evaluated the English teachers’ involvement in designing curriculum in Saudi public schools. Also, it investigates how English teachers’ absence of the process of curriculum design impacts them and their learners. Then the study suggests the collaborative curriculum design method as an alternative. The sample consists of seven teachers and two supervisors. The data were collected and analyzed through qualitative research methods. The findings show that English teachers’ participation is restricted to evaluating the curriculum after implementing it. This narrow role limits the creativity and productivity of English teachers and their students.

The Development of Research-Based Learning Management in the Curriculum Design and Development Course for Teacher Students

The purposes of the current study are to develop research-based learning management in the Curriculum Design and Development course for student teachers and to study the effectiveness of the research-based learning management in the Curriculum Design and Development course for student teachers. The instruments were a structured interview form, a learning management quality assessment, learning management, a learning achievement test, and a questionnaire. The data were analyzed by mean score, standard deviation, t-test, and content analysis. The results of the study indicate that there were 6 components including ground theories, objectives, instruction processes, social system, principles in responses and supportive system, and learning management in the research-based learning management. In detail, there were 5 stages in learning management including ideas and information analysis, planning and creative design, action-taking, presentation and reflection, and evaluation and improvement. The result of the study shows that there was a significant difference between the students’ learning achievement before and after learning with the developed learning management. The students’ attitudes toward learning management were found at a high level in every aspect.

Re-thinking Curriculum Design and Development for Optimizing Change in Education

A developing world like Africa inherited an educational system that laid high emphasis on what is known as the 3Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic). This teaching/learning method was perhaps relevant then, due to the enlightenment gap that existed between learners and their instructors (Missionaries/Colonial masters). The 3Rs known as rote learning regurgitation of facts is teacher-centered that subjects learners to memorization of information for the expansion of knowledge. This learning principle mostly evaluate learners through the use of tests and examinations to ascertain their learning levels. However, as good as the 3Rs learning method is, it only prepares learners for job acquisition, not problem-solving. This paper will argue for a paradigm shift, to key in with the developed world like America and start wrestling with an educational curriculum that is learners focused; a curriculum that is concerned with the ‘how’ to think in learning than the ‘what to think.’ Urbanization, globalization, complex factories/technologies in this dispensation are calling for learning principles that can guide learners on how to move from learning assumptions to the application of daily realities of life using both the cognitive, affective and the psychomotor domains. The paper attempt to define the ‘how’ approach using. the perspective of applying critical thinking skills before drawing a conclusion. Keywords: Curriculum design, the 3Rs and the 4Cs, critical thinking, instructors and learners, reflective teaching.

Evaluation of Teachers’ involvement in English curriculum design and development in the Saudi Public School

Involving English teachers in designing and developing curriculum leads to producing effective curriculum, therefore, efficient learning process of English. This exploratory study evaluated the English teachers’ involvement in designing curriculum in Saudi public schools. Also, it investigates how English teachers’ absence of the process of curriculum design impacts them and their learners. Then the study suggests the collaborative curriculum design method as an alternative. The sample consists of seven teachers and two supervisors. The data were collected and analyzed through qualitative research methods. The findings show that English teachers’ participation is restricted to evaluating the curriculum after implementing it. This narrow role limits the creativity and productivity of English teachers and their students

Inquiring pre-service teachers’ narratives on language policy and identity during their practicum.

This narrative inquiry study aims to unveil the incorporation of policy agency within the construction of teacher identity of pre-service teachers in their academic practicums. Drawing on a critical-sociocultural approach to narrative inquiry, language policy, and teacher identity, the narratives of five students of an English teaching program in Medellín, Colombia, were examined. Their reflections and decision making on foreign language policies regulating their pedagogical practices at various schools show their social and critical awareness. Teaching represents a high moral load for them as they embrace a humanistic perspective. However, their narratives also pose challenges to language teaching programs in helping pre-service teachers to build micropolitical agency supported on solid theoretical knowledge to participate in policymaking. On the one hand, their narrations of the policy appropriation process they undertook show their frustration and disappointment in trying to participate when policy structures and other policy arbiters were close to them. On the other hand, when policy structures and arbiters openly allowed their policy participation, their actions and reflections focused on methodological concerns but rarely addressed social or critical awareness regarding curriculum design and development. Therefore, supporting pre-service teachers in strengthening their identities with solid theoretical constructs should be a priority because they will build micropolitical agency to overcome political tensions and negotiate their policy participation.

Developing a Global Studies Curriculum: The Case of Northern High School

This fictional case presents the challenges school districts face when developing a new curriculum. After the school board voted to create a global studies program at Northern High School, the social studies supervisor had the responsibility of designing and implementing the curriculum. With only a few months to implement the curriculum, the supervisor embraced an ambitious whole-school approach. This included bringing teachers together from different disciplines to draft a curriculum; investing in professional development; and encouraging participation of students, the school, and the community. This case presents issues and questions that may arise during the curriculum design and development process.