3 minute read
A CURRICULUM UNIT SERIES
from Middle Schooling
by Julie Boyd
“Relationships in teaching are the key; teachers truly are the curriculum”.
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1. What do Students Need and Want from Teachers? - feelings of being cared and respected - fairness - safety - trustworthiness - sense of humour - achievable challenges
*Reflect on your abilities to provide these elements to students
2. What do Teachers Need and Want from Students? - energy and enthusiasm - curiosity - taking responsibility - persistence and doing one’s best work - collaboration and cooperation - a sense of fun in learning and working - opportunities for varied curriculum, instructional strategies - to make a difference
*Reflect on your communication of these expectations to students, your holding students accountable for them and your reinforcement and feedback when they are exhibited.
3. What students need and want from teachers. - energy and enthusiasm - support and challenge - an environment conducive to learning - opportunities to extend and expand their learning.
EFFECTIVE MIDDLE SCHOOLING: Julie Boyd 2010 17
A CURRICULUM UNIT SERIES PRODUCED BY Julie Boyd and Associates
This series of curriculum units has been written specifically to provide a comprehensive view of implementing an integral approach across learning areas for students. The units can be used for short (1 week) or extended (1 year) programs of learning for students. They can be found at www.julieboyd.net au
An integrated curriculum develops knowledge across broad topics, promoting understandings, skills and values in an holistic way. The integrated curriculum process is learner-centred and encourages students to become response-able by making decisions, solving problems, taking risks and engaging in an inquiry approach to learning. It encourages maximum input by students who can participate in the program development- such as planning the unit, suggesting activities and negotiating evaluation. Integrated curriculum places value on the development and recognition of thinking processes. Skill development and meaningful context are seen as essential elements to effective learning.
For a long time it has been our practice in secondary schools to present lessons or topics in isolation. Individual subject teachers have independently been responsible for their classes with no necessity to discuss or integrate their learning agenda outside area meetings. This has been enough to fulfil school-based course outlines and to meet the needs for test scores, however the practice tends to be dictated by the logistics of secondary school timetables and staffing rather than by the learning needs of students.
. Children see things as wholes. They make meaning of what they perceive in terms of narratives. When they were younger, they saw the world as fairly black and white, and shaped meaning from ‘battles’ between juxtaposed binary opposites (it love/hate; hot/cold), and the resulting mediations (it love/hate/friendship; hot/cold/warm).
In their middle school years their narratives are shaped by the maturational level of their developing brain and body and the life-force swirling through their veins that allows them to perceive the world in terms of emotions and actions that are ‘bigger’ than humanity - the most courageous soldier; the scariest police investigation; the most daring mountain climber. Events that transcend the norm help children identify their limits, shape the risks they are willing to take and construct in their own minds just who they think they are.
The units or lessons or topics we present our youth must bear this in mind if we are to captivate our audience. Not only must we present material in ways that address their imaginative and affective development, we must also allow students to see a purpose to what they are doing. Ideally the purpose should be real and actively engage students in genuine projects and pursuits. However, since this is not always possible, it is essential to wisely marry the passion of fictional pursuits and purposes, with what we know about childrens’ developmental learning needs.
What is suggested in this unit is a story that integrates strands and sub strands within independent KLA’s, across several KLA’s. The story is introduced as a vignette or summary that poses a mystery. The students are asked to provide evidence that will permit them to make informed statements relevant to the case, and these statements will eventually allow them to formulate a theory about the case.
There is no one right solution. The purpose of the unit is not to discover ‘the answer’, but to research and defend the solution of their choice such that it stands firm in the face of questioning and cross examination. It must have integrity at the conceptual level.
The unit is organised so that subject departments can conduct their lessons either separately, or at times in cooperation with other departments.
EFFECTIVE MIDDLE SCHOOLING: Julie Boyd 2010 18
