Curriculum, learning and teaching
The practice of including diverse perspectives Carol Inugai-Dixon looks at what we can learn from different cultures It was the usual workshop layout: several circular tables with chairs to seat groups of four to six participants around central collections of colourful marker pens and post-its; a power point presentation displaying an official blue and white framed slide; a flip chart to the left; the whole setup designed to engender the International Baccalaureate practices of team work in constructing shared meanings and understandings from a diversity of perspectives. And this is how it went: Shortly into a class feedback of individual group summaries on the value of diverse views, it was suggested that the IB Spring
Autumn |
| 2016
might still be somewhat Eurocentric. The suggestion drew general agreement, not without some despair, along with some additional narrative as follows. The IB, it seems, is conscious of its western roots and traditions, and the possibility of consequent bias. In fact, the IB intentionally addresses these biases whenever it can. For example, curriculum review working groups are carefully constructed to include members from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Of course there are constraints. Since the working language of the review groups is invariably English, reviewers must have the necessary language skills
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