Interview
Q:
Some public schools in China and the
U.S. do not have curriculum coordinators.
Can you describe what your work responsibilities
include?
A:
It is very important to have a person, or even better
a team of people, to follow the links between the
different divisions of a school to develop subjects or
disciplines in coherent ways. Curriculum coordinators try to
view the curriculum vertically and/or horizontally. Vertically,
we want to make sure that there is an alignment between all
the skills and knowledge that the students are learning in the
development of their education. There should be a smooth
transition between the primary, middle and high schools.
Learning should be both sequential and scaffolded - meaning
that students are not repeating or missing specific content
areas or skills year after year, and supports are built in based
on prior knowledge. There must be a coherent development
of the necessary skills, knowledge and experience that builds
in concert with students’ developmental levels. Horizontally,
it is the coordinator’s job to ensure that students are learning
in a holistic fashion, understanding how insights from the
different disciplines link together. When students learn the
problems and principles of economics, for example, they
should also understand the history of economic theory.
When students learn about important periods in art history,
they should also possess knowledge about the political or
economic history of those respective times. When students
use social media for personal and educational purposes,
they should understand how to view media critically, and
recognize their own roles in creating the world of digital
communication. I am very interested in looking at the links
between the different disciplines. As an anthropologist,
I strongly believe that this holistic approach to learning
is most effective because it engages the students and is
more interesting for teachers. Likewise, brain scientists are
saying that given the inherent connectivity of brain’s neural
networks, when you teach in a way that integrates the different
disciplines, students will have a much stronger potential to
develop deeper understanding of specific content areas and
form stronger, more flexible and responsive skills for problem
solving, creativity, and the connections among disciplines.
In others words, cross-disciplinary teaching supports more
effective learning. If we look at the issues that our students
will face in this world such as war, poverty, or climate change,
then it becomes more apparent that our students will need
to involve many disciplines, integrate knowledge from all
different domains, in order to understand and address these
problems.
Schools that have both horizontal and vertical alignment can
effectively provide roadmaps for teachers. When new teachers
join us, for example, we have a coherent system and curricula
to give them. They do not just teach out of their suitcase. They
teach a high-quality, rigorous model that has been planned,
discussed and analyzed by a team of educators who approach
curriculum planning from different perspectives and with the
wisdom based on long experience.
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The Keystone Magazine