Teachers´ Use of Curriculum Materials – Fidelity of Implementation

Author(s):

Jana Stara(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2011

Network:

3. Curriculum Innovation by Schools and Teachers

Format:

Paper

Session Information

03 SES 07, Challenges in Innovating the Curriculum

Paper Session

Time:

2011-09-14

16:45-18:15

Room:

JK 31/227,1 FL., 30

Chair:

Francisco Sousa

Contribution

In recent time there are curricula reforms at many countries. Even the curricula designers and educational politics need the research results to make good decisions in supporting teachers and to innovate curricula, there is a lack of data about how the realized curricula correspond to the projected ones. (Remillard 2005, O´Donnell 2009)

In our research we planned to find some answers on the questions How the teachers realize the intention of Czech curricula authors at their classes, how they understand the goals of curricula innovations and how they implement curricula materials and adopt them at their classes. We use the qualitative methodology that brings some understanding of the reality and in combination with some qualitative data on achieved curricula can create a relatively plastic picture about the success of the Czech curricula reform.

Our research has piloted the methodology on the area of global education curriculum at the 4^th grade of the Czech primary school (ISCED 1). In future we plan to do the series of similar qualitative studies on different topics and at different grades.

Method

In our research we have analyzed the videotapes of 12 lessons of global education at 4th grade of Czech primary school taught by 3 teachers. Detailed descriptions of classroom events were written from videotape of each lesson. Teacher and student behavior and conversation were described in light of the lesson sequence description in the curriculum material. After that we looked for and described these items (according the methodology used by Schneider, Krajcik, Blumenfeld (2004): 1. Content and process ideas of global education presented 2. Contextualization 3. Linking ideas to previous or future lessons or to other ideas 4. Direction given 5. Emhasis given 6. Specific strategies offered by curricula writers Scaffolding 7. Group work 8. Enacted, omitted, adapted lesson sequences On the analyses of the lessons we use the coding scheme developed by Schneider, Krajcik, Blumenfeld (2004). The scheme use these 8 categories: Accuracy, Completeness, Opportunities, Similarity, Adaptation, Instructional supports, Appropriateness, Sources. 3 researchers rate every category of the coding scheme for each lesson and add the justification statement for each rating. When individual rating varied, care is taken to write summary statements that appropriately reflect the variation.

Expected Outcomes

The final data analysis is not finished yet. Preliminary results reflect two teachers´ enactments differ quite much from the intended enactment. One teacher ś enactment tended to be a good match for the intended one. Teachers from our sample are differently challenged by innovative curriculum and new practices associated with educational reform and they give children different opportunities for their learning and different instructional support. Particular data will be presented in the paper.

References

Dvořák, D., Dvořáková, M., Stará, J. Design based Research- výzkum učebnic prováděný jejich tvůrci. /Design based research- reasearch of textbooks made by thein authors/ In: Knecht, P., Janík, T. a kol. Učebnice z pohledu pedagogického výzkumu. Paido. Brno 2008, s. 81- 94 Ruiz- Primo, M.A. A Multi-Method and Multi-Source Approach for Studying Fidelity of Implementation. CSE Report. University of Carolinia, Los Angeles 2006 O´Donnell, C. L. Defining, Conceptualizing, and Measuring Fidelity of Implementation and its Relationship to Outcomes in K 12 Curriculum Intervention research. Review of Educational Research 2008; 78; s. 33 - 84 Remillard, J.T. Examining Key Concepts in Research on Teachers Use of Mathematics Curricula. Review of Educational Research, 75, 2005, č.2, s. 211- 246 Shneider, R. M., Krajcik, J., Blumenfeld P. Enacting Reform-Based Science Materials: The Range of Teacher Enactments in Reform Classrooms. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. Vol. 42, NO.3, s. 283 – 312 (2005) Stará, J., Dvořáková, M., Dvořák, D. Design based research (DBR) a tři učitelé: setkání záměru inovace a reality implementace. /Design based research and three teachers: intention of innovation and reality of implementation/ In: H. Krykorková, R. Váňová. Učitel v současné škole. Filozofická fakulta UK v Praze. Praha

Author Information

Jana Stara (presenting / submitting)

Charles University

Faculty of Education

Praha 6

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