1 Supporting curriculum development by visualizing a continuous learning pathway Judith Schoonenboom and Wil Oud University of Amsterdam March 31, 2006

2 Changes in curriculum Levels of curriculum:  macro level – society, nation, state  meso level – school, institution  micro level – classroom, teacher  nano level – individual learner Curriculum becomes more open  Decision making shifts to lower levels Growing need for support in making curriculum decisions

3 A continuous learning pathway in an open curriculum Refers to one competence area or one subject Refers to a period of many years, enclosing more than one type of school, education or professional training Based to a great extent on the learning objectives of the competence or subject matter involved Shows the learning objectives formulated at several levels Makes visible how they build on each other, thus showing continuity and sequence Supports, but does not include:  Selection and creation of learning activities,  Selection of accompanying learning materials  Creation of learning paths, which is done by several actors at several levels

4 Case study Continuous learning pathway for audiovisual media education Commissioned and funded by the Dutch Institute for Film education From primary school up to upper secondary school (4 – 18 years of age) Audiovisual media education is not one subject In general, schools have much freedom in teaching audiovisual media Based on existing official learning goals of several subjects, mostly related to arts, of different school types at different levels To be used in both formal and informal learning

5 Visualisations Creation of categories that show differences, progress, presence/absence Can be used in classifying materials Teachers can check whether their learning activities and learning materials fit in with their school type and level. They can look ahead at the next school type or level. Curriculum developers can check the fit of development in the learning paths with intended development and they can look ahead. Learning paths in informal education can be positioned within these developmental lines.

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