EDU 555 - CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION

ARTICLE REWIEW- COMPLEX POSITIONING:

TEACHERS AS AGENTS OF CURRICULAR AND
PEDAGOGICAL REFORM.

NAME:

SYAMIMI NUR AQILA BT AWALLUDIN

STUDENT ID:

2013295392

CLASS:

ED 247 4B

INSTRUCTORS NAME:

MOHD HISYAM BIN ISMAIL

MUHD FURKAN BIN MAT SALLEH

SUMMARY

The writers for this article are Kevin M. Leander and Margery D. Osborne from
journal of Curriculum Studies. This article is about the main purpose of school- based,
teacher-centred, and science curriculum transformation plan that was to give support and
supervision to the teacher for built up and applying activity-centred and efficient science
curriculum and pedagogical trainings inside elementary class room. In order to extend such
transform as they expanded science curriculum that stress on practical learning, the authority
supported the local teachers of United state and others development employees. The authors
scrutinize two groups of teacher-facilitator teams constructing elementary science curriculum
and presenting them to their peers. The teachers for this project are from the Evansville
School District and Hinsdale Elementary District. These schools are located in rural areas of
central Illinois in the USA.

Besides, the authors analyse these stories to interpret how teacher place themselves
among others educator and development staff such as teacher, authority, parents and student.
Besides, the writers also want to study on how teacher-facilitator pedagogical practices and
how they learn and understand science curriculum. These acts of positioning were read
relatively and responsively by the authors. In way of well complexes, teacher-facilitators
place themselves to various political and social of others. Teacher-facilitators leadership roles
and curricular were shaped from these numerous position from range of various anxiety and
questions. The rationale of this project is to rag out these complex positioning and
subjectivity and also to deem on what do teachers do in order for them to build their
responsibility as pedagogical and curricular leaders among their peers and students. This
study draws the reflecting about how reform is endorsed in schools and how leadership
positions are constructed.

ARTICLE REVIEW
In this article, the author interest in positioning is dual. First, they analyse these acts
of positioning on teacher identity as indicates of teachers dynamically representing their
subjectivities. Culturalist view on identity with take up neither radical constructivist nor
structural (Holland et al. 1998), the authors think on how teachers will assume organization
in representing their subjectivity and at the same time will this organization response
dialogically to, social and political of others. As agents of professional development, how
teacher voice out and take action on position themselves against? Secondly, the authors
interest is related to a larger discussion of school reform. May we shift ahead of a language of
teacher- centred reform to further know how reform is decentred, the writer also stated
that teachers are not only reform role play but they are also placed in the development of
enacting reform. Sarason and other (1982, 1990) also commented on band between ones who
call for change of curriculum and ones who teach it as this may ambiguous in envisioning of
schooling in practise.

The authors illustrate this positioning by giving the example of two teams from
teacher- facilitator teams producing elementary science curricula. First team is Jackie and
Diane and second team is Pam and Betty. The first team, they view positioning as rejoinder to
science, text, peers and students. Jackie and Diane spot themselves in social and textual
relation by draw interest to the unit as an erection of science pedagogy. With the voice of
Jackie and Diane as they multivocality present to their audiences, the progress of their
curriculum from hands-on experiences to reliable texts and evaluation is a picture of a contact
zone where rival beliefs of science learning traffic. Jackie and Diane reckon that text and
writing practise position students to learn and knowing sciences. Experience with the world
may be reliant, unpredictable or misdirected, but with texts which are stable and authoritative
outlines will help student through which to understand experience and also writing which
means to construct and split authority from personal voice.

The second team, they suggest that specific subject matters relevant to activity-based
science teaching that were illustrated. Their expressions of openness and closure to science
can take notice of the overall arrangement of unit. These two unit activities which are

conceptual openness and complexity closure are highly indicative of dual position toward
science and pedagogy. Betty speaks of openness as playful classroom practice and as and
passion to connect in multifaceted materials. For example, children play with the object and
place it in the water to test the density of the object. This activity emphasizes experience and
open exploration.
My comment on this article is that I strongly agree with Sarason that commented the
split between the one who change the curriculum and the one who teach the curriculum.
According to tabas model, those who teach the curriculum i.e. the teacher should participate
in developing the curriculum. This is known as Grass- roots approach (Mesa H.L., 2015). I
do agree with Jackie and Diane as text-based practise is important for growth children as this
may evaluate their experience through writing. Besides, text-based practise can also evaluate
by assessment and examination which are high in validity and also are reliable. Early literacy
play important role in early learning experience as it is interrelated to academic achievement,
higher graduate rates, and help in productivity of adult life (Dorothy Strickland, 2006).

However, I am partially agreed with team one pedagogical approaches as assessment

and examination were not enough to measure student understanding. It is also comes with
practical and activity- based learning such as experiment. This is what team two pedagogical
approaches are. They suggest that student need to explore and experience themselves in order
to understand and learn the subject matter. I do agree with the statement because we learn
through our five senses as this may cause students to apply their understanding, knowledge
and skills while solving the problem and promoting competitive willpower among them
(John,2014).

In a nutshell, the author favour in timely and investigating school restructuring,

comprehend the curriculum reform which is an objects change, the school reform which is
the systems change and pedagogical reform which is an activitys change by way of
deliberation of the on-going development of entity teacher and their positioning and manifold
relation with respect to some context. The teachers position themselves in many way of
pedagogical reform in order to deliver the curriculum to their student.

REFERENCES

Dorothy Strickland, S. R.-A. (April, 2006). Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the
Preschool Years. Retrieved 13 April, 2015, from Reading Rocket:
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/early-literacy-policy-and-practice-preschool-years
Holland, D., Lachicotte, J. W., Skinner, D., & Cain, C. (1998). Identity and Agency in
Cultural Worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
John. (11 May, 2014). Activity Based Instruction Its Advantages and Disadvantages.
Retrieved 13 April, 2015, from Education Guide Online:
http://www.educationguideonline.net/activity-based-instruction-its-advantages-anddisadvantages/
Leander, K. M., & Osborne, M. D. (2008). Complex positioning: Teachers as agents of
curricular and pedagogical reform. Journal of Curriculum Studies , 40 (1), 23-46.
Mesa, H. L. (2015). Curriculum Models. Retrieved 13 April, 2015, from academia.edu:
http://www.academia.edu/4657356/Curriculum_Models