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Curriculum in Abundance
In this text Jardine, Clifford, and Friesen set forth their concept of curriculum as abundance and illustrate its pedagogical applications through specific examples of classroom practices, the work of specific children, and specific dilemmas, images, and curricular practices that arise in concrete classroom events. The detailed classroom examples and careful philosophical explorations illustrate the difference it makes in educational theory and classroom practice to think of the curriculum topics entrusted to teachers and students in schools as abundant.
The central idea is that viewing what is available to teachers and students in classrooms as abundant, rather than scarce, makes available the unseen histories, language, images, and ideas in everyday classroom life–makes it possible to break open the flat, literal “ordinariness” of classroom events, makes their complex and contested meanings visible, understandable, and pedagogically useful. Understanding the disciplines entrusted to schools (such as mathematics, writing, reading) as living inheritances, not as inert, finished, static, manipulable objects, means that the work of the classroom requires getting in on the real, living conversations that constitute these disciplines as they actually function in the classroom. This view of curriculum as abundance has a profound effect on classroom practice.
Curriculum in Abundance addresses curriculum and teaching topics such as mathematics, science, environmental education, social studies, language arts, and the arts curriculum; issues that arise from inviting student-teachers and practicing teachers into the idea of curriculum of abundance; the issue of information and communications technologies in the classroom; and the philosophical underpinnings of constructivism and the dilemmas it poses to thinking about curriculum in abundance. All of the chapters provide images of how to conduct interpretive research in the classroom.
This critically important text for undergraduate and master’s-level courses on curriculum methods, curriculum theory, teacher research, and philosophy of education speaks eloquently to students, teachers, teacher educators, and researchers across the field of education.
The central idea is that viewing what is available to teachers and students in classrooms as abundant, rather than scarce, makes available the unseen histories, language, images, and ideas in everyday classroom life–makes it possible to break open the flat, literal “ordinariness” of classroom events, makes their complex and contested meanings visible, understandable, and pedagogically useful. Understanding the disciplines entrusted to schools (such as mathematics, writing, reading) as living inheritances, not as inert, finished, static, manipulable objects, means that the work of the classroom requires getting in on the real, living conversations that constitute these disciplines as they actually function in the classroom. This view of curriculum as abundance has a profound effect on classroom practice.
Curriculum in Abundance addresses curriculum and teaching topics such as mathematics, science, environmental education, social studies, language arts, and the arts curriculum; issues that arise from inviting student-teachers and practicing teachers into the idea of curriculum of abundance; the issue of information and communications technologies in the classroom; and the philosophical underpinnings of constructivism and the dilemmas it poses to thinking about curriculum in abundance. All of the chapters provide images of how to conduct interpretive research in the classroom.
This critically important text for undergraduate and master’s-level courses on curriculum methods, curriculum theory, teacher research, and philosophy of education speaks eloquently to students, teachers, teacher educators, and researchers across the field of education.
332 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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March 12, 2015
Drawing from the traditions of ecology, modern Buddhist philosophy, and hermeneutics, Jardine seeks to pave the way for a "Curriculum of Abundance." Art, English, Science, Math, Ecology, Social Studies, and Information and Communication Technologies are all included in Jardine's outworking of abundance.
Difficult read - there were plenty of pages that left me in a bit of confusion, especially the couple of chapters dedicated to a more philosophical explanation. Jardine addresses Descartes, Kant, and Piaget's role in forming constructivism and scarcity in today's school. His criticisms of these influences heavily relied upon the writings of Hans-Georg Gadamer and Wendell Berry (though I'm sure I've only processed a fragment of what he's really saying). He sought a more post-structuralist view of education - we (or our students) don't make the structures, the structures are always already there in Nature; we get to discover these structures.
The parts that I understood made enough sense.
1) The curriculum we inherit is a full, living tradition. Fragmented lists of items for mastery are limited in scope; each item is situated in a full context: for example, the Pythagorean Theorem (Jardine's favorite example) didn't just appear as a formula without its situated history and culture.
2) Don't freak out if you don't know: Jardine uses his teacher education experience to reveal how teachers' desire to have strict control of their classrooms (including the students and the content) creates a malnourished learning environment. "Problem" students that don't follow suit may be following their own valued path to understanding; don't quench that spirit.
Difficult read - there were plenty of pages that left me in a bit of confusion, especially the couple of chapters dedicated to a more philosophical explanation. Jardine addresses Descartes, Kant, and Piaget's role in forming constructivism and scarcity in today's school. His criticisms of these influences heavily relied upon the writings of Hans-Georg Gadamer and Wendell Berry (though I'm sure I've only processed a fragment of what he's really saying). He sought a more post-structuralist view of education - we (or our students) don't make the structures, the structures are always already there in Nature; we get to discover these structures.
The parts that I understood made enough sense.
1) The curriculum we inherit is a full, living tradition. Fragmented lists of items for mastery are limited in scope; each item is situated in a full context: for example, the Pythagorean Theorem (Jardine's favorite example) didn't just appear as a formula without its situated history and culture.
2) Don't freak out if you don't know: Jardine uses his teacher education experience to reveal how teachers' desire to have strict control of their classrooms (including the students and the content) creates a malnourished learning environment. "Problem" students that don't follow suit may be following their own valued path to understanding; don't quench that spirit.
Displaying 1 of 1 review