2.6.4 Clarity and fuzziness in the curriculum: Innovating curricula for high ability learners
This presentation explores cases studies about how select secondary schools in Singapore go about dealing with curriculum innovation and implementation, to offer challenging learning experiences for high ability learners. The findings point to both clarity and fuzziness in the dominant discourses at both the school and individual teacher levels about what the curriculum is expected to offer. The fuzziness in the innovation process was also further affected by the teachers' differing conceptions of the characteristics and needs of high ability learners. Explicating the different discourses contributes greatly to the further development of educational programmes for high ability learners.
Author(s):
Letchmi Devi Ponnusamy
letchmi.p@nie.edu.sg
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
Letchmi is currently a Lecturer with the Early Childhood and Special Needs Academic Group at the National Institute of Education (Singapore). She teaches Masters and degree level courses in instructional differentiation, critical and creative thinking, and curriculum development for high ability learners. She previously served as a secondary school science teacher and an Assistant Department Head for a school-based gifted programme. Her research interests include instructional differentiation, concept-based curriculum development and investigating teacher agency during curriculum innovation. She has written and reviewed book chapters and journal articles related to curriculum implementation and other issues in gifted education.
Ruilin Elizabeth Koh*
Elizabeth Koh, is Assistant Dean, Research Translation at the Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Singapore. Her particular research interest involves 21st century competency of collaboration in technology mediated environments. She has conducted quasi-experiments and case studies during her doctoral studies in Information Systems at the National University of Singapore. She is currently the principal investigator and co-PI of several OER ERFP projects. She is also the Associate Editor of Learning: Research and Practice. She has published in peer-reviewed journals such as Computers & Education, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, and The Asia-Pacific Educational Researcher.