Title: Section 2: Curriculum Issues for Open Schooling
Course: Introduction to Open Schooling > Section: Curriculum Issues for Open Schooling

Learner needs, curriculum structure, learning outcomes, competencies, and learning experiences.

Learning Journey

There are five sections in this course, and each explores a specific aspect of open schooling principles and practices. Let's now move on to Section 2. Overview of Open Schooling (Completed) Curriculum Issues for Open Schooling (Up next) Teaching and Learning Approaches for Open Schooling (Upcoming) Funding and Policy Issues for Open Schooling (Upcoming) Regional Variations in Open Schooling Practices (Upcoming) 1 2 3 4 5

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Key Components of Any Open Schooling Model

Learners and Their Needs
Before we develop an open schooling curriculum, we must first identify the learners we are trying to reach. Working with primary and pre-primary school children is very different from working with youths and adults seeking a second-chance opportunity.
A Key Challenge
Globally, a key challenge is a transition from primary to secondary schooling, especially since it disproportionally affects girls and children with disabilities. Think about the two approaches to open schooling we discussed in Section 1. Can you decide which approach will be applied to the following learners, and for that matter, what mode of instruction will both the learners require?
Select each learner type to find out more about it.
Also, consider the mode of instruction and assessment for both the older and younger learners. Should it be face-to-face or distance, broadcasting or online?
For younger learners, a complementary approach, using the same school curriculum, may be more appropriate. For older learners, an alternative approach, offering a more vocational curriculum, may be more appropriate.

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Structure of the Open Schooling Curriculum

India’s National Institute for Open Schooling (NIOS), the largest open school in the world, uses Ralph Tyler’s curriculum model to design and develop its programme. It starts with a needs analysis and then follows the sequence of learning outcomes, learning experiences and evaluation. Learning Outcomes and Objectives Learning outcomes and objectives must be appropriate to the learners, their context and the required regulations. Learners’ experiences must be appropriate for the proposed educational goals. Each learning experience should involve learners and satisfy their needs.

Figure 3. Ralph Tyler's curriculum model (as followed by NIOS) can be represented as a continuous, four-part cycle that includes evaluating the curriculum, constructing learning outcomes, selecting learning experiences, and organizing learning experiences.

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Structure of the Open Schooling Curriculum (Continued)

Goals of Learning Experiences Learning experiences must address the following goals:
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Learning differentiation
- Acquisition of broad competencies or general capabilities
- Continued learning/additional learning
- Personalised learning environments (PLEs) for maximising learning opportunities

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Things to Consider

During our distance education lessons, we might design activities that guide students towards engaging with print, audio, video or multimedia resources. These might include speeches, stories, demonstrations, symposiums, etc. Let’s look at different approaches in which we can make an effective learning experience in distance education mode. Select each distance learning approach to learn more. As far as discussion is concerned, we might use contact sessions, audio or video conferencing or online forums to facilitate this kind of interaction. We might build group work into contact sessions — for instance, through horseshoe and roundtable groups, buzz groups and fishbowls — or by using various kinds of online tools, such as wikis, to enable more collaborative learning. Finally, we need to think carefully about how we scaffold activities and feedback to support different kinds of independent study. These might include play, activity cards, programmed learning, projects or self‑study models. Download the PDF to view the table adapted from Council on Higher Education (2014). The PDF will open in a new Window.

Downloads

- table adapted from council on higher education 201.pdf

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Competencies that Need to Be Taught in the 21st Century

Some of the competencies that have become critical during the first decades of the 21st century and will need to be taught in the future include the following:

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Competencies that Need to Be Taught in the 21st Century (Continued)

Framework for the 21st-century learning
In the 21st century, language, mathematics, the human, physical and social sciences, and arts and crafts will all probably continue to be core. However, lenses will also be directed at wider needs for life and careers, lifelong learning and innovation, and the increasing use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

Figure 4. A diagram illustrating a Framework for 21st Century Learning by Charles Fadel and Krishna. It shows a rainbow labelled with the core subjects and 21st century themes. These include life and career skills; learning and innovative skills; and information, media, and technology skills. The rainbow is standing on four supports. These include learning environments, professional development, curriculum and instruction, and standards and assessments.

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Instructional Innovations in the 21st Century

Some of the instructional innovations that we are currently seeing and will continue to see in the future are: A move from teacher‑centred to learner‑centred teaching
The integration of technology, including mobile kinds.
A move from classroom and time‑based learning to learn anything, anytime, anywhere
Peer collaboration

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Instructional Innovations in the 21st Century (Continued)

Select Play to watch the video.
The video will open in another window.
Lessons of experience. Video Transcript.
The transcript will open in another window.

Video Attribution: Commonwealth of Learning under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence (international)

Lessons of experience (COL, 2020)

Related links

- Watch video

Downloads

- video2 lessons of experience transcript.pdf

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Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Strategies

Monitoring Evaluation Evaluation is the systematic and objective assessment of an organisation, project, policy or programme. It can be conducted either internally by those involved or externally by outside independent evaluators. Monitoring is the collection and analysis of information about a project or programme, undertaken while the project/programme is ongoing. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is an important component of open schooling provision. Let's define what they independently mean.

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Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Strategies (Continued)

M&E are complementary processes that can help us understand whether we are achieving our goals. Doing M&E can help you to achieve the following: Select each tab below to find out about the M&E goals.
Influence policy. Share key takeaways and best practices with other communities/organisations/institutions. Contribute to the body of evidence about what works and what doesn’t. Gauge the outcomes and impact of your work and whether you have achieved your objectives.
Understand what works and what doesn’t and use this learning in decision-making about the design and implementation of the intervention.
Motivate stakeholders and staff.
Ensure accountability to key stakeholders.

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Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Strategies Strategies

M&E is essential, but only if it works. Here are four key lenses through which we can analyse M&E at work: The bottom line is:
If it works, share it.
If it doesn't work, change it. Fitness of purpose Fitness for purpose Value for money Transformation Are we doing the right things? Are we doing things the right way? Is it affordable for learners/families, and is it sustainable for providers? Does it make a positive difference?

Migration source: module14/p31