Classroom Curriculum Research Articles

Creating an inclusive community in your school through Barrier-Free Theatre

The COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns that academic skills would wither away during the lockdown and with it, social-emotional skills. This is assumed to be as true for neurotypical students as for neurodiverse ones. When students return to their schools, how will they function again in their social environment? The key to addressing the transition back to the “new normal” is the arts, which encompass the whole child: cognition, emotions, social, and physical aspects. This article highlights how creating Barrier-Free Theater programs that include drama, music, dance, art, and creative writing could help all students regain the academic progress they have lost, and with the support of creative arts therapists, could lead to the blossoming of a welcoming and inclusive school community in which everyone, regardless of difference, is valued for their innate creativity and human spirit. Barrier-Free Theater can be integrated in classroom curricula, after-school programs, or with community-school partnerships. Creative arts therapists approach students from a strengths-based perspective. We share processes and strategies to incorporate Barrier-Free Theater, where participants are provided the opportunity to make choices, be respected, and learn through solving problems together. This holistic group process allows the arts to heal trauma and disconnection, while enhancing executive functioning and social-emotional connections.

"Building Your Neurology Acumen": A Flipped Classroom Approach for Internal Medicine Residents.

Globally, internal medicine (IM) residents often feel they lack the knowledge and skills to approach patients presenting with neurologic issues. We conducted a multiple method needs assessment to determine the feasibility of a novel neurology flipped classroom (FC) curriculum for internal medicine residents. Our primary findings include participants: (1) finding neurology a useful rotation; (2) feeling uncomfortable with the neurological examination; and (3) endorsing flipped classroom as a potential alternative but with significant barriers. Our findings elucidate upon the various extrinsic/intrinsic motivators for resident education and illustrate the need to re-examine the way in which neurology is being taught to off-service residents.

Shaping science, technology, engineering and mathematics curriculum in Australian schools: An ecological systems analysis

Improving young people’s engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is being promoted worldwide as a means of addressing projected shortfalls in expertise needed to further nations’ economic, social and environmental goals. Responding to this, schools are reforming traditional discipline-based curricula into interdisciplinary approaches based on problem and project-based designs, to make STEM learning more relevant and meaningful for students. This study drew on a dataset of 449 Australian principal and teacher interviews, to identify factors influencing STEM curriculum in their schools. It utilised Ecological Systems Theory to build understanding relating to the influence of activities and outputs originating at macro, exo and meso system levels, on STEM curriculum and practices in classrooms. Results demonstrated how many innovative schools were able to successfully leverage community, business and national resources to enhance their STEM curriculum, while others struggled due to limitations imposed by geographic or socio-economic factors, or limited access to resources, expertise or advice. Central to achieving this was the powerful influence of principals’ and teachers’ proximal processes and developmental assets in establishing effective and engaging interdisciplinary STEM curricula, despite constraints imposed by, at best, ambiguous national and state curriculum and policies, rigid assessment regimes and compliance-focused reporting requirements.

Utilizing action research to integrate curriculum, instruction, and assessment in middle school classrooms

Action research is an evidence-based practice that is highly applicable to middle school teaching and learning. Middle school teachers can empower themselves and their students by participating in immersive, meaningful activities that are designed to improve educational outcomes. Action research is purposeful and beneficial for teachers, students, and educational stakeholders. This article describes the features and phases of action research and how the framework can be used to find solutions to classroom concerns.

Effective prevention programming for reducing alcohol-related harms experienced by first year college students: Evaluation of the expectancy challenge alcohol literacy curriculum (ECALC)

Prevention programs may have contributed to modest declines in alcohol use among college students in recent years, but negative consequences continue to be pervasive. First year college students (FYCS) are particularly vulnerable, and there is clearly a need for more effective methods to reduce risk. Meta-analyses focused on expectancy challenge (EC) have found this approach to be effective, but “experiential” EC that includes a drinking exercise is not suitable for most FYCS, many of whom are underage. A non-experiential alternative, the Expectancy Challenge Alcohol Literacy Curriculum (ECALC), is practical for widespread implementation. ECALC has been effective with mandated students and members of fraternities, and in the present study, we focused on evaluating effects with FYCS. In a group randomized trial, 48 class sections of a course designed for FYCS received either ECALC or an attention-matched control presentation. ECALC was associated with significant changes on six expectancy subscales of the Comprehensive Effects of Alcohol Scale (CEOA). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediated effects of the intervention on alcohol-related harms via alcohol expectancies. There were significant indirect effects from condition to alcohol use (IND = -0.04, p <.001) and alcohol harms (IND = -0.07, p <.001). This model accounted for 54% of the variance in alcohol use and 46% of the variance in alcohol-related harms. These findings suggest ECALC is an effective, single session group-delivered program that can be incorporated into classroom curricula.

The Positive Choices trial: update to study protocol for a phase-III RCT trial of a whole-school social-marketing intervention to promote sexual health and reduce health inequalities

BackgroundPositive Choices is a whole-school social-marketing intervention to promote sexual health among secondary school students. Intervention comprises the following: school health promotion council involving staff and students coordinating delivery, student survey to inform local tailoring, teacher-delivered classroom curriculum, student-run campaigns, parent information and review of sexual/reproductive health services to inform improvements. This trial builds on an optimisation/pilot-RCT study which met progression criteria, plus findings from another pilot RCT of the Project Respect school-based intervention to prevent dating and relationship violence which concluded such work should be integrated within Positive Choices. Young people carry a disproportionate burden of adverse sexual health; most do not report competence at first sex. Relationships and sex education in schools can contribute to promoting sexual health but effects are small, inconsistent and not sustained. Such work needs to be supplemented by ‘whole-school’ (e.g. student campaigns, sexual health services) and ‘social marketing’ (harnessing commercial marketing to social ends) approaches for which there is good review-level evidence but not from the UK.MethodsWe will conduct a cluster RCT across 50 schools (minimum 6440, maximum 8500 students) allocated 1:1 to intervention/control assessing outcomes at 33 months. Our primary outcome is non-competent first sex. Secondary outcomes are non-competent last sex, age at sexual debut, non-use of contraception at first and last sex among those reporting heterosexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, dating and relationship violence, sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy and unintended pregnancy for girls and initiation of pregnancy for boys. We will recruit 50 school and undertake baseline surveys by March 2022, implement the intervention over the 2022–2024 school years and conduct the economic and process evaluations by July 2024; undertake follow-up surveys by December 2024; complete analyses, all patient and policy involvement and draft the study report by March 2025 and engage in knowledge exchange from December 2024.DiscussionThis trial is one of a growing number focused on whole-school approaches to public health in schools. The key scientific output will be evidence about the effectiveness, costs and potential scalability and transferability of Positive Choices.Trial registrationISRCTN No: ISRCTN16723909. Registered on 3 September 2021.

Responding to the Advanced Intellectual Needs of Talented Readers With Interdisciplinary Learning Opportunities

Providing challenging curriculum in a literacy classroom of students whose reading abilities range widely can be a challenge. Integrating interdisciplinary book selections into a self-selected reading program, however, provides students with challenge by engaging them with big ideas. This article describes methods of integrating advanced interdisciplinary pedagogy into a reading approach, called the Schoolwide Enrichment Model in Reading (SEM-R) for talented readers. In this approach, introductions to thematically connected texts during book hooks encourage readers to engage with new topics, authors, and genres. Students build fluency and comprehension through independent reading with the support of teachers who point out connections among texts and ideas. Individual conferences allow teachers to determine each student’s need for support and challenge. Independent explorations allow students to delve into areas of interest and explore connections among topics through further reading, internet research, and writing projects. Investigating interdisciplinary ideas and complex themes can incorporate challenge for all readers but can be especially engaging and enriching for academically talented students who are also advanced readers.

Investigating Crickets: Jumping Across the Disciplines in a Naturally Interdisciplinary Project

A phenomenon from the natural world, cricket chirping behavior in relation to ambient temperature, is used as the springboard for engaging the curiosity of gifted students in an interdisciplinary classroom curriculum. Mathematics and science standards and disciplinary practices are prominent in the investigation, while other disciplines deepen the experience. An analysis of the cricket project in terms of the Parallel Curriculum (core, connections, practice, and identity) provides an interesting lens for examining interdisciplinarity (see Tomlinson, C. A., Kaplan, S. N., Renzulli, and J. S., et al. (2009). Parallel curriculum: A design to develop learner potential and challenge advanced learners. Corwin Press).

Feasibility and acceptability of a whole-school social-marketing intervention to prevent unintended teenage pregnancies and promote sexual health: evidence for progression from a pilot to a phase III randomised trial in English secondary schools

BackgroundReducing unintended teenage pregnancy and promoting adolescent sexual health remains a priority in England. Both whole-school and social-marketing interventions are promising approaches to addressing these aims. However, such interventions have not been rigorously trialled in the UK and it is unclear if they are appropriate for delivery in English secondary schools. We developed and pilot trialled Positive Choices, a new whole-school social marketing intervention to address unintended teenage pregnancy and promote sexual health. Our aim was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and trial methods in English secondary schools against pre-defined progression criteria (relating to randomisation, survey follow-up, intervention fidelity and acceptability and linkage to birth/abortion records) prior to carrying out a phase III trial of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.MethodsPilot RCT with integral process evaluation involving four intervention and two control schools in south-east England. The intervention comprised a student needs survey; a student/staff-led school health promotion council; a classroom curriculum for year-9 students (aged 13–14); whole-school student-led social-marketing activities; parent information; and a review of local and school-based sexual health services. Baseline surveys were conducted with year 8 (aged 12–13) in June 2018. Follow-up surveys were completed 12 months later. Process evaluation data included audio recording of staff training, surveys of trained staff, staff log books and researcher observations of intervention activities. Survey data from female students were linked to records of births and abortions to assess the feasibility of these constituting a phase III primary outcome.ResultsAll six schools were successfully randomised and retained in the trial. Response rates to the survey were above 80% in both arms at both baseline and follow-up. With the exception of the parent materials, the fidelity target for implementation of essential elements in three out of four schools was achieved. Student surveys indicated 80% acceptability among those who reported awareness of the programme and interviews with staff suggested strong acceptability. Linkage to birth/abortion records was feasible although none occurred among participants.ConclusionsThe criteria for progression to a phase III trial were met. Our data suggest that a whole-school social-marketing approach may be appropriate for topics that are clearly prioritised by schools. A phase III trial of this intervention is now warranted to establish effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Births and terminations are not an appropriate primary outcome measure for such a trial.Trial registrationISRCTN65324176.

Decolonial approaches to school curriculum for Black, Indigenous and other students of colour

This article analyses findings from a research project examining the Pear Tree Community School in Oakland, California, USA – a small, social justice-focused school primarily serving Black, Indigenous and other students of colour in grades from kindergarten to Grade 5. Through this multi-year case study, which included observations, interviews and focus groups, this article presents data from interviews with teachers and administrators who explain how they decolonise their primary school classroom curriculum, particularly amid national and global issues, such as heightened racial violence and increasingly polarised political discourse, which adversely impact the families and communities to which students belong. Teachers and administrators share concrete examples of decolonial approaches at the school level and within their classroom curricula that centre the lived experiences and histories of communities of colour. This article contributes an empirical study of one school’s decolonial approaches at the early grades level to the emerging scholarship on decolonising education.

Exploring the Use of WhatsApp for Teaching Speaking to English Language Learners: A Case Study

Being able to speak or communicate orally is an ultimate goal for most English language learners. Thus, teaching speaking is a main component of the curriculum in most communicative-based English language classrooms. However, teachers struggle to teach speaking in English language classrooms. Two main reasons contribute to this struggle: insufficient time for speaking practice in language classrooms and students’ unwillingness to communicate due to anxiety. Asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (ACMC) may have the potential to provide a solution to this difficulty. A widely accessible mobile application that can provide an easily implemented ACMC tool is WhatsApp. The current case study explored the potential use of WhatsApp for teaching English speaking in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. 15 Saudi EFL learners of English were recruited to participate in the present study. A mixed-method approach comprising pre and post-tests, closed-ended questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data for the current study. The findings showed that using WhatsApp can have the potential for improving EFL learners’ speaking performance, increasing their motivation and attitude towards speaking, and decreasing their anxiety and fear of making mistakes when speaking. WhatsApp can provide an effective platform for teaching speaking in an EFL setting where there is a scarcity of time available for oral communication.

Using Bloom’s taxonomy to evaluate the cognitive levels of Primary Leaving English Exam questions in Rwandan schools

This qualitative study investigates the cognitive levels of the questions used in the English primary six leaving examinations administered in Rwandan schools from 2013 to 2019. We used the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy to scrutinize the cognitive levels of 574 exam questions. The findings revealed a remarkable predominance of the lower-order thinking skills (LOTS) (98.79%) over the higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) exam questions (1.21%). The study addresses the gap in the current literature on high-stake and accountability-driven assessment practices regarding the language educational policies involving the use of English as a classroom language and curriculum reforms in postcolonial contexts. In particular, the study provides education practitioners and decision-makers with a body of knowledge conducive to writing high-quality exams that are likely to boost effective instruction and higher student learning and success in schools and beyond.

Research on Flipped Classroom of University Curriculum Using Eye Movement Analysis and LSTM Neural Network

By reversing the arrangement of knowledge transfer and knowledge internalisation, FC (flipped classroom) changed the roles of teachers and students in traditional teaching and replanned the use of classroom time, realizing the innovation of traditional teaching mode. This research uses a network teaching platform to create a network platform supporting environment suitable for FC teaching in universities, allowing for the reform of university classroom teaching modes. An LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) eye movement analysis algorithm is proposed to solve this problem. By analyzing the sequence of eye movements, this algorithm can predict students’ learning behavior and complete the current learning state detection. The research shows that the design and application of this research have achieved a good teaching effect in practice, which provides an idea for flipped classroom teaching design and curriculum resource design and development.

Increasing the presence of Einsteinian physics in high school: the impact of a professional development program on teacher knowledge and practice

ABSTRACT This article examines the impact of a professional development program aimed at encouraging high school teachers to include more modern physics in their enacted classroom curricula through improved content and pedagogical knowledge. The program was implemented with 17 high school physics teachers (three were the focal point of this study) in Turkey. A multi-case study using mixed-methods analysis followed by a cross-case analysis revealed conceptual and pedagogical gains. Teachers’ higher scores on an achievement test indicated their development of increased subject-matter knowledge. Further, classroom observation revealed a shift from lecturing to dialogic practices centered on student sense-making such as discussion, questioning, and interactive use of technology (simulations, videos). In alignment with the professional development, teachers devoted more instructional time to modern physics, increased the conceptual scope of their lessons (more concepts were taught), and adopted instructional approaches that were more dialogic. It is argued that the combined use of legal mandate and teacher development can help address the problematic status of Einsteinian physics as an absent curriculum at the high school level.

A Novel Optimization Approach for Educational Class Scheduling with considering the Students and Teachers’ Preferences

University class scheduling problem is one of the most important and complex issues in the academic field. This problem is recognized as one of the NP‐HARD issues due to its various limitations. On the contrary, genetic algorithms are commonly used to solve NP‐HARD problems, which is one of the decision‐making problems and is basically one of the most fundamental classes of complexity. The university course planning includes severe constraints such as classroom, classroom curriculum, and faculty. At the same time, some soft constraints should be considered, such as student and faculty preferences and favorite class time. In this research, as a novel contribution, an integer model for scheduling university classes is presented. In this model, the preferences of professors and students are in accordance with the satisfaction values obtained through questionnaires. Moreover, a genetic algorithm has been developed to solve the model. The results show that the classroom timeline by this algorithm goes well during each run. Moreover, considering an exploratory search for the genetic algorithm can greatly improve the performance of this algorithm.

Against Curriculum: Fall-Away Youth Interrupting Masterful Education

ABSTRACT This paper examines how young people, considered as ‘fall-away’, engage with the ‘curriculum complex’, a set of relations of adult expert communities, transnational and international corporate and educational organisations, and legislations and policies, aimed at managing and containing the ‘wild’ student through the employment of correctional practices. This paper examines young people’s engagement with the curriculum complex through two inquiries: one in the U.S. Midwest; and another in the northern Philippines. By using vignettes and student conversations from these inquiries, this paper first asks how the curriculum complex figures in classrooms; second, how students respond to it through their bold, playful, and engaged classroom and school curriculum performances; and lastly, how young people through their acts of guileful ruse, widen the curricular opening, and at the same time, expose its illogic and mastery.

Using emerging technologies to promote creativity in education: A systematic review

As students in our classroom today face the ever-changing world, it is essential to equip them with skills for dealing with rapid change and unexpected circumstances. As one of such skills, creativity has been receiving increasing focus in the classroom and school curriculum. With the growth in digital tools, educators have been paying attention to the need for using emerging technologies to appropriately support creativity improvement. This study systematically reviews current research to investigate and understand the use of emerging technologies to promote creativity in educational settings. The existing studies indicate that emerging technologies have a positive impact on students’ creativity effectively, particularly in interactive learning environments. However, these studies also have several issues namely, unclear implementation process, lack of study design information, and inadequate measurement process.

Research on the Change of Physical Education Teaching and Management in Colleges and Universities in the Age of Informatization

In the information age, the new economy represented by computer and network technology began to take off, and the information society caused a general change in production and lifestyle. In the field of physical education in colleges and universities, educational resources were optimized and utilized by means of information technology, so as to improve the business level and management efficiency. The extensive penetration of information technology in physical education in colleges and universities inevitably required the adaptive change of physical education management in colleges and universities. This paper mainly analyzes the classroom teaching, curriculum management and student management of physical education in colleges and universities, aiming at providing reference for promoting the informationization of physical education in colleges and universities.

Acceptability and feasibility of the Heartfulness Way: A social-emotional learning program for school-going adolescents in India.

The interest in life skills education programs in schools is growing. Yet, there is limited evidence on implementation indicators for such programs in low-income countries. We present a qualitative evaluation of the acceptability and feasibility of the Heartfulness Way program-a secondary school-based social-emotional program, based on mindfulness techniques delivered by teachers in India. This qualitative study collected data from 12 schools in four Indian cities, namely, Chennai, Hyderabad, Prayagraj, and Pune. Data collection included focus group discussions with adolescents (n = 24) and teachers (n = 12), semistructured interviews with school principals (n = 12), program delivering teachers (n = 7), and program staff (n = 4). A thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 12. Overall, the mindfulness-based classroom curriculum was strongly supported by participants. Acceptability was determined by positive responses, prosocial behavior, self-acceptance, and supportive bonds, according to students. Several themes of perceived benefits of the program including, improved relationships among peers and between students and teachers were identified. In general, the teachers' interviews indicated that there was a high level of satisfaction with the training and curriculum provided by the program. Teachers were able to provide high coverage (75%-80%) of the program activities, but several potential barriers were also identified, including insufficient training for teachers and the need for direct supervision. The Heartfulness Way program, a social-emotional learning intervention, has shown strong support for acceptance and delivery by school communities. Future studies are needed to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this program for improving the health and well-being of school-aged adolescents.

Classroom and Contest Overlap: Implications for Student Performance

The three-circle model of agricultural education serves as a cornerstone of the discipline; however, empirical evidence analyzing the overlap between components of the model is lacking. The current study explored the overlap between classroom instruction and FFA via a researcher-created Career Development Event and Curriculum Scale (CDECS) within the context of Environmental and Natural Resources curriculum and the Environmental Skills Career Development Event (CDE) in Michigan. Leveraging the ecological systems theory, results from the CDECS were compared to student performance in the Environmental Skills CDE as well as evidence of knowledge transfer. Findings indicated teachers had moderate overlap between classroom curriculum and the Environmental Skills CDE, as measured by the CDECS. In addition, results indicated small, positive correlations between the teacher-reported CDECS and student achievement in the CDE as well as their knowledge transfer. Findings provide empirical evidence of the relationship between classroom and FFA overlap and student performance. Further, findings provide practitioners, teacher educators, CDE coordinators, and researchers with a foundation from which to build additional understanding of the relationships between elements of the three-circle model.