Provocative rather than controversial, I reckon, Jonathan!
I have recently completed an AHRB funded project on the 'Variation in
Teachers'and Students' Understanding of Professional Work and
Teaching and Learning in Design'. This will be available shortly on
the cltad web-site (http://www.cltad.ac.uk). It is a development of
an earlier paper on students' conceptions of design which is part of
an on-going joint project with Dr Anna Read at McQuarry University,
Australia. This paper, with a few others, is on our web-site.
One of the observations from this research is that students and
teachers can have qualitatively different conceptions of the subject
they are studying (design, in this case) and there can be significant
differences between teachers' conceptions which confirms some of what
you say.
It is evident that 'constructively aligning' the curriculum (relating
outcomes and assessment criteria in QAA speak) is insufficient if
students continue not to understand what is required of them.
Margaret Price et al, 'Strategies to develop students' understanding
of assessment criteria and processes' in Improving Student Learning,
Proceedings of the 2000 International Symposium, 2001, claims that
'socialisation' within the curriculum is imperative if students are
to understand what is required of them. This requires a coherent
understanding by the teachers. Teachers learning as well!
Cheers
Allan
Can I be controversial?
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Allan Davies
Head of the Centre for Learning and Teaching
in Art and Design (cltad)
65 Davies St
London
W1Y 2DA
Tel: 0207 515 8018
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