A progression of pre-service teachers towards deep curricular knowledge (the Pieces model in Open Source Tutorials)

Abstract

, we aim to equip our pre-service teachers (PSTs) with “curricular knowledge” about instructional materials, knowledge about the “theory” underlying the curriculum and the reasons behind particular choices such as conceptual flow, use of individual vs. group work, and so on. This study presents two case studies grounded in of our attempts to teach nuanced curricular knowledge about differences between two fairly similar sets of curricular modules. Our analysis centers on two Masters of Science (MS) students who had various experiences involving Open Source Tutorials (OSTs), guided worksheets developed by the University of Maryland. A theoretically nuanced (and hence deep) component of curricular knowledge regarding OSTs is that they are based upon the “Knowledge in Pieces” (in contrast to a “Misconceptions” or unspecified) model of student ideas. The Pieces model maintains that student ideas are not always robustly intact and inherently incorrect cognitive structures, but rather, that student ideas are often temporary coherences of thought assembled from finer-grained pieces of knowledge that can productively be drawn upon and refined in instruction. In our courses, PSTs read research literature about OSTs, conduct mock lessons using existing OSTs, improve existing OSTs, design and teach their own OSTs to real students, and reflect upon the process to further improve the curriculum. Our analysis focuses upon case studies of Brock and Saki, MS students at our institutions. In addition to one-on-one interviews with these PSTs, we will draw upon data from in-class observations and written coursework to discuss how PSTs progressed in their understanding of nuanced curricular knowledge about OSTs and