Reconstructing curricula

The DeCoRe curriculum development methodology, an abbreviation of Deconstruction-Construction-Reconstruction aims to help prospective and in-service teachers as well as any academic teacher to embed sustainability justice in school curricula enabled by ICTs. It consists of six processes. 1) Diagnosing: Reflecting on: a) who we are; b) what we have (existing knowledge); c) where we want to go; and d) why we want to go there. 2) Deconstructing: Analyzing critically the functioning of personal perspectives and habits of mind and chosen curriculum units/modules. 3) Constructing: Gathering resources, creating ideas and constructing new meaning (perspectives). 4) Reconstructing: Integration of new constructed knowledge in line with the reconstructed frame of reference. 5) Implementing: Carrying out the reconstructed curriculum unit/module supplemented by service learning. 6) Finalizing: Reflecting and evaluating on what has been learned and changed. The theoretical underpinning of the DeCoRe plus curriculum development methodology derives from critical social theory and critical transformative pedagogy.

The CARE learning design methodology has been initially developed through the challenges and experiences gained from the great influx of refugees in the Mediterranean region in recent years using an exemplary theme entitled “Refugees Crossing the Aegean: Learning from History”. It has been also used as a student-driven learning methodology by thousands of teachers globally. The CARE learning design framework involves four interactively functioning processes, starting from conceptualisation of a learning intervention through activating learning processes to critical reflection and student engagement. In practice, these four processes are interactively functioning.

The DREAM (Diagnose, Review/Reflect, Explain, Assess & Manage) is a methodology for course and learning assessment. These processes cover the whole spectrum of a course and learning, that is, what students bring in class before the implementation of the courses (Diagnosing), during the course (Reviewing/reflecting and explaining) and at the end of the course (Assessing and managing). In a way, the DREAM methodology reflects a critical action research process which aims not only to assess a course but more importantly to make whatever changes in order to improve it.

The RUCAS strategy towards infusion focuses on reviewing existing courses and teaching methods to address issues that are pertinent to education for sustainability. To infuse sustainability into the curriculum means to integrate into the existing curriculum, the knowledge, competences, perspectives, values, skills/actions needed to transform society and to sustain the environmental, social and economic integrity of the planet.