Nienke Nieveen

Design Approaches and Tools in Education and Training

In our contemporary learning society, expectations about the contribution of education and training continue to rise. Moreover, the potential of information and communication technology (ICT) creates many challenges. These trends affect not only the aims, content and processes of learning, they also have a strong impact on educational design and development approaches in research and professional practices. Prominent researchers from the Netherlands and the USA present their latest findings on these issues in this volume. The major purpose of this book is to discuss current thinking on promising design approaches and to present innovative (computer-based) tools. The book aims to serve as a resource and reference work that will stimulate advancement in the field of education and training. It is intended to be useful in academic settings as well as for professionals in design and development practices.

Prototyping to reach product quality.

This chapter provides a framework for product quality consisting of the following three criteria: validity, practicality and effectiveness, and provides insight into the applicability of the framework in various domains of educational product development.

Balancing curriculum freedom and regulation in the Netherlands

The extent to which the goals and contents of (compulsory) education should to be regulated has been a complicated balancing act in the Netherlands. Against a background of a longstanding statutory tradition of freedom of education, governmental decisions about ‘what knowledge is of most worth’ have been delicate. The purpose of the analysis described in this article is to disentangle, interpret and discuss this complicated balancing act between curriculum regulation and curriculum freedom during the past 40 years and to learn from other countries by putting the results into a wider European curriculum policy perspective. The contribution will end with discussing issues that need to be carefully considered with respect to the recent Dutch policy shift towards output regulation by means of mandatory achievement tests for mathematics, mother tongue and English at the end of lower secondary education.

Computer support for curriculum developers: CASCADE

This paper examines research on a family of computer-based tools, CASCADE (Computer ASsisted Curriculum Analysis, Design and Evaluation), designed to assist in the complex task of curriculum development. It begins with discussion of curriculum developers and their activities, followed by examination of how the computer can offer support for their tasks. The main elements of four related systems for computer supported curriculum development are discussed and approaches to designing tools of this nature are considered. Following an overview of main findings, this article concludes with thoughts on fruiful directions for research on computer supported curriculum development, emphasizing the need for increased attention to implementation and impact studies.

Characteristics of Computer-based Tools for Education and Training Development: An Introduction

Currently, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) permeates almost every profession, including those of designers and developers in education and training. This part of the book consists of ten examples of recently created design and development tools (see chapter 14 through 23). These tools can be classified in many ways. A conceptual framework can be of help when organizing the tools into different types. In this introductory chapter such a framework is presented with the following set of attributes: type of output; purpose and evidence of benefits; type of development process supported and any underlying theory; task support; and intended user group. The framework appeared to be useful in analyzing the tools presented in the following chapters. Results of the analysis are presented in an extended table. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the interpretations of the analysis and projected future trends.

Information Technology Tools for Curriculum Development

The widespread introduction and use of computers in the workplace began in the early 1990s. Since then, computer-based tools have been developed to support a myriad of task types, including the complex process of curriculum development. This chapter begins by briefly introducing two concepts that are bound together in the notion of computer supported curriculum development: the complexity of curriculum development tasks and the possibilities to support performance of such complex tasks. The chapter then focuses on three main types of information technology support tools for this domain: Electronic Performance Support Systems, Knowledge Management Systems, and Repositories. Characteristics of these tool types are described in general terms, and then demonstrated through an example. This chapter concludes with future directions for computer supported curriculum development.

Curriculum Development from a Technical-Professional Perspective

‘Curriculum development’ refers to an intentional process or activity directed at (re)designing, developing and implementing curricular interventions in formal or corporate education. Studying this process will embrace at least three phenomena (Goodlad et al., 1979). The first is substantive and has to do with all everyday components of a curriculum (such as goals, subject matter, materials, etc.). The second is socio-political which involves all political and social processes that are involved in curriculum development processes. The third is technical-professional, referring to all processes through which curricula are actually designed, improved, and implemented in practice. In this paper we focus on the technical-professional perspective.

Curricular aspects of computers in education

The country papers on policies and practices concerning computers in education in this volume show that a wide variety of computer use can be found in schools around the world. In this summary chapter, we will look at that variety from a curriculum perspective, focussing on elementary and secondary education. Interesting questions in this context are to what extent computers constitute a new domain of study, whether computers are considered mainly as alternative tools in education, or whether technological developments in our society will lead to the integration of computers and computer-based technologies in education with the purpose to improve the quality and efficiency of education.

The Role of Teachers in Design Research in Education

In this book on “How does change happen?” we see a very wide span between design research on (nano level) learning trajectories of students and on (macro level) large scale system and policy change. Where are the teachers on this spectrum? In particular: what can be a productive role for teachers in educational design research to bridge the gap between innovation policy and classroom practice? That is the central question of this chapter. After analyzing some problems in educational innovation, we will outline how design research can constitute a bridge between teachers in the real world of practice and external researchers. Both perspectives will be clarified. In conclusion we will explore some implications for (different) roles and expectations.

ICT Tools for Curriculum Development

Along with others in this book, this chapter examines a recent trend in curriculum development, namely, employing the computer to support this complex process. Not to be confused with the vast majority of ICT tools for education, which support the teachers and learners more directly, this discussion focuses on computer-based tools for curriculum developers. It begins by considering the complex task of curriculum development, and then examines potential benefits offered through computer-based task support. Thereafter, main elements of such tools are discussed; and these aspects are illustrated via real-tool examples. Following consideration of possible ways to design tools of this nature, the chapter concludes with some thoughts on fruitful directions for research on computer supported curriculum development.