The Nomadic Curriculum: Transforming Curricular Experiences in Social Studies
Abstract
The curriculum in social studies is “frozen” (Davies, 2019) on a linear trajectory to teach skills and facts in a standardized progression for pre-determined outcomes resulting in retrospective thinking (Williamson, 2013) rather than embracing the dynamic evolving nature of knowledge formation. The nomadic curriculum is an open and evolving complex adaptive system that aims to challenge all learners to think critically, conceptually, and reflectively by affording them the agency to choose the meaningful ideas and perspectives they learn in social studies. The processes of choice, critical thinking, dialogue, and reflection intersect to produce the nomadic shifting that drives the curricular transformation. The value of this transformation is that it results in connectedness among a community of learners who collectively and democratically generate new learning and understanding to make meaning of their curricular ideas. Embracing the nomadic curriculum involves “giving students ownership over their experiences” (Masta, 2018, p. 31) and relinquishing epistemological authority to develop learners’ consciousness and evolving epistemology.
Presentation Description
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Location
Room 106
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Ibarra, Blanca, "The Nomadic Curriculum: Transforming Curricular Experiences in Social Studies" (2022). Curriculum Studies Summer Collaborative. 25.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cssc/2022/2022/25
The Nomadic Curriculum: Transforming Curricular Experiences in Social Studies
Room 106
The curriculum in social studies is “frozen” (Davies, 2019) on a linear trajectory to teach skills and facts in a standardized progression for pre-determined outcomes resulting in retrospective thinking (Williamson, 2013) rather than embracing the dynamic evolving nature of knowledge formation. The nomadic curriculum is an open and evolving complex adaptive system that aims to challenge all learners to think critically, conceptually, and reflectively by affording them the agency to choose the meaningful ideas and perspectives they learn in social studies. The processes of choice, critical thinking, dialogue, and reflection intersect to produce the nomadic shifting that drives the curricular transformation. The value of this transformation is that it results in connectedness among a community of learners who collectively and democratically generate new learning and understanding to make meaning of their curricular ideas. Embracing the nomadic curriculum involves “giving students ownership over their experiences” (Masta, 2018, p. 31) and relinquishing epistemological authority to develop learners’ consciousness and evolving epistemology.
