Curriculum Development and Innovation

Research Context:

I was the academic affairs chief and interim academic affairs director of Singnan Public Elementary School in Yunlin, Taiwan, so I was responsible for leading the curriculum development in school.

Because of the educational reforms of Taiwan, schools were given more freedom to develop school-based curriculum according to individual school's needs.

Problems:

I identified the learning problems of most students in the school, such as lack of learning motivation, low degree of local consciousness, culturally and economically deprived backgrounds, and poor reading competence.

Ｍethods and actions:

1. Participated in various teacher professional development conferences and workshops to strengthen related educational knowledge and practices

2. I incorporated technologies and multimedia into subjects and created playful learning in meaningful contexts.

3. Used board games, such as 'Blockus', 'Once upon a time' and 'DiXit', to teach math and storytelling

4. Used interactive apps, such as 'Kahoot!' and 'ClassDojo' to diversify interaction in classrooms

5. Used literary apps and picturebooks, such as 'Epic!' to personalise learning materials and assignments

6. Taught children's programming language, 'Scratch', to enhance rural children's IT skills

7. Instructed rural children to do research on topical issues, such as gay marriage legalisation in Taiwan, international labor strike, human rights, and political protest

8. Guided children to develop interview questions with the SWOT strategy and conduct an in-depth interview with local eel-farming industries

9. Incorporated 'meta-cognition' learning strategies to enhance children's individual learning and reading abilities

Findings:

1. 'Make learning playful, fun, and interactive' is the most straightforward way to motivate children's learning.

2. Media and technologies serve as great tools to inspire children's learning as they are up-to-date, flexible, and catering to different children's interests.

3. Culturally and economically deprived backgrounds made children less confident in learning, so creating a meaningful learning environment empowers children to believe in themselves.

4. Connecting children with local industries and topical issues in both local and international societies can help to build civic consciousness and local identity.

Impact:

1. The school continues incorporating technology into the school-based curriculum, such as 3D-printing courses and scratch.

2. The school continues highlighting children's local identity and connecting the school-based curriculum with local natural environments and industries.