PGCE Module 1 Process Work Unit 2 Task 5
Meeting the needs of Globally minded parents...
The Common Ground Curriculum
I have chosen the Common Ground Curriculum (CGC) as the programme to look at in response to the above question. My reason for doing so is because I am less familiar with this alternative curriculum than with the others that are available and, both as a teacher and as a parent currently exploring different options of education, I was interested to learn more about the CGC.
I am afraid that, after studying the CGC website, I was still perplexed on many levels. One of the first things that really drew my attention was the fact that it claims that :
“Before we can make learning happen we need to define it in clear, simple language”
I believe this is important because, if you don’t understand the question, you can’t attempt to answer it and yet CGC, whilst advocating the use of simple language, goes on to use quite complex terminology in the way that it describes how it operates. Words such as ‘Conceptual learning’, ‘Triple Helix’ ‘Trans-disciplinary’, to name a few that are mentioned, are, in my opinion, not clear or simple ; in fact their meanings have been the subject of debate by academics and much has been written in an attempt to explain different perspectives of meaning. Consequently such terminology might not instantly be familiar or understood by parents looking at the CGC website.
I feel that, there is a contradiction between what they claim to be doing and what they are actually demonstrating.
Below is a prime example of how the CGC website stresses the importance of clarity of learning and immediately defines it in a complex way:
“We can never be effective in making learning happen until we decide what it actually is, and use simple, common language to define it. We have defined three types of learning that work together in connected ways.
LEARNING IS
a process that leads to a sustained and demonstrable consolidation or extension of conceptual understanding, competencies, dispositions or values.”
I also found the design of the website very unhelpful and unclear. The use of so many different sizes of font was visually quite distracting. Section 2 headed ‘Designing Learning 2.2 Understanding the Human Commonalities’ used such a small font size that it was impossible for me to read without zooming in considerably in order to magnify the words.
Once I started to look in detail at different strands of the learning I was again struck by inconsistencies. To illustrate this I will look at the section below, headed ‘Physical Wellbeing’. It states:
‘Learners understand the value of physical well-being, of remaining fit and healthy throughout life. They understand the contribution of a balanced lifestyle, healthy diet and physical activity to their overall well-being. They also understand and value the range of learning embedded in individual and team sports. These understandings help them leave school “fit for life”.’
I accept that an understanding of what is necessary to create a healthy lifestyle is necessary to impart, but there is no mention of how this is to be achieved, other than through instruction. You cannot make the claim that a mere understanding of what it means to be physically fit without the application of what that involves will help anyone leave school “fit for life”. What exactly do they mean by “fit for life”? Are they advocating that an understanding of physical well-being is sufficient to equip anyone for the challenges that life brings, or that, even if their graduates left school in a state of absolute physical fitness, this would mean that they remained “fit for life”?
CGC’s mantra is “Everybody Learns”- I agree with this. I disagree with their conclusion that the CGC is “a complex story told simply.” They state that:
“We trust that it provides a clear sense of a systemic approach to learning that results in the development of Independent Learners and Global Citizens.”
It may well provide a systemic approach to learning, but I definitely don’t believe it projects the image of clarity. I was left feeling confused, frustrated and quite angry after having tried to make sense of what they were attempting to convey.
I did learn learn something from looking at the CGC website and that was that I did not trust them to provide the type of education they claim to advocate. As a parent I am definitely put off by this curriculum as portrayed in it’s website. As a teacher I would be worried about being connected with a system which appears not to practice what it preaches.
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