What and how do children learn in the 'DIY: Dream, Innovate Yourself' programme? : a study of a curriculum innovation.
Date
2015-05-15
Authors
Elliott, Kemble
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Abstract
This research is located in the interdisciplinary field of curriculum studies, drawing on both
psychological and sociological theories of pedagogy. I explore classroom practice, through a
qualitative study into a preparatory school curriculum innovation called DIY: Dream,
Innovate Yourself, which encourages children to develop skills (both topic-specific and
dispositional) that prepare them for the modern world of business, where flexible thinking,
creative problem solving and collaboration are high on the list of ‘hiring qualities’.
Using concepts of learning, cognitive and moral development, semiotic mediation, and
pedagogy, I develop an analysis of the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of mediation and learning in DIY:
Dream, Innovate Yourself.
The findings gathered through classroom observation and interviews with learners, suggest that
DIY is meeting its intended aims through the programme. However, due to limitations in the
data that could be collected, these findings must be treated as preliminary.
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Keywords
Curriculum innovation, Zone of proximal development, Concept development, Moral reasoning, Pedagogic transmission