The Living Curriculum
The living curriculum is a curriculum designed by the participants and further developed by subsequent participants who teach newcomers existing material and add to it as individuals and groups decide upon new projects.
Most government mandated curricula are static, rarely change and involve little or no input from the population which they supposedly serve.
Open Source Ecology naturally provides the framework of a living curriculum around which entire secondary and tertiary programs of study might be built. OSE Workshops are the starting point for such a curriculum. Those who implement a living curriculum may choose aspects of the curriculum best suited to local needs and students' interests. Naturally, outcomes vary widely from student to student in a living curriculum as activities are interdisciplinary.
Attributes of a Living Curriculum
- Interdisciplinary
- Rooted in meaningful action that affects a wider community
- Individual initiative
Educational research says that in order to improve learning, concepts must be organized around "keystone concepts" - ideas that connect to many more ideas. Hands-on STEM projects naturally form such keystones.
