Educative Curriculum Materials: Uptake, Impact, and Implications for Research and Design

Abstract

The authors synthesize the findings of a research project to extend what is known about educative curriculum materials, or curriculum materials designed with the intent of supporting teacher learning as well as student learning. Drawing on a three-year program of research, including several close observational case studies and a large-scale quasi-experiment, the authors demonstrate how teachers use curriculum materials, what evidence there is of teachers’ uptake of ideas in educative curriculum materials, and what evidence there is of impact on teacher and/or student knowledge. These findings are situated in the literature, and the authors discuss how, taken together, the findings suggest design principles for educative curriculum materials. The authors close with implications for research.