Room for Improvisation: Teachers' Perceptions of Scripted Curricula

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  In Roundtable Session: Curriculum and Instruction in the Teacher Evaluation Era

Abstract

Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were introduced, in part, to reduce inequitable access to curriculum in the U.S. Increasingly, states are adopting pre-packaged and scripted curricular materials to support teachers’ implementation of the CCSS. This paper describes a study of teachers’ perceptions of NY state’s curriculum modules. Through a qualitative design grounded in critical theory, the researchers interviewed elementary teachers who were using scripted modules and found they held a surprisingly positive view of the modules as curricular supports when accompanied by flexibility in implementation. Of concern, participants were rarely able to articulate inequities present in their classroom contexts and often resorted to stereotypical explanations of conditions of poverty and shied away from disability when pointing to challenges facing students.

Authors

• Maria Timberlake, SUNY - College at Cortland

• Anne Burns Thomas, SUNY - College at Cortland

• Brian Barrett, SUNY - College at Cortland