Curriculum as Conversation: Transforming Traditions of Teaching and Learning

by Arthur N. Applebee

“Applebee's central point, the need to teach 'knowledge in context,' is absolutely crucial for the hopes of any reformed curriculum. His experience and knowledge give his voice an authority that makes many of the current proposals on both the left and right seem shallow by comparison.”—Gerald Graff, University of Chicago

158 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 1996

Reviews

[Mark Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Applebee eliminates the excess lard and quotidian concerns of most 'reform' efforts in standardizing education, reforms that stress"basic skills" when what is really meant by that coded language is a dumbed-down, subjugation of students by managed and managing teachers who present only the minimum so that students may be in turn managed and controlled. Applebee suggests that the voice from the author resonates with the students who read and respond as (in writing) as if conversing back with that printed voice. Simple, but effective--Mortimer Adler and the Great Books movement also presents this message. Overall, it can be liberating.

[Cherylann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Applebee, as I'm starting to realize, is becoming a powerful voice in my lit review. This text not only speaks to my research and helps me formulate an even stronger conceptual and theoretical framework for my research, it also makes me reflect on what it is I do in my classroom each day. Why do I make the curricular choices I make. Why does our school's curriculum look a certain way? This small text is a place for English language arts/literacy educators to pause and re-view the curriculum in their sites of practice.

[Thomas Goergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the idea of having the classroom as a discussion based place that allows students to have a lot of voice and input as to what occurs throughout the semester/year. This book has inspired me to continue an in-depth research into integrated classrooms - cross curricular studies - between Social Studies and ELA.

[Inquiry By Design · Rating 5 out of 5]

Argues that curriculum is best conceived as domains for conversation. A powerful way of imagining alternatives to tired chronological structures and thin theme studies.