Mid-Atlantic Curriculum Studies Project

Curriculum Studies Conferences and Associations

The Mid-Atlantic Curriculum Project is a collaboration of faculty and students representing a number of universities, colleges, and K-12 schools in the greater Philadelphia region. We support each others' efforts to explore, interrogate, and apply curriculum studies locally and to enhance the attention to curriculum studies in the region, nationally, and internationally.

Curriculum Studies is a field of scholarly inquiry that endeavors to understand curriculum across the academic disciplines. While subject matter specializations (such as the teaching of English, sciences, or mathematics) tend to focus on teaching strategies within single teaching fields, curriculum studies as a field aspires to understand the overall educational significance of the curriculum, focusing especially upon interdisciplinary themes as well as the relations among curriculum, the individual, and society.

Members of the Mid-Atlantic Curriculum Project contribute their own particular foci to the larger project. Through a variety of events each academic year, faculty and students focus attention on those issues that define those scholarly and public conversations regarding curriculum most pertinent to their own interests and local contexts. Distinguished visitors, invitational conferences, faculty and student exchanges, and occasional publications provide unusual opportunities for those students and faculty who wish to study the significance of curriculum debates both nationally and internationally.

Arcadia University, Glenside, PA 19038, Consistent with the mission of Arcadia University and the current interests of faculty and students, curriculum studies activities at Arcadia focus on the internationalization of curriculum studies and best practices for special populations, as well as youth culture studies, creativity in education, discourse analysis, and urban educational curriculum issues. Monthly graduate colloquia on various educational topics (usually Tuesdays at the Castle) offer area educators the opportunity to discuss a wide range of themes and investigation areas, as well as continuing education credits. Contact: Peter Appelbaum, appelbaum@arcadia.edu

St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, PA Contact: Raymond Horn, rhorn@mailhost.sju.edu,

Towson University, Towson MD Current projects at Towson include collaborations with local elementary schools to combine service learning with mathematics education, and arts-based initiatives in educational research. Contact: Morna McDermott, mmcdermott@towson.edu

University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Philadelphia, PA Contact: Janine Remillard, janiner@gse.upenn.edu

Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA 19426, Ursinus is a liberal arts college which supports an undergraduate minor in Education. Current research foci of faculty includes the cultural identity of minority students in suburban areas of Philadelphia, youth activist organizations in Philadelphia and their relationship to culture and identity, civic education, and independent schools associated with the Coalition of Essential Schools. Ursinus College features a system in which students work on individual research projects with faculty to promote undergraduate research. Contact: Rebecca Skulnick, rskulnick@ursinus.edu

Project Learn School, Philadelphia, PA 19119. http://projectlearnschool.org/ A cooperative, independent elementary and middle school of approximately 100 students located in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia. At Project Learn, teachers, students and parents work together to create a dynamic atmosphere that promotes mutual respect, involvement and curiosity. Contact: Lucy Miller, info@projectlearnschool.org

No Child Left Behind? A panel discussion featuring representatives from Pennsylvania Department of Education, teachers and school administrators. Sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa Education Honor Society. Grey Towers Castle, Arcadia University, January 25, 2005, 7:00-9:00 pm.

Rethinking High Schools. Michael Klonsky, Director, Small Schools Workshop, University of Illinois at Chicago. The Philadelphia Education Fund Distinguished Educator Lecture Series. 7 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 1^rst Floor. February 1, 2005, 6:00-8:00 pm. Doors open at 5:30 and seating is limited.. RSVP to Meg Wise at mwise@philaedfund.org or 215-665-1400 X 3323.

Math For Poets And Drummers: The Mathematics of Rhythm. Rachel W. Hall, Department of Math/Computer Science, St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia. Grey Towers Castle, Arcadia University, February 15, 2005, 7:00-9:00 pm.

Best Practices and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Public Education: Film Presentation, "Smart, Proud and Respected: Student Success in Charter Schools" Professors Christina Ager, Sharon Ravitch and Angela Gillem, Arcadia University. Grey Towers Castle, March 29, 2005, 7:00-9:00 pm.

The B²EST Program, Arcadia University. The B²EST Program of Arcadia University specializes in developing positive and effective approaches to deal with challenging behaviors. Its goals include improving classroom management, effective behavior management, and developing positive behavioral supports for parents, teachers, and schools. Using research based strategies, B²EST helps adults to support children and adolescents with problem behaviors, to reduce discipline referrals and school violence, and to increase academic performance. Specifically, B²EST professional activities include behavioral and academic consultations for school-wide interventions, and individual consultations for parents of children with autism or other developmental disabilities.

Youth Cultural Studies Collective, Arcadia University. Faculty from across campus meet regularly to support each others' explorations of youth cultural practices, popular culture, techno-culture, and related fields of performance studies, with an interest in identifying curriculum innovations and new directions for pedagogy.

Arts Focus, George Mason University. George Mason has recently launched Arts Focus, an exciting master's degree initiative in arts based research and reflective practice. Experiences challenge teachers to dance the data, paint the research, sculpt the reflection, perform the social commitment, film the theory and more.

The Math Magic Project, Towson University. Developed and implemented by Towson University Elementary Education interns and Owings Mills Elementary School is implementing a $1,000 award from State Farm for a service-learning project tied to National Youth Service Day April 15-17, 2005. For the last few years teaching interns from Towson University’s Elementary Education program interning at Owings Mills Elementary School, with help from the Owings Mills teachers, have put together a “Math Magic Club,” a before-school tutorial program run by the interns, to assist those students in each grade (2-5) with their basic math comprehension. This year with the help of the State Farm Grant, the tutorial program will be able to raise the number of students who can participate at each grade level. The grant will also enable interns to provide more learning materials to enhance their tutorial program. Each year, the program has documented success in raising the test scores of more than half of all the children in the program. In addition, during the week of April 11^th-17th an Awards Celebration, organized by the interns, will be held school wide for all students grades 2-5 who have successfully met their Math Magic goals at the appropriate grade level.

American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies http://aaacs.info

International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies http://iaacs.org

ASCD -- Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development http://www.ascd.org

Journal of Curriculum Theorizing/Bergamo Conference on Curriculum Theory and Classroom Practice http://www.jctbergamo.com/