Being “the outsider” in a curriculum renewal: First-hand experience


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Çopur D.

2025 FLE Joint Conference - Unity in Diversity, Ankara, Türkiye, 30 Mayıs 2025, (Yayınlanmadı)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Yayınlanmadı
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Ankara
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Curriculum renewal is a multifaceted process that often benefits from fresh perspectives. External curriculum specialists—those brought in from outside the institution—can offer valuable insights, but their role also comes with unique challenges. This presentation shares my first-hand experience as an “outsider” working on a curriculum renewal project at a preparatory school, where I faced a number of obstacles, including gaining trust, understanding the school’s culture, and managing expectations. Despite these challenges, the project highlighted several key practices that helped the renewal succeed. These include designing a context analysis to understand the institutional culture; holding regular information-sharing sessions with instructors; building a curriculum team that included both internal and external voices; forming sounding boards for feedback; referring to language frameworks; and being ready to face unexpected problems.

My presentation will reflect on how these strategies supported the process, and how collaboration between internal staff and external experts can lead to meaningful and lasting change. This session is aimed at educators, administrators, and curriculum developers who are involved in or planning curriculum renewal projects. It will offer practical advice on how to manage the challenges of being an “outsider,” while making a positive and respectful contribution to a school’s curriculum development efforts.