The use of demonstration lessons to support curriculum implementation: invitation or intrusion?

Abstract

Lesson demonstration within the context of school-based coaching can give teachers practical examples of a new curriculum in action, thereby reinforcing the key messages introduced in initial in-service training. At the same time, the demonstration needs to be sufficiently invitational so that teachers feel positively about the new programme and are encouraged to try out the new methodologies being introduced. This article examines the use of demonstration lessons as a support for teachers’ curriculum implementation. It draws on an evaluation of a professional development service in Ireland that was established to support implementation of a new primary school curriculum, and which involved visits to schools by curriculum coaches. The results show that the emphasis was on using lesson demonstration as an invitation to teachers to try out the new methodologies being modelled, while the kind of intrusion associated with other kinds of coaching was less in evidence. The article concludes that coaching for curriculum implementation involves a hybrid of different coaching models. The balance between invitation and intrusion is one which requires constant attention by the coach, so that the right approach for a given situation can be found.

Keywords:

• lesson demonstration
• coaching
• curriculum implementation