BES-125: Understanding Disciplines and Subjects

By Dr. Niradhar Dey | Indira Gandhi National Open University

Learners enrolled: 1047

The Course, BES-125: Understanding Disciplines and Subjects is one of the Core Courses studied in the first year of the IGNOU B.Ed. Programme. The Course is developed as per the NCTE Regulations, 2014. The Course provides the learners an understanding about the formation of an academic discipline by categorizing a specific type of knowledge and further it explains about framing a School Subject from the discipline. The course enables the learners to understand the distinctive characteristics and perspectives of a discipline and its academic manifestation. This course will also help the learners to understand disciplinary knowledge and its constitution as a discipline. Further it helps the learners to understand the framing of a School Subject, its curriculum, and to address other areas of knowledge in the curriculum. The course concludes with discussing the factors that contributes for the choices of streams and subjects for the students.

Summary

Course Status :	Completed
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	8 weeks
Category :	Teacher Education
Credit Points :	2
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	01 Jan 2024
End Date :	30 Apr 2024
Enrollment Ends :	29 Feb 2024
Exam Date :	26 May 2024 IST
Exam Shift :	Shift-I

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week	Module	Text in PDF form	Video Programmes
Week-1	Module-1 Knowledge and Disciplines	Knowledge and Disciplines	1. Knowledge and Information
			2. Sources and Ways of Acquiring Knowledge
			3. Categorisation of Knowledge for Constituting a Discipline
			4. Concept and Characteristics of a Discipline
Week-2	Module-2 Perspectives of Disciplinary Knowledge (Part-1)	Perspectives of Disciplinary Knowledge (Part-1)	5. Discipline Specific Processes to Acquire Knowledge
			6. Evolution and Framing of Discipline
Week-3	Module-3 Perspectives of Disciplinary Knowledge (Part-2)	Perspectives of Disciplinary Knowledge (Part-2)	7. Context and Perspectives of Disciplines
			8. Inter-relationships between and among the Disciplines
Week-4	Module-4 Disciplinary Knowledge and School Education	Disciplinary Knowledge and School Education	9. Pedagogical Concerns of Disciplinary Knowledge
			10. Classifying and Accommodating Specific Areas of Knowledge
			11. Framing School Subjects
Week-5	Module-5 Subject Concerns in School Curriculum	Subject Concerns in School Curriculum	12. Curriculum, Syllabi and School Education
			13. Domains of School Subjects
			14. Curricular Materials – Its Types and Importance
			15. Implications of Curricular Divisions for Learner-Centred Pedagogy
Week-6	Module-6 Organizing Subjects in School Curriculum (Part-1)	Organizing Subjects in School Curriculum (Part-1)	16. Bases of Organising Subjects in School Curriculum
			17. Appropriateness of Subjects in Curriculum at Different Stages
Week-7	Module-7 Organizing Subjects in School Curriculum (Part-2)	Organizing Subjects in School Curriculum (Part-2))	18. Addressing the Needs of the Stakeholders in Formulation and Transaction of School Subjects
			19. Issues of Uniform Vs Locally Designed Syllabus
Week-8	Module-8 Making Subject Choices	Making Subject Choices	20. Streams and Subject Choices for the Learners
			21. Factors Determining Learners Choices of Streams and Subjects

Books and references

Module-1 Knowledge and Disciplines

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.). (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

Bridges, D. (2006), ‘The Disciplines and the Discipline of Educational Research’, Journal of Philosophy of Education 40:2, pp. 259-272.

Clark D. (2004). http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/performance/understanding.html accessed December 2004.

Dewey, John (1916). Democracy and Education, New York: MacMillan.

Dubin, R. (1976). Theory building in applied areas, Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, M.D. Dunnette (Ed.), New York: Wiley. pp. 17-39. Foucault,

Michel (1991). Discipline and Punish/The Birth of the Prison, London: Penguin.

Hirst, P. (1974). Knowledge and Curriculum, International Library of the Philosophy of Education, London: Routledge and Kegal Paul Ltd.

Hospers, J. (1973). An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis (Revised Edition), Prentice Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs: N.J.

IGNOU (2005). Education: Nature and Purposes (MES-012), Block 1 & 2, Master of Education, New Delhi: IGNOU. Jha, A.K. (2005). Nyaya philosophy: epistemology and education, New Delhi: Standard Publishers (India)

Krishnan, A. (2009). What are Academic Disciplines? Some Observation on the Disciplinarity vs Interdisciplinarity Debate. University of Southampton, National Centres for Research Methods.

Kuhn, T. (1962). The structure of scientific revolution, Chicago: The University of Chicago.

Module-2 Perspectives of Disciplinary Knowledge

Besselaar, P.V.D. & Heimeriks, G. (2001), “Disciplinary, Multidisciplinary, Interdisciplinary- Concepts and Indicators, Social Science Informatics program, University of Amsterdam, pp- 1-4.

Charles, C. (2010). The Historical Development of Sociology: Sociological Traditions. Historical Development and Theoretical Approaches in Sociology, Vol.1.

Guy, J. & Small, I. (2010), “The Nature of Disciplinary Knowledge”, Cambridge University Press, pp-1-3 Kenneth, T.G. (1974). Area Studies and the Traditional Disciplines. The History Teacher Pedagogy 3:2. KKHSOU (2011). Introduction to Political Science as a Discipline. Haldwani: KKHSOU.

Koehler, N. (2012). Discipline Specific Knowledge and Capabilities, Deakin Learning Futures, Deakin University. Retrieved from www.deakin.edu.au on 14.09.2016.

Krishnan, A. (2009), “What are academic disciplines ?”, University of Southampton, ESRC National Center for Research Methods, pp-7-31.

Miller. M. & Mansilla, V.B. (2004), “Thinking Across Perspectives and Disciplines”, Harvard University, Cambridge, pp- 1-3.

Paleeri, S. (2015). Evolution and Emerging Trends in Academic Discipline. NSS Training College, Ottapalam: Kerala.

Panda, M. (2006). Mathematics and Tribal Children. Economic and Political Weekly. Vol-41(2).

Szostak, R. (2013), “Defining Disciplinary Perspective”, Department of Economics, University of Alberta, pp-1-2

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (2012). History of Geographic Study, Columbia University Press.

Websites Referred:

http://www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/c04/e6-99a.pdf retrieved on 16.09.2016 http://ww2.valdosta.edu/~cbarnbau/phys_math/p1_grel.html retrieved on 28.09.2016 http://www.studyenglishtoday.net/english-language-history.html on 15.09.2016

Module-3 Disciplinary Knowledge and School Education

Artmer, P.A., Newby, T.J. (2013). Behaviourism, cognitivism, and constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), pp.43-71.

Wiley Online Library. Corrigan, D., et.al. (2011). The professional knowledge base of Science teaching (ed.). New York: Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg.

Deng, Z. (2007). Knowing the subject matter of a secondary school science subject. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 39(5), 503–535.

Deng, Z. (2007). Transforming the subject matter: examining the intellectual roots of pedagogical content knowledge. Curriculum Inquiry, 37(3), 279–295.

Deng, Z. (2009). The formation of a school subject and the nature of curriculum content. Hong Kong: Journal of Curriculum Studies, 41:5.

Dewey, J. (1966 [1899]). Lectures in the Philosophy of Education (New York: Random House). Doyle, W. (1992). Curriculum and pedagogy. In P. W. Jackson (ed.), Handbook of Research on Curriculum (New York: Macmillan), 486–516.

Grayson, D.J. (2004). Disciplinary Knowledge from a Pedagogical Point of View. Andromeda Science Education and University of Pretoria, retrieved from https:// web.phys.ksu.edu/icpe/ publications/teach2/Grayson.pdf on 15.10.2015.

Grossman, P. L., Wilson, S. M. and Shulman, L. S. (1989). Teachers of substance: subject matter knowledge for teaching. In M. C. Reynolds (ed.), Knowledge Base for the Beginning Teacher (New York: Pergamon), 23–36.

Miller, J. (2015). Holistic Education – Learning for an Interconnected World. Sample Chapters, Encyclopedia of life support systems, UNESCO.

Morris, P. and Chan, K. K. (1997). Cross-curricular themes and curriculum reform in Hong Kong: policy as discourse. British Journal of Educational Studies, 45(3), 248–262.

NCERT (2005). New Curriculum Framework (2005). New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training. NCERT (2006). Arts, Music, Dance and Theatre – Position Paper National Focus Group. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2006). Curriculum Syllabus and Textbooks – Position Paper National Focus Group. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2006). Heritage Craft – Position Paper National Focus Group. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2006). Systemic Reforms for Curriculum Change – Position Paper National Focus Group. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2006). Teaching of Social Sciences – Position Paper National Focus Group. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2007). Work Education – Position Paper National Focus Group. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCTE (2009). National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education – Towards Preparing Professional and Humane Teachers. New Delhi: National Council for Teacher Education.

NCTE (2014). Teacher Education Regulations 2014, Norms and Standards, and New Curriculum Frameworks. New Delhi: National Council for Teacher Education.

Pinkley, D. (2009). Children Learning English as a Foreign Language – Current issues in language Teaching. Pearson Longman.

Ross, E.W., et. al. (2014). Social Studies Curriculum and Teaching in the Era of Standardization (pp.25-50). From Ross. E.W. (ed.) (2014).The Social Studies Curriculum – Purposes, Problems, and Possibilities. Albany: State University of New York.

Scheffler, I. (1991). Basic mathematical skills. In I. Scheffler (ed.), In Praise of the Cognitive Emotions and Other Essays in the Philosophy of Education (New York: Routledge), 71–79. Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14.

Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1–22.

Stengel, B. S. (2010). Academic Discipline and School Subject: Contestable Curricular Concepts. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 29:5.

Westbury, I. (2000). Teaching as a reflective practice: what might didactic teach curriculum. In I. Westbury, S. Hopmann and K. Riquarts (eds), Teaching as a Reflective Practice: The German Didactic Tradition (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 15–39.

Wilson, S. M., Shulman, L. S. and Richert, A. E. (1987). ‘150 different ways’ of knowing: representations of knowledge in teaching. In J. Calderhead (ed.), Exploring Teachers’ Thinking (London: Cassell), 104–124.

Website Referred:

http://www.innovativelearning.com/teaching/behaviorism.html retrieved on 16.10.2015. http://northweststate.edu/wp-content/uploads/files/21143_ftp.pdf retrieved on 16.10.2015.

Module-4 Subject Concerns in School Curriculum

NCERT (2000), National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2000, New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2005), National Curriculum Framework, 2005, New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2006), National Focus Group Position Paper on Social Sciences, New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2006), Curriculum, Syllabus and Textbooks – National Focus Group Position Paper, New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCTE (2009), National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education – Towards Preparing Professional and Humane Teachers, New Delhi: National Council for Teacher Education.

Module-5 Organising Subjects in School Curriculum

NCERT (2000), National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2000, New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2005), National Curriculum Framework, 2005, New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2006), National Focus Group Position Paper on Social Sciences, New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2006), National Focus Group Position Paper on Curriculum, Syllabus and Textbooks, New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

S. K. Yadav (2011), National Study on Ten Year School Curriculum Implementation, New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

Module-6 Making Subject Choices

CBSE (2015-16). Senior School Curriculum, Main Subject, Vol-1. New Delhi: Central Board of Secondary Education.

Govt. of India (1948-49). Report of the University Education Commission (1948- 49). Ministry of Education. New Delhi: Govt. of India.

Govt. of India (1952-53). Report of the Secondary Education Commission (1952- 53). Ministry of Education. New Delhi: Govt. of India.

Govt. of India (1964-66). Education and National Development - Report of the Education Commission (1964-66). New Delhi: Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.

NCERT (2005). National Curriculum Framework (2005). New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCERT (2006). Position Paper on Teaching of Indian Languages. New Delhi: National Council of Educational Research and Training.

NCTE (2009). New Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (2009). New Delhi: National Council for Teacher Education.

NCTE (2014). Teacher Education Regulations 2014, Norms and Standards, and New Curriculum Frameworks. New Delhi: National Council for Teacher Education.

People for Education (2014), Taken from Reay, D. & Ball, S. (2005). Degrees of Choice: Class, race, gender and higher education. Trentham Books. retrieved from http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/choosingcourses-for-high-school-2014.pdf, on 12.10.2015.

Upadhyay, G. C. and Yadav, P. (2015). Early Childhood Care and Education – A Way Forward, A Handbook for Teachers and Teacher Educators. New Delhi: NCERT

Instructor bio

Dr. Niradhar Dey

Indira Gandhi National Open University

Dr. Niradhar Dey works in the Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi since November 2011 as a faculty member in the School of Education. He has pursued his Master of Arts and M.Phil. in Education with First Class First in order of merit and Ph.D. in Education from Sambalpur University, Odisha. His specialization areas are Educational Measurement and Evaluation, Educational Technology, Research Methodology in Education, Teacher Education, Pedagogy of Social Science and Open and Distance Learning. He has 18 Year experience of teaching both in Conventional and Open and Distance Learning system.

He is presently associated with M.A. (Education), B.A. General (Education) as per the CBCS pattern and Post Graduate Diploma in Adult Education programmes at the capacity of Programme Coordinator/Co-Coordinator and also Course Coordinator of more than 10 Courses of different programmes. He is also associated with other Programmes of the School of Education like B.Ed., D.El.Ed., Ph.D. (Education) and PGDEMA as Course Coordinator. Presently, he is engaged in Programme and Course development of various programmes, Writing Units, Supervising Ph.D. Scholars in Education and engaging them in their Course Work, Orienting the Academic Counsellors and participating in regular Teleconferencing and Interactive Radio Counselling sessions. Under his supervision, one scholar has awarded Ph.D. and another scholar has submitted his thesis. He has also published 3 Books, more than 50 Research Papers / Articles (both in Journals and Edited Books), presented papers in more than 50 International and National level Seminars / Conferences /Workshops. He has also delivered invited lecture in many institutions. He has also accomplished an ICSSR sponsored project on ‘State Open Universities (SOUs) in India: An Evaluation’.

SWAYAM Helpline / Support