Garman, Noreen B., The Closed and Open Contract: Two Irreconcilable Structures in the Curriculum

Garman, Noreen B., The Closed and Open Contract: Two Irreconcilable Structures in the Curriculum

Noreen B. Garman wrote “The Closed and Open Contract: Two Irreconcilable Structures in the Curriculum,” for the 1989 Triennial Conference of the World Council for Curriculum and Instruction (WCCI). Since its publication in the WCCI Journal, this article has been helpful to many students who are struggling to understand curriculum experiences in which learning objectives are stated clearly and precisely. Often the initial response is to say “the curriculum in unstructured.” Garman wrote this piece to articulate an alternative structure by using a “contract” metaphor. She argues that the nature of the learning contract is fundamentally different in a closed and open curriculum structure. Recognizing this difference can help learners let go of taken-for-granted preconceptions of what a curriculum should be. Understanding the difference can help educators shape different forms of curricula in their own work.