New Curriculum

Well tomorrow we have a new curriculum. It is no longer a DRAFT. All very new and up to date I'm sure and I understand a Prime Ministerial release.

But what will change?

• Will we see learners using IT like everyone does in the 'real' world?
• Will there be thinking practices ingrained in the curriculum?
• Will the assessment in NCEA reflect the new curriculum?
• Will be there be open-ended rich tasks in our classes?
• Will learners be blogging, using wikis, podcasts and so on?
• Will I see learners talking about their learning?

Or maybe I will still see

• NCEA assessments asking people to draw pie graph!
• Children learning about what is an ester!
• Learners still learning science, maths etc from different teachers with no relationship with each other
• Learners sitting still, being quiet, and accepting more content from teachers
• Learners having little access to digital resources and internet access

Yes, a new curriculum is important. And yes there are some positive changes in the the new curriculum. But there are still subject boundaries and content still dominates.

When I see our exams assess in depth thinking then I will believe that the curriculum has made a difference. Otherwise the battle around assessment will dominate and our children will continue to be educated for a world that no longer exists.