The "Key Competencies"

It is interesting to see all the providers of educational support in New Zealand now providing courses on the key competencies of the new curriculum.

"Integrating key competencies into Mathematics" or "adapting the social studies curriculum to incorporate the new curriculum"

This is a concern as many of us feared. The key competencies are good practice around teaching and should not be seen as the outcome itself. If they are significant then these providers should have been doing this for years as many schools and teachers have been doing.

Is our new curriculum going to be determined by educational consultants jumping on the bandwagon or by teachers adapting their programmes to meet the needs of learners?

Thinking & Learning

The 'New' Curriculum is started to come into place over the next few years. At Whangaparaoa College we have been wanting to make sure that it is implemented across the school and not just in a few areas.

We have started to look at what that means.

How do you get everyone to make change rather than just the enthusiasts?

So we have come up with a learning plan for the school with small targets for teachers to implement.

First target was for everyone to have learning intentions clearly written on the board every lesson. This was to be done by week 2. No discussion just do it! It is great to see it is almost universal now in classes. The quality of the intentions needs some work. But staff are now thinking on what that means.

We have also considered what a school wide approach to thinking. Everyone has to do some 'parts whole' thinking this term. We are using a universal model so that once established everyone can follow.

Looks great so far.

The new curriculum (which is not that new) fills like a challenge. By being directive the challenges for teachers can lessen at first.

thinking

A week or so back we had Rob Swartz from National Centre for Teaching Thinking in our school for a couple of days.

Rob has done a lot of work on how to get thinking 'infused' into the teaching in schools. Infused so it can be transferred between curriculum areas, contexts, and year levels. To often we teach a thinking strategy in isolation and it does not get embedded into our learners. I really like his books around infusing critical and creative thinking. They are teacher friendly and usable.

So we are developing our Whangaparaoa College thinking strategy to get thinking implemented across the school in a timely and active way. This will be the first of the key competencies of the new curriculum that we will have an implementation plan in place.

I have been concerned around some of the implementation as being to slow and considered. It may be impulsive to jump in but impulsive action is not always bad. It just needs to be managed.

As well we need digital versions of the curriculum or does everyone need to retype it!!!!

Social Effect of Learning

Went to a discussion led by Secondary Futures about the social effects of schooling a week or so back. Dr Tom Schuller from OECD was present and was able to link our education system into what was happenig in other places.
There was a small turnout which was a surprise.

Two observations

1. Everyone thinks they are at the cutting edge of education. Most are not; including me.
2. Most think the new curriculum will make a difference. But will it? It appears that most of new curriculum was in the old one. A better structure, better terminology and more coherence. But are we just 'shuffling the deck chairs'.

What is important is what goes on in classrooms. I still see words, phrases and ideas in the curriculum that belong to last century and I do not see big ideas reaching forward into this century.

Regarding the social effect of learning. A comment by Schuller was that there is "an enormous range of evidence that confirms the very strong correlation between educational achievement
and outcomes such as good health or more active citizenship". The importance of education then is not only to allow our learners to make choices about career and employment; but it also means they are more healthy and more active citizens.

This raises huge importance about our role as educators and what we must do. It is not simply about teaching for employment but about teaching for life and living.

Educated people are more healthy and live longer.

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.

New Zealand curriculum

Spent the day doing work around the new curriculum in New Zealand being released a week or so away. I feel the new curriculum is not offering much change except about removing some constraints that exist at present.

The new curriculum developments are going to be introduced through digital links and that is exciting. especially around the stories and the ideas which I think have the potential to be very powerful in this method.

however for secondary schools the two unanswered questions are

1. How are we going to assess in our high stake qualifications system? Is this still the same if so that will be the driver.
2. Are we going to let the text book writers choose the resource? I am nervous around whether the teaching fraternity are ready to move in development in this way

Exciting and commendable to the Ministry for choosing this way.