Where are we at (Maruia School) with implementing the new Curriculum Document?

Where are we at (Maruia School) with implementing the new Curriculum Document?

Max started at the end of last year at Maruia and I started at the beginning of this term.

Both of us are relatively new at the school.

We started by brainstorming words that came up in our minds that fit in somewhere with the new NZC.

Maruia SchoolMaruia School

Maruia SchoolMaruia SchoolWe will need to take the following into consideration when we think about the new document: We will need to take the following into consideration when we think about the new document: With the new document there is no destination. Our challenge is to find satisfaction in the journey.Children who began school as new entrants in 2007 will be year 13 students in 2020What should we be doing now to prepare these children for life as young adults in the 2020s? The New Zealand Curriculum encourages schools to focus on the kind of

future we want for our students. That’s why it is important to look at student dispositions when developing the document.

It allows you greater freedom to be creative across the learning areas when designing programmes.

It encourages a focus on the future and on global issues and develop students to be confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners.

It promotes a pedagogy that is learner-centred focusing on developing co-operative and collaborative skills and also developing higher order thinking and information literacy skills.

The curriculum puts increased emphasis on languages, statistics, and information and communication technology (ICT).

It is a curriculum emphasising E-Learning and the ways it contributes directly to the development of all the key competencies .

These competencies are applied and developed in ICT-rich contexts for all students. In the light of this we also looked at Mark Treadwell’s explanation of a paradigm shift.

Mark Treadwell

The first modern education paradigm was based on the technology of the book for both recording of information and for the transmission of information. The book paradigm started out reasonably ineffective and eventually reached an upper limit of performance in the early 1960's

The emphasis of the book based paradigm was on knowing. Those that knew a lot were considered clever, and assessment focussed on remembering.The year 2004 saw the possibility for schools to enter into this new paradigm and fundamentally change what schools are and do . . . forever.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION?

Book Based Paradigm Internet Based Paradigm

Learning focusKnowing Understanding Wisdom

Learning toolsPaper Electronic and Paper

Record of learningWork Books Electronic and e-portfolios

Learning access 5/5 24/7

Teaching practice Drill & Memory Inquiry Based Learning

Teacher Planning focus Content planning

Conceptual Scaffolding within the Inquiry Learning Process. Web 2 Technologies

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

At Maruia School we will need to make sure that our Curriculum Delivery Document reflect the following: • Collaborative engagement by the teaching staff, parent community and students of Maruia School. • Community confidence in the school, its leadership, its teachers, and its processes.• A shared vision for students and their learning. • Understandings about what constitutes meaningful learning. (Higher Order Thinking, Developing Information

Literacy skills – Inquiry Learning?)• Understandings about learners (dispositions) . What do we want for our students when they leave at the end of

Year 8?• Understandings about how meaningful learning is assessed: Balance between Formative and Summative

Assessment.? National Standards? • Structural decisions: subject-based, topic-based, or integrated inquiry? (This is crucial when we ask review

questions as part of our design process) • Coverage decisions: Do we want to go deeper or wider? • Decisions on how the values, key competencies, and learning areas will interrelate (Matrix as graphic organiser)• As a staff at MS we need to have a thorough and deep understanding of effective pedagogy from the Curriculum

Document: Encouraging reflective thought and action, Making connections, Providing multiple opportunities to learn Facilitating shared learning, Enhancing the relevance of new learning, Creating a supportive learning environment, Using learning supported by ICT.

• Decisions on emphasis: process versus product? This depends on the common philosophy we have as a staff at MS. • Professional development needs for the staff – priorities to be stated in our School Charter. • Resources – set budget priorities for implementation. • Robust regular self-review and critical reflection of the document – report back to the BOT and the community of

Maruia.

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

• Principles we need to keep in mind (foundations) within this Curriculum development process at our school:

- High expectations for student achievement.- Community engagement (e.g. Parent Surveys to find out how do they want our values to look like? A questionnaire to ask all parents how do they want their child to look like when they leave Maruia School – Outcomes based curriculum Outcomes based curriculum – make it part of student dispositions.

• Parent evening to discuss questionnaires and hear about the new curriculum and the implementation process.We will need to take into account:- Treaty of Waitangi and cultural diversity of students. - Create an environment that supports change. Make the delivery document a living document – we will never be at the end of developing the document. - Meta cognition – Developing the student’s knowledge of his/her own learning process – Constructivism. (Learning to Learn)- Constant self reflection

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

Aim is to develop a detailed implementation plan over the next couple of years based on specific review questions. We still need to create this implementation plan, but we see the NZC as a document in two parts: Front end of the document:Front end of the document:

• Vision • Principles• Values• Key competencies

Back end of the document :Back end of the document :• Learning areas• Achievement objectives

The question that needs addressing is how the two ‘ends’ of the document are aligned in our school and how is the curriculum delivered to ensure that the vision, principles, values and key competencies are evident in learning and not just the achievement objectives.

For this reason we will develop a matrix as a graphic organiser to show how we develop our understanding of the delivery aspect of the new document : A matrix works well, because it shows how different parts of something are interconnected and it also creates the opportunity for further development and growth. In this new curriculum document all the different aspects are interrelated and connected. Our main focus should be on student dispositions (characteristics) within the different concepts of the document (Outcomes Based Curriculum) and a matrix gives us the opportunity to show how the Key Competencies, Values, etc. are connected to these dispositions. The matrix also shows in a practical way how our vision is reflected in our school curriculum.

As part of this implementation process we need to unpack each curriculum area from the document in detail, identify significant aspects of each area and then make it part of our delivery document in terms of an integrated inquiry approach. Mark Treadwell did some great work in this regard.

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

(Links to Curriculum Delivery Documentation)

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

• We might use this matrix as a model of a learning pathway that incorporates the learning areas with our vision and values as well as our understanding of the key competencies.

• From the matrix we develop for the children and the school community a visual model that reflect our vision.

Maruia School is a community committed to Maruia School is a community committed to provide quality education for all students in a provide quality education for all students in a

safe learning environmentsafe learning environment

Raise AchievementRaise AchievementValue ExcellenceValue Excellence

ConfidentConfident•Self accepting Self accepting •Risk taking Risk taking •IndependentIndependent

Resilient•Keeping perspective•Staying Calm•Bouncing back

Organised•Goal setter•Adaptable / flexible•Taking charge

PersistentPersistent•OptimisticOptimistic•EffortEffort•MotivatedMotivated•Pursuing excellencePursuing excellence

Getting alongGetting along•RespectfulRespectful•TolerantTolerant•ResponsibleResponsible•Well manneredWell mannered•Thinking firstThinking first• CooperativeCooperative•HonestHonest• ReliableReliable

Skills•Literate•Numerate•Information Literate•Articulate/communicator•Problem solver

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

Review Questions: VISION (See handout for detail from document)

• Is our vision for our students and their learning clear and shared?

• Does it express what we want for our young people?

• How might our vision be reflected in the design of our school's curriculum? (Perhaps on a matrix?)

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

Review Questions: Values (See handout for detail from document)

• Have we identified and agreed on those values that we believe are important for everyone involved in the life of our school?

• Do our values support and complement those in the New Zealand Curriculum?

• Does our curriculum explain how our identified values will be an integral part of teaching, learning, and the daily life of our school?

• Does our curriculum explain how we will review our effectiveness in promoting our values?

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

Review Questions: Key Competencies (See handout for detail from document)

• Have we clarified what each key competency should mean for our students and the conditions that will help to develop each competency?

• Does our curriculum explain how the key competencies are to be developed across all learning activities and programmes?

• Does our curriculum provide guidance on how to help students monitor their development and demonstration of the key competencies?

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

Review Questions: Learning Areas (See handout for detail from document)

• Are the meaning and intent of our curriculum area statements well aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum learning area statements?

• Does our curriculum explain how our programmes are designed to meet the needs and interests of our students?

• Have we considered making, and planning for, connections across learning areas, values, and key competencies?

• Does our curriculum have a rationale and structure for covering learning area strands and selecting achievement objectives?

• Does our curriculum explain how students' learning and progress are monitored and recorded in relation to learning objectives?

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

Review Questions: Curriculum Principles (See handout for detail from document)

• Are the New Zealand Curriculum principles evident in all aspects of the interpretation and delivery of our school's curriculum?

• How will we demonstrate our commitment to the principles and our success in putting them into effect in teaching and learning?

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum

Resource Page: http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/http://www.educationalleaders.govt.nz/ Ministry Of Ed websitehttp://www.treadwell.co.nz/ Teachers@Work

Inquiry Learning and the Key Competencies – Perfect Match or Problematic Partners

From the NZ Curriculum to School Curriculum