From the archive (2) - Originally submitted as part of PGDE course.
I uncovered these #Archive pieces whilst sorting files. I'm posting them as a prompt to further examine how my initial thoughts have changed in the subsequent 13 years in Education.
Curriculum for Excellence
Understanding that the child is now
the centre of learning is the underlying principle of both ‘Assessment is for
Learning’ and Carol Dweck’s research on intelligence and motivation. The National Debate into the future of Scotland’s education enlisted the
help of approximately 20,000 people and
asked them 'what, where, and how should
children learn?’ (McBryde, M., National
Archives Scotarch email, 22/04/2002).
One of the key outcomes of this debate was the call for a review of school curriculum.
In Lord Puttnam’s recent film,
educator Sir Ken Robinson explains “public systems of education paid for from
taxation were invented to meet the needs of the industrial economy, when we
needed a workforce who could do certain sorts of things”. Governor Bob Wise further explains that “the
High Schools of today were designed in the nineteenth century and they reached
their zenith in the 1950s” (We Are The People, 2009)
Things have changed quite considerably
since the nineteenth century; the workplace, the economy and the culture we
live in today is almost unrecognisable when compared even with the 1950s. But while the world has gone through this
change, Annika Small of Futurelab recognises that “the form, the content, the
method of learning within schools is desperately out of synch with the way that
young people learn elsewhere and with what they value” (We
Are The People,
2009). The relevance of formal education
is dissipating, she continues. Thus it is quite clear that school systems, and
curricula need to change with the times if they are to provide young people
with the skills, flexibility and ‘know-how’ they need in an ever-changing
world.
Furthermore,
this gulf between school values and what young people need today has led to the
system failing many young people. David
Torn, Teacher of the Year 2007 quotes his daughter’s teacher by observing that
“we value what we measure” but we do not necessarily “measure what we value” (We Are The People, 2009). Andy Powell, Chief Executive of Edge,
takes this a little further by explaining that “it’s demoralising for young
people to spend years in an education system which does not value their
abilities” (Powell, A., 16/11/2009 interview).
In addition to making education relevant, a reform must take into
account the values of young people and of society at large if it is to bridge
this divide.
The
Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is the Scottish Governments response to these
crises. The CfE is designed to provide a
21st Century curriculum which can handle the ever-changing needs of
21st Century learning, while promoting the values of Scottish
society at large. CfE should provide
flexibility in the learning environment so that the system can evolve to meet
the needs of all pupils. The underlying
principles of the CfE are ‘Challenge and Enjoyment’, ‘Breadth’, ‘Progression’, ‘Depth’,
‘Personalisation and Choice’, ‘Coherence’ and ‘Relevance’.
By
analysing a selection of these principles, it should be possible to gain a
greater understanding of changes the CfE hopes to initiate.
According
to CfE guidelines, “young people should find
their learning challenging, engaging and motivating. The curriculum should
encourage high aspirations and ambitions for all. At all stages, learners of
all aptitudes and abilities should experience an appropriate level of
challenge, to enable each individual to achieve his or her potential. They
should be active in their learning and have opportunities to develop and
demonstrate their creativity. There should be support to enable young people to
sustain their effort” (Scottish Government, 20/03/2006).
In the classroom setting this
means leaving behind the ‘chalk and talk’ approach in favour of more active
strategies. This might be done through
group-work and a variety of media which allow the students to learn principles
and concepts through the exploration of their own ideas. An S3 Modern Studies class being introduced
to the principles of democracy engaged in an exercise based around a post-apocalyptic
scenario in which they need to rebuild the mechanics of representation,
government, law and order. In groups,
the pupils compiled their ideas before investigating systems which exist or
have existed to map out possible outcomes.
This was done in one S3 Modern Studies class of just 12 pupils - the
results fell into 3 very diverse political set-ups: Nazi Germany,
Post-Revolution Tsarist Russia, and X-Factor democracy. Because this exercise was not prescriptive the
pupils were allowed to think freely on the topic. As the class developed new issues were
brought to light, which meant they had to further develop their ideas and adapt
to changing circumstances and priorities.
The teacher merely led a plenary, which probed the students on the
dangers inherent in some of these systems, partnered by a 5-slide presentation
of images (see Appendix 6) for the students to contemplate and discuss.
The CfE guidelines also
specify that “The curriculum should respond to individual needs and support
particular aptitudes and talents. It should give each young person increasing
opportunities for exercising responsible personal choice as they move through
their school career. Once they have achieved suitable levels of attainment
across a wide range of areas of learning the choice should become as open as
possible. There should be safeguards to ensure that choices are soundly based
and lead to successful outcomes” (Scottish Government, 20/03/2006).
In Angus, a school with
lower-than-average attainment levels has recently made changes to its syllabus
to provide alternatives to academic subjects.
This school runs the Young Sports Leaders Award as an elective course
within the curriculum. The award course
enables students with a talent or aptitude in sports or leadership to excel in
an environment which enables them to shine.
If it was not for this alternative route, it is quite possible that the
senior students involved would have been lost in the system and would have
disengaged from school at a much earlier stage.
This particular elective also provides the pupils with a sense of
achievement, life skills and a qualification which is nationally recognised by
Further and Higher Education institutions and employers, providing these young
people with real prospects for their future (see Appendix 7).
We have looked at a small selection of the
benefits of this new curriculum, but it is clear that it goes some way to
putting the child firmly at the centre of education. CfE makes learning relevant to the pupil and
to the world around them, and prepares them for a world which is changing far
faster than it ever has in the past.
Through the adoption of the
Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland can now put a stop to what UNICEF’s Dr
Cream Wright describes as schools steeping themselves in static knowledge, failing
to capture the here and now, failing to prepare young people for contemporary
society and for the emerging issues of our time (We Are The People, 2009).
Literacy
and Numeracy across the Curriculum
Almost a quarter of Scottish adults
and one in five of all Scots have “low literacy skills” according to the
Literacy Commission’s report released on 4th December 2009. Simply put, literacy deprivation is a major
issue facing Scottish society in the 21st Century. Literacy is clearly a core skill, needed in
all walks of life. Indeed, within
Curriculum for Excellence, literacy is defined as “the set of skills which
allows an individual to engage fully in society and in learning, through the
different forms of language, and the range of texts, which society values and
finds useful” (Learning &
Teaching Scotland, CfE: Literacy across learning, 2009)
Numeracy skills levels in Scotland
are similarly weighted, with approximately 23% of Scottish adults lacking even
basic numeracy skills (Scottish Executive, Adult Literacy and Numeracy in
Scotland, 2001). To tackle numeracy
levels, ‘Building the Curriculum 1’ asserted that “All teachers have responsibility for promoting
the development of numeracy. With an increased emphasis upon numeracy for all
young people, teachers will need to plan to revisit and consolidate numeracy
skills throughout schooling”
(Scottish Government, CfE: Building the Curriculum 1, 2006)
With that assertion, Curriculum for Excellence made
a stand against ‘literacy and numeracy’ poverty, making it clear in this new
policy that all educators are teachers of literacy and numeracy.
For a subject teacher of History and Modern
Studies, this may seem an odd demand.
However, when that teacher looks at the contents of his/her lessons,
he/she will quickly realise that there is a great wealth of material already
being used which will enhance and develop the teaching of literacy and numeracy
skills to young people.
And numeracy is everywhere in History. A teacher can represent the patterns of
migration in visual form to younger pupils, and in tables of figures for more
advanced/senior pupils. The use of
timelines and teaching children to understand the chronology of history will in
effect give them a sense of how numbers work.
These skills can be developed as the child progresses through secondary
school, and with each subject they can understand a little more about using and
understanding numbers, whether that is in the abstract form of algebra in
Maths, measuring quantities of flour in Home Economics, or in the use of
currency in a topic on Weimar Germany’s hyperinflation. Combined, these efforts will allow a pupil to
develop the kinds of skills outlined by CfE as “numeracy”
Being numerate, according to CfE,
means an individual has developed “the confidence and competence in using
number which will allow [the individual] to solve problems, analyse information
and make informed decisions based on calculations” (Learning & Teaching Scotland, CfE: Numeracy
across learning, 2006). It is clear that
every area of the curriculum is also well placed to add to a child’s
understanding of numbers.
Similarly, the literacy skills
sought after can be introduced across the whole school with a mere change of
focus. As we have seen earlier, the
introduction of AifL and CfE in Scottish schools strives to make learning pupil
orientated. By helping a child to
understand what they are learning, they will more readily learn, and so it is
with literacy. If a Modern Studies teacher
flags up in class that “today we will be working on our literacy skills”, the
pupils will already be primed to develop that set of skills. So when the class is asked to discuss an
issue regarding rights and responsibilities, they will be simultaneously learning
the subject matter and developing the associated skills.
CfE has deliberately used the key
phrase “texts” rather than “printed media” or “books and journals” when setting
out literacy goals. This is because CfE
recognises that the preferred medium of the day changes. Fifty years ago no-one would believe that we
would be carrying around 300 newspapers in our pockets, but modern mobile
phones allow us to access any number of articles from anywhere in the world at
the touch of a button. Furthermore, the
world continues to change, and the ways in which pupils gather information and
read about subject matter is changing with it.
Indeed, Dr Michael Wesch of Kansas State University compiled a study of
students and found that while on average they would read just 8 books in a
semester, they would read 2,300 web pages and 1,281 Facebook® profiles over the
same time span (Wesch, M., A Vision of
Students Today, 2007). This clearly outlines how society and literacy is
changing, and how CfE has been positioned to change with the times and adapt to
new media which society comes to value
and find useful.
So with such a wealth of
information easily available via the internet, handheld communication devices
spread across the nation, and no end of strategies to involve students in
discussions, debates, performances or recitals, literacy is something that we
can all teach - parents, teachers, peers.
By focusing on these fundamental issues of numeracy and literacy, CfE and the Scottish Government are making giant leaps towards social inclusion by breaking down barriers and providing the kinds of skills that young people will find relevant and useful in the world which they will inherit. By putting the child at the centre of all learning activities, we not only ensure their chance to learn, but also to become well rounded members of our society. These strategies and policies should enable each child or young person to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen and an effective contributor (Learning & Teaching Scotland, CfE: The four capacities, 2006).
Bibliography
Publications & Websites
Assessment Reform Group (2002) Assessment for Learning: 10 principles. London: QCA.
Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B. and William, D., (2003) Assessment for learning: Putting it into practice. (Maidenhead; OUP)
Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B. and William, D., (2002) Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom (London; GL Assessment)
Black, P. and William, D., (1998) Inside the black box: Raising standards through classroom assessment, (London, GL Assessment)
Bjorklund, D.F., (2005), Children’s Thinking: Cognitive Development and Individual Differences, (Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth)
Capel, S., Leask, M., & Turner, T., (2009) Learning to Teach in the Secondary School, (London: Routledge)
Claxton, G., (2009) Cultivating positive learning dispositions. In H. Daniels, H. Lauder and J. Porter (eds.) Educational theories, cultures and learning: A Critical Perspective, pp.176-187, (London: Routledge).
Fleming, P., (2004) Becoming a Secondary School Teacher, Ltd (London, David Fulton Publishers Ltd)
Hattie, J,. (2009) Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. (Oxon: Routledge)
Hayward, E.L., (2007) 'Curriculum, pedagogies and assessment in Scotland: the quest for social justice. 'Ah kent yir faither'',Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice,14:2,251 — 268, (Glasgow: University of Glasgow).
Kyriacou, C., (1997) Effective Teaching in Schools 2nd Revised Edition (Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd)
Lehrer, J., (2009) . The Decisive Moment. (Edinburgh, Canongate Books Ltd)
Maslow, A., (1954) Motivation and Personality. (New York, Harper Books Ltd.)
Miller, D., & Lavin, F., (2009) ''But now I feel I want to give it a try': formative assessment, self-esteem and a sense of competence', Curriculum Journal, 18:1, 3 – 25, (London: Routledge)
Mueller, C.M. & Dweck, C.S., (1998) Praise for Intelligence Can Undermine Children'sMotivation and Performance in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 75, No. 1, 33-52 (Washington, DC.: Columbia University)
McLuhan, M., & Fiore, Q., (2000) The Medium is the Massage, (New York, Bantam Books / Random House).
Pollard, A., (2002), Readings for Reflective Teaching (2nd edition). London: Continuum
Pollard, A., (2008), Reflective Teaching (3rd edition). London: Continuum
Pound, L., (2005) How Children Learn. (London, Step Forward Publishing Ltd.)
Powell, A., 16/11/2009 interview, in Edge, (2009) Britain’s Late Bloomers, available: http://www.edge.co.uk/news/britains-late-bloomers (accessed 21/11/2009)
Learning & Teaching Scotland, (2009) Curriculum and Assessment Programme http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/assess/for/keyfeatures/involvement.asp (accessed 22/10/09)
Learning & Teaching Scotland, (2009) Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy across learning. available at http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/responsibilityofall/literacy/principlesandpractice/definition.asp
Learning & Teaching Scotland (2006), Building the Curriculum 1, available at http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/buildingthecurriculum/guidance/btc1/introduction/index.asp
Learning & Teaching Scotland, CfE: Numeracy website http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/literacy/index.asp
Learning & Teaching Scotland, CfE: Literacy website http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/numeracy/index.asp
Learning & Teaching Scotland, CfE: The four capacities (online) http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/curriculumforexcellence/curriculumoverview/aims/fourcapacities.asp
McBryde,M., National Archives Scotarch email, 22/04/2002, available: http://www.gla.ac.uk/external/scotarch/0207.html (accessed 19/11/09)
Scottish Executive (2001) Adult Literacy and Numeracy in Scotland
Scottish Government, (2009) Literacy Commission Report, released 4 December 2009 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8394639.stm
Recordings / Speeches/Videos
Craig, C. (2009), Learning About Learning: “Fixed and Growth Mindsets”, Learning And Teaching Scotland website (accessed 30/12/2009): http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/video/f/fixedandgrowthmindsetscarolcraig.asp?strReferringChannel=learningaboutlearning
Dweck, C., Brainology: Online resource package, http://www.brainology.us/ (accessed: 31/10/2009)
Dweck, C., (2009). Keynote Presentation: “How Do We Make Sure Our Students Remain Learners?” Scottish Learning Festival 2009, 23 September 2009 available: http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/video/c/video_tcm4565678.asp?strReferringChannel=sharedvideo
Edge, (2009) We Are The People We’ve Been Waiting For (2009) Dir: Puttnam, available http://www.wearethepeoplemovie.com/
Scottish Government, A Curriculum for Excellence - The Curriculum Review Group: Purposes and Principles for the Curriculum 3-18 (March 20, 2006) available http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/11/20178/45863
Teachers TV, (2006) Formative Assessment, http://www.teachers.tv/video/565
William, D., (2007a) Assessment for learning, Learning and Teaching Scotland website (accessed 04/11/2009) http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/video/a/assessmentforlearningdylanwiliam.asp
William, D., (2007b) Self and peer assessment, Learning and Teaching Scotland website (accessed 04/11/2009) http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/video/a/assessmentforlearningdylanwiliam.asp
William, D., (2009) Keynote Speech at the National Numeracy Conference, Edinburgh available: http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/numeracy/aboutnumeracy/numeracyconference09.asp
Wesch, Dr. M. (2007) A Vision of Students Today (Manhattan, KS; Kansas State University) available: http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/?p=119
Comments
Post a Comment