Revisting, revitalising and renewing a conceptual framework for inquiry in

light of Australian CurriculumCurriculum Coordinators Network

4th May 2012Facilitated by Deb Vietri

Why are MacDonald’s Hamburgers bad for you but my Mum’s hamburgers are healthy?

Teachers are designers. An essential act of our profession is the crafting of curriculum and learning experiences to meet specified purposes.

Like people in other design professions…designers in education must be mindful of their audiences. (Client centred) Clearly, students are our primary clients, given that the effectiveness of their deigns is ultimately determined by their achievement of desired learnings.

Wiggins and McTighe 2006 p13

As in all the design professions, standards inform and shape our work…The teacher as designer is similarly constrained. WE are not free to teach any topic we choose by any means. Rather, we are guided by national, state, district or institutional standards that specify what students should know and be able to do. These standards provide a useful framework to help us identify teaching and learning priorities and guide our design of curriculum and assessments.

In addition to external standards , we must also factor in the needs of our many and varied students when designing learning experiences. For example, diverse student interests, developmental levels, large classes, and previous achievements must always shape our thinking about the learning activities, assignments and assessments.

Melbourne Declaration

Goal 1:Australian schooling promotes equity and excellence

Goal 2:All young Australians become:

– successful learners– confident and creative individuals – active and informed citizens

National policy backgroundpromoting world class curriculum and assessment

• a solid foundation in skills and knowledge on which further learning and adult life can be built

• deep knowledge and skills that will enable advanced learning and an ability to create new ideas and translate them into practical applications

• general capabilities that underpin flexible and critical thinking, a capacity to work with others and an ability to move across subject disciplines to develop new expertise

• http://www.curriculum.edu.au/mceetya/melbourne_declaration,25979.html

What is the Australian curriculum?LEARNING AREAS/

SUBJECT DISCIPLINESGENERAL CAPABILITIES CROSS-CURRICULUM

PRIORITIES

•English•Mathematics•Science•Health and Physical Education

•LOTE•Humanities and Social Sciences (History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, Business and Economics)

•The Arts•Technologies (inc ICT)

• Critical and creative thinking

• Self-management, teamwork and social competence

• Intercultural understanding

• Ethical behaviour• Literacy• Numeracy• ICT

• Aboriginal cultures and histories

• Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia

• Sustainability

How is it being phased?

Learning areas TimelineEnglish Phase 1

Mathematics Phase 1

Science Phase 1

Humanities and social sciences•History•Geography•Economics, Business, Civics and Citizenship

Phase 1Phase 2Phase 3

The Arts Phase 2

Languages Phase 2

Health and PE Phase 3

Technologies Phase 3

How is it structured?AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM VELS

STRUCTURE•Year-by-year curriculum (11 year levels)•Year Level Descriptions (some in two year bands)•Content Descriptions in Strands (some aspects in two year bands)

–with illustrative Elaborations•Achievement Standards

•Prep and then two-year bands (6 levels)•Learning Focus statements•Standards in Dimensions

DESIGN•Learning areas•General Capabilities and•Cross-curriculum priorities:

–currently embedded – may be published as separate continua

•Three strands:–Physical, personal and social learning–Discipline-based learning–Interdisciplinary learning

Assessment No comment!!!!

The big question!!!!

“We need to change the focus of the curriculum and instruction from teaching topics to ‘using’ topics to teach and assess deeper, conceptual understanding.

Deep knowledge transfers across time and cultures and provides a conceptual structure for thinking about related and new ideas.

Erickson, H. Lynn. (2002) Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction, Teaching Beyond the Facts. Corwin Press,

Thousand Oaks, California.

“…Throughlines (concepts) can be a valuable teaching tool. They help students to see the purposes that underlie their daily work, make connections among various topics and assignments, and track their own developing understandings”Tina Blythe1998 ‘The Teaching for Understanding

Guide’

Throughlines/conceptual approach

Growing up great and safe Belonging in a community The World we live in is constantly changing The natural/living world and universe

demands understanding and respect

Throughline Examples

Responsibility and society Responsibility and relationships Environmental sustainability Energy and transformation Change over time Cultural diversity Health and wellbeing Human enterprise (people and resources)

Throughline Examples

Big ideas/conceptsThroughlines

Topics

Understandings, knowledge, skills

Community Profile:

What is important for our students to

know?

Curriculum Directions:Big ideas in

AusVELS

Student Voice: What do our

students want to learn about?

TASKHow would you describe; Your students Local community/families

What do students bring to the learning? What are the characteristics of these groups?What are their prior experiences- strengths,

gaps, needs

Community Profile

At the curriculum design level What do you think is important to learn? What are you really interested in learning

about?

At the unit design level What do you already know about this topic? What really intrigues you about this topic? What would you like to find out more about?

Student Voice

TASK Use the introductions or overview

statements to identify the big ideas/concepts in each of the curriculum areas of VELS/AusVELS/Australian Curriculum

Record on individual cards to use for bundling later on

Big Ideas in AusVELS

Where is the content for units drawn from?

VELS DISCIPLINE BASED

LEARNING Science HumanitiesHistoryGeographyEconomics The Arts

(some) LOTE (some)

SOCIAL, PHYSICAL AND PERSONAL

LEARNING Health and PE Personal Learning

(some) Interpersonal

Learning (some) Civics and

Citizenship INTERDISCIPINAR

Y DCT

AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM

Science History Geography

(DRAFT) Health and PE

shaping paper Technology

shaping paper

English and Maths Personal Learning and Interpersonal

Development Interdisciplinary domains- communication,

thinking, ICT and DCTMany of these domains are addressed through

your pedagogy.

‘Processing’ Domains

A concept is an organising idea; a mental construct…

Timeless Universal Abstract and broad Represented by one or two words Examples show common attributes.

Definition- Erickson

Sustainability Diversity Change (cause and effect) Systems Relationships Interdependence

Examples of ‘big concepts’

Topics selected in order to develop conceptual understandings about important ideas over time.

Identify what’s important for your students. Identify the big ideas and concepts. Plan for development over P-6.

Conceptual approach

Central to one or more domains Issues within the topic are also of interest to

professionals in the field Interesting to students Interesting to the teacher Accessible Offer opportunities for multiple connections-

they can always be explored more and more deeply.

Key features of generative topics- Tina Blythe

In level groups use auditing tools to help you generate topics in each of the throughlines

Record The throughline Topic nutshell description of topic Generative/rich question that would drive

the topic VELS/Australian Curriculum links

Taking it further

Cross curriculum perspectives Why are these areas included? What do you think is important for

students to know about:SustainabilityAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

Histories and CulturesAsia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia

How is your school already embedding these perspectives?

Embedded approach- not bolt on