Nuffield Curriculum Centre

General issues

The Secondary Curriculum Review - All Change?
Author: David Barlex

www.qca.org.uk

For the past 17 years subjects have been the "brick" from which the curriculum wall has been constructed, Pink Floyd notwithstanding.

However, that is all about to change. Subjects will still be important but their importance will be related to their contribution to the development of the pupils in terms of three "curriculum lenses". which you can use to consider the kind of experience to provide for all learners.


The curriculum aim lens contains guidance on developing a curriculum that will help all young people become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens and explores ways in which the aims can be integrated effectively into the curriculum.

The personal development lens explains the role of personal development in the curriculum. It provides examples of how work in subjects can support personal development as well as illustrating effective whole-school approaches.

The skills lens provides guidance on embedding personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) across the curriculum and information on the role of the functional skills in mathematics, English and ICT needed for learners to operate confidently, effectively and independently in life and at work.

In addition to using the three lenses to build and scrutinise your curriculum you will need to consider four curriculum dimensions. These are:

• The global dimension
• Enterprise
• Creativity
• Cultural understanding and diversity

Furthermore in organising the curriculum your school will need to consider three organising principles:

• Personalising the curriculum
• Teaching and learning experiences
• Promoting progress through approaches to assessment

And finally we come to the subjects that are described in the revised programmes of study. To facilitate thinking about the subject in terms of the lenses, the dimensions and organising principles the programmes of study have been given the following new structure.

Curriculum aims, given at the start of each programme of study. Teaching and learning in all subjects should help learners achieve these aims.

The importance statement describing the important aspects of the subject, why it is necessary for learners to study the subject and what they can expect to gain from it.

Key concepts, at the heart of each discipline and underpinning the study of the subject. They identify what learners need to learn in order to deepen and broaden their knowledge, skills and understanding in the subject.

Key processes, the essential skills and processes that learners need to learn to make progress in the subject.

Range and content outlining the breadth of subject matter from which the areas of study should be drawn.

Curriculum opportunities which identify opportunities that are integral to learning and enhance learners' engagement with the subject.

So as a subject teacher you will have to become familiar with a new programme of study AND consider how it relates to the broader aims and learning experiences outlined above. The existing ways of defining the curriculum in terms of a subject based timetable will become a feature of the past. Schools will be encouraged to re-conceptualise their curriculum. This will almost certainly involve teachers working collaboratively in cross discipline teams and in schools using time in different ways. Extended periods of time enabling immersion in topics relating to several different subjects will become common. The way time is used throughout the school year will vary requiring both teachers and pupils to be much more flexible.

There is no doubt that we are entering a challenging phase of curriculum development which will rely heavily on subject specialist teachers to show vision and creativity in re-interpreting their subject's contribution to education. Surely this has got to be fun!

For more details and examples of new practices already developed in some schools visit the website at the top of this page.

Comment

Your Comments

Tue, 8 May 2007 : Angela Hall

At a KS3 stakeholders' conference at the National Science Learning Centre last week, there was a feeling of optimism about the proposed changes to the science curriculum. However, publishers, teachers and curriculum developers felt a delay to the changes would be ideal; the reduction of content and increased flexibility was welcomed, but without a clear indication of the assessment to be carried out, it is difficult to make the necessary plans to support the changes from September 2008. This view is supported by Science Community Partnership Supporting Education (Score) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6615531.stm. The group at my table suggested a pilot of volunteer schools who would carry out teacher assessment from 2008 alongside the rest of the country taking terminal SATs. The pilot pupils would take the same SATs tests, but these would be for comparison, not for publication. Evaluation of the teaching and learning taking place in both types of schools would take place. We felt this type of experiment was necessary to produce confidence in teacher assessment to replace standard tests, and to explore the suggestion that teaching approaches are limited by the need to teach ‘to the tests’ at KS3. If the curriculum aims at the start of each subjects’ programme of study are to be taken seriously, there needs to be some careful thinking about how assessment can encourage these: Learning and undertaking activities in science contribute to achievement of the curriculum aims for all young people to become: • successful learners who enjoy learning, make progress and achieve • confident individuals who are able to live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives • responsible citizens who make a positive contribution to society. And, if the emphasis on How Science Works and on learning skills and processes is to make a difference to what students do in science classes, traditional assessment may not be suitable. Will we see a genuine acknowledgement of the research demonstrating the improvement in students’ performance through formative assessment, along with the inaccuracy of standard tests? Certainly QCA have made some moves in this direction, which we hope will be carried through to encourage a more holistic view of student progress and achievement http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6471965.stm .