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Implementing the Australian Curriculum:Explicit teaching and engaged learning of
subjects and capabilities
AcknowledgmentThe Smarter Schools National Partnership (on Literacy and Numeracy/for low SES School Communities/on Improving Teacher Quality) is a joint initiative of the Australian Government and the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, the Catholic Education Commission Victoria and Independent Schools Victoria.
1. Explore the key role principals will play in determining school-based approaches to the implementation of the Australian Curriculum
2. Define the dual implementation drivers of compliance and creativity/flexibility/personalised learning
3. Provide a tool-kit of resources to support principals lead the implementation of the Australian Curriculum in schools.
Aims of program
1. Introduction to and outline of the Australian Curriculum and Victoria’s approach to implementationo Research and theoretical basis to support Victoria’s
approach.o Victoria’s implementation requirements.
2. Curriculum planning to effectively implement the first four Australian Curriculum subjects of English, Mathematics, Science and History.
3. Planning the explicit teaching of the general capabilities.4. Curriculum planning informed by the cross-curriculum
priorities.5. Whole school curriculum planning.
Structure of program
Research by Nuthall, 2005, shows half (and perhaps more) of all material taught in any class is already known by the students.(Nuthall, The cultural myths and realities of classroom teaching and learning: a personal journey? in Teachers College Record, 107 (5), 902-903)
Pre-test activity…
Introduction
Students also notably struggled with the concept of "the common good" – strategies that refer to how individuals can influence systems for the benefit of society. They either didn't understand it, didn't believe in it, or couldn't see how they could exercise it.
Two of the findings that surprised researchers involved Australian history. Only 16 per cent of Year 6 students and 23 per cent of Year 10 students could correctly name the event commemorated on Australia Day. Further, only 17 per cent of Year 6 and 27 per cent of Year 10 students could articulate why Australia Day was sometimes called Invasion Day.
Refer Reading 1
Why this matters
[Curriculum is] a particular, historically formed knowledge that inscribes rules and standards by which we ‘reason’ about the world and our ‘self’ as a productive member of that world …
Curriculum is a disciplining technology that directs how the individual is to act, feel, talk and ‘see’ the world and ‘self’. As such, curriculum is a form of social regulation.
Popkewitz, T. (1997). The production of reason and power: curriculum history and intellectual traditions. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 29(2), 132.
Curriculum is …
Curriculum …oAll the structures, organisation and activities of a school.oIntended, enacted, experienced.oSyllabus as the structure, curriculum as the teaching program.oImposed vs student-led.
The matter of definitions…
The curriculum is the defined and mandated set of knowledge and skills that schools are required to teach and assess.oA democratic entitlement rather than individual determination of what is required for effective, participatory citizenship.
A working definition
Implementation approaches
Promoting world-class curriculum and assessment:oa solid foundation in skills and knowledge on which further learning and adult life can be builtodeep knowledge and skills that will enable advanced learning and an ability to create new ideas and translate them into practical applicationsogeneral 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
Basis of national curriculum
What is the Australian Curriculum?LEARNING AREAS/ SUBJECT
DISCIPLINESGENERAL CAPABILITIES
CROSS-CURRICULUM PRIORITIES
o Englisho Mathematicso Scienceo Health and physical
educationo Languageso Humanities and social
sciences (History, Geography, Civics and citizenship, Business and economics)
o The Artso Technologies (Design and
Digital technologies)
o Critical and creative thinking
o Personal and social capability
o Intercultural understanding
o Ethical behaviouro Literacyo Numeracyo ICT
o Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
o Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
o Sustainability
What is the Australian Curriculum?
Australian CurriculumAnother historic milestone towards implementation of Australia’s first national school curriculum was reached with Ministers endorsing the achievement standards for Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum in English, mathematics, science and history. Following Ministers’ endorsement of the curriculum content for these first four learning areas in December last year, (2010) the achievement standards were refined after a validation process ....
ACARA will provide student work samples that illustrate achievement against each standard in the four learning areas in 2011 and during 2012 to enable the standards to be consistently interpreted and assessed across the nation.
MCEEYDYA Communiqué 14 October 2011
Current status
English, Mathematics, History and Scienceo Professional development F-10o School-based planning and trialling F-10o ACARA drafting of Years 11-12 curriculum
2012
o Implementation of English, Mathematics, History and Science F – 10 2013
Victorian timelines Phase 1: F-10
2013 • English• Science• Humanities - History• Mathematics
2014 • Humanities - Geography• The Arts• Languages?
2015 • Health and PE?• Technologies, including ICT? • Business and economics? • Civics and citizenship?
Victorian timelines – all domains
o Current VELS structure o Conceptualisation of Interdisciplinary Learning/Physical, Personal
and Social Learning/General Capabilitieso As is the case with learning in subject areas, the learning associated
with the general capabilities does not always happen by osmosis
Refer Readings 7, 8, 9, 10
Digital literacy does need to be taught: young people have usually acquired some knowledge of computer systems, but their knowledge is patchy. The idea that teaching this is unnecessary because of the sheer ubiquity of technology that surrounds young people as they are growing up – the ‘digital native’ – should be treated with great caution.
Shut down or restart? The way forward for computing in UK schools, January 2012, p 21
AusVELS
Nominal school level/grade
VELS Level AusVELS Level
Prep/Foundation 1 Foundation
1 2 1
2 2
3 3 3
4 4
5 4 5
6 6
7 5 7
8 8
9 6 9
10 10
AusVELS
AusVELS
Grade 3
Level 4
Level 3
Level 2
An example from The Arts domain Learning focusAs students work towards the achievement of Level 4 standards in the Arts, they apply and develop their arts knowledge by exploring arts processes and ways to communicate concepts arising from their personal experiences and from the world around them.…StandardsAt Level 3, students are working toward the Level 4 standards.Referhttp://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/The-Arts/Curriculum#level=3
AusVELS
AusVELS - English
AusVELS - Mathematics
AusVELS - History
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AusVELS – Science proposal
AusVELS viewed through the language modes of:oReading and viewingoSpeaking and listeningoWriting
Key differences - English
o AC curriculum viewed by: Language Literature Literacy
Language variation and change
Literature and context Texts in context
Language for interaction
Responding to literature
Interacting with others
Text structure and organisation
Examining literatureInterpreting, analysing and evaluating
Expressing and developing ideas
Creating literature Creating texts
Sound and letter knowledge
Key differences - English
o VELS viewed by Reading, Writing, Speaking and listening
o The AC and VELS have much in commono Four proficiency strands, similar in purpose to
current VELS Maths Working mathematically dimension.
o Achievement standards are written for each level however in AusVELS they will be organised around each content strand.
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Key differences - Mathematics
o Two strands:• Historical knowledge and understanding• Historical skills
o Content descriptions and Achievement standards included for F - 3
o History includes Depth studies for Levels 7 to 10o Content descriptions for each level for Historical
knowledge and understanding but across band levels for Historical skills
o Achievement standards written for each level F-10
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AusVELS - History
o Three strands:• Science understanding• Science as a human endeavour• Science inquiry skills
o Content descriptions and achievement standards included for F – 10.
o Content descriptions for each level for Science understanding but across band levels for Science as a human endeavour and Science inquiry skills.
o Currently achievement standards written for each level F-10, but will be rewritten mainly in two-level intervals.
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AusVELS - Science
See circular to schools 62/2012http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/correspondence/notices/2012/62.html
Key reporting message:For 2013 the current reporting requirements will continue to apply.oSpecific information for student reporting of Phase 1 studiesoReporting of remaining VELS domains
Assessment and reporting
Assessment and reporting: Phase 1, 2013 Foundation
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Remaining VELS domainsStudent reporting will continue as per current arrangements for the remaining VELS discipline domains and the Interdisciplinary Learning and Physical, Personal and Social Learning strands.
Student reports for Years Prep/Foundation to 2 will continue as per current arrangements for English, Mathematics, Health and Physical Education, The Arts and Interpersonal Development.
Assessment and reporting
o No mandated time allocations (except HPE, Languages)o Maintain school-based responsibility for design of learning
programso Respect for professional autonomy/responsibility balance
with accountabilityo Schools should be able to demonstrate how the Australian
Curriculum is being deliveredo It is expected all domains will be made available to all
studentso VCE/VET programs will continue to be available in Year 10
Victorian approach
o National agreement to develop 14 senior secondary subjects (plus Geography) in four learning areas.
o No national agreement yet on development of further subjects in these or other learning areas.
Senior secondary
English, Mathematics, History and Science
o ACARA drafting of Years 11-12 curriculum 2012
o Implementation of English, Mathematics, History and Science F – 10o ‘Packaging’ of agreed Years 11-12 curriculum into VCE study designs 2013
o Implementation workshops for ‘new’ study designs in English, Mathematics, History and Science 2014
o New study designs introduced for Units 1 and 2 English, Mathematics, History and Science 2015?
o New study designs introduced for Units 3 and 4 English, Mathematics, History and Science 2016?
o Accreditation period of new study designs 2015-2020
Victorian timelines Phase 1: senior secondary
o Agreed content to be ‘packaged’ into VCE study designs: • Rationale• Areas of study• Outcomes• Key knowledge• Key skills• Assessment
Process
o All other current VCE studies will continue to be offered as per existing arrangements.
o New subjects (e.g. Extended Investigation) will continue to be introduced.
Other VCE studies?
o Current VET arrangements will continue
o VCAL will continue to be offered
VET and VCAL
o http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/foundation10/curriculum/index.html
o Overview and comparison documents (AC with VELS)o Scope and sequence o PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes for curriculum
leaderso Portfolios of annotated student work samples for AC
Resources
o Charts that indicate linkages and continuity between the VEYLDF and the VELS have been developed and can be found at: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/earlyyears/vfldoutcomes/index.html
o Government and Catholic schools will be required to report student achievement in F-2 against the AusVELS standards. However the VEYLDF outcomes can be used as curriculum organisers at F-2.
o The VCAA is currently working with five schools to develop case studies on this use of the VEYLDF outcomes.
Resources – Early years
http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home
Catholic schools in Victoria contact:[email protected]
Resources
How much time will we allocate to each learning domain?
Australian Curriculum should take up no more than 80% of teaching time [69(d)] http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/The_Shape_of_the_Australian_Curriculum_V3.pdf,
What else/more/deeper/broader do we want to teach?
Teaching content does not necessarily mean teaching a timetabled subject
How will we structure learning?
Refer Reading 3
Refer Template Bank
Key issues
o Literacyo Numeracyo ICT
o Personal and social capability
o Critical and creative thinking
o Intercultural understanding
o Ethical behaviour
General capabilities
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.
Key questionsoHow and when will we intentionally teach the qualities and dispositions associated with perseverance?oHow will we capture evidence of students’ developing capacity to persevere?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBBngsAvafQRefer Readings 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Refer Template Bank
Personal and social capability - Perseverance
“Students in the lower 50% of their class in reading achievement who received the AB4L program showed statistically significant improvement in their reading comprehension performance”.
“Those students who received the AB4L program and who showed improvements in their behaviours for learning demonstrated statistically significant improvements in their reading comprehension performance.”
Report on the Attitudes and Behaviours for Learning program(AB4L), 2011Professor Michael Bernard, University of Melbournehttp://www.youcandoit.com.au/Assets/Files/Helping_great_teachers_make_great_students_Full_Final[1].pdf
Empirical research
o The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth: Findings from Four Longitudinal Studies
http://www.arts.gov/research/Arts-At-Risk-Youth.pdf
o Teenagers and young adults of low socioeconomic status (SES) who have a history of in-depth arts involvement show better academic outcomes than do low-SES youth who have less arts involvement.
o Among low-SES students … Eighth graders who had high levels of arts engagement from kindergarten through elementary school showed higher test scores in science and writing than did students who had lower levels of arts engagement over the same period.
Empirical research
The Australian Curriculum identifies three cross curriculum priorities:oAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culturesoAsia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/clip/cuclamss/ oSustainability
These are not separate, perpetual areas of learning but rather illustrate how learning can be integrated across the subjects and general capabilities to enable students to engage with current issues in contemporary society.
Cross curriculum priorities
Refer Template bank
Cross-curriculum priorities
Will we have to report on History and Science in Prep?oFor government and Catholic sector schools, reporting and assessment requirements will remain unchanged in 2013. Any changes to assessment and reporting requirements will be informed by consultation with schools, parents and communities.oIndependent schools will be required to comply with national guidelines – substantial implementation of phase 1 of Australian Curriculum by 2013.oSee circular to schools 62/2012ohttp://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/correspondence/notices/2012/62.html
FAQ
Do students in Years 9-10 all have to do the Australian Curriculum subjects?oIt is expected that the learning program available for all students will draw on each of the eight learning areas.oSchools retain the final responsibility for design to appropriate student learning programs.oSchools will continue to be able to offer VCE and VET subjects to students in Years 9 and 10.oSchools need to ensure that students are appropriately advised about the level of knowledge and skill required to successfully undertake VCE and VET studies.
FAQ
Does the curriculum content set for a particular year level by the Australian Curriculum have to be taught to all students in that year level? What about multi-grade classrooms?oThe Australian Curriculum sets out a nationally-agreed sequence of learning, both in terms of content and achievement standards.oHowever, teachers and schools retain the flexibility to tailor teaching and learning programs according to local circumstances while reporting against common standards.
FAQ
What about EAL/D students?oACARA is developing teaching resources to support the teaching of EAL/D students.oGovernment and Catholic schools in Victoria should continue to use the ESL scales for curriculum planning and assessment.
56
FAQ
FAQ
What about students with Additional Learning Needs?oContinue to use current Victorian approach of matching student with appropriate levelsoWorking Towards Level 1 of VELS to continue to be made availableoACARA developing support materials
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FAQ
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority(VCAA)
email: [email protected]
www.vcaa.vic.edu.au
Contact details
