Implementing the Australian Curriculum

in the ACTChris Melican, Manager Curriculum

Support Section P - 12

~ leading curriculum change ~

The ACT journey …• 2004 – 2007: development and release of the

ACT curriculum framework P – 10, Every chance to learn

Every chance to learn was ...• informed by the Adelaide Declaration• developed and written after input from

teachers, students, parents, academics, professional associations, employees, who were asked: what should students know, understand, value and be able to do, in order to thrive in 21st century?

• developed and written after significant research on best educational theory and practice

Every chance to learn ... consists of• the ACT agreed to beliefs and principles

underpinning curriculum• four bands of development: p – 2, 3 – 5, 6 – 8, 9

– 10, with content (knowledge and skills) that teachers sequence across the years, and from which units of work/teaching programs are developed

• Markers of Progress, describing typical achievement by the end of the band of development

Pedagogy underpinning curriculum delivery

The Quality Teaching model – with the threedimensions of:• Intellectual Quality• Quality Learning Environment• Significance

Keys to effective implementation

Clear communication about • what the national curriculum is – the story• what is expected and by when• using what we currently do as a scaffold for

managing the new• what support is available

Helping our teachers move to the Australian Curriculum

Mapping Every chance to learn to the Australian Curriculum

Implementation Strategy

Continuing to work with Every chance to learn

Oversight of the curriculum change process

• ACT Curriculum Taskforce – cross sectoral • The Australian Curriculum Implementation

Committee – cross sectoral

Ongoing support for implementation

9 schools are working as Lead Schools (with staffing support) to do the following:

• document their journey of the first year of implementation: where they began; what changes had to be made e.g.in primary years where they have integrated units, in high school electives etc; challenges; successes

• write units of work aligned with the Australian Curriculum

• share their work with the system

• A curriculum coordinator was designated in each school to be a link between the Curriculum Support Section and the work in schools

• Newsletters for teachers are produced with updates from ACARA, stories of what some schools have been doing and so on

• Professional Development workshops on each of the Phase 1 learning areas – ‘Unpacking the Australian Curriculum: English’ etc

Challenges • Working with two curriculum documents

• Implementing content during 2011 but not having the Achievement Standards

• Maintaining morale, energy, innovation

• Offering effective and targetted support

Current work

• Providing PD workshops on assessment: developing consistency of understanding, beliefs and practice about assessment

• Unpacking the Achievement Standards

• Preparing to assess and report against the Achievement Standards next year for subjects implemented this year

The ACT is committed to giving every student

‘every chance to learn’ through effective implementation of the Australian Curriculum