Concepts and Design Principles in Organizing a Curriculum
Review
Concepts and Design Principles in Organizing a Curriculum
ReviewAdrian Scarlett Curriculum Director @MarymountParis
Staying [email protected]
Twitter: @thembinkosi
#ELSAFrance
http://internationaleducationtoday.com
What is Curriculum? Define Curriculum in 140 characters or
less.
The total experience that students have in a school v The
Content/Courses that we offer.
Curriculum PrioritiesWhat factors should guide a schools choice
of curriculum model? How frequently should this be reviewed?Who
should be involved in Curriculum Review?
Simon Sinek
Guiding Statements A school should be .
Mission DrivenVision Led
And thus..
Guiding Satements
Must drive and lead all aspects of curriculum
Guiding Statements are our WHY
Curriculum ModelsWhat curriculum model do you use at your
school?
Does this model best fit the Guiding Statements?
Topic-basedTheme-basedSkills-based Standards-basedPYP/MYPIPC
How should a Curriculum be reviewed, designed and implemented?
When should Assessments be developed? How should Assessment inform
planning?
Consider:Understanding by Design advocates Backward Design. Is
this the best model? Should assessment drive curriculum matters or
should curriculum be the driving force?
The Importance of TransferMaking good links: Does the link make
learning more motivating ? Does the link deepen childrens
understanding? Has the integrity of each subject been maintained?
Is there a natural overlap between the subjects being linked? Are
the links made explicit to children? Can children see why they are
making the link? Does the link guarantee appropriate coverage and
progression in the subjects involved? Does medium-term planning
dovetail learning between the subjects effectively?
There is no set definition of a Creative Curriculum
Creative Curriculum Models are appropriate for Primary and
Middle School phases and include topic-based curriculum;
theme-based curriculum; committee-led curriculum.A topic-based
curriculum is intended to be creative, fun and focused on
skills.
Teachers plan topic-based approaches to learning for each year
group, which are linked to a set of skills. Wherever possible, the
topic is used to link together core subjects such as literacy,
numeracy, science and art.
Hands-on experiences, field trips are embedded into the
curriculum and complement and support instruction.A school plans
its themes around a central learning challenge, and uses the
children's pre-knowledge, their interests, National
Curriculum/Standards, and the school's context and Guiding
Statements to plan out the learning. The creative curriculum
focuses on themes that will help children develop important life
skills, and
promotes:co-operationcommunicationorganisationpresentationteam
workproblem solvinginvestigation
CollaborationScope and sequence
Joined up thinking
How often to you meet at Grade Level/Teams to discuss curriculum
matters?
Do you keep the focus on curriculum or are you distracted by
logistics / behaviourial issues / events?
At Grade LevelAcross Grade LevelLinks between Subjects - Avoid
Compartmentalisation! How regularly is curriculum reviewed?
Why quality curriculum really matters
The Place of 21st Century LearningGlobal Literacy
Digital Literacy
Social Literacy
Digital Literacy Not just turning on a computer.we can do dumb
things with a smartboad. Why is it better? Engagement! Deepening
the content and encouraging research. (even to find what you might
not be looking for!)
Social networks are valuable, media allows multifaceted approach
to expressing themselves otherwise learning is too often linear
.
Should we replace obsolete content (Middle East
History/Politics, Science in textbooks), skills get dated,
assessment processes? Blogs, Podcast, Wikis, Tweets from Benjamin
Franklin/Winston Churchill, Facebook page for Julius Caesar or
Napoleon, design an app.. or then again do the questions at the end
of chapter 2 or write a story that only your teacher will read!
Television literacy? More of a force than print! Screenplays?
Video podcasts? Prepare students 10/15 years times.. And it might
just make learning more fun!
The International Dimension Host CountryMother
TongueInternational MindednessGlobal CitizenshipConnecting
Classrooms
Social and Emotional Learning Happy children are effective
learners!
Can SEL be taught? Should SEL be taught? Who? Where? When?
The Language(s) of Instruction English medium
Bi-lingual
Multi-lingual
Scheduling Influence of Schedules, how do we group kids?
Why are third graders always together?
Silos of high school departments
Quality of teacher meetings..
Schedules indicate school priorities!
Other Factors to Consider Resources
Extra Curricular models
Extended Schools
Homework
Partnership with Parents
Monitoring and Evaluation of CurriculumLesson ObservationsBook
TrawlsDisplaysInterviews with StudentsPerformance Management /
Appraisal Curriculum MapsPlanners
