Transcript Slide 1

School development planning for
curriculum and assessment
Majella O’Shea
School development planning and the
curriculum
All students to experience………..
…….quality education
…….appropriate to their needs
…….changing world
…….enhancing student learning
(SDP Curriculum planning)
…….Education system of highest quality for learners …….
…….Innovative and creative environment for all learners
(NCCA, Strategic plan 2006–2008)
The press for reform…
 The student experience
– Failure
– Non-participation
– Non-engagement
 Evidence that the quality of teaching matters
 Evidence that it matters more for students with special
needs and with English as an additional language
 Public accountability for public services
 Knowledge society/ahead of the curve
 Inclusion
– The discourse of the problematic
And the press against
The stretch factor in Irish education
The normative power of policy
Tradition and nostalgia
Complex educational structures, complex policy
context
 What learning is valued?
 “Dumbing down”
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Review
Research and
theory
Consultation
The developers
Curriculum
development
Representative
committees
Evaluations
The public
Influencers
Resources
Agreed syllabuses/
Professional development
curriculum
Need for change – is there
a crisis?
Curr. Planning
Time for planning
schools
Classroom environment
Assessment
Teaching & learning
Skills/attitude of teacher
Pedagogy
Students
Exp. Of the students
Barriers to real
learning in the
classroom?
How can they
be overcome?
The role of NCCA
 The formal curriculum
– Advice, policy, syllabuses
 Guidelines
– Subject guidelines
– Special needs
– Inclusion
– Intercultural
 Further support
– Supporting teachers in planning for and creating the
learning experience
Supporting teachers in planning
for and creating a rich learning
experience
Guidelines
Examples
Subject
Report card
templates
Advice
Policy
Syllabuses
Curriculum
and assessment
Intercultural
Special
needs
Sharing
Tools
ACTION
website
Getting closer to schools
www.ncca.ie
What’s coming down the tracks?
Some guiding themes
 Inclusion
 Assessment for Learning
 Key Skills
 Pedagogy
 Relationships
The classroom of diversities…
 Greater ability range
 Special needs
– general
– specific
 English as an additional language
Differentiation
 the most complex and technical aspect of the
teaching craft
 neglected in teacher preparation?
 seen as static – getting the level/pitch right
 Dynamic, demanding and sophisticated
Some differentiation challenges
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The
The
The
The
The
question
question
question
question
question
of
of
of
of
of
place
pace
range
choice
additional support
One of the biggest challenges… is to teach
differentiation strategies……
To the students
Who
Who
Who
Who
Who
Who
may
may
may
may
may
may
be used to learning in the middle
be used to ‘hiding’
be used to an easy pace
‘passenger’
not have talked about learning
want the answers, not the questions
Futures…
 achievement gaps
 concerns for teacher quality
 collapse of public education
 Disaffected student groups
OR…
 International praise for achievement standards
 Students with strong commitments to schooling
 High quality teaching force
100 year-old wisdom….
What the wisest and best parent
wants for his own child, that must
the community want for all its
children. Any other ideal for our
schools is narrow and unlovely;
acted upon, it destroys our
democracy.
John Dewey. 1899, p.5.
Inclusion
 SEN – guidelines and possible new award at Level 2 on
NFQ
 Intercultural guidelines
 Curriculum framework for students in detention centres
 JCSP programme statement and review of profiling
NCCA Inclusion Project
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Case Study Research
Schools dealing with the ‘inclusion challenge’
To move beyond anecdote
To capture what schools are doing
– Beyond normative policy to practice
– The ‘costs’….
 To tender this autumn
Assessment for Learning
 School-based work is complete
 Dissemination of strategies
– With support services
– ACTION
 Assessment in Primary Schools: Guidelines for
Teachers
 info@ncca
Senior Cycle work
Senior Cycle
– phase one syllabuses
– short course on enterprise
– transition units
– flexible programmes of study
Key Skills
After 30 years of teaching, they pushed me to innovate
and to really look at what it was like to learn in my
class….
Phase one curriculum components
Subjects to
be reviewed
New subjects Short
courses
Other
developments
Mathematics
Social and
Political
Education
Social, Personal
and Health
Education
Applied
Mathematics
Languages
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Physical
Education
Enterprise
Education
Technology –
Art and
PE framework
Music
Psychology
Feedback from the Key Skills Network
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Classes are more enjoyable for everyone
Group work needs to be planned
Students like well-planned group work
Relationships in the classroom are better
Longer class periods are needed
Students are reluctant to change at first, but are
glad when they do.
Junior cycle
Priorities
 Syllabus rebalancing
 Inclusion
 Assessment for learning
 Implications of ESRI research findings on curriculum,
assessment, school organisation and planning
 Implications of senior cycle developments
Current status of work
 Ten syllabuses originally
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Art, Craft, Design
English
Environmental and Social Studies
Geography
History
Home Economics
Music
 Business Studies*
 Gaeilge*
 Mathematics*
* Now part of a broader review and revision process
Rebalancing – next steps
 Final drafts of rebalanced syllabuses developed
 Progressed through NCCA structures late 2007
 Issued to the Department of Education and Science
 Information material for schools on the adjustments
 NCCA website to provide updates
ESRI research
 900 students in 12 schools
 Longitudinal study focused on students’ experience
of junior cycle
 First and second year reports published
 Third year report and summary to be published in
October 2007
 Informing policy and practice in junior cycle
First Year findings
 Some students experience ongoing transition
difficulties
 Curriculum discontinuity a feature
 Students respond well to varied teaching and
learning approaches
 Importance of positive teacher-student interaction
and informal school atmosphere
 Suitability of curriculum for a significant minority
of students is questioned
Second Year findings
 Characteristic ‘dip’ in academic performance and
behaviour
 Students become more negative about school generally
 Negative effects of streaming intensifies
 Gender and social class differences become more
marked
 Emergence of a ‘disengaged group’
 Teaching and learning becomes more focused on Junior
Certificate
Third Year findings
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(preliminary)
Students say they learn best when
– positive classroom interaction
– teacher explains well
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– interactive, varied teaching methodologies
Focus on J Cert exams leads to more traditional form of
teaching
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Negative effect of streaming more pronounced
– disadvantaged schools in study group all streamed!
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Strong influence of gender and social class on
achievement
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School expectation also significantly determines
achievement
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Significant number of students taking grinds
Streaming and JC grades
10=A; 9=B; 8=C; 7=D averaged across all subjects taken
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Mixed ability
Higher
stream
Middle
stream
Lower stream
‘School’ effect
Mean
Number of Higher Level Subjects Taken by School
(second lowest reading quintile)
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Lang St Barrack Dixon St Hay St
St
Working-class
Dawes Dawson Park St Belmore Wattle St Fig Lane
Point
St
St
Mixed
Middleclass
Implications of senior cycle developments
 stronger role for key skills in junior cycle
curriculum
 pressure to ‘scale back’ junior cert exams
 need to harmonise junior and leaving cert courses
 potential impact of a different school culture at
senior cycle on junior cycle
 increased demand for educational guidance
Developments in mathematics (1)
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Increased emphasis on contexts and applications
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Focus on higher-order mathematical skills
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Proposal for phased development (both JC and LC)
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5 syllabus ‘strands’ identified
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Initial involvement of approximately 24 schools
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All maths teachers in each participating school to adopt new
syllabus materials for each strand/phase
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Class resource materials and teacher guidelines provided
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Professional support for teachers re changed emphasis and
approaches in mathematics teaching and learning
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Developments supported by changes in relevant examination
questions
Developments in mathematics (2)
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Bridging framework to link primary and post-primary
mathematics
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Common mathematics course in first year
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Need for collaboration between maths teachers
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consistency in approach used
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sharing of ideas and experiences
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school-based support as well as ‘inservice’ occasions
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issues around choice of course levels
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availability and use of ICT resources in maths
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allocation of teachers to classes/levels
Promotion of greater uptake of HL maths, especially in
Junior Certificate
Developments in mathematics (3)
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Information on Project Maths to all schools – Nov 07
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Invitation to schools to participate in initial
implementation phase(s)
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Participating schools identified early in 2008
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Preparation meetings for participating schools in
Spring 2008
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Syllabus and resource materials for initial phase(s)
ready by May 2008
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Implementation in participating schools from Sept.
2008
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Roll-out to all schools beginning in Sept. 2009