For those of us who are just as keen to share and learn as us...
Today (22 Sep 10), I have the privilege to learn from Ms Karen Green, an educational consultant from Victoria, Australia.
She reminded us about what teachers need to do when planning their (experienced) curriculum...
Our teachers need to...
(1) See the 'whole' before they break it into 'parts' to teach
(2) Know what has come before and where it is going... (a good knowledge about the learners' previous knowledge viz-a-viz what they are going to teach to lead the learner to where...)
(3) Pre-test knowledge and skills (of the learners) in order to differentiate (the curriculum) appropriately
(4) Design tasks that engage ALL (types of) learners - not just those who are verbal or mathematical, etc.
(5) Develop assessment tasks that are HOLISTIC and allows the learner to demonstrate genuine understanding
(6) EXPLICITLY teach ways to think intelligently (i.e. the thinking dispositions of the learners using HOM, etc)
(7) EXPLICITLY teach the skillsof thinking (critical and creative) and cooperation
(8) Provide time for the students to understand themselves 'as' learners (i.e. allow the students time to understand their preferred learning or working styles, etc)
(9) Provide opportunities for REFLECTION and METACOGNITION for the teachers and their students.
I find these to be useful reminders... wonder what do the rest of us think... I am now reflecting on some of these points...
1. (a) Are our key personnel spending enough time (if any) to first understand the bigger picture of different
parts of the planned curriculum (i.e. the National Curriculum) so as to plan the effective enacted curriculum
for their subjects at the different levels and courses?
(b) Are our teachers spending enough time (if any) to understand the bigger picture of the different parts of
the enacted curriculum so as to plan effective experienced curriculum for their students?
2. How many of our schools do the pre-test as mentioned in point 3 above?
3. How effective have we been in the design of tasks to engage the students? What are the indicators of
success? Is it purely the national exam results?
4. Have we provided for points 4 to 9? How effective have we been?
Do share with me your experiences and thoughts....
I agree more can be done in planning for the curriculum at the school and classroom levels. Understanding WHO you are teaching, WHAT your students need to learn, and then think of HOW you can help your students to learn best are key steps for effective lesson planning. The problems that are preventing a pervasive culture of proactive curriculum planning among our teachers are the usual reasons of lack of time, the lack of ability, and maybe the fear of being held accountable. I am looking forward in this trip to exchange ideas with our friends down under :)
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