A Curriculum for Excellence toolkit - from learning and teaching to programme design Sooh Sweeney, director of curriculum John Muir, assistant principal, curriculum and quality

Curriculum for Excellence and Essential Skills at Ayr College – starting off with learning and teaching Curriculum for Excellence – the four capacities – The development of the success, confidence, responsibility and effectiveness through engaging and challenging learning and teaching experiences Essential skills – the five elements – The development of core, personal and learning, employability, citizenship and health and wellbeing skills through engaging and challenging learning and teaching experiences

Our basic assumption Effective essential skills development lies at the heart of effective learning and, therefore, teaching. Essential skills develop not only as part of the formal structure of the curriculum but, crucially, they need to permeate all facets of the learning and teaching experience. Both are vital components in the development of essential skills.

Essential skills at Ayr College Core skills Communication Numeracy ICT Working with others Problem solving Personal and learning skills Self-awareness Positive attitude towards learning Self-direction and the opportunity to analyse and think critically Plan activities and allow them to self-organise and/or organise others Citizenship skills Multicultural issues Equality and social fairness Disadvantage and taking steps to make a difference Rights and responsibilities Tolerance for others Employability skills Promoting punctuality and dependability Set and meet priorities or deadlines Preparedness and flexibility A positive work ethic Health and wellbeing Mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing Lifestyle choices and changes Physical education, physical activity Food and its impact on health Issues associated with substance misuse Relationships, sexual health and parenthood

The changes we’ve been making From the discrete to the integrated delivery and assessment of core skills The harmonisation of the planning of learning to incorporate essential skill development Overarching essential skill development through programme essential skill sets Enabling students to assess their own essential skill development and to gauge that against the team’s planning and delivery Providing dedicated staff whose principle role is to facilitate essential skills development Ensuring that effective essential skills development is a central feature of professional review and reflection The development of an essential skills curriculum unit and the participation of all staff members in promoting effective essential skills throughout the college Incorporating essential skills development into every aspect of our quality review process

Where we’ve been; where we’re going That’s where our Curriculum for Excellence toolkit comes it! Our main focus has been on creating a cultural shift in respect of the delivery of learning and teaching Our new focus is to consolidate, reinforce and enrich this cultural shift by attending to the design of learning experiences at the earliest of stages

Purpose of the toolkit Designed to help in the exploration and analysis of the curriculum design principles and how they relate to: curriculum unit; department programmes; subjects; levels; year group and individual subject units or topics The result of this process feeds into and informs: programme design; self evaluation process; and operational planning process.

Breadth Depth Progression Personalisa- tion and choice Relevance Coherence Challenge and enjoyment

Breadth (range of experiences) Opportunities for a broad range of experiences? Do any experiences form a dominant part within the programme? How much of a ‘part’ do the various experiences play in the whole programme? Are these opportunities organised so that learners will learn and develop through a variety of contexts within both the classroom and other aspects of college life? Practical experiences (within college) Theory Work experience: real or simulated Enterprise Guest speakers Social networking/ collaboration Outdoor learningOther None Minor Significant

Depth (thinking, learning and understanding) There should be opportunities to develop their full capacity for different types of thinking and learning. Are learners required to: remember facts, explain, interpret the information in another way, analyse through critical thinking and problem solving, apply their learning in another context? What is the level of complexity of the thinking?

Depth (thinking, learning and understanding) Instruction Gaining organised knowledge Coaching Exercises Supervised practise Development of intellectual and practical skills Deeper questioning Active participation Enlarged understanding of ideas and values

Gaining organised knowledge: How to... Facts'n'figures Theories What is it... Guidelines Structure Rules Development of intellectual and practical skills: Practical workshops Applying theory Putting into context Learners articulate/ express in own words Creating Using Developing Solving problems Carrying out a task Prepare, produce, implement Enlarged understanding of ideas and values: Exploring different contexts Seeing the bigger picture 'Transferable' Stretch Why?; What's next? Impact on society Reference to own lives Sustainability Global Added value in the unit eg graded unit or projects

Learners are to experience continuous progression in their learning within a single curriculum framework. Each stage should build upon earlier knowledge and achievements. They should be able to progress at a rate which meets their needs and aptitudes, and keep options open so that routes are not closed off too early. There should be progression in the experiences and outcomes from level to level. Progression Scheduling within the programme is meaningful in supporting the progression of: skills, ability, required knowledge? Able to progress at a rate which meets their needs and aptitudes? Is each stage building upon earlier knowledge and achievements? Is there progression in the E&Os from level to level?

Respond to individual needs and support particular aptitudes and talents. Increasing opportunities for exercising responsible personal choice as they progress. Once they have achieved suitable levels of attainment across a wide range of areas, the choice should become as open as possible. Safeguards to ensure that choices are soundly based and lead to successful outcomes. Personalisation and choice (flexibility) Personal choice … within units… within programme Personalisation Adaptations to individual needs Respond to individual aptitudes and talents Safeguards Safeguards to ensure choices are soundly based Safeguards to ensure choices lead to successful outcomes

They should understand the purposes of their activities. They should see the value of what they are learning and its relevance to their lives - present and future. Relevance Purpose Are purposes of activities clearly explained? Value Value punctuated throughout the learning? Do learners see the value of what they are learning? Content Is the learning/ topics made relevant to their present lives? Is the learning/ topics made relevant to their future lives? Experience Is learning related to work or life skills through activities eg: site visits, guest speakers, employer talks, work experience (real or simulated); industry links?

Coherence

Taken as a whole, learning activities should combine to form a coherent experience. There should be: clear links between the different aspects of their learning opportunities for extended activities which draw different strands of learning together. Coherence Practical experiences (within college) Project work, graded units, added value units Work experience: real or simulated Enterprise None Minor Significant

At all stages, aptitudes and abilities: appropriate level of challenge to achieve their potential active in their learning opportunities to develop and demonstrate their creativity. support to sustain their effort Challenge and enjoyment ( challenging, engaging, motivating, encourage high aspirations, ambitions for all) demonstrating skills role playing analysingevaluating applying linkingpresenting comparing and contrasting explainingreflecting developing creativity demonstrating creativity

Benefits of the CfE toolkit Exploration Reflection Dialogue A tool with 7 Lenses Focus Stimulate ideas Identify what is important/ significant Quality improvements and enhancements Universal Curriculum manager, programme team, lecturer Curriculum unit, Programme, Unit, Session

Sooh Sweeney John Muir