Re-designed Curriculum: Planning for Professional Conversations

Intentions for today: Purpose: To build capacity within schools to support the ongoing implementation of the new curriculum. Orientation to 4 modules for new curriculum for planning purposes Provide discussion and planning time Your team will create a draft plan/agenda to support implementation for both Feb 9 th and long term planning (that meet the needs of your school context)

Revised Curriculum District Days (2 district funded half days sessions Sept/Nov – next sessions on May 25 th and 26 th ) Added days: January 13 th – half day session for school teams February 9 th – First full PD day for whole school staff April 27 th – 2 nd half day session for school teams May 13 th – Second full PD day for whole school staff

Ongoing Reflection is Foundational Important to revisit and reflect on the re- designed curriculum, even if deep in the work.

4 corners What has informed the development of this curriculum? Familiarizing ourselves with the re-designed curriculum framework Examining subject areas Planning and Pedagogy

Strength Where do I feel more confident? Where have I spent more time (with staff or on my own)?

Stretch Where do you feel you need to put your energy and focus now? What do you need to learn more about? Where do you need to go deeper?

1. What has informed the development of this curriculum? To review the research and most current educational philosophies that have informed this curriculum

Foundational Principles guiding Curriculum Redesign Consultations in BC resulted in recommendations for change: Make curriculum more flexible to better enable teachers to be creative and innovate Reduce the prescriptive nature of essential curricula while ensuring a solid focus on essential learning Emphasize higher-order learning focusing on the key concepts and big ideas that students need to succeed in school, careers and their lives

Foundational Principles Con’t Focus on deeper learning Make explicit and develop the core competencies that support life long learning Respect the inherent logic and unique nature of the disciplines while supporting efforts to develop cross-curricular units Integrate the first people’s principles of learning and aboriginal knowledge and world views Align assessment and evaluation programs with the re-design of curriculum

What has informed this Re-designed Curriculum? Educated Citizen First People’s Principles of Learning OECD Innovative Learning Environments Universal Design For Learning Supporting Diverse Learners Pedagogical alignment (transmission to generative to transformative)

Where does research say we should be heading? Help students to: see how subjects are interconnected be respected solve real problems learn from and with each other and people in their community feel they make a difference in the world, engage with knowledge that matters to them connect with experts and expertise have more opportunities for dialogue and conversation about their learning. (Wilms et. al, 2009)

The Educated Citizen thoughtful, able to learn and to think critically, and who can communicate information from a broad knowledge base; creative, flexible, self-motivated and who have a positive self image; capable of making independent decisions; skilled and who can contribute to society generally, including the world of work; productive, who gain satisfaction through achievement and who strive for physical well-being; cooperative, principled and respectful of others regardless of differences; aware of the rights and prepared to exercise the responsibilities of an individual within the family, the community, Canada, and the world.

CORE PRINCIPLES FOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS, OECD Core Principles for Learning Environments Learning Environments

First Peoples Principles of Learning

Guiding Questions for Discussion 1.What are you already doing that aligns with the core principles/ideas underpinning the redesigned curriculum? STRENGTHS 2.What are the possibilities for our planning moving forward? (ie. ways we want, hope for or might consider in order to further build on what we alread do that connects back to these core ideas?) – POSSIBILITIES 3.Given the changing emphases in the curriculum, what do you need to support your work going forward? NEEDS: School? Ministry? 4.What questions do you have? PARKING LOT

How is this applicable to your context? How will you make this information accessible, relevant and engaging to your staff? Discuss in your team

2. Familiarizing ourselves with the re-designed curriculum framework What’s new? What’s different? Parts/shapes and purpose (how do they work?)

What are the new directions? What will stay the same? Increased flexibility and space for teacher innovation, student passions, and greater depth of study “Big Ideas” for each grade in each area of learning Explicit focus on competencies Support for inquiry, project-based, hands- on, and interdisciplinary approaches Aboriginal perspectives and content authentically integrated into all subjects A common framework for all areas of learning Rigorous learning standards in each area of learning A strong focus on the foundations of reading, writing and mathematics Subjects such as Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies remain at the heart of every student’s education Curriculum Redesign Directions

All areas of learning are based on a “Know-Do-Understand” model to support a concept-based competency- driven approach to learning. Three elements, the Content (Know), Curricular Competencies (Do), and Big Ideas (Understand) all work together to support deeper learning BC’s Know-Do-Understand Model

Core Competencies are underpinning

What are the core competencies? Core competencies are: The intellectual, personal and social proficiencies needed for success in school, careers and life Key to the development of educated citizens Central to the transformation efforts Clearly reflected and embedded in curriculum

Elaborations may be found for big ideas, content or curricular competencies. They provide clarification, examples, key questions etc. Elaborations

 At the heart of British Columbia’s redesigned curriculum are:  core competencies  essential learning  literacy and numeracy foundations  Reflects a shift towards a concept- based, competency-driven curriculum BC’s Redesigned Curriculum

How is this applicable to your context? How will you make this information accessible and engaging to your staff? Discuss in your team

3. Examining subject areas Goals and Rationale for each subject area Know your curriculum - Explore and the different discipline areas (Big ideas, Curricular Competencies, Content)

How is this applicable to your context? How will you make this information accessible, relevant and engaging to your staff? Discuss in your team

4. Planning and Pedagogy How? Planning/designing within and across disciplines Exploring pedagogy Collaborating with colleagues

Building blocks for innovative learning: Cooperative learning Service Learning Home-School-Community Partnerships Learning with Technology Formative Assessment Inquiry-Based Approaches Project-based learning Problem-based learning Learning through Design Where does research say we should be heading?

Teaching approaches that differentiate Text sets : literature, numeracy and information circles Open-ended tasks and teaching Service learning Workshop Formative assessment PBL/Inquiry learning Models and manipulatives Schnellert, Watson & Widdess, 2015 Cooperative learning

Frameworks for Planning

How might you encourage collaboration amongst staff to explore aspects of new curriculum? How can administrators create opportunities for ongoing collaboration?

How will you engage staff to continue this work until the next time you meet? (Reflecting for Action as a tool) How will you invite staff to make a commitment for working with the new curriculum?

Self-reflection When looking at the Re-designed Curriculum: My Strengths, Stretches and Next Steps

Planning time in teams

Find a trio (teachers with teachers, admin with admin) Share what you are feeling good about re: your plan Share something you need feedback about?

Planning with team

First due date for feedback was end of December 1.What do you like about the proposal? Please comment on the core and optional curriculum 2.What do you think should be improved? Please comment on the core and optional curriculum 3.Does the core curriculum require anything further to meet the needs of students graduating from BC schools? Please provide details. Use their form to provide feedback OR the Ministry of Education at

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