School Education Quality Improvement Project (II) Kuwait National Curriculum and Standards برنامج تحسين جودة التعليم (II) المنهج الوطني الكويتي و المعايير TEACHER’S CURRICULUM GUIDE FOR INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION الدليل الإرشادي للمعلم في المرحلة ال Supplementary Portfolio for Teacher Trainers (MT/ST) الحقيبة الإضافية لمدربي المعلمين © The World Bank. Kuwait International Curriculum TA Team فريق البنك الدولي لتطبيق المنهج الكويتي مدينة الكويت Kuwait City, 2016

Content Module 3: How can you plan your teaching and learning for the Module 1: The new Kuwait National Curriculum. What is it? And how is it likely to change your current way of teaching? Module 2: The new subject curricula and standards for primary education as part of the Kuwait National Curriculum Module 3: How can you plan your teaching and learning for the future ? Module 4: Teaching/learning strategies and classroom management in a learner-centered curriculum environment Module 5: Using ICT for learning in all subjects Module 6: Classroom assessment -Attaining curriculum standards Module 7: School-based professional development

Module 1: The New Kuwait National Curriculum What is it Module 1: The New Kuwait National Curriculum What is it? And how is it likely to change your current way of teaching?

الوحدة الأولى: المنهج الوطني الكويتي الجديد: ما هو؟ و كيف يمكن أن يغير طريقة تعليمك؟

And why is it necessary to have a curriculum? 1. The new Kuwait National Curriculum Frequently asked Questions (1) What is a curriculum ? And why is it necessary to have a curriculum?     What does the curriculum do that the textbook does not do? 

Frequently asked Questions (2) What is the new Kuwait National Curriculum? What are its levels and components? To whom is it addressed? How should it be implemented? What changes need to happen from 2015 as a direct outcome the new Kuwait National Curriculum is being introduced from Grade 1 ? What do we/you need to do in order for this to happen?            

2. What will we discuss in this module? Fundamental Key Concepts A short overview of the curriculum process The main Curriculum documents Underlying Concepts and Terminology 5. Question – comments

3. Key Concepts 3.1. What is the Curriculum? The curriculum is the system of learning experiences and opportunities that are planned for children and young people through their education as well as the ways by which all these will be applied in concrete setting all over their lives The curriculum represents a multifunctional, highly organized and integrated system of knowledge, skills and attitudes/values that all individuals are offered by a given education system (and society) and that are useful for personal fulfillment and development, inclusion and employment in a well-functioning society.

3.2. Why do we need a Curriculum? The curriculum offers not only the WHAT? but also the: Why? When? How? In which concrete context? With which expected results? Connected to what …etc.

3.3. What more does a Curriculum provide as compared to a textbook? TASK 1 3.3. What more does a Curriculum provide as compared to a textbook? What do you think? Please discuss in groups

3.4. What is the Kuwait National Curriculum? The Kuwait National Curriculum is an educational reality that covers the overall system of learning experiences offered to students of Kuwait in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes/values from ages 3 to 18 by relevant educational institutions. Therefore, the National Curriculum defines, by necessity, what students should know, be able to do, and how they should behave in terms of values-oriented human beings as a result of their learning process.

3.5. What are the Functions of the Kuwait National Curriculum Framework? The KNCF is the main conceptual document that regulates the Kuwait curriculum system. The KNCF has a normative, prescriptive and regulatory role. It presents the conceptual foundation, the vision, the philosophy, as well as the concrete ways in which the learning is organized and offered to children and students of Kuwait throughout various education stages, from Grades 1 to 12.

3.6. What does it look like?

3.8. Structure of the Curriculum

3.9. Essential Concepts and Terms Competences Types of competences

become responsible and autonomous persons, Competences “Competences” are defined as integrated systems of knowledge, skills, attitudes, values and beliefs developed through formal (and non-formal) education that allow individuals to: become responsible and autonomous persons, able to solve diverse problems and perform in everyday life-settings at the quality level expressed by the standards.

Key competences General competences Specific competences 3.9.2. Types of Competences The Kuwait National Curriculum is based on three types of competences:   Key competences General competences Specific competences

A. Key Competences

What are the Key Competences? knowledge Skills Values attitudes beliefs Achieved by the end of G.12 Non-subject

related Standards Project Foster own Islamic, Arabic, Kuwaiti and Global identities, the sense of belonging Communicate fluently in Arabic, in a variety of contexts Communicate effectively in English, in a range of contexts Use the mathematical language and understanding, related symbols, signs and codes Use scientific and technological language and understanding Foster inclusiveness, justice and sustainable development, based on respect of democracy Enhance personal development and meta-cognitive skills for a good quality life Enhance the potential to successfully face the everyday challenges of life and work Strand 1: Developing the Conceptual Foundations for the renewed Kuwait National Curriculum (2012) Strand 2: Developing the new Curriculum & Standards for Grades 1 to 12 (January 2013 – September 2015) Strand 3: Preparing the Implementation Process into Primary Education with 2014-2015 school year (from September 2013)

C. What are the General Competences? As compared to the Key Competences, the General Competences are subject-specific; they define the most general subject-based knowledge, skills and attitudes/values embedded/integrated in students’ expected outcomes by the end of the last grade when a certain subject is taught, in some cases by the end of Grade 12.

What are the Specific Competences? The “Specific Competences” are sub-divisions of the General Competences representing stages in their acquisition. The Specific Competences are structured and developed in students during a school year. As compared to the General Competences, Specific Competences define more specific systems of integrated knowledge, skills and attitudes/values. They can even cover specialized, topic-based competences students are supposed to display by the end of each grade.

The Standards

What are the “Standards”? An operational decision, requirement or regulation that is expected to be implemented or applied related to the quality level to be achieved by a certain aspect of the education system”, in our case, student’s learning  

Types of “Standards” Curriculum Standards Performance Standards

What are the “curriculum standards”? The “Curriculum Standards” refer to the quality level to be achieved by students in attaining the specific competences. “Curriculum Standards” describe to what extent the specific competences should be achieved by the end of each grade. In the Kuwait National Curriculum, “Curriculum Standards” are related to specific competences defined in the subject curriculum. As they are relevant for the students’ progress in learning, “Curriculum Standards” are a matter of school-based and class-based formative and summative assessment.

What are the “Performance Standards”? The “Performance Standards” refer to the quality level to be achieved by students in performing their general competences by the end of each of the school stages – i.e., Primary, Intermediate, and Secondary. Therefore, in the Kuwait National Curriculum, “Performance Standards” are defined at the level of each stage of education and relate to the general competences to be attained through each stage. The measurement of the “Performance Standards” is a matter of different forms of national summative assessments or examinations.

3.9.3. What is a Competence-Based and Standards-Based Curriculum? Finally … 3.9.3. What is a Competence-Based and Standards-Based Curriculum?

A curriculum that emphasizes what the learners are expected to do rather than mainly focusing on what they are expected to learn about. In principle such a curriculum is: Learner-centered and adaptive to the changing needs of students, teachers and society, and Real life needs-centered: implying that learning activities and environments are chosen so that learners can acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to situations they encounter in everyday life.

Why the Kuwait National Curriculum is a competence-based and standard-based curriculum The Kuwait National Curriculum is based on the competences children and students aged approximately 3 to 18 are supposed to acquire. It is also based on the learning achievement standards that indicate to what extent this process effectively happens over the school years… and/or at different stages of the process. Therefore, in the new KNC, the aims of education are achieved by gradually developing a coherent system of key, general and specific competences that are measurable by means of the learning achievement standards and their detailed indicators/ descriptors.

3.9.4. What is NEW in the New Curriculum as promoted by the Curriculum Framework? The NEW CURRICULUM offers: A common, Regulatory Curriculum Document - The Kuwait National Curriculum Framework Curriculum Assessment that goes together with Classroom Pedagogy Robust Curriculum Architecture Robust Architecture of the Assessment of Student’s Performance Robust Architecture of the Pedagogy A better organized and more flexible Teaching Plan with two Components. Core Curriculum School-based Support Curriculum A robust – integrated vision on the learner: learning for life (see below the integrated generative matrix)

Slides to be added by the MT and ST to Module 1 when needed