Presenter : Geewanath Sharma Presentation title : Alignment between Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment in Bhutan Presenter : Geewanath Sharma

Areas 1 Current policies or frameworks that guide Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment Agencies responsible for Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment How implementation of policies related to Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment are ensured Issues and Challenges related to Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment Accountability of School Leaders and Teachers 2 3 4 5

1 Current policies or frameworks that guide Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment Most subjects (Science, Mathematics and Language) have curriculum frameworks in place. Development of curriculum frameworks is going on for other subjects. The mode of assessment both for the school level as well as the national level is developed by the REC along with the development of the curriculum. Teachers are provided orientation to the new curriculum and on-going professional support. Teacher Guides are provided for some subjects for supporting curriculum implementation Minimum number of 180 instructional days required for completing required curriculum for a particular class

1 Current policies or frameworks that guide Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment Assessment is carried out both at the school level as well as the national level. At the school level the focus is more on the formative assessment at the primary level and it gradually changes to summative assessment by the end of grade ten. At the national level, the Bhutan Council for School Examination and Assessment (BCSEA) – an autonomous body outside the MoE, manages and conducts the high stake summative examinations for grades 10 and 12 and sends competency based assessment papers for grades 3 and 6 which are evaluated at the school level. It also conducts the National Education Assessment every 3-5 years.

2 Agencies Responsible for Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment Curriculum Royal Education Council involving relevant stakeholders Teaching Teacher Professional Development Centre, REC for professional development support and Education Monitoring and Support Service Division, MoE, for monitoring and support.   Assessment Royal Education Council mainly for school based assessment and BCSEA for high stake (grades 10 and 12), competency based ( grades 3 and 6), and National Education Assessment for grades 4, 6, 8 and 10

3 How implementation of policies related to Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment are ensured? For every new curriculum to be implemented, teachers are provided orientation to the new curriculum and its delivery.   Teachers are provided professional support through workshops; direct link with the relevant curriculum officer through a toll free number; broadcast through SMS and through relevant websites. All matters related to curriculum also involve assessment aspects, therefore both REC and BCSEA liaise with each other to share, and support curriculum and assessment matters. Each subject committee under the aegis of the REC comprise of officials from REC, BCSEA, school and other relevant agencies. BCSEA involves officials from REC and school teachers to develop question banks for high stake examinations. Officials from the EMSSD and the District Education Office visit schools to observe practices and provide support.

4 Issues and Challenges related to Curriculum, Teaching and Assessment Providing orientation to the new curriculum to all teachers teaching a particular subject, and providing continuous professional development is subject to budget availability. There is no system/structure in place to ensure professional development is provided as per need.   In the primary classes, especially grades PP – 3 general teachers teach all subjects. Teacher competency is of concern in this type of practice. Large number of students in classes and inadequate teachers limit carrying out the assessment requirements. Inadequate infrastructure for ICTisation

5 Accountability of School Leaders and Teachers Teachers are required to make year, month and weekly/daily plans and carryout assessments as per the requirements in the Teacher Guides or other curriculum implementation guidelines.   At the schools Principals are required to provide instructional leadership to the schools besides administration. The subject department heads are required to ensure teachers practice what is required. The teachers’ annual work plans and their rating is based on the work output. Subject heads/Academic Vice Principals/Principals observe classes as required. The EMSSD of the MoE carries out school based monitoring and ranks schools annually where curriculum implementation and student achievement is one aspect.

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