Deon Edwards-Kerr, PhD School of Education University of the West Indies, Mona

 What learning should secondary students experience to acquire twenty-first century competencies?  The underlying aim is to examine how we might transform secondary schooling for all students.

 Curriculum design in the Caribbean is largely academic rationalist or subject oriented  National curricula represents official knowledge, a way of knowing or a LEARNING CULTURE  Epistemological basis – SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM

 Encourage and accept student autonomy and initiative  Teaching strategies involve the use of raw data, primary sources and manipulatives  Student responses are used to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies and alter content  Students engage in dialogue with teacher and each other

 Curriculum Evaluation - CIPP Model  Stufflebeam’s (1971) Management Oriented Evaluation  Stake’s (1967) Countenance Evaluation Model  Combined Quantitative and Qualitative Methods  Survey  Interviews  OBSERVATIONS this paper  Documentary Analysis

 Draws on observations of lessons in 3 countries – Jamaica, Montserrat and Belize between 2012 and 2015  Participants  Instrument designed to capture evidence of classroom atmosphere, teaching strategies, student-teacher and classroom management.  27 items on 3-point scale (Observed All the Time, Observed Sometimes, Not Observed) CountrySample Jamaica54 lessons in 32 secondary schools – upgraded and traditional Montserrat9 lessons in the single secondary school Belize58 lessons on 28 secondary schools

 Teaching and learning was subject –oriented, and assessment is based on mastery of limited aspects of discrete academic disciplines  Extensive remedial teaching to address students who have fallen behind  Teacher directed and centred classrooms – traditional methods of teaching were prevalent, exposition, examples and exercises.

 Limited attempts at differentiation – one size fits all approach, very little variation in content, assessment, tasks and instructional strategies  Very little application of content across the curriculum and to the real world  Very little use of materials or raw data – irregular use of technology  Disconnect between assessment and instruction.

 The testing and academic cultures that define the secondary school in the region has rendered social constructivism extinct – But wait, not so fast!  There are at least some technical high schools where the idea has been operationalised and is evolving For example…….

Characteristics Observed All the Time - 1 Observed Sometimes - 2 Not Observed Learning activities are student-led and/or in small groups √ 4. Teacher provides well designed materials √ 5. Teacher invites discussion √ 13. Students get a chance to ‘try-out’ problems √ 14. Teacher applies lesson to the real world √ 15. Focus of the lesson and activities appear to be aligned √ 19. Students express their own view of the lesson √ 21.Teacher questions, listens and responds to students √ 23. Students seek assistance from the teacher √

Themes, Concepts, Transferable Skills (thinking skills, technological literacy, problem-solving, literacy skills, research skills, teamwork, communication, questioning, collaboration ) Chemistry, Physics and Biology History, Social Studies & Geography Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Mathematics Modern Languages TD, IT, etc Plumbing, Construction, Hospitality etc)

 Transferable – not related to a specific field, but is relevant across disciplines  Multi-dimensional – knowledge, skills and attitudes  Higher-order – skills and behaviours that represent the ability to cope with complex problems and unpredictable situations (Voogt & Roblin 2012)

Curriculum reform at the secondary level by necessity should being with defining the purpose of education for the particular nation – how will be a secondary education be used?

 The local and global contexts – especially the changing needs of the society evidenced in demand for services, product design, virtual lifestyles etc.  technology as a way of knowing rather than just a product  Re-tooling teachers in all subject areas to work in ways that create the kind of students that are “mind workers” rather passive recipients of static knowledge (communicate, problem solve, mediate information)  Praxis – move away from universal theories and abstraction to focus on the centrality of human activity – object, process, knowledge and volition