Philosophy On Curriculum Planning & Delivery

An overview of a philosophy on curriculum delivery The philosophy that sits behind our curriculum is inspired by the principles of Teaching for Understanding; made practical by using Understanding by Design (UBD) ideas including the notion of Backward Design (BD) Teaching for Understanding asks that instead of aiming to ‘cover’ the curriculum, that we instead ‘uncover’ big ideas that are important for children to know or learn about. These principles fit well within the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) framework that sets out some important obligations we have towards our students. • We should have a Vision of what we want our students to be and that we have a plan to achieve that vision. The NZC provides some ideas of what a vision for students might include. There is room for schools to add to that list. • The NZC sets out some Values that we should encourage and support amongst our children. There is room for schools to add to that list. • The NZC sets out some key Principles that we are required to operate by. • The NZC sets out some Key Competencies that we should encourage, support and plan for within our school. • The NZC also sets out Learning Areas that provide curriculum content that teachers are expected to use in their teaching programmes. The NZC is reasonably flexible and gives schools scope to design and develop their own curriculum. We have chosen to do that within a framework offered by the concept of transdisciplinary learning as exemplified by schools working under the International Baccalaureate Organisation. Each year we decide upon a big idea - 2009 Theme: "Citizenship is Everybody's Business!" - that we want children to know about and to develop some understanding of what that idea means for them and for humanity. In the case of 2009 we consider that citizenship is such an important concept that we don’t want children to leave school with some understanding of what that means and why it is so important. We then use six transdisciplinary themes to develop that understanding. Who we are

Where we are in time and place

How we express ourselves

How the world works

How we organise ourselves

Sharing the planet

The transdisciplinary ideas are important enough in themselves for children to ‘uncover’. Within each theme there is a very wide range of options Teams of teachers use a particular framework to guide their teaching efforts. This framework is inspired by the Understanding by Design (UBD) and Backward Design (BD) processes. UBD says that understanding is best gained through following a plan - we should map out the main stages in the learning journey before we start.

BD says that we should begin our planning by deciding what we want children to ‘uncover’ or learn. We then work through an iterative process to design a plan for learning. One example of such a framework is set out below. Unit Topic

Provides a shorthand title for the unit that grows out of the transdisciplinary theme

Curriculum Focus

Which Learning Areas can best be developed through this topic?

Key idea(s)

What is/are the key idea(s)?

Key Competencies

It is important to identify which of the Key Competencies will be emphasised during the topic.

Rich Task

This will be a complex task or performance. It will allow children to demonstrate their understanding of the ideas they have been engaging.

Lines of inquiry

‘Uncovering’ the key idea(s) and transdisciplinary theme will involve developing lines of inquiry (usually questions) and following them. Inquiry is a key tool in helping children to develop skills in life long learning.

Linkages

Teachers will help to provide links for children to the theme for the year; to the topic title; and, to the key idea(s). This will ensure children can see the connections between the discrete pieces of work they are engaged in.

The ‘plan’ helps us to remain focussed on what is important for children to learn and for which teachers should prepare. It will help us to make important decisions about the use of time and what we say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to. The process of developing the plan allows us to align important elements within the framework so that we can ensure we include only that which will be useful in achieving the key ideas.