Reading Between The Lines: the language of the redesigned curriculum

Excerpts

(A) FLEXIBLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

1. In effect, the Ministry of Education defines the what to teach but not the how
to organize or teach it. That is, the Ministry defines what must be taught.
2. Teachers decide the how how they actually organize learning and teach in the
classroom in order to create the learning environments in which learning takes
place. The classroom-learning environment includes such aspects as the instructional methods and
approaches, assessment techniques and strategies, as well as the selection of learning resources.
3. Districts and schools also make decisions about the types of learning environments they want, based on
the learning culture they wish to establish. These environments include such aspects as scheduling,
timetables, course structures, and school organizations.
(B) LEARNING STANDARDS no more Prescribed Learning Outcomes
1. Districts and schools are encouraged to combine learning standards in various ways to create crosscurricular units, modules, mini-courses, and courses tailored to the learners in their communities.
2. It is important to note that although the learning standards are described within an area of learning,
there is no requirement for teachers to organize classrooms, courses, or schools by these areas of
learning.
3. Learning standards that can be combined and integrated in various ways, to create courses or learning
experiences that go beyond learning area borders to focus on students needs, interests, and/or the local
context
(C) CORE COMPETENCIES
1. The Ministry has defined three core competencies at the centre of the curriculum and assessment
redesign: thinking competency, communication competency, and social and personal competency.
Competencies are activated in the doing of a subject.
2. Focusing competency development across the curriculum supports students as they engage in deeper
learninglearning that encourages them to look at things from different perspectives, to see the
relationships between their learning in different subjects, and to make connections to their previous
learning, their own experiences, and to the world at large.
(D) ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
1. Assessment was considered the transformation game-changer. Assessment for learning will be central
within the redesigned curriculum and assessment framework. Classroom assessment provides information
to support personalization of learning, to improve learning, and to communicate with parents.
2. Personalization lends itself to assessment as learning, student involvement in setting criteria and design of
inquiries, and to self- and peer-assessment. As curriculum becomes more personalized, with reduced
prescriptive content and more flexibility, assessment will follow accordingly.
3. Classroom assessments should include a wide variety of opportunities for students to demonstrate their
learning. Performance tasks should be substantial and get at deeper learning and understanding.

Reading Between The Lines: the language of the redesigned curriculum

Excerpts

(E) COMMUNICATING STUDENT LEARNING

1. To date, consultations regarding communicating student learning have resulted in the following
recommendations:
a. Shift from reporting to communicating student learning
b. Move toward meaningful descriptions/collections/demonstrations of student learning.
c. Report on core competencies and key areas of learning
d. Focus on learning standards (curricular competencies and content/concepts) in areas of learning
e. Use clear performance standards-based language
2. In the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013, a series of regionally held consultation sessions regarding the
provincial graduation program have suggested that exit examinations focus on literacy, numeracy and
competencies and include more authentic exit demonstrations of learning.
(F) INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING
1. Subject area is the term used in the IRPs to describe what students are expected to know and be able to
do in a subject. The term subject is not used to describe the redesigned curricula because teachers can
combine the learning standards in various ways from different areas of learning to create integrated units
or design integrated areas of learning.
2. Areas of Learning: It is important to note that although the learning standards are described within an
area of learning, there is no requirement for teachers to organize classrooms, courses, or schools by these
areas of learning.
3. Interdisciplinary learning promotes deeper learning and higher order thinking as students integrate,
synthesize and build connections that accommodate knowledge from multiple disciplines.
Interdisciplinary learning can assist students in identifying links within and across disciplines and the
outside world.
(G) PERSONALIZED LEARNING
1. Personalizing learning places students at the centre of their education. Personalizing learning is about
enhancing student engagement in learning, giving students choices - more of a say in what and how they
learn and where they learn. Personalizing learning does not mean each student is on a completely
different program.
2. In BC, personalizing learning is where students are actively involved in setting goals, reflecting on their
work, setting new goals based on those reflections and taking more control of their learning. It also
encompasses place-based learning, where learning experiences are adapted to the local environment or
to an individual context. Even locally developed courses are a type of personalization, but at an
institutional level.
3. Personalizing learning means providing space for direct interactions with the world both within and
outside of school and, by placing an increased focus on learning that addresses real-world issues and
problems
(H) DEEPER LEARNING
1. Deeper learning goes beyond rote learning or surface learning, where a student may memorize a
procedure or formula, but does not actually understand the underlying principle. Deeper learning goes
beyond passively receiving content and involves students in actively developing and explaining their
knowledge. Deeper learning is not assessed by the ability to recall a textbook account or teachers
explanation.
2. Deeper learning happens when students use their understandings and competencies to solve problems,
make decisions, and inquire into real-world issues. Deeper learning requires engagement with the key
concepts and competencies of a discipline and to consider their applications across other disciplines.
3. Renewed curriculum and assessment supports the development of deeper learning by providing
consistency in curriculum structures so that the horizontal connectedness or connections within an area
of learning are evident as are those ideas that transfer across areas of learning and to the real world.