Ministry of Education – Curriculum Redesign: FAQs 1September 2015

Curriculum Redesign:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is provincial curriculum?• TheBritishColumbiaprovincialcurriculumdefinesforteacherswhatstudentsare

expectedtoknowandbeabletodointheirgradeandareaoflearning.ItprovidesthelearningstandardsforstudentsinBCschools.

Why is BC’s curriculum changing?• Intoday’stechnology-enabledworld,studentshaveinstantaccesstoalimitless

amountofinformation.Forallstudents,thegreatvalueofeducationisinlearningtheskillstosuccessfullylocate,analyze,andapplytheinformationtheyneedintheirworkandpersonallivesaftertheygraduate.

• ExpertsfromBCandaroundtheworldadvisethatcurriculumshouldputmoreemphasisonconcepts,competencies,andprocesses.

• Theexistingcurriculumcanrestrictstudentlearningbecauseithassomanyobjectivestocover.ThehighlyprescriptivenatureoftheexistingcurriculumputsitatoddswiththevisionofamorepersonalizedlearningexperiencesetoutinBC’sEducationPlan.

How is curriculum changing?• Drawingonextensiveresearchandongoingconsultationswitheducatorsacrossthe

province,theMinistryofEducationisredesigningcurriculumtofitwiththemoderneducationsystemthatisneededfortoday’sworld.Thecurriculumredesignaimsto:

reducetheprescriptivenessoftheexistingcurriculumwhileensuringaconsistentfocusontheessentialelementsoflearning

allowteachersandstudentstheflexibilitytopersonalizethelearningexperiencetobettermatcheachstudent’sindividualstrengthsandneeds

balancethefoundationalskillsthatstudentsneedtolearnwiththe“bigideas”orconceptsthattheyneedtounderstandtosucceedintheireducationandtheirlives

• Curriculumisbeingdesignedtosupportdevelopmentofcriticalthinking,communicationskills,andpersonalandsocialcompetence.

September 20152 Ministry of Education – Curriculum Redesign: FAQs

What will be the same?• Therewillcontinuetoberigorouslearningstandardsineachareaoflearning.

• Therewillcontinuetobeanemphasisinallgradesonthefundamentalsofliteracyandnumeracy.SubjectssuchasMath,Science,LanguageArts,andSocialStudieswillremainattheheartofeverystudent’seducation.Butwiththeredesignedcurriculum,studentswillbeabletodevelopadeeperunderstandingofthosesubjectsandtheirfundamentalconcepts.

• Curriculumisnowandwillcontinuetobedesignedforthemajorityofstudents;classroomteacherswillcontinuetoadaptormodifystandardsforselectedstudentsasappropriate.

What will be different?• Allareasoflearningarebeingredesignedatthesametimeusingacommon

framework.

• Thestructureoftheredesignedcurriculumismoreflexibletoenableteacherstodevelopcross-curricularlearningexperiencesforstudentsandtakeadvantageofcurrenttopicsofinteresttostudents.

• Intheredesignedcurriculumframework,corecompetencies—suchascriticalthinking,communication,andsocialresponsibility—aremadeexplicit.

• EachareaoflearningfeaturesBigIdeasthatareimportantforstudentstounderstand.

• Thecurriculumisbalanced:itemphasizescorefoundationalskillswhilefocusingonhigher-levelconceptualunderstandings.

• Standardsremainrigorous;however,thenewlearningstandardsaremoreopeninnature,makingthemlessrigid,lessdetailed,andlessfocusedonminorfacts.

• Aboriginalperspectivesandcontenthavebeenauthenticallyintegratedintoeverysubject.

What are core competencies and how are they related to the curriculum?• Corecompetenciesareasetofintellectual,personalandsocialcompetenciesthat

studentsdevelopthroughthecourseoftheirschooling.

• Thecorecompetencyprofilesrepresentacontinuumofdevelopmentfromemergingtosophisticatedlevels.Whilethedevelopmentprocessinvolvedover300educatorsin20schooldistricts,theyareatanearlystageofdevelopment

• Thecompetencyprofilesandillustrationsareintendedasclassroomresourcesforteacherassessmentandstudentself-assessment.

Ministry of Education – Curriculum Redesign: FAQs 3September 2015

• Corecompetenciesareembeddedineachareaoflearningandareactivatedthroughstudents’learningexperiencesandactivities.

• Becausecorecompetenciesareembeddedinthestructureofthecurriculum,itisexpectedtheywillbecomeakeypartoffutureprovincialassessmentsandongoingassessment/reporting.Howtheywillbemadeexplicitinreportingandprovincialassessmentisstillunderdiscussionanddevelopment.

What are the benefits of the new curriculum?• Withtheredesignedcurriculum,studentswillhaveincreasedopportunitiestogain

theessentiallearningandlifeskillsnecessarytoliveandworksuccessfullyinacomplex,interconnected,andrapidlychangingworld.

• Studentswillfocusonacquiringskillsandcompetenciestohelpthemuseknowledgecriticallyandcreatively,tosolveproblemsethicallyandcollaboratively,andtomakethedecisionsnecessarytosucceedinourincreasinglyglobalizedworld.Theywillbemoreengagedintheirlearning,exploretheirpassions,andgainimportantemploymentskills.

What research supports these directions?• Trendsinnationalandinternationaljurisdictionshavebeenreviewedandauthorities

oncurriculumandassessmentdesignhavebeenconsulted.Transformationworkhasbeeninformedbyawidevarietyofresearchers,includingSirKenRobinson,LynnErickson,andGrantWiggins,andorganizationssuchasHarvard(ProjectZero)andtheOrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment.Manyhigh-achievingjurisdictionsaroundtheworld(e.g.,Singapore,Finland)aremakingsimilarshiftsintheircurriculum.

• BC’scurriculumredesignbuildsoncurrentchilddevelopmentandlearningtheoriesresearch.Consultations,research,andworldauthoritiesallindicatethatlearningisbestsupportedbyflexible,competency-driven,concept-based,andinclusivecurriculum.

• AspartoftheMinistryofEducation’sworkoncorecompetencies,severalresearcherswerecommissionedtosummarizetheliteratureincriticalthinking,creativethinking,andsocialandpersonalresponsibility.Referenceinformationconnectedtothisaspectoftheredesigneffortisavailableontheministry’swebsite.

Why is Aboriginal content being embedded in the curriculum and what does this look like?• Aboriginalperspectivesandknowledgeareapartofthehistoricalandcontemporary

foundationofBCandCanada.AnimportantgoalinintegratingAboriginalperspectivesintocurriculumistoensurethatalllearnershaveopportunitiestounderstandandrespecttheirownculturalheritageaswellasthatofothers.

September 20154 Ministry of Education – Curriculum Redesign: FAQs

• TheFirstPeoplesPrinciplesofLearningprovidedacruciallensfortheteacherteamswhendraftingcurricula,andallcurriculumteamsincludedAboriginalrepresentation.TheteamsputgreateffortintoembeddingAboriginalknowledgeandworldviewsinthecurriculuminauthentic,meaningfulways.

• ReferencestoAboriginalknowledgeandworldviewsarebothexplicitandimplicitintheredesignedcurriculaandareevidentintherationalestatements,goals,learningstandardsandinsomeoftheelaborations.

• Insomeareasoflearning,explicitAboriginalcontentisincluded(e.g.,informationaboutresidentialschoolsinSocialStudies;Aboriginalpeoples’usesofindigenousplantsandanimals,ortheirknowledgeoftheskyandlandscape,inScience).Inotherareas,thereareopportunitiestolearnaboutAboriginalpeopleinthelocalcommunity,forexample,orAboriginalliterature.

• FromKindergartentograduation,studentswillexperienceAboriginalperspectivesandunderstandingsasanintegratedpartofwhattheyarelearning.

Who was involved in the redesign of the curriculum?• BCteachers,academicexperts,andschooldistrictstaffhaveparticipateddirectly

intheredesignofprovincialcurriculum.TheBCTeachersFederation(BCTF)hasplayedasignificantroleinthiswork.TeachersfromtheFederationofIndependentSchoolsAssociationandtheFirstNationsSchoolsAssociationalsoparticipatedinthedevelopmentwork,aswellastheYukonDepartmentofEducationandYukonteachers.

• Manyparents,teachers,andindividualsandgroupsfromthepublicandindustryprovidedfeedbackonthenewK–9curriculum,usingtheministrywebsite,email,andothermethodsofcommunicationtoexpresstheirviewsandsuggestimprovements.

• Moredetailsonthecurriculumdevelopmentprocesscanbefoundatcurriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/pdf/curriculum_development_process.pdf.

What are the implementation timelines?• K–9curriculumisavailableforvoluntaryusebyteachersinthe2015/16school

year.Itwillbecometheofficialcurriculuminthe2016/17schoolyear.

• Grade10–12curriculumwillbeavailableforvoluntaryuseinthe2016/17schoolyear.Itwillbecometheofficialcurriculuminthe2017/18schoolyear.

Ministry of Education – Curriculum Redesign: FAQs 5September 2015

Will assessment, evaluation, and reporting be changing?• Assessmentandreportingmethodswillneedtoalignwithchangingemphasesin

curriculum,suchastheassessmentofcomplexthinkingskills.

• Throughconsultationwiththefield,theMinistryofEducationwillredesignassessmentandreporting(communicatingstudentlearning)requirementstoalignwiththeothertransformationeffortsunderwayinBC.Moreinformationwillbeforthcomingregardingtheseconsulationsduringthe2015/16schoolyear,withthegoalofhavingnewguidelinesandpoliciesinplacebythe2016/17schoolyear.

What materials or other resources will support the redesigned curriculum?• Instructionalexamplesandmaterialsdevelopedbyteacherswillbeaddedto

thewebsite.Instructionalexamplesmayincludeinstructionalandassessmentstrategies,demonstrationsoflearning,inquiries,andinterdisciplinaryideas.Websitelinkstoexistingkeyresourcematerialswillalsobeadded.

• TheBCTFTeachBCwebsitewillalsohostBCteachingresources.

When will changes to the graduation learning years be determined?• TheGrades10–12curriculumproposals,postedinAugust2015forreviewand

feedback,willformafirststeptowarddiscussionsofnewrequirementsforthegraduationlearningyears.ThedesignandstructureoftheGrades10–12curriculumwillbethesameasfortheK–9curriculum.

• TheAdvisoryGrouponProvincialAssessmentwillinformdirectionsforprovincialexaminations.

• Provincialexaminationswillberedesignedwiththechangingemphasesincurriculum.Developmentandpilotingwilloccuroverthenexttwoschoolyears.

• Changestocredentialing,reporting,transcripts,andotheraspectsofthegraduationlearningyearswillalsobedeterminedoverthenexttwoschoolyears.