What is curriculum? It varies in different countries.
To me, curriculum is a binding cycle of Content(knowledge, skills and attitudes), Assessment of these intended content to be learnt and Pedagogy/ programes that allows the content to reach out to the pupils.
Assessment should be aligned to the content or intended learning outcome.
Through the process of talking to various Head of Departments, teachers and VP, I begin to have many doubts in my curriculum development work this year.....
1. all departments has documents from CPDD and SEAB. However, the learning outcomes that are listed in the SEAB's documents is not exactly aligned to the CPDD's. At the very least, some of the skills suggested by CPDD are not tested.
2. Most departments focus on the SEAB's learning outcomes as that is one of our core business; to help our pupils to pass with flying colours at O level exams. SOWs are crafted out based on the SEAB's documents. Hence the CPDD's document in these departments are often ignored.
3. C2015 and 21st century competencies will be the next wave of focus. They are not really something new. They are skills that many teachers knew are important and had subtly delivered in some lessons here and there. More conscious efforts needed to teach these skills on top of delivering content knowledge. Are our teachers up to it, within this few years? The delivery of content and the SEAB's learning outcome will remain as our key focus for the next few years to come as we need to get better O level results.
4. for the same skill, the assessment criteria is different for different subject. For example, the requirements in drawing of graphs in maths, physics and chemistry is different. The various subject teachers holds the expertise on how best to teach their subject, not me.
Seeing all the above factors, how can I value add to the school's curriculum to benefit the teachers and pupils? I was naive and ambitious with my intitial intention to audit school's set of skills that is actually being taught against the ideal set of skills based on the C2015 and 21st century competencies. To add on to the challenge, the skills set in C2015 and 21st century competencies are not clearly spelled out yet.
The last thing I want to see, is the hard work of my team members go to waste in the end as their work is not useful to the teachers and pupils.
I have come to this conclusion at this point. My team members and I will gather the ideal set of skills that comprise of the essential skills ( from the CPDD and SEAB documents) that will help them pass the O levels as well as some core skills derived from the 21st century competencies that we deem as very important.
Then we start to audit our school's set of skills actually taught against this ideal set.
I am impressed that you have such clarity of concept. And more importantly, sensitivity to the needs of your team. Over and above these, you also have the courage to face the brutal fact that curriculum is not delivered as it should be, and you are not discouraged.
ReplyDeleteAs we have discovered 3 years ago when we began our AfL journey, we realized that not many teachers, and thus leaders, are well versed with curricular work. Ours will be the mission to bring the leaders along this exploration to forge a clear understanding of curriculum. (even the definition of curriculum differs among the experts)
Your work to establish the fundamental 21st Century (life) skills (Intrnded learning outcomes) will pave the way for our teachers to be conscious in building these essential skills in our young generation. And further work (3 years I forsee) will lead us to be able to clearly give feedback on their progress in using these skills (Assessment). And your team's effort eventually to consolidate the teaching and practice of these skills (pedagogies) will bring these into reality.
You are on the right track on this exciting and daunting task ahead, rewarding probably only after 2-3 years. Press on with faith and courage ;)