Maryanne+Mills+Session

Kathe's notes from the session on Curriculum with Maryanne Mills
Maryanne Mills Curriculum 21.05.08

• Full time person to work on the development of the curriculum • Julia Atkin worked with us in MoE re – what are the values that are going to under pin the dev. of this curric • Everything we developed had to be open and easily accessed • In the 90’s was very controlled • We knew it was going to get messy • We would be out working with the sector • Within your clusters – what do you hold dear? • It is NOT a teaching document – it SETS the direction! • All kids must have access to the 8 learning areas • They must all have opps to work with the key competencies • It is a FRAMEWORK! • We (NZ) run a very high trust ethic • Schools have to flesh it out! (Framework) • Tchrs come down to the 3rd level and they have to make it real

NZ CURRICULUM VISION • Each school has to decide what this means in their school! • School vision MUST be clear – this will drive everything else you do – if you don ‘t have clarity around this – how will your tchrs know what they are doing and where they are going • Is your school vision a LIVING document????????? • Your SCHOOL VISION will DRIVE this!!! • Different routes to reach the same outcomes – YOU decide the route that this is going to take • Is the curric that you offer in your school aligned with the vision your school has for its students? • Does your curric support your vision? • Curric choices – WHO should be involved in what is in the school curric? • How do you engage your community? • Curric doesn’t tell you what your emphasis should be (tho’ Primary is Literacy and Numeracy) • What say do our students have in the process? • Choices we make allow the students to access things • Curric is about future learning needs!! • What is the spirit of this curric – flexibility: putting students at centre / clarity: what is too important to leave to chance? • Don’t fit things in…..get rid of some stuff! • P.34 – A critical page: The importance of Pedagogy: how students learn determines what they learn. Connecting life in school with wider needs of communities, society and employers. Participatory processes…. • What guides curric decision making? • Principles of NZ Curric – what do these mean? • Do we have reflective practitioners? • Are our students reflective learners? • Learning areas • Learning competencies AND Essential skills need to go hand in hand • What’s different?? • 1993 • 2007 • Competencies involved in answering the question………”In March of this year, if it was 11.00am – where on this map would night be? Time, seasons, geographical knowledge, hemispheres……….were needed to answer • Pgs 38 & 39 ‘School Curric’ • Life Long Learners - do we have a shared vision of what a life long learner is…… (add more here!) • NZ Curric Key competencies – thinking, using language-symbols and texts, managing self, relating to others, participating and contributing • It about conversation / connecting / creating space to have these conversations • Where to next? + What conversations do you need to have in your faculties / community /syndicates etc + Curric is being used as a ‘Change Management process’ / a vehicle for change + By Feb 2010………………don’t stop your journey however

• How do you know that any change you’re bringing about is RAISING student achievement????!!! • Any change must have a positive outcome

Secondary worry: students come in at varying levels………the assessment needs to match this??? Some want content-content-content!! + Exit assessment + Formative assessment + Y13 students will head out to………

Curriculum Review….

• Primary – multi skilled independent learners • Secondary – ‘Schools Plus’ ………..a redefining for the last 3 years of Sec schooling • Moving away from content driven progs to • Key competencies is about making chn employable / a successful and enriching life (However – parents and employers want something different?) • CONSULTATION is REALLY important • Adjust the reporting format to sec from Primary students so that we don’t have Sec tchrs saying ‘ these chn aren’t ready’!!!!! Sectors need to understand each other better and opportunities like today are invaluable in this. Secondary need to realize that primary have worked hard to enable learners but all have to work from where the students are at – no magic wand and not all will be able to achieve at the same level.

Key Competencies

• Ways of engaging people in the Key Competencies • You can’t just grab the minds of people – you have to have their hearts! • Grab something that will add to the spark of a session • 5 Key Competencies – watching students develop these…… • These are not separate or stand alone – altho’ some are highlighted at varying times • [|www.youtube.com] – BritainsGotTalent (the 2nd one is even better) • Use this clip re a discussion on Key Competencies - Relating to others – High? No! (Determination / Persistence was evident) - What does this mean for our students??? - Individualising curriculum (personalizing curriculum)