concepts for curriculum design analysing a ‘new approach’ to the national curriculum national...

Concepts for curriculum designAnalysing a ‘new approach’ to the

National Curriculum National Association for Primary Education

Association for the Study of Primary EducationConference on ‘The Primary Curriculum’, February 27th 2013

Andrew Pollardreflectiveteaching.co.uk

Institute of Education, University of London Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol

‘The National Curriculum should set out only the essential knowledge and understanding that all children should acquire and leave teachers to decide how to teach this most effectively.’

•The legitimacy of over-aching aims and judgements of ‘essential knowledge and understanding’ has not been established•Core subjects are over-specified and embed pedagogic prescription•Other foundation subjects as a whole are incoherent in form and content•Breadth is sustained, but balance in knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes is lacking•Continuity from EY to KS1 is weak; progression and expectation are very bold

‘We want the National Curriculum to be a benchmark not a straitjacket, a body of knowledge against which achievement can be measured.’

•Inclusion (and differentiation) across the curriculum is required but will be difficult•Language, literacy and numeracy across the curriculum are required. Learning is absent.•Personalisation, connection and relevance rely on the School Curriculum•Pupil agency , including engagement, authenticity and feedback rely on the SC•Curricular coherence is weak, and must be built through the School Curriculum•Assessment requirements are unclear, but are likely to be very powerful•Systemic congruence of control factors is real. Can schools rise above the straitjacket?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: a ‘new approach’

HOW TO TACKLE THIS SUBJECT?Comparisons of: • Early Ministerial statements• Cambridge Primary Review recommendations• Rose Review curriculum• Expert Panel recommendations• Curricula within UK and internationally• Political party positions• Pressure group perspectives• Historical precedents• Disciplines of education• International research• International agency recommendations All good for critique …. but how also to seed improvement in DfE

and constructive responses through the School Curriculum?

STRUCTURE OF TALKA ‘new approach’ to the National Curriculum’?

Concepts for curricular design1. Breadth (aims, subjects and areas of learning)2. Balance (between knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes)3. Continuity, progression and expectation4. Personalisation (incl. connection, relevance, differentiation)5. Agency (incl. engagement, dialogue, authenticity and feedback)6. Coherence and congruence

Taking stock

What next?

Pollard, A. (2010)Professionalism and Pedagogy: a contemporary opportunity.London: TLRP GTCE.

CURRICULUM PEDAGOGY ASSESSMENT

Aims

Contexts

Processes

Outcomes

... drawing on ...

Curricular concepts

Pedagogic concepts

Assessmentconcepts

1. Society’s educational goals Breadth Principle Alignment

2. Elements of learning Balance Repertoire Validity

3. Community context Connection Warrant Dependability

4. Institutional context Coherence Culture Expectation

5. Processes for learners’ social needs

Personalisation Relationships Inclusion

6. Process for learners’ emotional needs

Relevance Engagement Authenticity

7. Processes for learners’ cognitive needs

Differentiation Dialogue Feed-back

8. Outcomes for continuous improvement in learning

Progression Reflection Development

9. Outcomes for certification and the lifecourse

Effectiveness Empowerment Consequence

WHY NATIONAL CURRICULA?

Aims and objectives for each stage of education can represent national aspirations, affirm pupil entitlements and clarify expectations.

Curriculum breadth and balance can be considered as a whole. Curriculum progression and continuity can be planned and monitored. Training and professional development programmes for teachers can be

tailored. Assessment and inspection systems can be used to reinforce intentions. Parents, employers and other stakeholders know what is being taught. Coherence, alignment and improvement of the system as a whole can be

developed though evaluation processes, research and refinement.

How should educational decisions be made?Education Reform Act, Section 4, Principal Provisions

(1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State .....(a) to establish a complete National Curriculum (taking first the core subjects and then the other foundation subjects); and (b) to revise that Curriculum whenever he considers it necessary ...

(2) The Secretary of State may by order specify ...(a) such attainment targets; (b) such programmes of study; and (c) such

assessment arrangements; as he considers appropriate ...

(3) An order made under subsection (2) above may not require—(a)that any particular period or periods of time should be allocated during any

key stage to the teaching of any programme of study or any matter, skill or process forming part of it; or

(b)that provision of any particular kind should be made in school timetables for the periods to be allocated to such teaching during any such stage.

1.8 We are clear that our school system is performing below its potential: our pupils, teachers and head teachers are capable of achieving more than the current structures allow them to.

1.9 It does not have to be like this. The best performing and fastest improving education systems in the world show us what is possible.

These systems consistently combine a rigorous focus on high standards with a determination to narrow attainment gaps between pupils from different parts of society.

They combine high levels of autonomy for teachers and schools with high levels ofaccountability: so that professionals both feel highly trusted to do what theybelieve is right and highly responsible for the progress of every child.

They ensure that every child and young person learns through a coherent and stretching approach to the curriculum.

A ‘new approach’ to the curriculumThe Importance of Teaching

4.1 It is our ambition to reduce unnecessary prescription, bureaucracy and centralcontrol throughout our education system.

That means taking a new approach towards the curriculum. At over 200 pages, the guidance on the National Curriculum is weighing teachers down and squeezing out room for innovation, creativity, deep learning and intellectual exploration.

4.2 The National Curriculum was never meant to be the whole school curriculum – the totality of what goes on in any school. It was explicitly meant to be limited in scope yet in practice has come to dominate.

The National Curriculum should set out only the essential knowledge and understanding that all children should acquire and leave teachers to decide how to teach this most effectively.

We want the National Curriculum to be a benchmark not a straitjacket, a body of knowledge against which achievement can be measured.

.

A ‘new approach’ to the curriculum

Academies and Free Schools will retain the freedom they have at the moment todepart from aspects of the National Curriculum where they consider itappropriate. But they will be required by law, like all schools, to teach a broad and balanced curriculum. And all state schools will be held accountable for theirperformance in tests and exams which reflect the National Curriculum.

The National Curriculum will act as a new benchmark for all schools.

It will be slim, clear and authoritative enough for all parents to see what their child might be expected to know at every stage in their school career.

A ‘new approach’ to the curriculum

Contrastive starting points

English, mathematics and science are the building blocks of education; improving our performance in these subjects will be essential if our country is to compete in the global economy. That is why they are central to the new National Curriculum.

(DfE consultation document, April 2013, para 1.8)

At the heart of the educational process lies the child.(Plowden Report, 1967, p7)

Enduring design dilemmasIn TLRP terms, a balance must be struck between two principles:

• Effective teaching and learning engages with valued forms of knowledge. Teaching and learning should engage with the big ideas, facts, processes, language and narratives of subjects so that learners understand what constitutes quality and standards in particular disciplines. (TLRP Principle 2)

• Effective teaching and learning recognises the importance of prior experience and learning. Teaching and learning should take account of what the learner knows already in order to plan their next steps. This includes building on prior learning but also taking account of the personal and cultural experiences of different groups of learners. (TLRP Principle 3)

Plowden understood the importance of combining knowledge and development

The child is the agent in his own learning. This was the message of the often quoted comment from the 1931 Hadow Report:

`The curriculum is to be thought of in terms of activity and experience rather than of knowledge to be acquired and facts to be stored'.

Read in isolation, the passage has sometimes been taken to imply ... that activity and experience did not lead to the acquisition of knowledge. ... The actual implication is almost the opposite of this. It is that activity and experience, both physical and mental, are often the best means of gaining knowledge and acquiring facts. ....

We certainly would not wish to undervalue knowledge and facts, but facts are best retained when they are used and understood, when right attitudes to learning are created, when children learn to learn. Instruction in many primary schools continues to bewilder children because it outruns their experience.

(Plowden Report, 1967, pp 193-7)

Design dilemmas

How should the value of coherence and progression in subject knowledge be compared with ….. the benefits of making connections to other dimension of children’s lives?

How can a national curriculum framework guarantee curricular

entitlements and guide the work of teachers ….. whilst also enabling them to exercise professional judgement when responding to particular learning needs?


Conceptual tools for curricular design1. Breadth (aims, subjects and areas of learning)2. Balance (between knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes)3. Continuity, progression and expectation4. Personalisation (incl. connection, relevance, differentiation)5. Agency (incl. engagement, dialogue, authenticity and feedback)6. Coherence and congruence

Taking stock

What next?

AIMS: WHY BREADTH? DOES THE CURRICULUM REPRESENT SOCIETY’S EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATIONS FOR ITS CITIZENS?

In England, Section 78 of the Education Act 2002 states that school curriculum should be ‘balanced and broadly based’ and should ‘promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and prepare pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.’

2. The school curriculum in England

2.1 Every state-funded school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which:

• promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and

• prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. (NC Consultation Framework, 2013)

Breadth is associated with high achievement.

INCA comparative international study documented curricular breadth among ‘high performing jurisdictions’ to age 16 (DfE, 2011)

‘Inspection reports in all parts of the UK have, for decades, testified that children are likely to achieve most progress in the core skills or literacy and numeracy if they learn in a rich, broad and balanced curriculum which provides them with stimulating content to talk, read and write about and to explore mathematically, scientifically, socially or creatively.’ (Expert Panel, 2011)

AIMS: WHY BREADTH?

The Cambridge Primary Review is unequivocal about the need to protect curriculum breadth.

This case is argued on the grounds of :

•educational entitlement - pupils in primary schools need a proper foundation for their learning both now and in the future and for later educational choice,

•educational standards – HMI and Ofsted inspection evidence consistently show that standards in the so-called ‘basics’ of literacy and numeracy are interdependent, and that narrowing the curriculum down in the hope of raising such standards is not only educationally unsound but also counterproductive.

It follows that reduction in the specified content of the national curriculum should be across the board rather than by cutting back what the CPR regards as essential domains of knowledge and understanding or downgrading their status.

While England’s best primary schools will always provide both breadth and excellence, an unacceptably large number will reduce the curriculum to what is required and/or tested. This is a key lesson of recent educational history.

(Alexander, 2011, submission to DfE for consultation)

AIMS: WHY BREADTH?

Two versions of ‘minimal entitlement’ appear to be on offer.

Minimalism 1 reduces entitlement to a handful of subjects deemed uniquely essential on the grounds of utility and international competitiveness.

Minimalism 2 foregrounds the educational imperative of breadth by making a wider range of subjects statutory. It strives to balance the different ways of knowing, understanding, investigating and making sense that are central to the needs of young children and to our culture, and achieves the required parsimony by stripping back the specified content of each subject to its essential core.

Robin Alexander, Guardian article (15.3.11)

AIMS: WHY BREADTH?

Historical study, international comparison and sectoral reviews suggest broad areas of intention such as:

• Social• Economic• Personal• Cultural• Environmental

Public debate needed

Without clarity on goals, it is not possible for a fully coherent and holistic curriculum to be offered or for appropriately aligned and congruent assessment practices to be developed.

(Expert Panel report, 2011)

AIMS: WHY BREADTH?

AIMS?

Aims in the National Curriculum proposals

No public debate on overall purposes. Why not?

3. Aims

3.1 The National Curriculum provides pupils with an introduction to the core knowledge that they need to be educated citizens. It introduces pupils to the best that has been thought and said; and helps engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.

3.2 The National Curriculum provides an outline of core knowledge around which teachers can develop exciting and stimulating lessons. (NC Consultation Framework, 2013)



Taking stock

What next?

WHY BALANCE? DOES THE CURRICULUM AS EXPERIENCED OFFER

EVERYTHING WHICH A LEARNER HAS A RIGHT TO EXPECT? Elements of learning (HMI, 1985)

Knowledge: Selections of that which is worth knowing and of interest. ‘That

which is taught should be worth knowing, comprehensible, capable of sustaining pupils’ interest and useful to them at their particular stage of development and in the future’.

Concepts: The ‘big ideas’ which inform a subject, or generalisations which

enable pupils to classify, organise and predict to understand patterns, ‑relationships and meanings, e.g. flow, change, consequence, temperature, refraction, power, energy.

Skills: The capacity or competence to perform a task, e.g. personal/social

(listening, collaborating, reflecting), physical/practical (running, writing, cutting), intellectual (observing, reasoning, imagining), communication (oracy, literacy, numeracy) etc.

Attitudes: The overt expression of values and personal qualities, e.g.

reliability, initiative, self-discipline, tolerance, resilience, resourcefulness, etc.

WHY BALANCE?

Why Knowledge as an element of learning?

Teachers with good subject knowledge are able to make more secure judgements about the appropriate teaching of knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes.

Content knowledge - knowledge of the subject held by the

teacher.Pedagogic content knowledge - knowledge of how to use

content knowledge for teaching purposes.Curricular knowledge - knowledge of curriculum structures and

materials

WHY BALANCE?

Knowledge in the National Curriculum proposals: NC proposals: Framework 3.1 The National Curriculum provides pupils

with an introduction to the core knowledge that they need to be educated citizens. It introduces pupils to the best that has been thought and said; and helps engender an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.

E. D. Hirsch: ‘core knowledge curriculum’

A specified sequence of topics in each subject which will enhance both educational standards and opportunities for all

WHY BALANCE?

Knowledge in the National Curriculum proposals:

Core subjects: • Very high knowledge content specifications, long and detailed• Progression based on perceived logics, experience of typical learning

sequences, and comparison with the ordering of knowledge in successful jurisdictions internationally

• Obscure authorship and uneasy relationships with subject specialists

Other foundation subjects:• High knowledge content specification, but very short and variable quality• Progression by key stage forsakes upper/lower KS2 opportunity• Variable in form and lacking common elements• Imbalanced emphases suggest significant stakeholder influence

WHY BALANCE?

Why Concepts as an element of learning? Concepts enable the most important ideas and deep structure of knowledge

and understanding in each subject to be presented in concise ways. This avoids long lists of curriculum content.

• Concepts as organisers – because they ‘provide a map of knowledge’ which establish connections between cases, facts and experiences and thus enable us to understand them.

• Concepts as anchorage points – in providing stability for exploration of the subject and enabling cumulative understanding by learners.

• Concepts for flexible futures – because the information explosion generates new facts at such a rate that it is futile to try to keep up.

WHY BALANCE?

Why Concepts as an element of learning? The Geographical Association proposed a curriculum for primary schools

based on ‘thinking geographically’. As they put it: A few large, organising concepts underlie a geographical way of investigating

and understanding the world. These are high level ideas that can be applied across the subject to identify a question, guide an investigation, organise information, suggest an explanation or assist decision making. They are the key ideas involved in framing the unique contribution of geography as a subject discipline.

The three main organising concepts for geography are place, space and environment. There are further basic ideas in geography that run across this overarching framework, such as connection, interrelation, scale and change.

Using these ideas carefully and accurately is a key component of what we mean by thinking geographically. (Geographical Association, 2012)

WHY BALANCE?

Concepts in the National Curriculum proposals:

Core subjects: Implicit in programmes of study, but not explicitly drawn out

Other foundation subjects:Mentioned in history, but missing from most subjects and

certainly not explicit

WHY BALANCE?

Why Skills as an element of learning? A skill is ‘the capacity or competence to perform a task’ - but

uses of the term include reference to: basic, physical, personal, study, subject and vocational skills.

Classic distinction from Gilbert Ryle:

• declarative knowledge – knowing that• procedural knowledge – knowing how

The point is that there are sets of capabilities which complement

and extend a subject-based curriculum. Skills may be specified for study across all curriculum subjects.

WHY BALANCE?Skills are recognised internationally:

It is probably no accident that Finland, Japan, Shanghai and Singapore are without physical resources. All of these places have known for a very long time that their standard of living depends entirely on the knowledge and skills of their people.

All now realize that high wages in the current global economy require not just superior knowledge of the subjects studied in school, but also a set of social skills, personal habits and dispositions and values that are essential to success. The Asian countries in particular are concerned that their students may not have as much capacity for independent thought, creativity and innovation as their countries will need.

Mark S Tucker (2011) Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: an American agenda for education reform

WHY BALANCE?

Skills in the National Curriculum proposals

5. Language, literacy and numeracy 5.1 Teachers should develop pupils’ spoken language, reading

and writing as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects.

5.2 Teachers should also use every relevant subject to develop pupils’ mathematical fluency. Confidence in numeracy and other mathematical skills is a precondition of success across the National Curriculum. (NC Consultation Framework, 2013)

WHY BALANCE?

Skills in the National Curriculum proposals:

Core subjects: Embedded in programmes of study, but not made explicit or

extracted on a cross-curricular basis except for language, literacy and numeracy

Other foundation subjects:Mentioned variably in relation to subject domains, but not

systematically or cross-curricular

Why Attitudes as an element of learning? Attitudes were regarded by HMI as ‘the overt expression, in a

variety of situations, of values and personal qualities’• Honesty, reliability, initiative, self-discipline and tolerance Other specific values and priorities reflect particular social,

cultural and economic priorities: • citizenship , health, exercise and diet, sustainability

WHY BALANCE?

Why Attitudes as an element of learning?

HMI also emphasised promotion of ‘positive attitudes (to learning) – now termed ‘dispositions to learn’:

• Resilience covers aspects of the learner’s emotional and experiential

engagement with the subject matter of learning.• Resourcefulness embraces the main cognitive skills and dispositions

of learning.• Reciprocity covers the social and interpersonal side of learning.• Reflectiveness covers the strategic and self-managing sides of

learning. (Claxton et al, 2011, p40)

WHY BALANCE?

Why Attitudes as an element of learning?

‘Learning how to learn’ (James et al, 2007) for the 21st century.

2020 Vision (Gilbert, 2007) aspired to ‘a new school experience’.

• personalisation• assessment for learning• learning how to learn• pupil voice• engaging parents and carers• pupil engagement in a meaningful curriculum

WHY BALANCE?

WHY BALANCE?

Attitudes in the National Curriculum proposals:

Core subjects: No mention

Other foundation subjects:No mention

A balanced curriculum? Knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes

versus‘Fewer things in greater depth’

results in

Effective narrowing, because of the combination of over-specification and high stakes reinforcement of core subjects, combined with under-specification and incoherence of other foundation subjects.

WHY BALANCE?



Taking stock

What next?

WHY CONTINUITY?DOES THE CURRICULUM FACILITATE AND SUPPORT

CUMULATIVE LEARNING?

Why continuity through the curriculum?

Children's development is a continuous process and schools have to provide conditions and experiences which sustain and encourage that process while recognising that it does not proceed uniformly or at an even pace.

There is a need to build systematically on the children's existing knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes, so as to ensure an orderly advance in their capabilities over a period of time.

(HMI, 1985)

WHY CONTINUITY?

Why continuity through the curriculum?

The main points at which progression is endangered by discontinuity are those at which pupils change schools. Curricular planning within and between schools should aim to ensure continuity by making the maximum use of earlier learning.

Continuity within and between schools may best be achieved when there are clear curricular policies. If the goals are clear, progress towards them is more likely to be maintained.

(HMI, 1985)

WHY CONTINUITY? EYFS

Area of learning Aspect

Personal, Social andEmotional Development

Self-confidence and self-awarenessManaging feelings and behaviourMaking relationships

Physical Development Moving and handlingHealth and self-care

Communication andLanguage

Listening and attentionUnderstandingSpeaking

Literacy ReadingWriting

Mathematics NumbersShape, space and measures

Expressive Arts and Design Exploring and using media and materialsBeing imaginative

Understanding the World People and communitiesThe worldTechnology

WHY CONTINUITY? EYFS

Learning characteristics. Children learn:

By playing and exploring● finding out and exploring● using what they know in their play● being willing to have a goThrough active learning● being involved and concentrating● keeping on trying● enjoying achieving what they set out to doBy creating and thinking critically● having their own ideas● using what they already know to learn new things● choosing ways to do things and finding new ways

WHY CONTINUITY?

Continuity in the National Curriculum proposals

English: Key Stage 1

During Year 1 teachers should build on work from the Foundation Stage, making sure that pupils can sound and blend unfamiliar printed words quickly and accurately using the phonic knowledge and skills that they have already learnt.

Teachers should also ensure that pupils continue to learn new grapheme-phoneme correspondences (GPCs) and revise and consolidate those learnt earlier.

WHY PROGRESSION?DOES THE CURRICULUM PROVIDE AN APPROPRIATE SEQUENCE AND DEPTH OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES?

1. Progression is linked to providing continuities in children’s development as learners.

Children’s development is a continuous process and schools have to provide conditions and experiences which sustain and encourage that process while recognising that it does not proceed uniformly or at an even pace. If this progression is to be maintained, there is a need to build systematically on the children’s existing knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes, so as to ensure an orderly advance in their capabilities over a period of time. (Her Majesty’s Inspectors, 1985, p 48)

This understanding of progression recognises variation, diversity and

uncertainty in learning and urges teachers to personalize the curriculum in relation to pupils’ existing knowledge.

WHY PROGRESSION?

2. Progression emphasises the sequencing of programmes of study to maintain the integrity and logic of subject knowledge.

For example, Hirsch’s Core Knowledge Curriculum, orders information to be learned in great detail - but leaves pedagogic implications for teachers to determine.

WHY PROGRESSION?

3. Progression in forms of learner thinking Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (1956) : • recall• comprehension• application• analysis• synthesis • evaluation

WHY PROGRESSION? Progression in the National Curriculum proposals

Core subjectsThe DfE harvested national curricula from around the world and built

up its programmes of study from a process of comparison, drafting and consultation about such knowledge – but opting for high outcomes

So the outcome offers progression and very high expectations, but is primarily justified in subject terms rather than in terms of the development of capacity to learn

Other foundation subjectsNo use of upper/lower key stage 2.Content descriptions with limited delineation of substantive

progression

INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT: WHY EXPECTATION?DO TEACHERS & SCHOOLS SUPPORT HIGH EXPECTATIONS

FOR STUDENTS AND ASPIRE FOR EXCELLENCE?

There is a tendency for teachers and pupils to interact together in comfort zones. Routinised teaching produces drift in pupil learning and, through this mutual accommodation, everyone gets through the day.

There is also a pattern in some staffroom cultures and in the

thinking of some teachers to perceive deficiencies in the children’s learning or even in the learners themselves and their backgrounds. Such low expectations become a barrier to learning and need to be challenged.

WHY EXPECTATION?

Expectations in the National Curriculum proposals

Core subjectsExplicitly high expectations set. Are they too high? Will they

self-generate ‘failure’?

Other foundation subjectsVariable expectations set. Are they too vague and incoherent?

Will they seem banal and dull the imagination?



Taking stock

What next?

PROCESSES FOR SOCIAL NEEDS: WHY PERSONALISATION?DOES THE CURRICULUM RESONATE WITH THE SOCIAL AND

CULTURAL NEEDS OF DIVERSE LEARNERS?‘Personalisation’ is a relatively new educational concept which

reflects both cumulative international understanding about learning and contemporary commitment to reducing inequalities in outcomes.

Whilst echoing the cognitive issues associated with differentiation, it extends and broadens these to also embrace the social, emotional and motivational dimensions of learning.

WHY PERSONALISATION?

2020 Vision (Gilbert, 2006) drew on a US research review (Bransford et al, 2000) to declare that:

Personalising learning is learner-centred and knowledge-centred :Close attention is paid to learners’ knowledge, skills, understanding

and attitudes. Learning is connected to what they already know (including from outside the classroom). Teaching enthuses pupils and engages their interest in learning.

...and it is assessment-centred:Assessment supports learning: learners monitor their progress and,

with their teachers, identify their next steps. Techniques such as open questioning, sharing learning objectives and success criteria, and focused marking have a powerful effect on the extent to which learners are enabled to take an active role in their learning.

WHY PERSONALISATION?

Personalisation in the National Curriculum proposals

The new curriculum proposals make no explicit mention of the value of personalisation

The concept of the School Curriculum, if time is available, and the idea of teacher-determined pedagogies could allow for personalised provision to be made

CONTEXT: WHY CONNECTION? DOES THE CURRICULUM DRAW ON THE FUNDS-OF-KNOWLEDGE OF FAMILIES AND THE COMMUNITY?

The concept of ‘connection’ draws attention to the extent to which curricular experiences are contextually meaningful to pupils.

For some, the school curriculum fails to make connections with other parts of their lives.

Disengagement is disproportionately concentrated among children from poorer backgrounds.

CPR, RSA and EP all suggest making provision for locally based curricula.

WHY CONNECTION?

Connection in the National Curriculum proposals

The new curriculum proposals make no explicit mention of the value of connection, other than in relation to the provision of information to parents on curriculum and performance.

The concept of the School Curriculum, if time is available, and the idea of teacher-determined pedagogies could allow for the development of local, community connections.

PROCESSES FOR AFFECTIVE NEEDS: WHY RELEVANCE?IS THE CURRICULUM PRESENTED IN WAYS WHICH ARE

MEANINGFUL TO LEARNERS?

There is little doubt that children and young people learn most effectively when they understand the purposes and context of the tasks and challenges with which they are faced. When a pupil complains that an activity is ‘pointless', is ‘boring' or that they ‘don't see what it's for', then the curriculum is failing to satisfy the criterion of relevance.

A key consideration here is the value of incorporating practical

activities and first hand experience into the teaching ‑programme through schemes of work.

WHY RELEVANCE?

Relevance in the National Curriculum proposals

The new curriculum proposals make no explicit mention of the value of relevance

The concept of the School Curriculum, if time is available, and the idea of teacher-determined pedagogies could allow for relevance to be considered in provision

WHY DIFFERENTIATION?ARE CURRICULUM TASKS AND ACTIVITIES STRUCTURED TO

MATCH THE INTELLECTUAL NEEDS OF LEARNERS?

Differentiation highlights the cognitive demands which a curriculum or an activity make of the learner.

‘If I had to reduce the whole of educational psychology to just one principle, I would say this: ‘The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly’.

(Ausubel, 1968, p. vi)

WHY DIFFERENTIATION?

Judgements about progression and depth of cognitive challenge in tasks are probably the most important that a teacher makes.

We have come to the conclusion, that the design of instructional and assessment tasks is the fundamental determinant of the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom (Hogan, 2012, p103)

Our key point is that it is the intellectual demands embedded in classroom tasks that influence the degree of student engagement and learning (Newmann, Bryk and Nagaok, 2001, p31)

Powerful and accomplished teachers are those who focus on students’ cognitive engagement with the content of what it is that is being taught ….. (Hattie, 2012, p 19)

WHY DIFFERENTIATION?Differentiation in the National Curriculum proposals

4. Inclusion Setting suitable challenges 4.1 Teachers should set high expectations for every pupil. They

should plan stretching work for pupils whose attainment is significantly above the expected standard. They have an even greater obligation to plan lessons for pupils who have low levels of prior attainment or come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Teachers should use appropriate assessment to set targets which are deliberately ambitious.

(NC Consultation Framework, 2013)

But, if the pitch is too high, mass, artificial, ‘failure’ will be created.Will there be sufficient flexibility in year-by-year schemes of work to

respond flexibly to specific learner needs, or will the programme of study simply roll on?

WHY DIFFERENTIATION?

Three themes of contemporary inclusive pedagogy: Shifting the focus away from particular learners, identified as

having ‘special’ or ‘additional’ needs, towards the learning of all children and young people in the class

Rejecting deterministic beliefs about ability as being fixed and the associated idea that the presence of some will hold back the progress of others

Seeing difficulties in learning as professional challenges for teachers, rather than deficits in learners

WHY DIFFERENTIATION?Differentiation in the National Curriculum proposals

4. Inclusion Responding to pupils’ needs and overcoming potential barriers

for individuals and groups of pupils 4.2 Teachers should take account of their duties under equal

opportunities legislation that covers disability, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, gender identity, and religion or belief.

4.3 A wide range of pupils have special educational needs, many of whom also have disabilities. Lessons should be planned to ensure that there are no barriers to every pupil achieving.

(NC Consultation Framework, 2013)

But will achievement of inclusion be facilitated by a highly specified, traditional and knowledge-driven curriculum, or may it reinforce exclusion?



Taking stock

What next?

CLASSROOM PROCESSES: WHY AGENCY?DOES THE CURRICULUM PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES

FOR LEARNERS TO TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THEIR LEARNING?

From accumulated international research, it is clear that learning is enhanced when pupils are active participants in learning processes.

Global drivers increasingly bring to the fore what some call “21st

century competences”. The quantity and quality of learning thus become central, with the accompanying concern that traditional educational approaches are insufficient.

Learners are recognised as core participants. Active engagement in

developing understanding of their own activity as learners is encouraged.

There is clarity of expectations and consistent assessment strategies, including strong emphasis on formative feedback to support learning.

(OECD, 2011)

WHY PUPIL AGENCY?

Curricular and pedagogic provision should enable: Engagement: do our teaching strategies, classroom organisation

and consultation enable learners to actively participate in and enjoy their learning?

Dialogue: does teacher-learner talk scaffold understanding to

build on existing knowledge and to strengthen dispositions to learn?

WHY PUPIL AGENCY?

Pupil engagement and dialogic teaching in the National Curriculum proposals

The new curriculum proposals appear to make just one explicit mention of pupil engagement (in science), though there are many opportunities in the ‘notes and guidance’.

The new curriculum proposals nominally encourage speaking across the curriculum, but the activity is not thoroughly embedded with explication of progression. Speaking and Listening has been removed from the English PoS.

WHY PUPIL AGENCY?

Assessment provision should enable: Authenticity: do learners recognise routine processes of

assessment and feedback as being of personal value? Feeding-back: is there a routine flow of constructive, specific,

diagnostic feed-back from teacher to learners?

WHY PUPIL AGENCY?

Pupil agency in the National Curriculum proposals

The new curriculum proposals make no explicit mention of the value of authenticity in the provision of personally meaningful feedback to learners about their learning

The non-statutory ‘Notes and Guidance’ within new curriculum proposals suggest sequences of pupil activity, and thus stray into the pedagogic, but do not promote the systematic provision of explicit feedback to learners.



Taking stock

What next?

WHY COHERENCE?IS THERE CLARITY IN THE PURPOSES, CONTENT AND ORGANISATION OF THE CURRICULUM AND DOES IT

PROVIDE HOLISTIC LEARNING EXPERIENCES?

Coherence refers to the extent to which the various parts of a planned curriculum relate meaningfully together to reinforce the knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes being learned. The opposite would be fragmentation.

People tend to enjoy learning more when they understand it as a

whole. They feel more in control and are more willing to think independently and take risks. On the other hand, perceptions of incoherence can lead to feelings of frustration and to strategies such as withdrawal.

WHY COHERENCE?

Coherence in the National Curriculum proposals

It is not apparent that any thought whatsoever has been given to this issue, beyond the parameters of each core subject.

This reflects the reliance on subject authors and subject consultation processes, with a consistent failure to engage in a serious way with phase specialists to tackle cross-curricular issues and to advise on loadings and inter-connections across the curriculum.

WHY CONGRUENCE?ARE FORMS OF ASSESSMENT ALIGNED WITH OVERALL

EDUCATIONAL INTENTIONS?

At the SYSTEM LEVEL we may expect alignment between:

• educational aims and purposes• forms of summative assessment and measurement of

performance• school inspection

Assessment and accountability tend to be focused on core objectives, but should be carefully designed to avoid distorting broader educational purposes.

Aims of the new National Curriculum

Every state-funded school must offer a curriculum which is balanced and broadly based and which:

• promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and

• prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life. (NC Consultation Framework, 2013)

English, mathematics and science are the building blocks of education; improving our performance in these subjects will be essential if our country is to compete in the global economy. That is why they are central to the new National Curriculum.

(NC consultation document, 2013)

2013–15 English grammar, punctuation and spelling test framework

In July 2012, in response to Lord Bew’s independent review of Key Stage 2 assessment1, the Government announced that a new statutory English grammar, punctuation and spelling test (hereafter known as ‘the test’) for all children in Year 6 would be introduced during the 2012-13 academic year.

The test will only include questions that assess elements of the current National Curriculum in English.

The domain will include items that measure:

• sentence grammar (through identification and grammatical accuracy);

• punctuation (through identification and grammatical accuracy);• vocabulary (through grammatical accuracy) and• spelling.

A sample test in English: spelling

Listen carefully to the instructions I am going to give you.

I am going to read twenty sentences to you. Each sentence has a word missing in your answer

booklet. You should listen carefully to the missing word and

fill this in, making sure you spell it correctly.I will read the word, then the word within a

sentence, then repeat the word a third time.Do you have any questions?

A sample test in English: spelling

Spelling one: the word is dinner.We sat at the table to eat our dinner .The word is dinner.

Spelling two: the word is following.The ducklings walked in a line, following their

mother.The word is following.

Consultation document

7.6 Approaches to the assessment of pupils’ progress and recognising the achievements of all pupils at primary school will be explored more fully within the primary assessment and accountability consultation which will be issued shortly.

For interesting speculation, check out: ‘giftedphoenix’ on ‘whither National Curriculum assessment without levels’

Framework for Inspection of Schools, January 2013

Inspectors are required to report on the quality of education provided in the school and must, in particular, cover:

• the achievement of pupils at the school• the quality of teaching in the school • the behaviour and safety of pupils at the school • the quality of leadership in, and management of, the school.

When reporting, inspectors must also consider:• the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils at the

school• the extent to which the education provided by the school meets the needs

of the range of pupils at the school, and in particular the needs of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.

Quality of teaching in the schoolThe most important purpose of teaching is to raise pupils’

achievement. Inspectors consider the planning and implementation of learning activities across the whole of the school’s curriculum, together with teachers’ marking, assessment and feedback to pupils.

They evaluate activities both within and outside the classroom.

They also evaluate teachers’ support and intervention strategies and the impact that teaching has on the promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.


Quality of leadership in, and management of, the school

Inspectors will consider the extent to which leaders and managers: provide a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils, enables all pupils to achieve their full educational potential and make progress in their learning, and promotes their good behaviour and safety and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development


At the CLASSROOM LEVEL, we might expect assessment processes to generate formative information, support the use of ‘assessment for learning’ and make learning ‘visible’.

• Clear learning intentions enable children to understand and

identify with the purposes underlying activities.

• Clear success criteria, shared with pupils, help them to clarify the learning challenge and what it will look and feel like when they have accomplished it.

WHY CONGRUENCE?ARE FORMS OF ASSESSMENT ALIGNED WITH OVERALL

EDUCATIONAL INTENTIONS?

Congruence in the National Curriculum proposals

Attainment targets By the end of each key stage, pupils are expected to

know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the relevant programme of study.

NC adoption of PoS + non-statutory notes and guidanceEP recommendation of PoS + specific attainments

expected

WHY CONGRUENCE?

At the SYSTEM LEVEL, pupil experience could narrow because of:• Over specification of the core and overall curriculum imbalance• High-stakes end of KS2 testing of the core curriculum• An inspection framework with only oblique reference to curriculum quality per se

At the CLASSROOM LEVEL, learning opportunities and parental support may be gained by:• Removal of ‘levels’ to enable a direct focus on learning itself

At the CLASSROOM LEVEL, pupil learning opportunities may be lost because of:• Failure to distinguish PoS and ‘essential learning outcomes’.

WHY CONGRUENCE?

The key features of Singapore’s performative pedagogy include a determined focus on curriculum coverage, knowledge transmission and exam preparation for national high stakes assessments; a strong inclination for teachers to ‘teach to the test’; fidelity of task implementation to task design; pragmatic, fit-for-purpose instructional choices that are largely indifferent to theoretical background but generally focus on techniques drawn from direct instruction and traditional instruction (worksheets, textbooks, drill and practice); a pervasive and authoritative ability discourse; a preponderance of closed questions, limited exchanges and performative talk during lessons.

(Hogan et al, 2013)



Taking stock

What next?

TAKING STOCKKNOWLEDGE, DEVELOPMENT AND CURRICULUM

The educational role of curricular provision relates to three basic, enduring considerations:

• the nature of knowledge,• the needs of learners, and crucially, • the interactions between them.

The elements are not, however, equally significant at every age. In particular, developmental aspects and basic skills are more crucial for young children, while appropriate understanding of more differentiated subject knowledge, concepts and skills becomes more important for older pupils.

TAKING STOCKKNOWLEDGE, DEVELOPMENT AND CURRICULUM

SOCIETY

KNOWLEDGE

DEVELOPMENT

INDIVIDUALS

Experience

CURRICULUM

‘The National Curriculum should set out only the essential knowledge and understanding that all children should acquire and leave teachers to decide how to teach this most effectively.’

•The legitimacy of over-aching aims and judgements of ‘essential knowledge and understanding’ has not been established•Core subjects are over-specified and embed pedagogic prescription•Other foundation subjects as a whole are incoherent in form and content•Breadth is sustained, but balance in knowledge, concepts, skills and attitudes is lacking•Continuity from EY to KS1 is weak; progression and expectation are very bold

‘We want the National Curriculum to be a benchmark not a straitjacket, a body of knowledge against which achievement can be measured.’

•Inclusion (and differentiation) across the curriculum is required but will be difficult•Language, literacy and numeracy across the curriculum are required. Learning is absent.•Personalisation, connection and relevance rely on the School Curriculum•Pupil agency , including engagement, authenticity and feedback rely on the SC•Curricular coherence is weak, and must be built through the School Curriculum•Assessment requirements are unclear, but are likely to be very powerful•Systemic congruence of control factors is real. Can schools rise above the straitjacket?

TAKING STOCK: a ‘new approach’

WHAT NEXT? CONTEXTS OF POLICY MAKINGWe envisage three primary policy contexts, each context

consisting of a number of arenas of action, some public, some private:

• the context of influence• the context of text production• the context of practice

The policy process is one of complexity, it is one of policy-making and remaking. It is often difficult, if not impossible to control or predict the effects of policy, or indeed to be clear about what those effects are, what they mean, when they happen.

The meanings of texts are rarely unequivocal. Novel or creative readings can sometimes bring their own rewards.

(Bowe, Ball, Gold, 1992)

Scope and coverage of the consultation

4.1 This consultation covers the Government’s proposals relating to the following elements of the framework for the National Curriculum in England:

• proposed aims for the new National Curriculum • changes to the programmes of study and attainment targets for all

subjects and key stages (except English, mathematics and science at Key Stage 4)

• a proposal to replace the ICT programmes of study with new computing programmes of study

• the equalities impact of the reforms • issues relating to the implementation of the new National Curriculum • the disapplication of aspects of the current National Curriculum

Consultation questions

Question 1: Do you have any comments on the proposed aims for the National Curriculum as a whole as set out in the framework document?

Question 2: Do you agree that instead of detailed subject-level aims we should free teachers to shape their own curriculum aims based on the content in the programmes of study?

Question 3: Do you have any comments on the content set out in the draft programmes of study?

Question 4: Does the content set out in the draft programmes of study represent a sufficiently ambitious level of challenge for pupils at each key stage?

Question 5: Do you have any comments on the proposed wording of the attainment targets?

Question 6: Do you agree that the draft programmes of study provide for effective progression between the key stages?

Consultation questionsQuestion 7: Do you agree that we should change the subject information

and communication technology to computing, to reflect the content of the new programmes of study for this subject?

Question 8: Does the new National Curriculum embody an expectation of higher standards for all children?

Question 9: What impact - either positive or negative - will our proposals have on the 'protected characteristic' groups?

Question 10: To what extent will the new National Curriculum make clear to parents what their children should be learning at each stage of their education?

Question 11: What key factors will affect schools’ ability to implement the new National Curriculum successfully from September 2014?

Question 12: Who is best placed to support schools and/or develop resources that schools will need to teach the new National Curriculum?

Question 13: Do you agree that we should amend the legislation to disapply the National Curriculum programmes of study, attainment targets and statutory assessment arrangements, as set out in section 12 of the consultation document?

Possible goals in consultationDevelop aims – to introduce statements on

promoting positive attitudes to learning Strengthen breadth – by improving coherence,

structure and rigour of other foundation subjectsChallenge the pitch and level of expectations – in

collaboration with subject associations Object to consultation without information on end

of Key Stage assessment proposals Challenge rhetoric of ‘professional freedom’ and

reality of mistrust and control

concepts for curriculum design analysing a ‘new approach’ to the national curriculum national...

Documents

primary curriculum

curriculum design

school curriculum pupil

new approach slide

primary education association

university of bristol

institute of education

body of knowledge