Curriculum alignment and consistencyBuilding curriculum based vocabularies and learning trajectories.

Allard Strijker 2011-05-18

Edrene, Den Haag

Introduction

• SLO – Expertise center for Curriculum Design

This presentation

• For you– Ideas for

alignment– Approach for

consistency– Things to think

about– Possibilities tools– Current

developments

• From you– Suggestions– Related projects– Questions

Quality in Relevance

• Alignment– Curriculum framework– Learning objectives– Educational aims– Educational levels

• Consistency– Within Subjects and themes– Learning materials

• From publishers, Own material, Open domain

– Assessment

Education Trends in the Netherlands

• More attention for individual learners– More or less talented

• Teacher more in control– More attention for curriculum– Providing mix of learning materials from

• From publishers• Own material• Open material

• Change in finance Schoolbooks

Solutions

• Describe curriculum more specific– Learning Trajectories– Content specification (What should be

learned)

• Provide vocabularies– Terms– Relations

• Support content development• Support in searching learning materials

Dutch Curriculum

Years 4-12 12-15 15-18

Level Primary education

Lower Secondary education

Upper Secondary education exam

Objectives Core objectives Primary education (58)

Core objectivesSecondary education (58)

Secondary exam standards

Program structure Dutch curriculum

• subject-transcending themes (Human and Nature)– Subject (Geography)

• Core (Water)– Core objectives– Exam programmes– Common European Frame work

Core Core objectives Primary education

Core objectives Secondary education

Exam program Upper Secondary education

Water KD42 KD43 Domain E

Example

Subject Geography

Core Water

Core objectives Primary education

Children learn about the measures to be taken in Netherlands/were occupation of regions threatened by water.

Core objectives Secondary education

The student learns in own experiences and in their own environment to identify effects of choices in the field of work and care, living and recreation, consume and budgeting, traffic and environment.

Exam program Domain E: Environment

E1/SubdomainE1: National and regional issues:

•current issues of flooding and waterlogging in Netherlands.

Alignment European curriculum

• Subject-transcending themes (Language)– Subject (English)

• Core (Speaking)– Core objectives– Exam programmes– Common European Frame work

Core Core objectives Primary education

Core objectives Lower Secondary education

Exam program Upper Secondary education

Speaking KD6, KD7 KD12, KD14 Domain E

Speaking CEF A1 CEF B1 CEF C1

Subject structure

• subject-transcending themes (Human and Nature)– Subject (Geography)

• Core (Water)– Sub core

» Content» Level

» Intermediate goal

Geography cores

• Citizenship, multicultural society

• Sustainability• Population and

area• Rich and poor• Globalisation

• Borders and identity, Europe

• Weather and climate

• Forces of the Earth

• Sources of energy• Water

Geography sub cores Water

• Water Cycle • Water issue too much, too little, too dirty • Netherlands-Waterland• Water in the future

Geography (Lower Secondary Education)

• Water (Core)– Water in the future (Sub Core)

• Sustainable use of water (Content)– Understanding of sustainable water use and a

contribution in their own environment accordingly. (Intermediate objective)

• Water– Water in the future

• Issues around availability and price of water problems

– Assessing views water-related conflicts.

Le

arn

ing

Tra

jecto

ry

Learning Trajectories

Coreobjective

Intermediate objective

Intermediate objective

Intermediate objective

Intermediate objective

Materials and resources

Materials and resources

Materials and resources

ContentContent

Content

ContentContent

Inconsistency between subjects (Mapping)

• Subject specific – Terminology (Core, Task, Skill, Domain,

Concepts, Time periods, Keys) -> Mapped to Core

– Structure (2 levels, 3 level content description) -> Sub Core = Core

• Differences in didactics in subjects– Math and languages

• Competences, knowledge, tasks, skills

subjects / themes

Examination program

Core objectives

Intermediate objective

Content Educational level

Subject sub core

Subject core

Learning Trajectory

Learning objects

Possibilities Quality

• Relations with formal curriculum• Use of learning trajectories• Overview of curricula, coverage• Showing implicit relations between

learning materials• Show curriculum related items• Support in selection based on curriculum

Possibilities Relevance

• Repositories• Collections• Provide more specific search results• Improve searching, discovery• Improve content development• Tooling

Current challenges

• Stability of curriculum• Management

– Lifecycle– Versions– Keep consistency– Control complexity vocabularies– Number of items to maintain

Current challenges

• Adoption, implementation – Publishers, Collections, Tools

• Persistent relations• Vocabularies

– List of Items– Hierarchical lists– Multiple relations

Questions Suggestions

• a.strijker@slo.nl