A Curriculum for Excellence… …at Langside Primary School

1. A Curriculum for Excellence……at Langside Primary School Presentation for Parents: November 2006

2. Design Principles for the Curriculum for Excellence • Challenge and enjoyment • Breadth • Progression • Depth • Personalisation and choice • Coherence • Relevance Scottish Executive

3. Ministerial responseTo achieve a curriculum 3-18 we will: De-clutter the primary curriculum Overhaul the curriculum S1-S3 Find news ways of recognising achievement S1-S3 Review relationship between S Grade/new NQs Introduce skills-for-work courses for 14-16 year-olds Review curriculum content, starting with science Much to be implemented from 2007 or before

4. Why do we need curricular reform?

5. Consider… ‘The world we live in is changing 4 times faster than our schools’ Alvin Toffler ‘Children currently in P1 will do jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that are not yet invented’

6. ‘..in times of change the learners will inherit the earth, while the knowers will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world which no longer exists.’ Eric Hoffer

7. ‘The world our children will inherit will differ dramatically from the world inwhich we grew up.’ ‘Yesterday’s solutions don’t solve today’s problems.’

8. Learners in the modern world... ‘To thrive in the 21st century, it is not enough to leave school with a clutch of examination certificates. You have to have learned how to be tenacious & resourceful, imaginative & logical, self-disciplined & self aware, collaborative & inquisitive.’ Guy Claxton, ‘Building Learning Power’

9. Curriculum for Excellence ‘The curriculum must develop & change so that it continues to meet the needs of our young people. There will be a continuing cycle of evaluation, refreshment & renewal, taking account of developments in technologies for learning and in our knowledge and understanding.’ Peter Peacock, Minister for Education & young People

10. De-cluttering the primary curriculumMinisterial response • Guidelines to provide right level of detail for teachers • Use purposes & principles to develop streamlined guidelines from 3-5 curriculum & 5-14 guidelines • Clear focus on purpose & outcomes of learning • Guidelines direct smooth transition in learning & teaching approaches - pre-school approaches e.g.learning through purposeful, well-planned play • Allow more flexibility & scope to provide rich & varied experiences • Assess only what needs to be assessed to support learning • Update, expand & improve the 3-18 science curriculum • Learning & teaching approaches and the importance of focused CPD

11. Moving forward -with a step change?

12. HOW schools can achieve the outcomes of A Curriculum for Excellence…

13. How do we begin? • Understand the goals of education • Understand how learners learn • Reflect and review: - what we teach - how we teach it • Open-mindedness (overcome ‘mindsets’) • Ensure continuing professional development of all staff

14. Understanding the goals…

15. Outcomes of ‘A Curriculum for Excellence’:

16. SUCCESSFUL Learners with.. • Enthusiasm & motivation for learning • Determination to reach high standards of achievement • Openness to new thinking & ideas

17. …and who are able to: • Use literacy, communication & numeracy skills • Use technology for learning • Think creatively & independently • Learn independently & as part of a group • Make reasoned evaluations • Link & apply different kinds of learning in new situations

18. CONFIDENT Individuals with.. • Self respect • A sense of physical, mental & emotional well-being • Secure values & beliefs • Ambition

19. ..and who are able to: • Relate to others & manage themselves • Pursue a healthy & active lifestyle • Be self aware • Develop & communicate their own beliefs & view of the world • Live as independently as they can • Assess risk & take informed decisions • Achieve success in different areas of activity

20. RESPONSIBLE Citizens with.. • Respect for others • Commitment to participate responsibly in political, economic & cultural life

21. ..and who are able to: • Develop knowledge & understanding of the world & Scotland’s place in it • Understand different beliefs & cultures • Make informed choices & decisions • Evaluate environmental, scientific & technological issues

22. EFFECTIVE contributors with.. • An enterprising attitude • Resilience • Self-reliance

23. ..and who able to: • Communicate in different ways & in different settings • Work in partnership and in teams • Take the initiative and lead • Apply critical thinking in new contexts • Create and develop • Solve problems

24. How useful is this for real life?

25. Consider..Employability skills (Careers Scotland ) • Getting on with people you don’t know • Expressing yourself well when speaking • Expressing yourself well when writing • Being a good timekeeper • Being able to work with numbers/figures • Listening to instructions • Being able to work computers • Being well organised • Being able to work with someone standing over you • Being able to work with others in a team or group • Not giving up when faced with problems • Coping with pressure • Able to stand up for yourself at the right time • Able to set targets for yourself • Being confident • Being polite • Being methodical & neat • Being good at sorting out difficulties • Able to show initiative • Being able to do things without being told to do them

26. Reflect: There is no tension between these employability skills and the skills our youngsters will need for everyday life!

27. A Curriculum for Excellence seeks to develop Active Citizenship in a Modern Scotland... …and its 4 outcomes require: • Knowledge and understanding • Skills • Abilities • Attributes

28. Knowledge & Understanding… • HOW to learn • Use of technology in learning • Self • Healthy lifestyles • The world & Scotland’s place in it • Other beliefs & cultures • Environmental issues • Citizenship

29. Skills… • Literacy • Numeracy • Inter-personal • Intra-personal • Communication • Thinking -creatively -independently -critically • Problem solving

30. Attitudes….. • Enthusiastic • Motivated • Respectful – to self ,others and the environment • Ambitious (aspirations) • Open-minded • Confident • Responsible • Enterprising

31. Abilities… • Team-working • Lifelong learners • Reflective • Active citizens • Value others • Achievement & attainment • Resilience • Self-reliance • Independent • Reliable

32. Understanding how learners learn..

33. Good Learning: We asked our children !

34. We also learned from leading research.. • Alistair Smith - accelerated learning • Tony Buzan - maximising your mind • David Perkins - thinking skills • Dylan Wiliam - formative assessment • Edward de Bono - thinking skill development • Shirley Clarke - formative assessment • Howard Gardner - multiple intelligences • Lev Vygotsky - collaborative learning • Norma Black - building confidence • Marty Seligman - positive psychology • Alistair McLean - motivation

35. Principles of Learning: Alistair Smith Learning… • Is about seeking & securing connections • Evolves through exploration, mimicry and rehearsal • Occurs when we scaffold high cognitive challenge & negotiate risk • Requires optimism about real learner goals • Occurs through the senses • Is socially constructed with language as its medium • Thrives on immediate performance feedback & space for reflection • Benefits from a view that intelligence is neither fixed nor inherited, but complex, modifiable and multiple

36. 9.Involves the active engagement of different memory systems 10. Requires rehearsal in a variety of situations 11. Learning should involve flexibility of time, social interaction, space & resource 12. There is a high degree of learner choice – informed by quality information – from the earliest 13. Meta-learning is given status & a focus throughout all learning experiences 14. Learning arises through engagement with authentic challenge & real issues 15. Learning utilises the prevailing technologies of the age 16. Learning occurs & is actively promoted across a supportive infrastructure 17. Assessment actively engages the learner, is at the point of need & is capable of being acted upon ALITE Alistair Smith

37. There are 5 ‘R’s for today’s learners.. • Responsible • Resilient • Resourceful • capable ofReasoning • Reflective Alistair Smith, ALITE www.alite.co.uk

38. Key change therefore… • Less direct input from the teacher • More active involvement of pupils in their own learning • More interactive discussion / analysis by children

39. Our action to date..

40. HOW we achieve the outcomes of A Curriculum for Excellence…

42. Cornerstones of successful practice… • Values for living • Positive, supportive learning environment and culture • Relevant, meaningful curriculum • Contextualised, interactive learning & teaching approaches • Primacy of formative assessment • 4 stage learning cycle lesson structure • Teach learning skills: HOW to learn • Sharing/negotiating the success criteria • Learning partners • Continuing professional development and learning of staff • Reflective practice of learners: self and peer evaluation • Learning through feedback • Enterprise • Developing thinking skills

43. Developing Langside as a Community of Learners & Thinkers…..our current priority

44. Achieving Success.. ‘If what happens in the classroom is primarily a product of the ways people think and interact, then methods that improve the quality of thinking and interaction can make everything else that goes on in the classroom more powerful.’ Peter Senge

45. Teachers are aiming to: • plan lessons which explore & promote learning • share learning goals • negotiate success criteria with pupils • plan questions which further learning • use strategies which maximise pupil thinking & articulation • model ideas by using real examples • make evaluation & analysis of these part of the lesson • use such assessments as models for pupils analysing their own attempts • focus feedback on success & improvement against learning objectives • give pupils ‘HOW TO’ feedback • build in time for pupil improvement as a result of feedback

46. Pupils would experience.. • self & peer evaluation • formative feedback • ‘talking partners’, ‘learning partners’ • making decisions & choices • confidence to question, challenge, seek help – DURING the lesson! • opportunity to think about & articulate ideas & opinions

47. Examples of Classroom strategies being used.. • Wait time • No hands up • Punctuate lessons with ‘Talking Partners’ • Travelling/carouselling • De Bono’s thinking hats • Powerful questions to challenge thinking

48. Enterprise in Education.. ..a continuing priorityat Langside

49. What is enterprise? ‘Industrious effort. An undertaking, especially of some scope, complication and risk.’

50. Enterprising Schools… ‘Show imagination, initiative and readiness to undertake new ventures.’ - Leadership & management - Learning & teaching approaches - Learners at all levels