“Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment to think about it.” A.A. Milne
Christina, Justin and I presented a curriculum conversation workshop recently. This post outlines one of the activities designed to allow busy teachers and leaders to take a breath, stop the bump bump bumping, and reflect on one aspect of their curriculum implementation.
What do the NZ Curriculum principles look like in our school?
Participants were provided this sheet of the NZC principles:
- Principles continuum (PDF, 46KB)
With the principles sheet in hand, participants viewed the following video from Sylvia Park School and identified where each of the principles were evident.
The next step was to look at the NZC principles and place them along the continuum for their own school or classroom context from slight shifts in learning and teaching practice through to significant shifts in learning and teaching practice.
Participants compared their own continuum with the table on page 14 of the recent ERO research report Directions for learning: The New Zealand Curriculum Principles, and teaching as inquiry May 2011
In the report, ERO provide the following suggestions for next steps for teachers and leaders:
- Review the extent to which each principle is represented in policies and plans and enacted in classrooms
- Read and discuss Ka Hikitia: Managing success for Māori Education Strategy
- Build deeper understanding of the process of inquiry
- Incorporate teaching as inquiry into performance management systems
Jane Nicholls
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