BC Renewed Curriculum and Competencies

March 8, 2014

21st Century Learning

A child born today will graduate from high school into a world very different from today.

By 2017 simply knowing facts will have little value.

Education will need to equip learners to think creatively, independently, rigorously, and collaboratively in full awareness of themselves and their social context.

21st Century Learning

1/3 of today’s children never begin high school and many who do, drop out

many who finish are disengaged in learning

enormous loss of human potential and a huge economic cost to society

In order for high school graduates to reach their full potential in life,

they need to be: lifelong learners who can identify and

synthesize the right knowledge to address a wide range of challenges in a complex, uncertain world

literate, numerate, and articulate creative, critical thinkers able to collaborate effectively with others,

especially those of different abilities and backgrounds

open to failure as an essential part of progress

In order for high school graduates to reach their full potential in life, they

need to be: adaptable and resilient in the face of

adversity aware of the society they live in and able to

understand the different perspectives of others

self-aware and cognizant of their own strengths and limitations

entrepreneurial, self-motivated, and eager to tackle the challenges and opportunities of their world

GOOGLE: http://nyti.ms/1jTJavh

Laszlo Bock, the senior vice president of people operations for Google —noted that Google had determined that “G.P.A.’s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless. ... We found that they don’t predict anything.”

“In the 21st century, The world only cares about what you can do with what you know (and it doesn’t care how you learned it). And in an age when innovation is increasingly a group endeavor, it also cares about a lot of soft skills — leadership, humility, collaboration, adaptability and loving to learn and re-learn.”

Curriculum Assessment GraduationRequirements

CommunicatingStudent Learning

Trades/Skills Reading StudentSupports

AboriginalEducation

CompetenciesEducatedCitizen

Curriculum Assessment GraduationRequirements

CompetenciesEducatedCitizen

CommunicatingStudent Learning

Trades/Skills Reading StudentSupports

AboriginalEducation

3 pillars support the development of theBC Educated Citizen

3 PILLARS THAT SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EDUCATED CITIZEN IN BC

DEFINITIONS

Literacy and Numeracy Foundations grade level expectations for required skills in reading; writing; and numeracy

expressed in the Performance Standards

Understanding of rich content prescribed learning standards for concepts and content in curriculum (areas of learning)

expressed in the curriculum

Core Competencies broad areas of development: thinking; communication; personal & social development

expressed in the competency profiles

 

Curriculum: Key elements

Core Competencies: sets of intellectual, personal, and social and emotional proficiencies that all students need to develop in order to engage in deeper learning.

Big Ideas: a statement that is important to one’s understanding in an area of learning. A big idea is broad and abstract … generally timeless and is transferable to other situations.

Curricular Competencies: explicit statements of what students are expected to be able to do in a given grade and area of learning.

Content and Concepts: what students should know and understand in a given area of learning at a particular grade level. They define the core knowledge (facts and concepts) essential to the development of big ideas for that area of learning in that grade.

Draft Curriculum

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/draft-curriculum

Drafts available for review:English language ArtsMathematicsScienceSocial StudiesArts

Posted at: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/transforming_curriculum.php

Enabling Innovations: Transforming Curriculum and AssessmentExploring Curriculum DesignDefining Cross-Curricular Competencies

Background Papers

Core Competencies

Communication

ThinkingCritical thinkingCreative Thinking

Personal and Social CompetencePositive personal and cultural identityPersonal awareness and responsibilitySocial awareness and responsibility

Who’s involved?

Development team: Horizon Research – Sharon Jeroski; Anita Chapman; Jo Chrona; Kathleen Gregory

Learning Division: Rod Allen; Nancy Walt; Jiemei Li; Maureen Dockendorf

Communication: Prince George; Comox Valley; Coquitlam

Identity: Prince Rupert; Penticton; SurreyCreative Thinking: Shuswap; Richmond; VictoriaCritical Thinking: Burnaby; Delta; Sooke6 additional districts to be added for Personal and

Social

Fieldwork

elaborated and refined definitions

grounded the work within the BC context, connecting competencies to the lived experiences of students, teachers and communities

created profiles and illustrations to make the competencies “real” and accessible

identified key issues and changes

Authenticity

grounded in current BC classrooms

illustrations “observed” in ordinary, amazing classrooms not “created” as showpieces

authentic profiles – the number of profiles reflects what we/teachers observed; the descriptions describe work that exists

Inclusion

commitment to inclusion

competencies are for everyone – therefore ALL students have “profiles”

inclusive descriptions and illustrations

Critical components in development

Three interrelated sources:Feedback from the Aboriginal

scholars, knowledge-keepersResearch presented in Defining Cross-

curricular competencies

Field work in 9 districts to date (work in 9 additional sites in progress/to come)

BC Core CompetenciesCHARACTERISTICS

INCLUSIVE: every student has a profile

CROSS-CURRICULAR: evident in all curricular areas

STRENGTH-BASED: each competency continuum emphasis the concept of expanding and growing

 STUDENT-CENTERED: based on actual samples from BC

students and grounded in “I” statements

DESCRIPTIVE AND PROGRESSIVE: profiles of progression from early childhood through adult expertise

Elements of the Competencies

Overview of the competence and its facets

Series of Profiles

Illustrations from BC classrooms for each profile

Profiles

emphasize that the work is descriptive, not evaluative

talk about “profiles” – all of which are expressed in positive terms

student would identify which profile best describes their current work and accomplishments

Essence of the Competency Profiles

shifted away from talking about reporting to talking about how the competency work can bring us together and focus to student

the place where we see past, present and future for every student

the “educated citizen” beginning in pre-school

Profiles and illustrations

focus on “illustrating” rather than exemplifying

each piece of work is an “illustration” of what you might observe, not an exemplar that we try to “match”

allows us to incorporate a greater variety and range of student work – each piece just does what it does

Sample Profile: Com 3

In familiar situations, with some support or guidance, I communicate with peers and adults.  I understand and share basic information about topics that are important to me, and participate in conversations for a variety of purposes (e.g., to connect, help, be friendly, learn/share.) I listen and respond to others. I can work with others to achieve a short-term, concrete goal; I do my share. I can recount simple experiences and activities, and tell something I learned.

Example of Illustrations

Communication: Profile 3 illustrations include:

Pink Pig (show and tell) -- videoBoys making hockey rink -- photographsCar mat to movie theatre -- photographs Hand print turkeys -- videoRetelling Little Red Riding Hood -- videoMath problem solving in group -- photographsCollab Inquiry: Force and motion – work

samples

Communication Competence

begins within families

is expanded and enhanced at every level of schooling

continues to develop in personal, social, educational, and workplace contexts

moves from basic or highly supported communication, to increasingly complex, sophisticated and independent

Communication Facets

Communication Profiles describe and illustrate this development, focusing on four interrelated facets:

connect and engage with others acquire, interpret and present information collaborate explain/recount and reflect on experiences and

accomplishments

the facets are integrated and embedded into the profile descriptions

Communication Profile 5

I communicate clearly, in an organized way, using a variety of forms appropriately.

 I acquire the information I need for school tasks and for

my own interests, and present it clearly. In discussions and collaborative activities, I am an engaged listener; I ask clarifying and extending questions. I share my ideas and try to connect them with others’. I contribute to planning and adjusting a plan, and help to solve conflicts or challenges. I am able to represent my learning, and connect it to my experiences and efforts; I give and receive constructive feedback.

Persistence Video

Context In Health and Career Education students have been using Art Costa’s ‘Habits of Mind’ to help identify and use common language around expected behavior in their learning community. As described by Costa “Habits of Mind is knowing how to behave intelligently when you DON'T know the answer. It means having a disposition toward behaving intelligently when confronted with problems, the answers to which are not immediately known.”  One of the habits of mind the class is focusing on is persisting. In this video, a young boy explains what he has learned about persistence and what it means to him. Facets illustrated Acquire, interpret, presentExplain, recount, reflect

Children’s story (PPT)

Context Students wrote a children’s story for their to their Kindergarten buddy class. They had to consider plot, characters, setting, as well as presentation. They were able to demonstrate their digital skills as well as their skills in creating a story. Before creating the stories, students talked about their audience: What would a kindergarten child like to see? How can you engage them?  In this example, the students worked hard to make the Power Point “young child friendly.” They used simple words and bright, friendly cartoons.

Math Video

ContextThis project was assigned at the end of patterning unit in mathematics: You have been hired by the Kan Academy to create a new YouTube video about a math concept. Your video must contain a visual aid, like a poster, and a scripted dialogue that describes the necessary steps that you would use to solve your question. For this assignment you can work alone or in a group of two.  Students were provided with a rubric and a checklist to help them understand the assignment expectations.

Presentation of Learning

Context In this class, each student was required to offer a year-end Presentation of Learning that demonstrated their learning and showcased their work. Students were asked to bring a sample of their work from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), a sample of their work from the Humanities (Social Studies and English), and samples of how they have demonstrated their Skills (Communication Competency, Thinking Competency, and Social and Personal Competency). The assignment is available at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jCJex2zNp78pjtXErah5takzsjsH4H3zyPPB46ZNPR8/pub In this presentation, the student:explains why she is proud of her work and what specifically she did as part of her workdescribes the context of her work – gives a brief explanation of the book she had read and speaks comfortably and confidently to her classmates and guestsreflects on her work and personal growthexplains the motivation behind her work as well as the messages she wants to communicate (in the example of her poem and in response to a question)