What really matters in curriculum today? A lot and very little

Ms Kate Burrett
Corpus Christi Catholic High School
Oak Flats, New South Wales, Australia

As a practising classroom teacher, I take issue with the question: ‘What really matters in curriculum today?’ If we listen to all of the voices that are stridently and unequivocally answering this question every day (and how can we avoid the cacophony from media commentators, religious spokespersons and political lobby groups), it becomes clear that the issue is not one of identifying what really matters. On the surface, the issue seems to be that everything matters.

One response to this question has simply been to add more to the curriculum. Over recent years, schools have been called upon to implement increasing numbers of greatly varying programs in a bid to ensure that students are ‘filled up’ with all of the information they will need to function in a knowledge-based, technological society (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2003). The result has been that school curricula have become so overcrowded that many teachers despair of doing justice to them, or to the students for whom the curriculum is supposedly devised and enacted (Vinson, 2002; NSW Department of Education and Training, 2003).
 
Much has been written about the rate and scope of change that society presently faces. As world economies move from industrial to knowledge-based models, the skills required of workers are transformed (ACDE, 2001). Past models of schooling that focused on developing specialised content knowledge, and ensuring compliance and obedience, may have prepared students for work on the assembly line, or in hierarchical administrative jobs. However, a different set of skills and attributes is now required. The knowledge economy requires a new type of worker, and education is charged with the responsibility to ‘show our communities and the broader society the way ahead into the post-industrial world’ (Crowther. 2002, p. 10).

What really matters, and what will prepare students for the types of jobs they will occupy in the 21st century, is a curriculum that emphasises ‘creating a kind of person, with kinds of dispositions and orientations to the world, rather than simply commanding a body of knowledge’ (ACDE. 2001, p. 3). Specifically, the kind of person who will engage effectively and proactively with their knowledge-based world will be able to navigate change and diversity, solve problems individually and collaboratively, create new knowledge appropriate to specific contexts, and be able to communicate their knowledge effectively (ACDE, 2001). Schools need to develop learners who have a breadth of knowledge about all content areas, and who also have depth of knowledge to identify connections and overlaps among different fields of knowledge (ACDE, 2001; Bruniges, 2005). In order to achieve this, ‘new learning will be increasingly interdisciplinary, requiring deeper engagement with knowledge in all its complexity and ambiguity’ (ACDE. 2001).

The imperative for curricula to develop, in young people, the skills, attributes and dispositions towards learning, work and their world, has been articulated by the learning community of Corpus Christi Catholic High School, in Oak Flats, Australia, as a call to develop young people to be agents of transformation. Corpus Christi is a developing school in the Illawarra, approximately 100 kilometres south of Sydney, Australia. It is a coeducational, systemic Catholic secondary school, and operates under the direction of the Catholic Education Office, Wollongong. The school was built upon the dual premise that relationships are the foundations for learning, and that learning must reflect its context as part of the digital age. These ideas form the foundation of mission and vision for the school, and are evident in all aspects of its operation, from the building design (which features learning spaces without walls) to leadership structures, to curriculum planning and evaluation, and to systems of reporting to parents.

The school’s commitment to developing ‘new persons’ is reflected in its 10 ‘Learning and Teaching Principles’. These are underpinned by the school’s guiding principle: ‘To create in all learners a Eucharistic imagination with which to transform their world’. The Learning and Teaching Principles were developed collaboratively by foundation staff (teachers and leaders) before face-to-face teaching began. It is not an ‘on the shelf’ document but describes the daily working practice of teachers and leaders at the school. It clearly, and emphatically, gives account of what really matters to us, as we engage in curriculum development, implementation and evaluation.

Corpus Christi’s Learning and Teaching Principles

• a focus on the whole person whose dignity is respected and affirmed
• the relational and transformational nature of learning, grounded in quality relationships amongst all members of the school, parish and wider community and a reverence towards creation
• an active, inquiry approach to learning, fostering enjoyment, engagement and responsibility as students develop the skills of independent, creative, critical and reflective learners
• a collaborative approach to learning, where students appreciate the social dimension of human activity
• learning environments which are challenging, supportive, hope-filled, futures-centred and flexible, and which engage students in tasks of significance and relevance to produce learning that has value beyond the school
• value and support of individual differences and diversity
• curriculum integration as the organising paradigm, based on syllabus outcomes, incorporating social and emotional learning
• innovative pedagogical practices emerging from school-based action research and from the wider educational community, which effectively integrate technology
• open, flexible and adaptable work spaces and resources that support an integrated approach to learning and teaching
• staff professionalism, modelled on Jesus, the teacher and characterised by continuous collaborative learning, reflection, passion and personal growth.
  (Corpus Christi Catholic High School, 2006)

These learning and teaching principles clarify what really matters in curriculum for the learning community of Corpus Christi, and guide educators in developing curriculum that works in many ways. Researchers have called for ‘New Learning’, in which curriculum is ‘increasingly interdisciplinary’ (ACDE. 2001), and embeds social and emotional learning and ways of thinking (ACDE, 2001; Bruniges, 2005; Bosco, 2005). Curriculum planning and evaluation at Corpus Christi occurs in multi-disciplinary collaborative teams of teachers, who sit together to plan integrated units of work – called ‘Connected Learning Experiences’ - within eyesight and earshot of students, thereby modelling collaboration, communication and problem-solving skills. Learning events are developed so that outcomes can be met using a backwards design model (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Using this model, teachers, as curriculum designers, begin by defining and articulating the desired result of a learning experience (this is called the ‘enduring understanding’); then they determine acceptable evidence or indicators of learning. Lastly, teachers design learning experiences aimed at achieving the desired outcomes (Wiggins and McTighe. 2005).

The backwards design model is curriculum that works in the context of Corpus Christi Catholic High School. Backwards design encourages teacher leadership within a learning community by acknowledging teachers’ expertise as designers of curriculum (Wiggins and McTighe. 2005). Similar forms of curriculum design, such as Rich Tasks, have been used by other systems to promote student engagement, particularly in the middle years (Education Queensland, 2001).

In particular, the ‘enduring understandings’ that form a critical component of the curriculum are seen to encourage the development of ‘tasks of significance and relevance to produce learning which has value beyond the school’ (Corpus Christi Catholic High School. 2006). Enduring understandings ‘use discrete facts or skills to focus on larger concepts, principles or processes. They derive from and enable transfer: they are applicable to new situations within or beyond the subject’ (Wiggins and McTighe. 2005). In this way, enduring understandings are similar to ‘deep understanding’, as expressed in NSW Quality Teaching, in that they focus on ‘central ideas and the relationships between and among those central ideas’ (NSW Department of Education and Training Professional Support and Curriculum Directorate, 2003). These definitions of deep or enduring understandings resonate with the work of Bruner: ‘If you understood the structure of knowledge, that understanding would then permit you to go ahead on your own … you could know a great deal about a lot of things while keeping very little in mind’ (Bruner, 1971, in Posner, 2004), and with the concept of ‘New Learning’ (ACDE, 2001).

‘Enduring understandings’ gain further significance because they are the focus and goal of curriculum development within a backwards design framework. All of the learning events within the unit of work are designed so as to ‘help students draw the inference’ (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005), thereby providing ‘processes whereby students can become citizens who can interpret this world’ (Bruniges. 2005). To illustrate this, one Connected Learning Experience designed for year 7 students is called ‘Buried Secrets’. It focuses on the key learning areas of English, Music and Religious Education, and aims to develop in students the skills of reading and interpreting texts. In this context, texts are defined broadly to include written word, music, film, prayer and religious writings. The ‘enduring understanding’ for this unit of work is included here:

‘Reading is an active process, requiring an interrogation, exploration and analysis of texts to arrive at an interpretation. There is no such thing as a “wrong” interpretation, but rather “valid” or “invalid” interpretations.

Meaning is not always literal or obvious, it can be symbolic, figurative or inferred. To engage with the world around us, we must consider what we see at a deeper level, and actively look for the symbolic, figurative or inferred meanings. In the study of a text of any kind, we must “drill down” into the text to form a considered, defensible interpretation.

Our interpretations can be further refined by examining our own world view and how it has shaped our interpretation. Being active readers allows us to engage with the world around us and respond critically to it.’

Learning experiences guide students towards the development of skills in active reading and the ability to respond to texts, as a way of becoming more aware of the impact of the world on the individual, and the impact of the individual’s own thoughts and life experiences on the world around them.

The second aspect of curriculum that works at Corpus Christi is the focus on integrating social and emotional learning within the explicit curriculum. Social and emotional learning is defined as encompassing five areas: self awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationships skills, and responsible decision-making (Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning, 2003). This curriculum aims to ‘strengthen a person’s ability to understand, manage, and express the social and emotional aspects of life in ways that enable the successful accomplishment of life tasks, such as learning, forming relationships, solving everyday problems, and adapting to the complex demands of growth and development’ (Kress et al. 2004). Defined in this way, it is clear that social and emotional learning is a key element in many Australian curriculum and policy documents, such as New South Wales Board of Studies kindergarten to year 12 curriculum framework and key competencies, and in NSW Quality Teaching. It also resonates strongly with current research that calls for a curriculum to assist students to develop these same skills and attributes (ACDE, 2001; Bruniges, 2005; Pascoe, 2005). Furthermore, it is clearly an integral part of ‘what works’ in curriculum today:

‘Education for the new millennium is a transformed profession. Instruction that does not address all of the facets of the child that inform and direct the learning process – with the notable inclusion of social and emotional factors – will not effectively educate.’
(Kress et al. 2004)

The principles of social and emotional learning are embedded within the ‘Learning and Teaching Principles’ of Corpus Christi Catholic High School through such notions as ‘a focus on the whole person whose dignity is respected and affirmed … quality relationships amongst all members of the school … enjoyment, engagement and responsibility … skills of independent, creative, critical and reflective learners … collaborative approach where students appreciate the social dimension of human activity… supportive, hope-filled’ (Corpus Christi Catholic High School. 2006). It is clear from such statements that the goal of ‘Learning and Teaching’ is to integrate social and emotional learning seamlessly within the pedagogy and curriculum. In line with current research, social and emotional learning occurs as a result of the ways in which content is delivered every day, and is not seen as something separate to the explicit curriculum (Elias et al., 1997; Zins et al., 2004).

Conversations about the social aspects of learning are common, and feature strongly in student teacher ‘Learning dialogues’, which are a regular part of the weekly learning agenda. ‘Learning dialogues’ take place between the student and their learning circle advisor. Each ‘learning dialogue’ is scheduled for 15 minutes duration, and consider three aspects of the student’s learning: ‘Connected Learning’, ‘Experience Learning’ (that is, ‘school learning’) and ‘Personal Responsibility and Social Responsibility’. Learning advisors guide and assist students to develop self-awareness and self-assessment of themselves as learners, and the skills to articulate their social and learning needs. There is clear recognition here that social factors impact directly on learning in both positive and negative ways, and that students need help to work their way through issues as they arise, and to learn from them. Learning dialogues have become a key feature of the life of the school, and students often articulate a sense of looking forward to dialogue, and even of needing them at difficult times.

The third area of curriculum that works at Corpus Christi Catholic High School is the commitment of time to teaching students explicitly about the ways they think and the ways they learn. Bosco tackles the question of what works in curriculum in a digital age, by describing a curriculum that is a ‘hybrid … that is consistent with what is now understood about the intersect of domain specific knowledge and effective metacognitive strategies’ (Bosco, J. 2005). In recent research, curriculum that works is described as incorporating areas of inquiry in which knowledge, cognitive skills and social understandings are interwoven:

‘students must: (a) have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, (b) understand facts and ideas in context of a conceptual framework, and (c) organise knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application’.Donovan et al. (eds). 1999)

Developing effective learning skills is a feature of a school-based program called ‘Learning to Learn’, which occupies dedicated time in the learning agenda of Corpus Christi Catholic High School. ‘Learning to Learn’ aims to develop in students an awareness of their own thinking, and the vocabulary to talk about their own thinking and learning habits.

As a new school responding to the needs of 21st century learners, Corpus Christi Catholic High School has grasped the opportunity to develop structures and curricula that ‘more adequately address the potential that humans possess for shaping not only the world, but themselves’ (Eisner, 2004) because this is one thing that really matters in curriculum today. The news from the truly 21st century classroom is good. Curriculum that works enlivens and transforms students, teachers and schools.

References

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