8. Australian Curriculum Development Phase 2 development 2010-2012 Design Paper Shape Papers Phase 1 development 2008-2010 Phase 3 development 2011-2013 Australian Curriculum development timelines
This presentation provides an overview of the design and development of the Australian Curriculum. It provides an update on progress in the development of the curriculum and addresses three main sections: Design and development of the Australian Curriculum The Foundation to Year 10 learning areas for release in Dec 2010 Consultation and revision process Australian Curriculum website and digital resources Further information is available at www.australiancurriculum.edu.au
On 5 December 2008, State, Territory and Commonwealth Ministers of Education meeting as the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, released the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians which sets the direction for Australian schooling for the next 10 years. Development of the Australian Curriculum by the Australian Curriculum, Reporting and Assessment Authority (ACARA) is being guided by the Melbourne Declaration. The goals were developed by education ministers in collaboration with the Catholic and independent school sectors, following public consultation on the draft declaration. The Melbourne Declaration emphasises the importance of knowledge, skills and understanding of learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities as the basis for a curriculum designed to support 21st century learning.
The Australian Curriculum aims to deliver the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians and develop a world-class, 21 st century Australian Curriculum for all young Australians, including those who may move across state and territory boundaries throughout their schooling years.
The Australian Curriculum is based on the assumptions that each student can learn and the needs of every student are important. It enables high expectations to be set for each student as teachers account for the current levels of learning of individual students and the different rates at which students develop. Every student is entitled to enriching learning experiences across all areas of the curriculum. Students in Australian classrooms have multiple, diverse and changing needs that are shaped by individual learning histories and abilities as well as cultural and language backgrounds and socio-economic factors. Additional information is provided on the Australian Curriculum website to assist the use of the curriculum for students with special education needs and students for whom English is an additional language or dialect.
Most students can engage with the curriculum provided the necessary adjustments are made to the complexity of the curriculum content and to the means through which students demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and skills. For some learners, making adjustments to instructional processes and to assessment strategies enables students to achieve educational standards commensurate with their peers. For other students, teachers will need to make appropriate adjustments to the complexity of the curriculum content, focusing instruction on content that may be different to others. It follows that adjustments will also need to be made to how the student’s progress is monitored, assessed and reported. For a small percentage of students, the Foundation to Year 10 curriculum may not be appropriate nor meaningful, even with adjustments. Most of these students have significant intellectual disability. During 2011 ACARA will develop additional curriculum content and achievement standards for this group of students in order to provide an Australian Curriculum that is inclusive of every learner.
Learners of EAL/D are students whose first language is a language other than Standard Australian English and who require additional support to assist them to develop English language proficiency. While many EAL/D learners do well in school, there is a significant number of these learners who leave school without achieving their potential. EAL/D learners enter Australian schools at different ages and at different stages of English language learning and have various educational backgrounds in their first languages. For some, school is the only place they use English. EAL/D learners require additional time and support, along with informed teaching that explicitly addresses their language needs, and assessments that take into account their developing language proficiency. A national EAL/D document is being produced that will support the Australian Curriculum. It will provide a description of how language proficiency develops, and will be a valuable reference for all teachers. It will allow teachers to identify the language levels of the EAL/D learners in their classrooms and to address their specific learning requirements when teaching, ensuring equity of access to the English learning area for all.
For more information on ACARA’s curriculum development process, see the Curriculum Development Process paper at www.acara.edu.au/curriculum.
Summarising the development of the Australian Curriculum: December 2008 - The then Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) committed to a set of educational goals and actions, including the development and implementation of a world-class national curriculum. This commitment is captured in the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. The Melbourne Declaration guides the development of the Australian Curriculum. The Shape of the Australian Curriculum documents - Lead writers for the learning areas developed form 2008-2010, with advice from advisory groups, developed a framing paper for each learning area. The framing papers were published for consultation and analysis of the consultation feedback led to a revision and publication in May 2009 of the Shape of the Australian Curriculum and the four companion papers, The Shape of the Australian Curriculum: English, Mathematics, Science and History. These documents were the blueprint for writing the Australian Curriculum. The Shape papers are available at www.acara.edu.au. Curriculum Design Papers - Built on the Shape paper and provided guidelines for writers. The following slide provides a more detailed timeline for the learning areas.
2008-2010 saw the development of the Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history. Senior secondary curriculum in these learning areas continues to be developed in 2011. 2010 – 2012 Foundation to Year 12 Australian Curriculum for geography, languages and the arts are planned for development. 2010-2013 will see the development of the Foundation to Year 12 Australian Curriculum including a focus on health and physical education, information and communication technology, design and technology, economics, business and civics and citizenship. Each phase of development involves comprehensive consultation, review and revision processes. Once approved by the ACARA Board, the curriculum is then presented to the Australian education ministers for final endorsement prior to publication. ACARA’s Curriculum Development Process paper describes the process that is being used to develop the Australian Curriculum. It is available at www.acara.edu.au Learning areas currently not included in the Australian Curriculum will continue to be the responsibility of state and territory education authorities.
The Shape of the Australian Curriculum (May 2009) was originally written to guide the development of the first phase (2008-2010) of the Australian Curriculum (English, mathematics, science and history). It was approved by all education ministers in September 2009. Development of the Australian Curriculum over the next 12 months and discussion about the Australian Curriculum as a whole will result in the development of a further version of the Shape of the Australian Curriculum towards the end of 2011. The Shape of the Australian Curriculum v2.0 can be accessed at www.acara.edu.au
The Australian Curriculum has three key design features: the learning areas to identify key disciplinary knowledge, skills and understandings; general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities. The content descriptions specify what teachers are expected to teach. They include the knowledge, understanding and skills for each learning area as students progress through schooling. The content descriptions provide a well-researched scope and sequence of teaching, within which teachers determine how best to cater for individual students’ learning needs and interests. An achievement standard describes the quality of learning (the depth of understanding, extent of knowledge and sophistication of skill) typically expected of students as they progress through schooling. Achievement standards comprise a written description and illustrative student work samples. The Australian Curriculum pays explicit attention to how seven general capabilities and three cross-curriculum priorities (listed below) contribute to, and can be developed through, teaching in each learning area. The seven general capabilities are: literacy; numeracy; information and communication technology competence; critical and creative thinking; ethical behaviour; personal and social competence; and intercultural understanding. The three cross-curriculum priorities are: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures; Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia; and sustainability. The following slides unpack each of these areas.
The overall structure of the curriculum is consistent across learning areas and includes the following sections: Rationale and aims Content descriptions Content elaborations Achievement standards Each achievement standard will provide an expectation of the quality of learning that students should typically demonstrate by the end of a particular year-in terms of depth of understanding and sophistication of skills in the context of knowledge taught and learnt. A student who achieves the standard at a particular year should be well placed to undertake the learning required at the next level of the curriculum. Teachers will use the Australian Curriculum content and achievement standards to identify where students are at in their learning and then select the most appropriate curriculum content (possibly from across several year levels) to teach individual and/or groups of students. Teachers will also use the achievement standards at the end of a period of teaching, to make on-balance judgments about the quality of learning demonstrated by the students. Work samples play a key role in establishing and communicating expectations described in the achievement standards. The examples of student work include the task and a student’s response, with annotations setting out the basis for the teacher’s judgement about the quality of learning evident in that response in relation to the achievement standard.
ACARA’s Curriculum Design document (available at www.acara.edu.au) provides indicative time advice only to guide the drafting of the curriculum. Such an approach is not designed to establish time allocations for schools- these are provided by education systems, sectors and schools.
21 st century learning does not fit neatly into a curriculum solely organised by learning areas. That is why the Australian Curriculum has identified a comprehensive set of skills, behaviours and dispositions or general capabilities that will assist students in living and working successfully in an increasingly complex, information-rich, globalised world. Overviews that describe the nature, scope and significance of each general capability are available at the ‘general capabilities’ section of the Australian Curriculum website.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures – will allow all young Australians the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures, their significance for Australia and the impact these have had, and continue to have, on our world. Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia – will allow all young Australians to develop a better understanding of the countries and cultures of the Asia region. Students will develop an appreciation of the economic, political and cultural interconnections that Australia has with the region. Sustainability – will allow all young Australians to develop an appreciation of the need for more sustainable patterns of living, and to build capacities for thinking and acting that are necessary to create a more sustainable future. Further information is available on the ‘cross-curriculum priorities’ section of the Australian Curriculum website.
ACARA will work with state and territory curriculum and school authorities to develop nationally consistent approaches to assessment and reporting. Until there is national agreement on such approaches, assessment and reporting of student achievement will continue to be determined by relevant state or territory curriculum and/or education authorities. Schools will be responsible for assessing their students and reporting their progress and achievement.
ACARA is responsible for developing curriculum content and achievement standards for certain senior secondary courses. States and territories will continue to offer additional senior secondary curriculum that does not overlap significantly with the Australian Curriculum courses. The list of Australian Curriculum courses may grow in time if there is national agreement. Curriculum, assessment and certification authorities in each state and territory will be responsible for the delivery of nationally-agreed curriculum content and achievement standards for senior secondary courses within their jurisdiction, that is, determining their assessment, certification and quality assurance requirements.
An ACARA Recognition process, once approved, will provide information about the recognition of alternative curriculum in relation to the Australian Curriculum, to proponent schools and organisations, and to the relevant state/territory Registration Authority that will continue to conduct the relevant Registration process, drawing on the curriculum recognition information provided by ACARA.
The Australian Curriculum is a dynamic curriculum. The online publication of the curriculum facilitates ongoing monitoring and review as well as providing the opportunity to update the curriculum in a well-managed and effectively communicated manner. Any updating will take into account review and evaluation data; new national and international knowledge and practice about learning, teaching, curriculum design and implementation; and contemporary research in discipline and cross-discipline areas. In this way, the Australian Curriculum will be subject to evaluation and validation during implementation and will continue to be benchmarked against the curricula of countries that are leading the world in excellence and performance.
Strand structure The Australian Curriculum: English Foundation to Year 10 is organised in three interrelated strands that support students' growing understanding and use of English. Together the three strands focus on developing students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating. The three strands are: Language – Knowing about the English language and how it works (eg: grammar at whole text, sentence and word levels, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, sound-letter knowledge) Literature – Understanding, appreciating, responding to, analysing and creating literature (specifically literary texts including novels, plays, film, poetry, short stories etc classic and contemporary, world, Asian, Aboriginal and Torres strait islander texts) Literacy – ability to understand and produce the English language accurately, fluently, creatively, critically, confidently and effectively (comprehension, analysis, writing, speaking, participation in discussion, handwriting, editing etc) Scope and sequence Foundation to Year10 Content in each strand is grouped in sub-strands that show a clear sequence of learning from Foundation to Year 10. An alternative presentation of the content that focuses on the processes or language modes of Speaking and listening, Reading (including viewing) and Writing is available on the website. This presentation includes no repetition of the content. It will be possible to use the filter function to identify the content descriptions that show which descriptions relate to more than one process. Literature in the primary years In the Literature strand students will develop an understanding and informed appreciation of a range of literature, respond to literature, develop an understanding of the nature of literary texts, their language features, for example figurative language, rhythm, rhyme, sound, visuals and how authors use them for effect, and how stories, plots and characters are developed. This is a change of focus for primary schools where currently Literature is predominantly used as a vehicle to teach reading. Grammar There is a strong focus on the contextual approach to the teaching of grammar with a gradual build up of grammatical features and terms across F–10. The terms used are predominantly standard grammatical terminology within a contextual framework. This approach has been reviewed by leading Australian linguists. Elaborations and a glossary are provided to support teachers.
The Australian Curriculum: Mathematics Foundation to Year 10: - provides the skills for students to be confident, creative users and communicators of mathematics enables students to investigate, represent and interpret situations both at school and in their lives out of school focuses on developing increasingly sophisticated and refined mathematical understanding, fluency, logical reasoning, analytical thought and problem solving. Proficiencies describe the actions in which students can engage whilst learning the content and are incorporated into the content descriptions. Introductory year level statements are included at the beginning of each year level to accentuate where the proficiencies are evident in the content descriptions.
Focus on inquiry-based approaches Reduction of mandated content to allow for inquiry-based approaches and an in-depth understanding of concepts Opportunities to link inquiry to contexts relevant to the lives of students Specific science inquiry skills to be taught at each stage of schooling Three interrelated strands: Science understanding , Science as a human endeavour , Science inquiry skills Content descriptions within the strands written to allow the content of the three strands to be taught in an interrelated way All three strands present in the Achievement Standards Content elaborations offer additional guidance for teachers around links and relationships between the content of the three strands The Science as a Human Endeavour strand covers the Nature and development of science and the Use and influence of science. This content describes the unique nature of science and can provide engaging and challenging contexts in which science understanding can be developed Science understanding content addresses key science concepts that are developed through the curriculum, organised under the sub-strands of Biological sciences , Chemical sciences , Earth and space sciences and Physical sciences The Science inquiry skills strand addresses methods of science inquiry, and problem-solving skills. This strand includes a strong emphasis on the general capabilities of numeracy, literacy and ICT competence Development of key science concepts from Foundation to Year10 Key science concepts have been identified and content not specifically addressing these concepts has been removed to allow for depth of understanding rather than breadth of content within the curriculum Students’ understanding of science concepts develop through experiences of observable phenomenon to more abstract ideas and concepts as they progress through the curriculum Elaborations for content descriptions in both the Science understanding and the Science as a human endeavour strands emphasise contemporary applications of science
A world history approach: to equip students for the world in which they will live (local, regional and global) to enhance student’s appreciation of Australia’s history (which has been influenced by many overseas events and developments, not in isolation) the curriculum content moves from a focus (although not an exclusive focus) on personal/family/local history Foundation to Year 2, state/territory/Australian history 3-6, and world and Australian history 7-10 this is consistent with international history curricula Focus on historical inquiry: inquiry questions have been included at each year level to highlight the investigative nature of historical study there is explicit reference to concepts for developing historical understanding (e.g. evidence, continuity and change, perspectives, significance), given their importance in the study of history historical inquiry requires the development of Historical knowledge and understanding and Historical skills Two interrelated strands: Historical knowledge and understanding provides the broad contexts for study (i.e. societies, events, movements and developments) with opportunities to investigate the role of individuals and groups Historical skills includes skills associated with the historical inquiry process (asking historical questions, undertaking research, analysing sources, communicating findings) Foundation to Year 2 provides content without a chronological emphasis across Years 3-6 there is a stronger chronological representation – in view of this some content descriptions provide introductory content in the style of a brief overview, e.g. ‘The diversity and longevity of Australia’s first peoples’ in the study of ‘First contacts’ in Year 4 in Years 7-10 there are four historical periods, e.g. ‘The ancient world’ in Year 7 and ‘The modern world and Australia’ in Year 10 Overviews and depth studies: At Years 7-10 there is an overview and three depth studies at each year level: - overviews help students recognise important features of the historical period and to understand broad patterns of historical change - depth studies allow detailed study of specific aspects of the historical period depth studies are based on particular contexts which are used as a vehicle for developing ‘understanding’ and ‘skills’ e.g. ‘The Western and Islamic World ’ in Year 8 depth study electives provide flexibility to cover particular contexts e.g. ‘Medieval Europe’ (as part of the ‘The Western and Islamic World ’ in Year 8) within a depth study, some content descriptions allows local resources and site visits to be structured into a teaching and learning program e.g. as part of the depth study elective ‘Making a nation’ in Year 9, the study of ‘living and working conditions in Australia at the turn of the twentieth century’, could include reference to what life was like in the local area
ACARA will continue to seek, analyse and use feedback to contribute to the development process of the Australian Curriculum. Watch the website for opportunities to be involved in Consultation. Following consultation, the curriculum is finalised and submitted to the ACARA Board and education ministers for approval. Each state and territory has a ministerial nominee on the ACARA Board along with nominees of the Catholic and Independent School sectors. Australian education ministers consider the final version of the curriculum.
Consultation occurs at multiple points in the curriculum development process for each learning area. The Draft Shape Paper and the Draft curriculum are released for public review and targeted feedback (from teachers, academics, authorities and associations) is sought at other points in the process. An initial Advice Paper for each learning area is developed to provide an overview of the learning area, with consideration of trends in curriculum development for that learning area. This paper stimulates discussion, and informs the development of the draft Shape Paper. The Shape Paper for each learning area provides an overview to guide the writing of the curriculum. It establishes the rationale and aims for the learning area and identifies the nature of knowledge, understanding and skills in the learning area and how these develop from Foundation to Year 12.
Consultation on the curriculum occurs through a number of avenues, including forums, national panel meetings, web surveys and critical reviews. Feedback is sought from a range of people and organisations, including the general public, teachers, academics, school and education authorities and professional associations. Trial schools and teachers are particularly important in the consultation process as they use the draft curriculum or parts of it with students in their classroom.
Australian Curriculum Connect resources are being piloted and are planned to be available from March 2011.
Go to www.australiancurriculum.edu.au to view a guided tour of the website, or to view a tour of the English, mathematics, science or history sections. The tours highlight key elements of the website and show how the functionality can allow the Australian Curriculum to be viewed and filtered from different perspectives (eg a learning area across year levels; a number of learning areas for a particular year group; general capabilities (eg literacy) in a number of learning areas or year levels).
Digital resources are being identified and tagged as relevant to aspects of the Australian Curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history. From 2001 to 2009 Commonwealth and State and Territory governments invested in The Le@rning Federation to develop digital learning resources Australian Curriculum Connect is an Education Services Australia (ESA) project being funded by the Department for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), sponsored by ACARA. The project currently involves jurisdictions (Queensland and Victoria), ACARA and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). It is informed by an extensive Reference Network with states, territories and sectors. Subject to a successful pilot, ESA will work with jurisdictions to identify their individual implementation requirements.
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