Working Space | Life in the Classroom
How to create a connected curriculum and give NELP legs Rob Clarke
CEO of Learning Architects
From dealing with Covid challenges to managing technology challenges, education never stands still. It continues to evolve and change at a rate of knots, and because of the scale of change, it can be hard at times to ‘see the forest from the trees’. One thing is clear, it is a leadership imperative to help our staff and school community feel that ‘we’ve got this’ and to be strategic in our approach to implementing the changes that are coming over the next few years. This is an exciting time to be in education - the landscape is radically changing with a new curriculum that aims to be inclusive of the needs and culture of every learner, is rich in learning design, and honours our unique heritage as a country. It’s about making connections With big changes though, keeping on top of everything can be easier said than done; especially when the range of initiatives you are managing appear to be separate from each other. Amongst others, the current range of new initiatives includes the Aotearoa NZ Histories curriculum, the NZC refresh and the new Literacy & Communication and Maths strategy. The good news is that these initiatives are connected in some interesting ways. Exploring how they link for your school may help you to make more impact when you implement them. And if you can help staff, board and community see these connections; this will make them easier to adopt. Here are some starting points to consider: Start with the big picture: the NELP The chances are that you have already started engaging with the National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP). As you may know, from the start of 2023, they will replace the NAGs and NEGs. If you’ve been working with the NAGs and NEGs for a while, you will probably find the NELP to be a welcome update and interesting way to refocus. Whereas if you are new to the NAGs and NEGs, rather than trying to get up to speed with
them, it might be a more prudent use of your time to instead focus on the NELP! Whatever your experience using the NELP to guide your big picture thinking about next year will help set your school up for success. Explore possibilities and opportunities As we move into Term 3 and budget setting season, it’s an opportune time to explore how your Charter and strategic plan link to the NELP. There will be MOE guidance coming soon, but to give you a head start, here are some ways you can kick the process off: 1.Discuss the five objectives with your Board and staff - because each group is likely to have unique perspectives and opinions, try to go beyond accepting statements like “we already do that”, to statements that reflect evidence of what is actually happening. For example, if classes start the year looking at ‘All About Me’ type learning, is this a one-off event, or do your teachers use this information throughout the year to inform the programme? Do they, or could they, use what they learn about the cultural identities and aspirations of your students, and incorporate that into teaching and learning throughout the year? 2.Identify the common themes - in your discussions with staff, board and others in your community, ask them to identify common themes that run through the NELP. For example, if inclusion (or exclusion) regularly pops up for your school, then this is an ideal opportunity to use this as an informal review of that particular issue. Once you’ve identified the themes, explore which are strengths, and where there are opportunities for improvement. For example, you may identify a theme that causes staff to realise they need to explore their unconscious bias around race, neurodiversity or some other issue. By identifying themes and having discussions, you can plan to support them in this through some targeted PLD. 3.Link the NELP to your Annual Plan - as you start working on your Annual Plan for next year, consider
16 | Term 3, 2022 www.principalstoday.co.nz
how it links to the NELP and build this into the discussion. Make these connections clear to all staff so they see how their actions contribute to the bigger picture. When the NELP become mandatory, you’ll have the bulk of the heavy lifting done. This big picture focus is great for leaders, it’s what you signed up when you became one! Looking at the NELP helps clarify your thinking. But what is really going to give this approach legs is the NZC refresh and how this looks at classroom level. Applying NELP in the classroom It can be challenging to link the big picture to what we do with students. Following are some ideas you can use to support staff to make connections to their practice. Curriculum design or delivery? Integrating different learning areas can be challenging at times. Take for example the Literacy & Communication and Maths strategy. One of the goals behind this strategy is that these areas need to be taught right across the curriculum right through to Year 13. This will require teachers (and leaders) to integrate learning areas together. To do this successfully, they will need to view the curriculum more broadly/holistically and become better curriculum designers as well as deliverers. The degree to which teachers see themselves as designers of curriculum will enable them to make connections between learning areas more easily. It will also encourage them to take advantage of the cultural diversity and background that each learner brings to the situation. Start with a straightforward question An interesting provocation for staff might be to ask them ‘to what extent are you a curriculum deliverer vs a curriculum designer?’ and see where the conversation goes. A conceptual curriculum design approach emphasises ‘big ideas’ that can span multiple disciplines. It allows for multiple contexts to be explored, enabling students to transfer their understanding to new situations. It can help to build on and deepen their understanding
around each concept. There is a useful framework built into the NZC refresh that encourages this more conceptual approach. Understand, know, do While there are a number of different conceptual curriculum design methodologies, the Ministry appears to have settled on a variant of the British Columbia model which is known as the Know-DoUnderstand model. The NZ approach is called the Understand, Know, Do framework. It will be applied to all learning areas as they are refreshed, starting with the Aotearoa NZ Histories curriculum. This framework makes it easier for teachers to explore opportunities to integrate across curriculum areas, and will require them to approach the design of learning using these three lenses: 1.Understand - what are the big ideas (the concepts) that are important for our students? 2.Know - which context(s) will help students learn about these concepts? What knowledge do students need? 3.Do - what are the practices that bring rigour to the learning? How will students take action based on what they have learned? What might they create? Here are some ways to support your staff to prepare for this upcoming change: • Ask specific questions: ‘What is the end goal for the learning?’ ‘What is the big idea behind this piece of learning?’ to get them used to articulating the big ideas • Facilitate discussions: Hold a series of discussions about conceptual curriculum design • Clarify understanding: Explore and interrogate what Understand-KnowDo means to ensure all staff are clear on what each component is and isn’t • Promote flexibility: Encourage teachers to use the UnderstandKnow-Do framework to adapt their planning • Go large: Encourage teachers to plan using bigger ideas, involving more voice/ideas from the students so they are contributing to the plan.
