Curriculum Review Supporting students and teachers by keeping Ontarios K 12 curriculum current and r

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Curriculum ReviewSupporting students and
teachers by keeping Ontarios K - 12 curriculum
current and relevant
Overview of the Process
Curriculum and Assessment Policy Branch Ministry
of Education October 2005
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Curriculum Review

• Supporting students and teachers by keeping
  Ontarios K 12 curriculum current and relevant
• Includes an increased focus on literacy and
  numeracy across the curriculum

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Current Status of Curriculum Policy

• The Ontario curriculum documents (English and
  French) Grades K 12 include
• 20 elementary curriculum documents
• 62 secondary curriculum documents
• Program Planning and Assessment-2000
• These were introduced/implemented between
• 1997 and 2002.

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What is Curriculum Review?

• A staged process to review Kindergarten to Grade
  12 curriculum documents by discipline area that
• builds on the quality curriculum currently in
  place
• ensures that the curriculum remains current and
  relevant

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Rationale for Curriculum Review

• ensures ongoing high quality education and
  continuous improvement in student achievement

• sustains the effectiveness of Ontarios
  curriculum for students in a knowledge-based
  society

• assures curriculum coherence and age-
  appropriateness from Kindergarten through Grade
  12 in all disciplines

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Rationale for
Curriculum Review

• supports students, teachers, schools and boards
  by identifying targeted areas in need of support

• allows lead time for development or updating of
  related support materials as required (e.g.,
  textbooks)

• supports continual improvement to the curriculum

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What Remains the Same

• high standards for all students

• the framework of grade-by-grade overall and
  specific curriculum expectations
• destination-related secondary school course types
  

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What Remains the Same

• criterion-referenced assessment based on four
  levels of achievement as described in the
  achievement charts

• standardized provincial report cards
• diploma requirements under Ontario Secondary
  Schools (OSS)
• Grades 9 to 12

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Curriculum Review and the Achievement Charts

• Subject specific achievement charts will be
  draft until each subject/discipline is reviewed
  as part of the ongoing cycle of curriculum review
• When the new curriculum policy documents that are
  under review are published, new achievement
  charts will be finalized in the documents

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Process Principles for
Curriculum Review

• review of elementary and secondary curriculum
  policy documents will be integrated

• parallel revision processes for English and
  French language curriculum policy documents

• only changes to the curriculum if the evidence
  demonstrates a need

• teachers, principals, board staff, subject
  experts, education stakeholders, parents and
  students will have opportunities to participate

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Curriculum Review Cycle

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Curriculum Review Cycle

Interdisciplinary Studies / Études
interdisciplinaires will be added in the next
cycle
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Curriculum Review Cycle

Native Studies/Études autochtones will be
added in the next cycle ? Social Studies,
History and Geography, and Canadian and World
Studies / Études sociales, Histoire et
géographie/ Études canadiennes et mondiales will
be added in Year 4 in the next cycle
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Process for
Curriculum Review

• The review process includes

• Analysis and Synthesis
• Revision and Feedback Consultation
• Editing, Publication and Distribution
• Implementation

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Review Process

• Analysis includes
• Technical analysis of the English- and
  French-language curriculum policy documents by
  educators

• Content Analysis of information gathered from
  educators through province-wide Focus Group
  sessions

• Consultations with the Ministers Advisory
  Council on Special Education, faculties of
  education, parents and students, universities,
  colleges, and workplace organizations

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Review Process

• Analysis includes

• Focussed benchmarking of the Ontario curriculum
  against other provinces and international
  jurisdictions

• A literature search of recent curriculum reviews

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Technical Analysis Purpose

• Subject/Division Associations nominate
  discipline experts and classroom teachers
• - To analyse the current curriculum policy
  documents with a particular focus on expectations
• - To suggest areas of revision with appropriate
  rationale
• Information from the technical analysis informs
  the recommendations for revision to the
  curriculum policy documents

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Focus Groups

• Province-wide one-day focus group sessions for
  representatives from school boards, school
  authorities and provincial schools
• Purpose to gather input for the review of the
  curriculum policy documents from teachers,
  principals, and board-level staff
• Participants are asked to be prepared to discuss
  the strengths of the current curriculum policy
  documents, to identify potential areas for
  improvement and to comment on how a specific
  change may impact on the curriculum

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Review Process

• Synthesis
• Information from the technical analysis, focus
  group sessions, focussed benchmarking of
  Ontarios curriculum, and research on the
  curriculum review process is analysed

• Research, data and professional/public input
  are summarized and used as a basis for
  recommendations for revision to the curriculum
  policy documents

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Review Process

• Revision and Feedback Consultation
• Parallel English/French writing teams of
  educators from across Ontario, with curriculum
  expertise, draft revised documents based on the
  recommendations

• Consultation and Feedback on draft proposed
  revisions with board staff and other stakeholders
• Validation and Fact Checking of documents

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Feedback Consultations

• Two one-day consultations with board
  representatives and education stakeholders on the
  draft of proposed revisions to the curriculum
  policy documents
• Day 1 - information provided about history of
  curriculum review process and the rationale for
  the types of revisions proposed in the draft
• Day 2 participants share feedback on the draft
  of proposed revisions gathered through a
  consultation process within their board or
  organization
• Information from the consultations and feedback
  sessions informs further revisions to the
  curriculum policy documents

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Opportunities and Routes for Input
Focus Groups
Other Consultations and Input
Technical Analysis
Subject / Division Associations
Analysis / Synthesis
Achievement Charts
Research
Revision Teams
Feedback Consultation
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Year 3

• Science and Technology, Grades 1-8
• Science, Grades 9-12
• Technological Education, Grades 9-12

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Year 3 Opportunities for Input

• Educators will have opportunities for input
  through
• Focus Groups in Fall 2005
• Technical Analysis in Fall 2005
• Consultations with Faculties of Education,
  Colleges, Universities, and Workplace
  organizations in Fall 2005/Winter 2006
• Revision Writing in Summer 2006
• Consultation and Feedback in Fall 2006
• Publication

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Subject/Division Associations

• Association for Computer Studies Educators (ACSE)
• www.acse.net
• Ontario Council for Technology Education (OCTE)
• www.octe.on.ca or www.millenniumwave.com
• Educational Computing Organization of Ontario
  (ECOO) www.ecoo.org
• Secondary School Hospitality Educators of Ontario
  (SSHEO)(links from ARMdocs and SIGs in
  www.octe.on.ca or Canadian Chef Educators Assoc.
  CCEA http//www.canadianchefeducators.com/)