Learning and Teaching In and Through the Curriculum

Learning and Teaching In and Through the Curriculum

1. Curriculum for Excellence

   • Knowledge base VS Skill base
     • Knowledge: The subject matter, knowing facts and figures
     • Skills: Knowing how to find things out and how to complete tasks
   • Curriculum as a policy seen as a pendulum, swings between being a rigid, fixed thing, to being a very flexible, fluid thing
     • CfE seen as a 'middle ground', not completely rigid but not full flexible
   • CfE aims to create 'rounded' children, who can cope with stress and the challenges of life

2. Subjects

   • Literacy
     • Make use of alternative stimulus can be really effective when carrying out literacy tasks
     • The PRIMED (PURPOSE, RELATIONSHIPS, IDENTITY, MEANING-MAKING, ENGAGEMENT, DISPOSITIONS) structure is useful when planning lessons
   • Numeracy
     • Viewed very negatively by many due to bad past experiences with mathematics
     • Mathematics is often not taught correctly within schools. Too much of a focus on getting the right answer, rather than the method of getting there.
   • Health and Wellbeing
     • More than just PE and physical health (healthy eating , dental health, sexual education etc.). Also includes mental health (developing healthy ways to cope with stress for example)

3. My thoughts

   • Initial Thoughts
     • A guideline to help teachers know what it is that they need to teach – what it is that the pupils should know or may need to know -, possibly including ways in which to teach it. Something to help teachers to do their job.
   • Thoughts now
     • The curriculum is a very complicated thing to try and define. It is made up up a mix of subject matter and knowledge as well as the skills that are learned throughout. I still think that the curriculum can be seen as a guideline for teachers so they know what to teach - and to an extent, how - however, it is not a simple guide that is clear cut and it requires a lot of work from the teacher to interpret it in the right way.

4. Third Space

   • Making links between home life and school life

5. Hidden Curriculum

   • Everything outside of curricula and subject matter that children learn within a school setting

6. Child-Led

   • Important to give children opportunities to take charge of their own learning