B.C.’s new curriculum is gradually coming to schools across the province, and Tuesday will by Curriculum Day for educators in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District.
Teachers have been signing up for workshops and the school district’s director of instruction Jovo Bikic said online registration was brisk, with some of the courses filling up in 24 hours.
“It’s pretty cool stuff.”
Some of the topics for Tuesday’s 19 different workshops:
• aboriginal principles of learning – which offers courses in the science of first peoples, Metis history and culture and indigenous perspectives;
• social and emotional learning – with focus on student self assessment of the core competencies identified in the new curriculum;
• curricular areas – with workshops on enterprising play, K-3 literacy, math for Grades 4-7, digital resources in science and more.
The old retired curriculum had a lot of topics which teachers were required to teach. Too much, educators felt.
“Now they’re not just ticking off topics that they have to cover,” said Bikic.
“Teachers feel a greater sense of flexibility.”
With less content to cover, they are free to delve deeper into ideas that engage their students, and follow class interests.
Walking into their child’s classroom, some parents are going to see big differences from their days in school.
“You walk into some settings where kids are not all doing the same thing. And you’re not going to see rows of desks,” he said.
Instead, there are students broken into groups working on projects, working with devices and taking them outside, or interviewing people in their community.
“But there is still a lot of structure, and still a lot of forethought.”
He said there is a physics teacher in the district who has already reformed his course from textbook work and math questions to project-based learning. Teachers are at different levels of integrating the new approach.
“It’s still a journey, recognizing teachers are learners, too. As are support staff,” said Bikic.
“I think we’re on the right path, and we have to continue on it. We’re not there yet, but I don’t know if you ever get there.”
A change in student evaluation has been ushered in at the same time, and letter grades are gone from elementary schools. They will remain at the high school level for now, but Bikic said student evaluation will be done by new assessment practices. These will see students setting their own goals, doing self assessment and involving their parents.
The district is also exploring online portfolios as a way of evaluating students, and generally asking what the best assessment practices are.
The Grade 10-12 implementation begins next year.