From: "Education
Minister" <edminister.update@gov.ab.ca>
Date: Mar 12, 2014 7:02 PM
Subject: Important Message from the Education Minister: Curriculum Redesign
Date: Mar 12, 2014 7:02 PM
Subject: Important Message from the Education Minister: Curriculum Redesign
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I am writing you today once again
to ensure that you are aware of exciting developments in the education system
that affect you. First, let me take this opportunity to thank you for
all of your great work and dedication to students. The recent PISA
study is a testament to your success. In spite of recent criticism by
some, let me assure you that our Premier and government are incredibly proud
of educators like you that have made our education system one of the best
performing in the world. It has only become one of the best because of
our commitment to continuous improvement and our embrace of global best
practice and research. The recently announced curriculum redesign is just one of those
initiatives.
However, it is
clear to me that in spite of two years of collaborative work with the ATA,
ASBA, CASS, ASCA, and business and industry, some questions remain about the
joint approach that we are taking with curriculum redesign. I would
like to try and clarify for you the work that is underway and I also welcome
your questions, comments and advice in relation to this initiative. I assure you
that Alberta will not rush to implement changes to curriculum until parents
and educators are confident that we have it right.
As educators,
parents, and administrators, it is our responsibility to ensure that our
education system is continually evolving and putting students first. We must
take stock of the world around us, at home and abroad, and determine how to
best tailor the education system to meet the demands of a globally,
interconnected economy. The world in which our students will soon enter is becoming
increasingly competitive and demanding of new skills which, we have heard
through conversations with Albertans, need to be better built into today’s
curriculum.
This is one of
the reasons we are redesigning the curriculum to make it more responsive,
more relevant and better suited to present and future realities. Some of our
recent successes in education are reflective of these efforts, all of which
aim to put students at the heart of the system. Teachers, like you, are
leading the way in helping to effectively implement a number of innovative
initiatives like the Dual Credit Partnerships Program, the High School
Flexibility Program and the transition to digital and flexible Student
Learning Assessments. You will remain a vital partner in any changes moving
forward and we will continue to rely on your professional expertise as
educators.
As frontline
education professionals, you know better than anyone else that each student
learns differently and a one-size fits all approach to education is quickly
becoming a thing of the past.
Secondly,
teachers have told me that the current curriculum is too packed and can force
teachers to only scratch the surface of subject matter and limit an
opportunity to impart the full scope of their knowledge. You have also
told me that a packed curriculum prevents teachers from having the time and
space they need to individualize learning to better meet the needs of
students. It can also stifle a teacher’s creativity, inhibiting the
application of their full skillset. And lastly, we also need to heed
the concerns of parents and find ways to more strongly emphasize the
foundational skills of numeracy and literacy.
In order to
address these shortcomings, while also developing a curriculum that prepares
Alberta's students for the rigors of the modern world, we have endeavored to
create a dynamic and holistic curriculum. The process by which we will do
this is intended to be immensely collaborative and will rely on the
dedication, skills and expertise of individuals like you. The redesign
process is being led by a consortia of school boards who have committed to
engage with classroom teachers, parents, the business community, FNMI and
trustees from across the province. You should also be aware that the ATA has
been on our government's Curriculum Advisory Committee for the past two years
to represent you throughout the development of this process.
Moving
forward, the redesign will first yield draft curriculum prototypes that we
will look to implement more broadly once they are ready. Although this
process only recently got underway, I can tell you that our three main
objectives are the following:
·
Better focus the curriculum on relevant and
important learner outcomes. The current curriculum is too packed and has
ballooned to over 1400 objectives;
·
More firmly embed the fundamentals - numeracy
and literacy - throughout every subject and course offering to ensure better
mastery of basic skills; and
·
Along with the fundamentals, more deliberately
instill soft skills the economy and employers are demanding, such as problem
solving, critical thinking, collaboration, communication and
entrepreneurialism.
Furthermore, I
wish to clarify what this process is not. Despite claims to the contrary,
Alberta Education is not embracing or moving towards simply imposing
so-called "discovery learning”. Some have suggested that teachers
will only be a partner in learning and learners will be completely self-directed.
I can tell you this is absolute rubbish. Alberta, as you know, has
already embraced inquiry-based learning, which is an approach that is well
documented and the basis of significant scientific study. We know that
methods used to reach each student are best determined by you as the
professionals in the classroom. I encourage you to read more about
inquiry-based learning by following this link: http://www.education.alberta.ca/teachers/aisi/themes/inquiry.aspx.
Additionally,
the redesign process is neither drastic nor radical. It is being done in a
thoughtful, methodical and collaborative manner. No longer can educators take
ten years to redesign a single subject at a time. We want teachers, parents,
industry and students from the field to develop our prototypes. We hope
our new process will enable us to interweave and reinforce the application of
the fundamentals in with 21st century competencies across all subjects.
A successful
redesign of the curriculum is integral to realizing the vision of Inspiring
Education. If you are unsure of what inspiring education is challenging
us to do, please visit this link, which will take you to the
introductory speech I delivered to the Inspiring Education Symposium on
February 19th. I trust that you will find it informative and helpful.
As many of you are fielding questions on the curriculum redesign, I have also
attached my opinion editorial which appeared recently in the Calgary Herald
to the end of this email.
I am also
pleased to inform you that Cabinet recently approved the establishment of the
Teacher Development and Practice Advisory Committee (TDPAC). This committee
will be chaired by ATA President, Mark Ramsankar, and teachers will comprise
half of the committee’s voting membership. The purpose of TDPAC is to
advise the government on all matters affecting the teaching profession. I
look forward to working with TDPAC to ensure that we’re constantly
strengthening the teaching profession in Alberta.
In closing, I
wish to express that I am excited to be working with you to help reach the
highest possible level of student achievement in our province. Our world
leading results are a testament to your hard work. The education system of
the future - the system in which we are building on - will be cutting-edge,
dynamic and student-centred. The ethical citizens, engaged thinkers and
entrepreneurial spirits of Inspiring Education will help shepherd Alberta
further into the 21st century and will ensure our children are among the
world’s best prepared to compete in a global economy.
Warm regards,
Jeff Johnson
Minister
Alberta Education
MLA for
Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater
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