Comments on A competence-based curriculum: RSA Opening Minds workshopsTypePad2012-02-14T14:20:57ZEwan McIntoshhttps://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/tag:typepad.com,2003:https://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2012/02/a-competence-based-curriculum-rsa-opening-minds-workshops/comments/atom.xml/Jean Doré commented on 'A competence-based curriculum: RSA Opening Minds workshops'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e2016301c7514e970d2012-02-21T16:57:35Z2012-02-21T16:57:35ZJean Doréhttp://jeandore.wordpress.com...et selon ma propre expérience, il est difficile de concilier les 2...puisque l'école elle-même n'a pas vraiment évolué depuis l'époque...<p>...et selon ma propre expérience, il est difficile de concilier les 2...puisque l'école elle-même n'a pas vraiment évolué depuis l'époque de Charlemagne...Quand je dois rendre mes notes (évaluation), c'est toujours un casse-tête pour moi...</p>Ewan McIntosh commented on 'A competence-based curriculum: RSA Opening Minds workshops'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e20168e7b9c06c970c2012-02-21T09:46:52Z2012-02-21T09:46:52ZEwan McIntoshhttp://edu.blogs.com@Jacques: "Although most teachers would agree to the importance of these skills and comptetencies, few would actually articulate their learning...<p>@Jacques: "Although most teachers would agree to the importance of these skills and comptetencies, few would actually articulate their learning activities around them. Wh? My hypothesis is that the culture of testing has largely supassed the culture of learning in our schools. I'm not stating this in a negative way (especially not in the teacher Appreciation Week), it's just the way we "do school"."</p>
<p>I don't know if it's a culture of testing that has become more prevalent, as there's always been testing (in fact, in the days of the 11+ there was more of it, earlier, than there is now perhaps). But it is about the idea that there's a way that we "do school". I blogged about Bourdieu's understanding of why teachers (and others) go back to the way they were taught things, despite knowing (in theory) that the opposite might work better:<br />
http://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2012/01/why-does-innovation-in-education-take-so-long-field-habitus-identity-thats-why.html</p>Quran commented on 'A competence-based curriculum: RSA Opening Minds workshops'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e20168e7aae493970c2012-02-20T10:09:57Z2012-02-20T10:09:57ZQuranhttp://www.quranreading.com/If children get a perfect forum at early stage of life for sharing their point of view and acknowledge new...<p>If children get a perfect forum at early stage of life for sharing their point of view and acknowledge new technology. It would be an excellence for their career. Because these factors will enhance their confidence at early stage.</p>Jacques Cool commented on 'A competence-based curriculum: RSA Opening Minds workshops'tag:typepad.com,2003:6a00d83451f00f69e20168e7831522970c2012-02-17T14:00:24Z2012-02-17T14:00:24ZJacques Coolhttp://zecool.comI was completely absorbed by your opening paragraph and how skills and competencies need to be the "starting point not...<p>I was completely absorbed by your opening paragraph and how skills and competencies need to be the "starting point not school subjects" in our curriculum documents.</p>
<p>For +20 years, I worked in the franco Curriculum Branch at DoE (New Brunswick) and as a group, we were (and they still are, IMO, as I've moved on to other things) searching for the Holy Grail of writing a curriculum document. By the late 90's we had finally come around to having a common "front-end" framework for all programs of study (K-12, all subject matters). A common set of articulated skills and competencies, pretty much the same as we read about in this day and age(it's just the hyper-connected context that has changed).</p>
<p>They may have found their place at the start of theses docs but hey, they were rarely seen as being the starting point of teaching and learning in many classes. Maybe it's because that these official documents were all subject-based (ex. gr. 6 science) and very quickly, teachers and "subject" consultants would shift to the more specific content-related outcomes.Addto this the fact that testing frameworks remained largely built arund these outcomes. </p>
<p>Although most teachers would agree to the importance of these skills and comptetencies, few would actually articulate their learning activities around them. Wh? My hypothesis is that the culture of testing has largely supassed the culture of learning in our schools. I'm not stating this in a negative way (especially not in the teacher Appreciation Week), it's just the way we "do school".</p>
<p>We need to find courage (and innovative curriculum-writing ways) in putting forward frameworks that move us away from the subject-based silo approach to traditional programs of study. Instead, subject-related content can be acquired "through" (key word here) intertwined, complex, real-life-like activities, with learning outcomes articulated in such ways. Not easy, true. As I tweeted earlier today (in French), teaching is as complex as medecine and engineering, more so in this day and age of a "pre-dawn Arab spring of education".</p>
<p>As someone once said, the walls of the box from which we need to think out of are thickened by years of experience...</p>
<p>Merci Ewan!<br />
</p>