Literacy and English within Curriculum for Excellence

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Literacy and English within Curriculum for
Excellence
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
Yasmin Ashby, Literacy Development Officer David
Miller, English Teacher, St. Ninians High
School, Bishopbriggs
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Purposes of this session

• To inform participants about current progress
  with Curriculum for Excellence.
• To share information about the draft Literacy and
  English experiences and outcomes.
• To reflect on the implications for learning and
  teaching and the curriculum.
• To inform participants about the feedback and
  what will happen next.

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Setting the scene - why change?

• The National Debate - we valued
• The flexibility which already exists in the
  Scottish system
• The combination of breadth and rigour offered by
  the curriculum guidance
• The quality of teaching
• The comprehensive principle

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Common Points from Review Groups

• The National Debate we wanted
• Better connections between the stages
• Balance 'academic' and 'vocational' subjects -
  skills for now and future
• More how to teach than what to teach - retain
  effective practice
• Strong emphasis on enjoyment and development of
  understanding
• Assessment fit for purpose AifL

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National and International research

• General indicators of success
• reading in home, library/information networks
• flexible design of teaching programmes, embedded
  literacy
• problem solving approaches
• use of digital technology
• strategies to promote collaborative and
  independent learning
• support for research on methodology
• love of reading in all forms

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Skills for Scotland A Lifelong Skills Strategy
...plan and organise
...work with others
...solve problems
The ability to
...think critically creatively
...use initiative
..to learn
...lead
..take risks
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The Scottish Government, Edinburgh 2007
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Confederation of Business Industry 2007 and 2008

• .the CBI report showed that one in three
  employers had been forced to send staff for
  remedial training to teach them basic English and
  maths skills they did not learn at school.

9 out of 10 companies believe that soft skills
are as important as academic qualifications. TES
Nov 1997
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Within an experience or outcome

Show skills
De-clutter
Show progression
Indicate methodology
Literacy relevant to all
Link to 4 Capacities
Allow for links to other frameworks/ other
subject areas
Teach for understanding
Indicate cognitive demand
Link to overarching experiences
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Who is involved?
Scottish Government Ministers
LTS
Scottish Government Education and Training
Directorate
HMIE
SQA
Children and young people
Local authorities
Universities
Teachers
Colleges
Parents
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Quality Assurance process
Writing Team
Internal Programme Board
Quality Assurance
Validation Group
Management Board for sign off
Publication
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Literacy across the Curriculum

• The literacy experiences and outcomes apply
  across the curriculum, in all aspects of learning
  and all subject areas
• All practitioners in each sector, in each
  department and in all settings therefore have a
  responsibility to develop, reinforce and extend
  the skills which are set out in the literacy
  experiences and outcomes
• For further information refer to Building the
  Curriculum 1

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Definition of Literacy

• Literacy is the set of skills which allows an
  individual to engage fully in society and in
  learning, through the different forms of language
  which society values and finds useful.
• Literacy and English cover paper 2008

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Definition of Texts

• a text is the medium through which ideas,
  experiences, opinions and information can be
  communicated.
• Literacy and English cover paper 2008
• Wider definition not just conventional print
• Texts used throughout framework
• Personalisation popular culture
• Multimodal texts

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Purposes of Trialling and Feedback

• To ensure experiences outcomes are clear and
  can be used by teachers to build upon current
  practice
• To contribute to CPD and preparation for future
  implementation
• To provide writers with robust information to
  prepare experiences outcomes in their final
  form
• To help determine next steps by way of future
  support/ exemplification.

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Feedback from Engagement by means of

• Presentations and Workshops
• On-line Questionnaire
• Trialling and visits to trialling establishments
• Focus Groups
• Glasgow University Report

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What did you tell us in the feedback? Scope of
the report

• Analysis of feedback from a range of responses
• Literacy/English
• 125 online questionnaires
• Trialling feedback from 7 local authorities
• 41 participants in four regional focus groups
• 4 responses from interest and advisory groups

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Nature of feedback

• Feedback collated around
• CPD needs
• Exemplification
• Elaboration
• Edit/rewrite

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Feedback on CPD

• Needs / concerns identified included
• More collaboration at local and national levels
  effective channels of communication
• Time to think and talk
• More guidance on assessment
• More resources - esp Scots Language

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Exemplification

• Needs / concern included
• Models of good practice
• Support for planning
• Literacy across the curriculum

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Elaboration

• Needs/ concerns included
• Further details on progression - not all lines of
  progression are clear
• Concern that outcomes are vague and woolly

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Edit/rewrite

• Needs/concerns included
• Difficulties presented by single document for
  English and literacy
• Use of first person for Es and Os
• Role of school library not acknowledged

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What Next for US?Working together with our
partners

• We have already-
• Looked in depth at feedback collated by
  University of Glasgow
• Hosted a 2 day Literacy Residential -
  representative group who looked at the feedback
  with us and made proposals which will inform our
  action plan.
• We are going to-
• Edit / Elaborate / Exemplify / CPD
• Create case studies and exemplars drawn from
  trialling and from other good, interesting,
  innovative practices

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What Next for YOU? Important background material
Building the Curriculum 3
Draft Experiences and Outcomes
Building the Curriculum2
Building the Curriculum1
Starter and Reflective Tool Kits
June 2008
Sept 2007 June 2008
Progress Proposals
March 2007
Nov 2006
The Curriculum Review Group
April 2006
March 2006
Nov 2004
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Building the Curriculum 3

• All children and young people are entitled to
  experience-
• a coherent curriculum from 3 to 18
• a broad general education, including well planned
  experiences and outcomes across all the
  curriculum areas. This should include
  understanding of the world and Scotlands place
  in it and understanding of the environment
• a senior phase which provides opportunities for
  study and qualifications and other planned
  opportunities for developing the four capacities
• opportunities for developing skills for learning,
  skills for life and skills for work
• opportunities to achieve to the highest levels
  they can through appropriate personal support and
  challenge
• opportunities to move into positive and sustained
  destinations beyond school

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BTC3 sets out the framework for learning and
teaching in Scotland for the 21st Century what
can you be doing now?

• Consider
• how every teacher can be a teacher of literacy,
  numeracy, health wellbeing
• planning for a more coherent curriculum 3-18- the
  ethos and life of the school as a community,
  curriculum areas and subjects, interdisciplinary
  learning and opportunities for personal
  achievement
• how to ensure entitlements in BtC3 for all
  children and young people, including a broad
  general education to S3
• how to keep parents and local employers informed
  and engaged

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Values Wisdom, justice, Compassion, integrity
The curriculum all that we plan for children
and young peoples learning
Effective teaching and active, sustained
learning
Experiences and outcomes 8 curriculum areas
Entitlements
Principles for planning Challenge and
enjoyment Breadth Progression Depth Personalisatio
n and choice Coherence Relevance
Support for learning through choices and
changes into positive and sustained destinations
CPD Self-evaluation and accountability Assessment,
qualifications aligned with purposes
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Contact Details
Fiona Norris F.Norris_at_LTScotland.org.uk Yasmin
Ashby Y.Ashby_at_LTScotland.org.uk Louise
Ballantyne L.Ballantyne_at_LTScotland.org.uk Trevor
Gray T.Gray_at_LTScotland.org.uk