Queensland School Curriculum Council

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Queensland School Curriculum Council

• Subject Area
• Syllabuses
• Project

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Overview

• The Council
• The project
• Outcomes approach
• Format of the subject area
• Information and Communication Education syllabus
• How you can be involved

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Queensland School Curriculum Council

• Established as a statutory body in 1997.
• Independent and autonomous.
• Membership includes the three school authorities.

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Who is involved ?
Consultation will involve all systems, including

Education Queensland
Association of Independent Schools in Queensland
Qld Catholic Education Commission
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Office of the Queensland SchoolCurriculum Council

• Three areas of activity within the office
• Curriculum Development
• Quality Assurance
• Strategic Planning

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Years 1 to 10 Key Learning Area Publications

• Syllabus
• Sourcebook Guidelines
• Sourcebook Modules
• Initial In-service Materials

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Common Curriculum Eight Key Learning Areas

• Science Years 1 to 10
• HPE Years 1 to 10
• SOSE Years 1 to 10
• LOTE Years 4 to 10
• The Arts Years 1 to 10
• Technology Years 1 to 10
• Mathematics Years 1 to 10
• English Years 1 to 10

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Background to the project

• 1998- 99 Consultation
• Syllabuses for Subject Areas A Discussion Paper
  
• for State-wide Consultation.
• Preferred models identified
• 1999 - Decision to develop Subject Area
  Syllabuses
• Project began January 2000

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Subject Area Syllabuses

• Agriculture Education
• Business Education
• Home Economics Education
• Industrial Technology and Design Education
• Information and Communication Education

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Project timeline
2000 January Start Subject Area Syllabuses
Project February Project Profile
established March Subject Advisory Committee
met May Invitation to offer- syllabus
writing June Sub committees established
July/ Writing / sub-committee
meetings August September Draft syllabuses on
web October On-line consultation begins 2001
March Revision of syllabuses June Endorsement
of syllabuses by Council July Revised
syllabuses on web Available to school systems
for implementation On going monitoring
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Subject area syllabuses

• are for lower secondary
• are for some students, in some schools, for only
  part of the compulsory years of schooling
• contain outcomes for levels 4, 5, 6 and Beyond
  level 6.

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Subject Area Syllabuses

• Published on- line
• Consultation on-line

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Syllabus Writing

• Outsourced writers contracted to produce a draft
  syllabus for consultation
• One group/writer per subject area syllabus.
• First draft produced by QSITE team

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Sources of information

• For the development of Subject Area Syllabuses
• Existing Years 1 to 10 Key learning area
  syllabuses
• Previous BOSSS junior secondary syllabuses
• Research from subject associations
• National and international curriculum
  documents

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Syllabus structure
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Syllabus Characteristics

• outcomes focused
• cater for specialised learning in particular
  contexts for some students
• may draw from a range of key learning areas in
  different ways for different subject areas.

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What may a syllabus look like?

• Elements generic to all QSCC syllabuses
• Outcomes drawn from relevant key learning areas
• Elements unique to the subject area

• Information for planning activities relevant for
  the specific subject area syllabus
• Strategies for teaching and learning in that area
• Resources and web links that will contribute to
  an on-line resource document

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Outcomes approach
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Outcomes

• Inform planning and
• Provide a framework for assessment

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Outcomes

• Describe what students know and can do.
• Are conceptually linked to each other along a
  developmental continuum.
• Represent long term learning.
• Inform planning and provide a framework for
  assessing.

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Syllabuses may include

• Essential learning outcomes (made up of)
• Subject area specific outcomes
• core learning outcomes from one or more of the
  key learning areas.
• All learning outcomes may be delivered in a
  specialised context.

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Cross Curriculum Priorities

• Literacy
• Numeracy
• Lifeskills
• Futures Perspective

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Other curriculum priorities

• Work education
• Community involvement

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Nestedness

• The syllabuses describe levels 4, 5 6 and beyond
  level 6. The sequencing of essential and
  discretionary learning outcomes within each
  strand is such that each level is nested within
  the following level.

Level 6
Level 5
Level 4
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Information and Communication Education

• Draft syllabus

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Links to key learning areas

• Information and communication education draws on
  outcomes from
• Technology KLA
• The Arts KLA
• English KLA

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What will it contain?

• Subject area syllabuses have 5 parts
• 1. Rationale
• 2. Outcomes
• 3. Assessment
• 4. Additional curriculum materials
• 5. Glossary

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Rationale

• Nature of the subject area
• Nature of learning in the subject area
• Contribution of the subject area to learning
• Contribution to equity
• Cross-curricular priorities
• Understanding about learners and learning
• Learner-centred approach

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Outcomes framework

• Global subject area outcomes that focus on the
  uniqueness of Information and Communication
  (section 2.1)
• Strands of the subject area detailed in section
  2.2.

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Proposed strands
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Sample of nested outcomes

• L4 CME Students apply, the elements of the
  software development cycle and are aware of
  algorithmic constructs.
• L5 Students produce solutions to increasingly
  complex problems and are, in the process,
  devising simple algorithms.
• L6 Students solve more complex problems,
  involving a software based solution, that explore
  opportunities and refine criteria on which to
  base judgements.

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Essential content

• One list per strand
• Content that is essential to the subject area
• Unlevelled
• Typical for students in levels 4 to beyond 6.

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Elaborations

• Provide additional information for teachers that
  exemplify and contextualise core learning
  outcomes.
• Exemplify knowing and how that knowledge might be
  typically demonstrated.

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Section 3 Assessment

• 3.4 Selecting techniques and instruments for
  assessment
• Table of techniques and instruments
• Student folio and any other additions

• Any other reporting methods

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Additional Curriculum materials

• Characteristics of worthwhile programs
• References
• Web site addresses
• Pointers to support materials
• Teaching strategies

• Advice on planning courses of study
• Examples and exemplars of good practice
• Learning experiences for students
• Teacher notes

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Planning courses of study

• Schools will develop courses of study from
  subject area syllabuses

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Possible courses of study

• Year 8
• Years 8/ 9
• Years 9/ 10
• Years 8/ 9/ 10

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Worthwhile courses of study

• Include essential learning outcomes for the
  strands
• Cover a range of learnings from across the
  strands
• Include the processes embodied in the document

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Courses of study

• From the syllbus, a number of courses of study
  can be developed. For example
• Courses may be in
• Computer studies
• Media studies
• Communication studies
• Business education
• Design studies

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Consultation

• Subject Area Syllabuses Advisory Committee
• Information and Communication Education
  sub-committee
• On-line consultative network
• Forums

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Participate by

• Joining the on-line consultative network
• Visit the QSCC web site,

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QSCC Website

• http//www.qscc.qld.edu.au

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On the QSCC web site

• Go to Curriculum
• you will see a list of the Key Learning Areas.
• Underneath find Other Studies

• Other Studies
• You will find information on the background to
  the project and the on- line consultative network

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Contacts
Vicki Knopke Phone [phone] Kathryn
Holzheimer Phone [phone] Fax 3405
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