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Review of the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement

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Title: Review of the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement


1
Review of the implementation of the National
Curriculum Statement
  • Report of the Task Team

2
Background to the Report
  • Minister of Basic Education noted the following
  • criticism of the implementation of the NCS and
    the manifestation of teacher overload
  • the challenge of underperformance of learners in
    local and international assessments
  • Minister appointed a panel of experts to conduct
    hearings with teachers to understand the
    curriculum challenges

3
Terms of Reference
  • Identify challenges and pressure points in the
    implementation of the NCS Grades R-12
  • Investigate how challenges could be addressed
  • Develop a set of practical interventions to
    respond to the noted challenges

4
Problem Questions
  • Policy and Guideline Documents
  • The contribution of the NCS policy documents to
    the overload was investigated
  • Transition between Grades and Phases
  • This was to identify problems with transition
    from Grade 3 to 4 and from Grade 9 to 10
  • Assessment
  • This was to establish whether there was clarity
    and appropriate use of

5
Problem Questions Continued
  • Teacher Support and Training
  • This was to investigate the extent of teacher
    support and training for curriculum
    implementation
  • Learning and Teaching Support Materials
  • This was to investigate the challenges of the
    development of learning materials and their
    provision to schools

6
Methods
  • The panel held public hearings and interviews
    with Teachers, Teacher Unions and Subject
    Advisors across the 9 provinces
  • Over 500 electronic and written comments from
    parents, academics, teachers, professional
    organisations, etc, were received in August
  • The method also included review of documents

7
Main issues emerging from hearings and submissions
  • General support of NCS
  • Document proliferation
  • Assessment
  • Transitions (Grade 3 and 4 Grade 9 and 10)
  • Overload
  • Contexts of teaching
  • Strengths and weaknesses of NCS

8
A Clear, Simple Five Year Plan to Improve
Teaching and Learning
  • The plan should provide a vision of a bigger
    picture in terms of what education and the
    curriculum are set to do and achieve
  • The plan must offer the support to teachers and
    the improvement of learner performance
  • Mechanisms to monitor implementation of the plan
    through external monitoring to assess whether it
    has the desired effects on learner and teacher
    performance

9
A Set of Simple and Coherent Curriculum Documents
  • Develop a single Overview Curriculum and
    Assessment policy document for Grade R-12
  • The learning area and subject documents to be
    organised around knowledge (content, concepts and
    skills) to be learnt, with recommended texts,
    pedagogical approaches and assessment
    requirements
  • Document to address knowledge gaps that have been
    identified

10
A Set of Simple and Coherent Curriculum Documents
  • The number of Learning Areas in the Foundation
    Phase should be reduced
  • The teaching of English as a First Additional
    Language must be given priority and that English
    should be taught from Grade 1
  • Develop separate, special guideline documents for
    ELSEN and multi-grade classes aligned to the
    Curriculum and Assessment Policy documents

11
A Set of Simple and Coherent Curriculum
Documents, Conti
  • The Foundations for Learning should be replicated
    in all schools as soon as possible.
  • Oversight of curriculum should be centralised
    within the Department of Basic Education and all
    communication should be through the Department

12
Assessment
  • Regular external annual assessment of
    Mathematics, Home Language and English FAL in
    Grade 3 6 9
  • Finalise promotion and progression requirements
    for Grades R-12 as well as grading descriptors
    for all grades
  • The balance between year marks and examinations
    should be 50 50 for Grades 4-9 and 25 year
    mark and 75 exam mark for Grades 10-12

13
Workload
  • The requirements of projects as an assessment
    requirement must be reduced to one project per
    learning area/subject
  • Rationalise and standardise the levels of
    planning required for teachers in different
    schools and prescribe core requirements for the
    Teacher File
  • Learner portfolios as separate, formal
    compilations of assessment tasks must be
    discontinued.
  • Evidence of school based assessment for promotion
    and progression must be kept in most appropriate
    mode

14
Teacher Training
  • Targeted in-service teacher training must be
    provided where is it needed most
  • Principals, HODs, District and Provincial Support
    Staff should be trained on curriculum and content
    and assessment requirements
  • HEIs should be required to align their teacher
    training programmes with the national curriculum
    documents with national curriculum
  • Teaching for 5 hours per day

15
Clarification of Roles with respect to Curriculum
Production, Dissemination, Monitoring and Support
  • Clarify the roles of subject advisors nationally,
    specifying the exact nature of the in-classroom
    and school support they should provide.
  • Clarify the roles of the national, provincial and
    district level support for curriculum.

16
LTSM
  • Develop a national catalogue of textbooks and
    other LTSM aligned to the Curriculum and
    Assessment Policy Document
  • The role of textbooks and other LTSM must be
    reasserted
  • Plan for the provision of a textbook for all
    learners (Grade 4-12) for every learning area /
    subject and relevant LSM (Foundation Phase)

17
Plans for 2010
  • The Minister of Basic Education has announced the
    following
  • Curriculum and Assessment Policy documents will
    be developed and implemented in 2011
  • Use of Learner Portfolios will be discontinued
    from 2010
  • Only one file for administrative purposes will be
    required from teachers
  • Number of projects required by learners will be
    reduced
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