Especean

Curriculum

NSW Curriculum Reforms

Given the additional pressure on schools who are already dealing with teacher shortages,

various media releases over the last couple of months have announced that the NSW Government has extended its timeline of curriculum reform.

 

Each new syllabus developed by NESA requires considerable time for teachers to be consulted, undertake professional learning, develop new teaching/learning programs, develop assessment, and ensure meaningful and reliable delivery to students and consistent reporting to parents.

 

The extended timeframe means all new syllabuses will be delivered to teachers by 2027 with full implementation across the K-12 curriculum by 2030 with a hundred new syllabuses implemented over the next two years. Core subjects like English and Mathematics have been given priority, ready for full implementation next year.

 

The full reform timeline showing timing of syllabus consultation, release, planning and preparation, and implementation has now been published by NESA and interested parents/carers may access it at via the NESA website, Curriculum Reform timeline | NSW Government.

 

It is important to note that timings are indicative and subject to change.

 

Michael Cutrupi 

Director of Curriculum

Scaffolding: 'We talk a lot about ‘scaffolding,’ but what are we really referring to? '

It’s most often used as a noun where we refer to a physical scaffold, usually a plan showing the breakdown of a paragraph or essay, that assists students to plan and structure their writing. This is something that teachers are using more and more and can be very helpful in assisting students to develop their writing skills and writing confidence. As students become more confident writers, it’s important to gradually remove the scaffold so they become able to independently plan and execute a piece of writing in response to a question. 

Digital scaffolds

When scaffolds are implemented digitally, they allow for increased accessibility for students with additional needs. These can include voice recording, drawing and video options. 

 

Scaffolding is also used as a verb in teaching when we ‘scaffold’ a task for students, which means we provide a structure for students, a path through a task, seeing it to completion. We help them plan what they will do and often assign a time frame to the individual ‘mini tasks’ and steps required to complete the task successfully. We usually do this when we are working closely with students who struggle to plan, manage their time, organise, and see the links between parts - and it’s best when it’s ongoing. Many of our boys require this, boys across the range of intellectual abilities, who may have trouble with executive functioning and self-regulation. Regular check-ins are part of ongoing scaffolding. As students become more capable and confident writers, we lessen the scaffolding and eventually remove it.

Executive Functioning and How to Build these Skills at Home

Executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. Just as an air traffic control system at a busy airport safely manages the arrivals and departures of many aircraft on multiple runways, the brain needs this skill set to filter distractions, prioritize tasks, set, and achieve goals, and control impulses.

 

When children have opportunities to develop executive function and self-regulation skills, individuals and society experience lifelong benefits. These skills are crucial for learning and development. They also enable positive behaviour and allow us to make healthy choices for ourselves and our families.

 

Executive function and self-regulation skills depend on three types of brain function: working memory, mental flexibility, and self-control. These functions are highly interrelated, and the successful application of executive function skills requires them to operate in coordination with each other.

 

Each type of executive function skill draws on elements of the others.

 

Working memory governs our ability to retain and manipulate distinct pieces of information over short periods of time.

 

Mental flexibility helps us to sustain or shift attention in response to different demands or to apply different rules in different settings.

 

Self-control enables us to set priorities and resist impulsive actions or responses.

Providing the support that children need to build these skills at home, is one of society’s most important responsibilities. Growth-promoting environments provide children with “scaffolding” that helps them practice necessary skills before they must perform them alone. Adults can facilitate the development of a child’s executive function skills by establishing routines, modeling social behaviour, and creating and maintaining supportive, reliable relationships. It is also important for children to exercise their developing skills through activities that foster creative play and social connection, teach them how to cope with stress, involve vigorous exercise, and over time, provide opportunities for directing their own actions with decreasing adult supervision.

 

(From the Center of the Developing Child, Harvard University)

MODIFYING OR ADJUSTING?                                   Let’s get the language right.

Adjustments

Adjustments are changes that are made to accommodate learning and assessment that do not fundamentally alter the performance standards, instructional level, or content of what the student is expected to learn. Adjustments involve alternative assessment procedures, which incorporate the individual student's needs and reflect the concept of universal design. Examples of adjustments include the following:

  • simplifying the wording of questions; glossaries 
  • providing students with more time to complete tasks
  • reducing the length of an assignment
  • allowing students to answer tests orally instead of through writing
  • preferential seating 
  • changing the location of testing to reduce potential distractions
  • providing additional support or scaffolding
  • note-taking assistance or scribing for a student
  • allowing access to a computer and assistive technology
  • reducing the length of an assignment
  • allowing students to answer tests orally instead of through writing.

Modifications

Modifications are provisions that alter or change in some way what the student is learning. Modifications also change to some degree the performance standards or expectations of a student, when compared to their peers. Examples of modifications include the following:

  • providing an alternative assignment or assessment task
  • working with instructional material at a lower level
  • reducing the number of words a student needs to learn for a spelling test
  • modifying the student's class schedule (e.g., instead of Visual Arts, allowing an extra study period or additional intervention)
  • providing an alternative form of a test to the student (e.g., short answers instead of an essay.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss any of the ideas here in relation to your son’s learning. 

 

Amanda Metua

Head of Diverse Learning