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THEORY
02 BUILDING EXCELLENCE AROUND THE CURRICULUM
Maggi Allan, O.B.E.
Chair, Programme Board
Curriculum for Excellence
The education community in Scotland is currently engaged in the implementation of the report produced by the Curriculum Review group, entitled A Curriculum for Excellence. 1
This report is unique in many ways. For the first time in Scottish education we have an opportunity to look at learning from 3 to 18 as a continuum, set within a framework of explicit purposes for education and design principles. The report is rightly an aspirational one, which presents us with the challenge of providing opportunities for all young people to be successful learners, effective contributors, confident individuals and responsible citizens able to meet the challenges of the 21st Century. This is to be achieved through an approach to curriculum design based on coherence, relevance, personalisation and choice.
We know that pupils are more likely to engage positively with school if they feel that school experiences are of relevance to them, and if they are given opportunities to make choices about their learning. Curriculum for Excellence means challenging and changing some routine practices. In particular, it means strengthening the relationship between learning and teaching in a variety of different ways.
It is interesting to note that in taking forward this curriculum change educators in Scotland have not confined their thinking only to matters of pedagogy. Having established that the purposes and principles of Curriculum for Excellence are the basis upon which we will organise learning and teaching in the future, local authorities, school leaders and teachers are asking what this means for school buildings. How should the way we use space in our existing school buildings and grounds, and in newly designed or refurbished schools, relate to Curriculum for Excellence?
It is apparent from development work already underway in schools that many teachers are adapting their teaching approaches according to the learning outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence. The school leadership often supports these attempts by taking a fresh look at how the school building and its grounds can be used to maximise learning opportunities.
Since the publication of the report, through engagement with the teaching profession, two key messages have emerged which are influencing how schools plan learning and teaching. 2 Firstly, as many schools recognise, the curriculum is more than curriculum areas and subjects: it is the totality of experiences which are planned for children and young people through their education - a canvas upon which their learning experiences are formed. At all stages, from early years through to S6, the curriculum should include learning through:
- the ethos and life of the school as a community;
- curriculum areas and subjects;
- interdisciplinary projects and studies;
- opportunities for personal achievement.
Secondly, there is a growing consensus that all teachers, and indeed all those who work with children and young people, have responsibility for helping all to develop the four capacities.
Both of these key messages have implications for how we link the use of the physical environment of the school with the purposes and design principles of Curriculum for Excellence.
An extensive building and refurbishment programme has been taking place across Scotland, providing modern buildings and resources which need to take account of the changing nature of learning and teaching. However, there are also many older schools in which management teams are facing up to the specifically building-related challenges of Curriculum for Excellence. For example, how can access to facilities be managed in a way which maximises learning opportunities and is consistent with the aspirations of such principles as enjoyment, personalisation and choice?
Teachers are experienced in providing learning settings which match the nature of the activity their pupils are engaged in and indeed they often do this by transforming their classrooms in imaginative and inventive ways. Consideration of how to enable learners to become successful, confident, responsible and effective has led teachers to consider how they can match teaching styles, resources, and environments more closely to the purposes of learning. Teachers need access to learning spaces which can meet a multiplicity of purposes: for example, whole class teaching, collaborative group work, paired working and independent research based work. Access to ICT will become increasingly important as it becomes embedded across the curriculum. For example, the introduction of Glow will help to increase the opportunities for sharing and disseminating information. 3 Teachers are also likely to want access to public or shared spaces in which learners can display their work in its various stages of development. Equally important is the need to consider the availability of space for teachers themselves to work and plan collaboratively on inter-disciplinary projects.
The design and use of the physical space in a school therefore needs to reflect a commitment to the purposes and principles of learning. However, if the curriculum is conceived of as the totality of the experiences planned for young people, other factors such as how decisions are made about the use of space, the tone and register of the signage, the quality of fixed fittings and furniture and extent of learner access to facilities all need to be taken into consideration by those involved in working with young people in a school building.
While it might be argued that in a new or refurbished school it might be easier to match the learning environment to the aspirations of Curriculum for Excellence, ultimately, it is how the users of a building feel about it which determines whether it is fulfilling its educational purposes successfully or not. We know from the extensive consultations which have taken place with teachers and pupils as part of the modernisation of the school estate in Scotland that there are many factors which influence how users feel about their schools. For example, does it reflect its key purpose - does it look and feel like an active learning environment? Are there study facilities for teachers and pupils? In other words, is it evident that creating a community of successful learners is a priority?
We also know that where the users of a building have an opportunity to comment on its use through user surveys or pupil councils, it is likely that school managers will be more aware of any concerns relating to safety, the availability of recreational space and the general care and maintenance of the building. Involvement of pupils in such discussions is one way in which schools can foster the development of the four capacities outwith the context of mainstream subject learning.
Teachers are experienced in transforming their classrooms in imaginative and inventive ways
It is in the public spaces that the ethos of a school is immediately visible to all who use the building. These spaces reflect a school's commitment to the values, principles and purposes of the Curriculum for Excellence. Areas where performances and celebrations can take place provide opportunities for schools to demonstrate to the wider community the value they place in developing their pupils' confidence and communication skills through enabling them to showcase their achievements in a range of creative, cultural, sporting and community activities.
In Scotland today, we find ourselves in the fortunate position of being able to engage in a debate about the purposes of education for 3-18 year olds at the same time as the school estate is being substantially reshaped as part of the Government's school building programme. The educational community is becoming increasingly sensitive to the significance of the physical learning environment to the successful achievement of the Curriculum for Excellence outcomes.
It is important that all those with an interest in the future of our young people maximise the opportunities afforded by the simultaneous development of these initiatives.
MAGGI ALLAN, O.B.E.
Chair, Programme Board
Curriculum for Excellence
Maggi Allan is Chair of the Programme Board for Curriculum for Excellence. She retired from her post as Executive Director of Education for South Lanarkshire Council in 2005, where she had been employed since 1995. Prior to going to South Lanarkshire, Maggi had worked for Central Regional Council for eight years where she held senior posts in the directorate, including that of Director of Education. She began her career in education as a teacher of History and Modern Studies in Glasgow before going to work for Strathclyde Regional Council as Curriculum Development Officer in 1984.
Throughout her career Maggi has served on a range of national bodies including the General Teaching Council of Scotland, the Beattie Committee and the Scottish Arts Council Working Group on a National Theatre. She is currently a member of Court at Paisley University. Maggi was awarded an O.B.E. in the January 2005 Honours list.
North Lanarkshire Council: Building Excellence
Phil McMahon, School Estate Management, North Lanarkshire council
North Lanarkshire Council is in the preparatory stages of developing an in-house multi-million pound school improvement programme, building on the strength of our recent Public Private Partnership ( PPP) programme. In an attempt to further enhance recent provision, and to explore new ways of designing and using space, we have undertaken a range of investigations. These have included externally contracted post occupancy evaluations on four recently built schools; a one day design seminar for head teachers, school council members, education officers and school advisers; and initial work on design concepts for learning environments with our council architects and head teachers.
In undertaking the initial work on design concepts we have recognised the importance of the Curriculum for Excellence and of ongoing consultation with all stakeholders, and have produced a design brief that will provide a 21st Century learning environment that is dynamic, flexible, transparent and stimulating for present and future generations of pupils. Through this we are drawing on the work done by Kenn Fisher and attempting to design teaching areas around a 'studio' concept that includes space for formal teaching, activity zones, focus zones and links to outdoors. Ongoing dialogue and consultation will be critical to the development of this approach.
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