Job readiness, literacy, numeracy focus of report on direction of Alberta's curriculum
'Opportunity for a new vision of what education could be in this province,' says LaGrange
The education minister is sharing the report and a draft ministerial order meant to steer the direction and vision of Alberta's next curriculum.
The Curriculum Advisory Panel made 26 recommendations in their report to Education Minister Adriana LaGrange, with a focus on career and job training and readiness, as well as numeracy and literacy — financial or otherwise.
"There is opportunity now for a new vision of what education could be in this province," said LaGrange in an interview with CBC News.
"Which is up to date and really responsive to the fact that students are moving through their education without really knowing what their career could be because they haven't even been invented yet."
The ministerial order, according to LaGrange, is a "draft vision" for the future of Alberta's education system.
It outlines a vision for student learning, focus on gaining skills, knowledge and competencies to form the foundation for a student's successful future, that includes making "meaningful contributions to the world."
It also outlines that literacy and numeracy are the "building blocks" of learning, and should be pervasive across all subjects and grades.
Work readiness and financial literacy
LaGrange says she believes the report is a very good starting point for public engagement on the vision for education in Alberta.
"The panel was very responsive about sharing what they thought was working well and you know noting that we do have an excellent education system," she said. "And in their recommendations they certainly highlighted areas where we could do some further improvements."
One of the areas highlighted in the recommendations as an area to improve in was career training/readiness.
The report recommends creating opportunities for Alberta employers to provide advice and knowledge about what students need to succeed in the workplace. It also recommends offering more learning and career opportunities outside of the classroom.
"There is value in exposing students to experiences outside the classroom that can build awareness and opportunities on the variety of career paths and choices available to them," wrote the panel.
They said learning is strengthened when students learn from real-world experiences and work.
"Curriculum can be delivered in many ways beyond the classroom context, including in workplaces and employment settings. Curriculum should be flexible to deal with alternative skills models outside the classroom."
LaGrange said the advisory panel was tasked with viewing the curriculum through the lens of "what does an accomplished, successful graduate look like at the end of Grade 12?"
She said it was made clear that having job-ready skills is "critically important."
"There's other competencies that they're looking for such as the strong foundational literacy and numeracy and financial literacy," she said. "And at the end of the school journey parents really would like to ensure that their children have the ability to either go into post-secondary or to be successful in their chosen career."
Financial literacy is also one area the panel points out in multiple recommendations as an area needing improvement.
"We heard very loud and clearly, as did the panel, the importance of starting financial literacy at a very young age so that students who graduate have the ability to do their taxes, have the ability to balance a bank account or look at a loan," said LaGrange.
The report also notes that it'd be prudent to review Alberta's CALM program (Career And Life Management) and consider whether there is a need to maintain a single class, or if it'd be more valuable to embed elements of the CALM program throughout K-12 curriculum.
Assessment
In their recommendations, the panel highlighted the need for improvements in assessment.
"That builds public confidence, enhances accountability and provides parents, Albertans and the minister with reliable information with respect to student achievement and system performance," they wrote.
The panel said there should be "standardized formative assessment tools" in place to evaluate literacy and numeracy from Grades 1 to 5.
"We have heard, even beyond the report, that parents really want a more clear report card that they can understand and better utilize to support their children through the challenges and successes that they're experiencing in school," said LaGrange.
She said the panel was very clear to say that given that a new curriculum will be introduced, the province does need to ensure it's meeting the outcomes put forward.
"And so assessment that is developed alongside of the curriculum is very very important. What that looks like — it's early days and we will develop that in the future."
FNMI perspectives
The report also makes the recommendation to ensure the inclusion of First Nations, Métis and Inuit perspectives and ways of knowing throughout the curriculum.
"It is necessary to support learning and cultural understanding of Alberta's FNMI peoples, respecting the historical and current context of their experiences and perspectives," reads the report.
Further, it recommends the development of a new senior high school program of studies in World History.
And, while LaGrange says while these remain recommendations for now, LaGrange says they recognize there are gaps in that area at this time.
"So that is an area for improvement," she said.
'A living document'
The report also recommends looking at re-introducing cursive writing to the curriculum, including subject experts in curriculum development, ensuring the curriculum is free of pedagogical approaches — such as discovery math, and gathering input from teachers on an ongoing basis, so that curriculum can be updated frequently.
"Our goal is very much that once we have the curriculum in place that it will be a living document and that it will be reviewed on a continuous basis so that we're always current and that our students have current curriculum with current pedagogy being applied," she said.
"I know we have excellent teachers that are very committed to doing this, so I foresee this going quite well."
Engagement
LaGrange says the next step in this process is to ask the public for feedback, and to receive in-person feedback from some stakeholders on the report and the draft ministerial order.
A survey is now live online and the education ministry is encouraging parents, students, teachers, and anyone with an interest in education to participate.
"And once we get that response from our general public then we can move to that next step of finalizing the K to 4 curriculum and moving forward with the other steps in the middle years and in high school years."
The survey will close at the end of the month, and a final curriculum report from the panel is expected back to LaGrange by the end of March.
Background
In spring 2019, LaGrange "paused" field testing Alberta's new kindergarten to Grade 4 curriculum, which was to begin in September 2019.
LaGrange said she was committed to implementing a new K-12 curriculum, and in August 2019 she appointed a new independent panel of experts to help develop Alberta's new curriculum, building on the work already done.
The curriculum advisory panel handed their report back to LaGrange Dec. 20, 2019.
In their report the panel says they met with several key stakeholders and education partners to hear their perspectives on Alberta's education system.
"During in-person meetings and through written submissions, education partners provided feedback on the curriculum review process, curriculum content, curriculum implementation, resources, professional learning for teachers and assessment," the report reads.
Those stakeholders included the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA), Alberta Catholic Schools Trustees' Association, College of Alberta School Superintendents, Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council Education Authority, The Palix Foundation and the Alberta School Boards Association — among others.
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