Updated: Mar 2000 | Curriculum Provision Pedagogy

Curriculum Provision - Review Pedagogy

	An Outcomes Focus
	How do students best learn?
	What is good teaching practice?
	How is assessment conducted?

In a student-centred approach, students have ownership of both the criteria and the planning of how to fulfil them. The roles of teacher and student are inextricably linked and interwoven; both are working together to establish goals, deadlines, criteria and evaluation. The teacher has the added roles of being a facilitator and a resource person. The students have the added roles of learning to be self-motivated and self-directed, of taking responsibility for themselves. Both parties need to learn to negotiate, to cooperate, to collaborate and to listen to each other. Classroom activities are often jointly planned, organised and evaluated. While many activities will be interactive and collaborative, there will also be times for direct instruction when needed, for independent work, and for group meetings to discuss progress and planning. Donna Brandes, personal communication (1999)

An Outcomes Focus

An outcomes focus requires teachers to become more student centred in their approach. Teachers need to consider the intentions of their teaching and its effectiveness in achieving learning outcomes.

When identifying pedagogy that supports students achieving the specified outcomes, consideration is effectively focused on how students best learn, good teaching practice, and how assessment is conducted.

The following clusters of questions should stimulate discussion on these important considerations.

How do students best learn?

	How can you best use your students' interests and motivations to focus on particular outcomes?
	Can you identify relevant themes or issues through which key learning outcomes can be developed?
	Are students encouraged to reflect on their learning?
	How do you ensure a supportive learning environment conducive to effective learning?
	What intellectual, emotional and physical characteristics influence students' learning?
	What motivates students to learn and what aspirations do they have?
	What social and cultural factors affect how students learn?
	How is the developmental nature of learning addressed in classrooms?
	What theories direct your beliefs about students' learning?
	Are students able to negotiate the curriculum?
	How are the students' different learning styles catered for?
	Are young children given ample opportunities to learn through play, hands-on and concrete experiences?

What is good teaching practice?

The school learning environment is responsive to the needs of students as educational risk. The school: promotes a positive vision for all students and staff. ensures that staff demonstrate a shared philosophy about the learning environment and teaching practices. uses a student-centred approach. provides quality service and support for students at educational risk. Making the Difference: Policy and Guidelines for Students at Educational Risk. (1998) p. 5

	Is there a connection between your beliefs about learning and the teaching practices in your school?
	How can you plan so the relationships between learning outcomes are clearly identified by students?
	How are goals for learning made clear to students?
	How do you organise a range of learning experiences to allow time for individual students to grasp new concepts?
	What opportunities do you provide for independent and collaborative learning?
	>How do students demonstrate their outcomes in real ways?
	What opportunities are students given to engage in meaningful and challenging tasks?
	How do the learning experiences provided recognise students' levels of development and facilitate their progress to the next level?
	Is there a need to emphasise specific outcomes based on previous diagnosis and analysis?
	Do the learning experiences accommodate students' different levels of literacy and numeracy?
	How does the focus on outcomes vary for the different phases of students' development?

How is assessment conducted?

Is there a balance between forms of assessment, with a focus on criterion-referenced approaches? Are students involved in the assessment process? How informed are parents about the assessment of learning outcomes?

	Have you identified a range of monitoring techniques?
	Do the learning experiences include tasks, particularly open-ended tasks, that enable students to demonstrate their abilities over a range of levels?
	Are the assessments meaningful to students?
	Is assessment integrated into the learning experiences of all students?