CurriCulum case study: curriculum for global citizenship

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LOCATION
Outer eastern metropolitan primary school
YEAR LEVELS
Whole school F-6.
UNIT DURATION
Each of 6 units F-6 for the year runs for six –seven weeks.

main idea

The curriculum is designed to be ‘active and engaging and social’and ‘individualised student learning’ is a core commitment.

The units of Inquiry have their foundation in an international or global perspective, whether that concerns other nations, cultures or people or whether it concerns issues of global scale and importance. (Shaped by the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programs.)

Resource needs

The school resources the following within their own capacity.

  • Developing and sustaining an international partnership
  • Staff release for weekly collaborative planning and review
  • Full time coordination of the inquiry programme ( through the IB PYP)
  • Chinese speaking teachers for years 3 and 4 immersion classes.
  • Access to experts in the curriculum for a global perspective.

Sequence of teaching and learning activities

For the Program of Inquiry the units are developed according to an inquiry based learning pedagogy and the content of the units draw on knowledge and understandings from a global perspective and integrated disciplines appropriate to the units themes.

Unit themes for one year were

  • Who we are – an inquiry about the nature of the self, beliefs and values, dimensions of health, and human relationships.
  • Where we are in place and time – an inquiry into the orientation in place, time; homes and journeys, and migrations of humankind; and the relationships from local and global perspectives.
  • How we express ourselves – an inquiry into how we discover and express ideas, feelings, culture, beliefs and values; the way we extend and enjoy our creativity; and appreciation of the aesthetic.
  • How the world works – an inquiry into the natural world; the interaction between the natural world and human societies; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and the environment.
  • How we organise ourselves – an inquiry into the interconnectedness of human made systems and communities, societal decision making; and their impact on human kind and the environment.
  • Sharing the planet – an inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the sharing of finite resources; communities and their relationships; and peace and conflict resolution.

Each inquiry unit across F-6 generally has the following features.

  • Runs for six to seven weeks
  • Structured to range from teacher directed investigations, involving explicit instruction; to small group and independent inquiries.
  • Each unit’s big ideas and questions are designed to be significant, relevant and challenging

Each unit is generally structured around the following five steps with each unit’s sequence collaboratively designed and the content and pedagogy outlined in detail to support teachers.

  • Connection: how does this unit’s central idea connect to you? (One week.)
  • Invitation: Information to understand this unit- teacher instruction. (Two weeks.)
  • Personal and guided inquiry: Personal inquiry and teacher guided questions. (Two-three weeks.)
  • Evaluation: What is that learners need to know and do at the conclusion of this i.e. summative assessment. (One week.)
  • Action: What is a tangible product or action from this unit? (Throughout unit.)

Year 6 has a 10 week full time research/inquiry project called The Exhibition. The theme for 2013 was ‘Who we are’ and involves a structured research process, the appointment of a teacher mentor and the presentation of the project findings and products to parents at a major school event to mark the years of primary education from a global perspective.

Key steps in the research project include:

  • choosing and defining an issue of personal interest; allocation to an inquiry group;
  • Investigating the issue in a group and individually according to an agreed plan and accessing the full range of primary and secondary sources;
  • making a difference- outlining and implementing action ideas presenting the issue in an Exhibition
  • evaluation and reflection.

Illustrative learning activities

Year 3 Inquiry on Explorers and Discoveries unit (2012) at the initial Connection step.

Monitoring student learning

  • Formative assessment is conducted and reviewed weekly for literacy and numeracy
  • Each unit of Inquiry has a summative assessment phase built into its design- students develop the skills to identify and reflect on worthwhile outcomes.
  • Reporting to parents includes detailed reference to the children’s progress in terms of the learning objectives of the units

Student products that demonstrate learning

A wide variety of communication products such as:

  • Videos- for You Tube
  • Power point presentations and animations for other schools

Online shop -

  • Products for sale e.g. stickers
  • Campaign letters
  • Art based products (e.g. DeforestAction quilt, a painted mural and dioramas)

See below:

Assessing learning

Student Learning was assessed using:

  • Victorian Curriculum progression points
  • Teacher moderation of student work
  • Rubrics co-constructed with students (Persuasive writing, presentation skills)
  • Student self-assessment over a period of time (Oral Language)
  • Baseline data for knowledge acquisition (What I think I know and Wonderings)

Student feedback

The enquiry and group based nature of the unit has inbuilt processes for student involvement and feedback.

  • Students provided feedback to their teachers and research group leaders throughout the project
  • Students also provided feedback via presentations developed for a variety of audiences (teachers, School Council, Microsoft, Taking IT Global, Local Government)

Unit review

Staff review sessions regularly held to plan:

  • when in the year it will be conducted
  • on what issues
  • what additional support will be needed in the core curriculum.

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