Melbourne Graduate School of Education

NATIONAL CURRICULUM SYMPOSIUM

ENRICHING THE NEW AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM

Designing a rich, creative and coherentplan for education

25 – 27 FEBRUARY 2010

Participants

Leaders in Government Educational Policy, Education Systems

Teacher Education and Community Education Organisations

Schools and Colleges

Special Guests
Professor Robin Alexander
Director, Cambridge Primary Review

Robin Alexander is a University of Melbourne Miegunyah Fellow for 2010.
He is Director of the recently completed Cambridge Primary Review of the English National Curriculum. He is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Warwick, Fellow of Wolfson College, The University of Cambridge, and currently Chair of the British Association for International and Comparative Education. / Professor Barry McGaw
Chair, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)

Barry McGaw is a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne, and Executive Director of the Assessing and Teaching 21st Century Skills Project. He was formerly Director for Education at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). He had earlier been Executive Director of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and Professor of Education at MurdochUniversity.
Professor Richard Noss
London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, University of London

Richard Noss is Professor of Mathematics Education and co-director of the LondonKnowledge Lab at the Institute of Education, University of London. He is Director of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme - Technology Enhanced Learning, funded jointly by the Economic and Social Research Council, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. / Professor Celia Hoyles
London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, University of London

Celia Hoyles is Professor of Mathematics Education in the London Knowledge Lab, University of London. She is Director of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, and from 2004-2007 was Government Chief Adviser for Mathematics.

Focus - The Symposium starting point

WHAT IS A RICH, CREATIVE AND COHERENT CURRICUM FOR YOUNG AUSTRALIANS IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY?

The Independent CambridgePrimary Review, currently finalising its report, asks‘what children should learn and of what the curriculum should be’.

It makes some trenchant criticisms of England’s version of the National Curriculum, in place since the 1990s. While supporting the concept of a National Curriculum, and of the crucial importance of language, oracy, literacy and numeracy, its findings maintain that the narrowly-based, hierarchical and standards-and-assessment-driven curriculum in place in England has had a number of very deleterious effects.

The most conspicuous casualties are the arts, the humanities and those kinds of learning in all subjects which require time for talking, problem-solving and the extended exploration of ideas; memorisation and recall have come to be valued over understanding and enquiry, and transmission of information over the pursuit of knowledge in its fuller sense.The Review proposes thatstandards and breadth are interdependent, and high-performing schools achieve both; also that curriculum debate, and thus curriculum practice, are weakened by a muddled and reductive discourse about subjects, knowledge and skills. The Review also suggests a model of conceptualising and organising curriculum radically different from that in place in England.

This Symposium seeks to use the Cambridge Review, and the experience of other key UK and Australian educators, as a critical and provocative framework to examine the nascent Australian Curriculum, with a view tomaximising its potential for a rich, creative and coherent education for all.The Symposium’s main purpose is to assist in the formulation of informed policy and strategic advice for its creatorsso that they can in turn formulate principles to guide those eventually implementing the Australian Curriculum.

DRAFT PROGRAM

Registration Fee

It will be possible to register either for Days One and Two, or for all three days.

‘Key delegates’ will be those participants who enrol for all three days, and will include some invited delegates from key stakeholder groups.

Three-day Registration: $450
Days 1 and 2 Registration: $350

Day 1 - Setting the scene: an English Tragedy?
Thursday 25 February, 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Time / Activity / Location
4.00 – 6.00 / Registration
6.00 – 6.30 / Welcome and formal introduction to the symposium
6.30 – 6.45 / Introduction: the purpose and shape of the Symposium, and the tasks of participants
6.45 – 7.45 / Keynote 1: Professor Robin Alexander
National Curriculum - the English experience, what has been learned, and some implications for the future.
7.45 – 8.30 / Keynote 2: Professor Joseph lo Bianco, Chair of Language and Literacy Education, Melbourne Graduate School of Education
A provocation – extrapolating the UK implications for Australia
8.30 / Reception
DAY 2 - Creative challenge: Painting the Vision Splendid
Friday 26 February, 9.00 am – 5.00pm
Session 1:
This session will address specific questions raised by Day One’s Keynote for the Australian context, and using the ACARA Framework, in order to provoke further questions and identify the key challenges demanded by a rich, creative and coherent curriculum.
Time / Activity / Location
9.00 – 9.05 / Welcome for the Day
9.05 – 9.15 / The shape, purpose and tasks for the day
9.15–10.30 / Keyhole 1: Chairs or members of 3 Phase 2 ACARA Advisory Panels [Geography, LOTE, Arts]+ 1 representative of a subject area not yet nominated*
Each will be given 12-15 minutes, to address how their own subject might/will contribute to a rich, creative and coherent curriculum
10.30–10.45 / Questions & further challenges from the floor
10.45 - 11.15 / Morning tea
11.15– 12.30 / Group discussions 1: facilitated by Key Delegates on specific questions raised by the Keynote 2 and the first set of Keyholes.
12.30 – 1.30 / Lunch
Session 2
This session will give all participants their voice, and the opportunity to discuss and address the challenges, in order to provide ideas, suggestions and further questions for the Key Delegates to take into Day 3
Time / Activity / Location
1.30 – 2.00 / Keynote 3: Professor Richard Noss
What becomes learnable and teachable with digital technologies?
2.00 – 3.15 / Keyhole 1: Chairs or Members of the Phase 1 ACARA Advisory Panels [English, Maths, Science, History]*.
Each will be given 12-15 minutes to address how their own subject area might/will contribute to a rich, creative and coherent curriculum.
3.15 – 4.30 / Group discussions 2: facilitated by Key Delegates on specific questions raised by the Keynote 3 and the second set of Keyholes. Afternoon tea on the run.
4.30 – 5.15 / Plenary Report-back by Group Chairs and discussion
5.15 – 5.30 / Brief reflective response by Senior ACARA Representative.
6.30 – 8.00 / Reception for delegates by VCAA [tbc]
DAY 3 - Curriculum music: Making the skeleton dance
Saturday 27 February, 9.00am – 4.00pm
Session 1
Time / Activity / Location
9.00 – 9.05 / Welcome to key delegates
9.05 – 9.15 / The task for the day
9.15 – 9.45 / Keynote 4: Professor Celia Hoyles
Rich collaborations: The case of mathematics
9.45 – 11 15 / Group discussions 3: This session will involve the Key Delegates working in discussion groups organised on a basis of mixed subject orientations – facilitated by ACARA officers and the Convenors - to address the questions and challenges posed by the participants during Day 2.
11.15–12.15 / Brunch
Session 2
12.15– 2.00 / Group Discussions 4:This session will involve the Key Delegates working in discussion groups organised on a basis of mixed representation – facilitated by ACARA officers and the Convenors - to generate statements, guidelines or recommendations for policy or strategy on questions raised by the three keywords of the Symposium: rich, creative and coherent.
2.00 – 2.20 / Afternoon tea
Session 3
2.20 – 3.20 / Plenary session group reports-back
3.30 – 3.50 / Keynote 5: Professor Barry McGaw
Reflections on the Symposium
3.50 – 4.00 / Thanks and closure

* Keyhole Speakers (Day 2):
English: Professor Peter FreebodyMaths: Professor Peter Sullivan
Science: Professor Denis GoodrumHistory: Professor Stuart Macintyre

L.O.T.E:Assoc Prof. Angela ScarinoGeography: TBA
The Arts:TBAHPE:TBA

Acknowledgments

ProfessorsCelia Hoyles and Richard Noss are participating by courtesy of theInternational Centre for Classroom Research (ICCR), where they arespending six weeks as International Research Fellows.

Professor Robin Alexander is participating by courtesy of the University of Melbourne Miegunyah Fellowships scheme

Symposium Convenor

Professor John O’Toole, Foundation Chair of Arts Education MGSE

Project Manager

Ms Emma Brimfield, Administrator, Artistic and Creative Education, MGSE

Symposium Convening Committee

Professor David Clarke, Director, International Centre for Classroom Research, MGSE

Dr Neryl Jeanneret, Coordinator of Music Education, MGSE

Professor Joseph lo Bianco, Chair of Language and Literacy Education, MGSE

Associate Professor Julie McLeod, Curriculum Equity and Social Change, MGSE

Dr Julianne Moss, Senior Lecturer, Curriculum MGSE

Dr Madonna Stinson, Acting Coordinator of Drama Education MGSE

Professor Lyn Yates, Pro-Vice-Chancellor Research, Foundation Chair of Curriculum

Mr Tim Brabazon, Manager Strategy and Planning, MGSE

Mr Kevin Yang, Academic Services Officer, MGSE

Possible streaming of proceedings:

Day One, 6.00 – 8.00

Day Two, 9.00 - 1.00 only.

NB-Professor Alexander will be present and available for discussion throughout, and his reflections on the Symposium will form an aspect of his Miegunyah Fellowship Public Lecture, to be delivered on Wednesday 10March.

NATIONAL CURRICULUM SYMPOSIUM Page 1 of 6