2. what are you trying to achieve co dev toolkit - activity or.02
- 1. TALKING POINT: How would you describe a well-educated young person? In a staff meeting, take a look at your school’s mission statement. • How well do you think it describes a well-educated young person? • Are there things that it would be helpful to add? You may find some useful ideas in resources A and B on curriculum aims. PRACTICAL ACTION: Picturing the ideal Break into small groups. Ask one member of each group to draw a young person in the middle of a large sheet of paper (a stick person is fine). Then ask everyone to write words around the drawing to create a description of a well-educated young person. Encourage them to use ideas from your earlier discussion and phrases from your school mission statement. WHAT are you trying to achieve?A CTI VIT Y What do you hope to see in your learners? 2 © Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
- 2. TALKING POINT: Do you agree with each other? Display the pictures and words describing young people around the staff room. As a group, discuss whether there is a shared understanding of what is meant by the words written. For example, what do people think are the characteristics of ‘an independent learner’ or ‘a good communicator’? PRACTICAL ACTION: Skills, knowledge or attitudes and attributes? Do most of the words that your colleagues have used to describe a well- educated young person relate to skills, knowledge or attitudes and attributes? Ask each team to draw a line from each word or phrase on their drawing to the appropriate part of the body: • a hand for skills • the head for knowledge • the heart for attitudes and attributes. Most schools that try this activity find that a high proportion of the words used relate to skills and personal attributes. This reflects research that suggests a curriculum for the 21st century needs to have a greater focus on skill and personal development. As a group, take a look at the latest draft of the personal, learning and thinking skills framework (resource D). Does this highlight other skills that it is important for your learners to develop? Try using your findings to influence the emphasis of your curriculum design. PRACTICAL ACTION: Getting other views You and your teaching colleagues may agree on the skills, achievements, attitudes and attributes you hope to see in your learners, but do support staff agree? Parents? Governors? The learners themselves? If possible, give different groups an opportunity to join in with some of the discussions and activities described on this card. Make sure that you provide feedback on their thoughts to other staff. How should these different views influence the school’s mission statement? RE SOUR C E •RE S O U R C E•