Moving curriculum design from teacher-centric to student-centric

Moving innovative practice and curriculum design from teacher-centric to student-centric without devaluing what we have to offer the learning journeys of our tauira



We opened our Year 7-10 Junior High School in 2016, with 636 tauira across all 4 year levels. As an ILE (Innovative Learning Environment) school, we had the privilege of designing a curriculum that was not constrained by some of the issues faced in existing schools, and we were encouraged to do so. In 2015 as a leadership team, and with our teams on board in waves throughout the year before we opened, we visited a range of educational institutes from ECE through to tertiary, and engaged in professional learning. Throughout this time we developed a 3 layered approach to our curriculum. 


The structure of our Learning Modules encouraged teachers to be creative, effective, and efficient in delivering learning experiences to tauira that took advantage of connections - between ideas, between prior learning experiences and the current ones, and connections to their lives. It was a new way of teaching the 8 Learning Areas of the NZC for most of us. Our teachers designed interesting and creative Learning Modules that tauira chose for a Semester (as we grew, they would choose their top 3 in each timetable line, and be put into one of those).


In 2018, as part of our growth planning (we were over 1000 tauira, in a building with a questionable 1200 student capacity by this stage), the MOE contracted Derek Wenmoth of Core Education to audit our curriculum design and building use. In that report, Derek commented “The current staff describe their approach in a more ‘teacher-centric’ way, with an emphasis on providing choice for learners based on the decisions of teachers, both in terms of content and the way it is timetabled and taught…. school leaders have focused on promoting teacher agency and allowing the pairs of staff to explore varied and creative ways of working together and engaging students in their learning.” My initial gut response to this part of the report was defensiveness, we premised our design on student agency and he was calling us teacher-centric! When I got over myself, I realised he was right. Our teachers were doing an amazing job of designing and delivering these incredibly interesting and creative courses, but they were still designed and delivered by the teachers, and consumed by the tauira. 


We had tried collecting tauira voice on contexts, themes and ideas for modules, but without an in-depth understanding of the intention and essence of each Learning Area in the NZC, tauira suggestions ranged from unhelpful to invalid. It was the wrong way to go about becoming more student-centric. As educators, we have a good idea of the necessary and powerful learnings in the curriculum that tauira need to engage with for a ‘broad and balanced’ curriculum experience. 

In 2019 we introduced a trial module structure in Semester 1 with a group of Year 9 & 10 tauira. We called it Tautoro. As a kura, one of the many ways in which we honour our role in the Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership, is to look to Te ao Māori to inspire us and help us explain our thoughts and process. Tautoro means to extend or stretch oneself, which perfectly captures what we were asking our tauira and kaiako to do in this new model. The module had 6 teachers in it, and could cope with the responding ratio of tauira (we didn't have that many choose it the first time around, and so our numbers were a bit smaller). It offered the following 6 Learning Areas - English, Mathematics and Statistic, Science, Health and PE, Technology (Digital) and Social Sciences. We each ‘sold’ our Learning Areas to the tauira, and they chose which 2 they were going to study for the semester, and had to start thinking of their own authentic context in which they would be able to connect the learning from the 2 Learning Areas - in some sort of learning artifact, portfolio or project. In choosing their 2 Learning Areas, they still had the responsibility of ensuring they had an English Learning Module and a Mathematics and Statistics Learning Module across their 3 module lines in the timetable - so for some, they had to choose English, or had to choose Maths for example. They were also guided by their Learning Advisors to ensure they had good curriculum coverage across the year, so for some, there was no choice at all - they hadn’t studied Social Science in the past year - they needed to do Social Science. 


Rather than 2 teachers planning and delivering learning experiences that integrate the 2 Learning Areas from the start of the module, as happens with our regular Learning Modules, we found ourselves back into our solo specialist roles in a larger collaborative environment. Tautoro better suited a ‘front-loading’ model where we individually focused on our single Learning Area for the first half (approximately) of the semester, and then moved into the ‘creative’ second portion of the semester where tauira started developing their ‘big idea’ - the context in which they would connect the learning from their 2 Learning Areas in an authentic way that was interesting to them, and created an artifact or project that evidenced this learning. Not dissimilar to the year long structure we observed at High Tech High School - Chula Vista when we visited in 2018, just more condensed. 


Our three 90 minute blocks in the week were divided into 3 x 30 minute sessions per block - 9 sessions across a week. We used our LMS calendar (Schoology) to advertise when in the week we were holding teacher-directed workshops or optional drop-in sessions that the tauira booked themselves into. Some workshops were repeated across the week because there were inevitable clashes between Learning Areas. Most of us employed a ‘flipped-learning’ approach to learning resource development and availability - the content and skills instruction was available in the LMS for asynchronous learning when required. Tauira also planned independent learning time into their week. As a teaching team, we planned out our own weeks in a collaborative/share planner so that we could keep track of what we were all doing. We also met every week (as all of our module co-teachers do) to discuss at risk tauira and share what we are focusing on so that we could still make the most of connected learning opportunities - for example, when both Science and Health & PE were learning about respiration, we grabbed those tauira and co-taught a workshop and had an integrated task for them to complete. We tried to make the most of these opportunities throughout the first part of the semester, so sharing with our team was critical. 



Example of a teaching team week overview


Once tauira were well underway, and had a grasp on the essential learning in each Learning Area, we paused and ran compulsory workshops in 2 teacher teams with the tauira who were learning our 2 Learning Areas. In these workshops we collaborated as a group on what the essential learnings were for each Learning Area and where the connections existed, and what big-ideas could be developed to showcase all of this. 




Blank integration workshop blank template

Some examples of final artifacts created by tauira at the end of the semester

  • A phone app supporting the learning of Material World (Science) concepts for tauira learning Chemistry (Science and Digital Technology)
  • Interactive animations explaining Science concepts such as state of matter and state change (Science and Digital Technology)
  • An in depth analysis of a film scene including how the film makers use their understanding of light and sound (physics) to create mood and effect in the scene (Science and English)
  • Health and Safety posters for our Science labs (Science and Health & PE)
  • A persuasive speech on a social science topic of particular interest - such as The experiences of transgender tauira in mainstream education (Social Science and English)
  • A sculpture using LED lights, annotated with how electricity works and powers the lights in the sculpture (Visual Art and Science)
  • Jingles written for advertising a product they had created for a market day (Music and Social Science)


With so many tauira in Tautoro, and with them doing a number of different Learning Area pairings and many many big-idea contexts, we portioned them into 6 random ‘coaching’ groups (one per teacher - or Kaimanaaki). To manaaki means to support, protect and take care of, and to respect. As Kaimanaaki, our role was to support their dispositional development in this new module structure, help them plan their week, help them reflect on their week, ensure they were on track to complete required learning and assessment tasks, help them develop their big-idea (some tauira had this coming into the course, some needed to be told what big-idea might suit them and their Learning Areas, we had the complete spectrum), and to protect their learning journey. We spent the first 30 minute session of each week in coaching groups so that tauira had time to plan and map out their week, as well as the last 30 minutes in each week for them to reflect on how their week went - did they achieve their learning goals? What were the enablers and barriers? What did they need to focus on next week. We early on developed a fortnightly planning and reflection template doc for tauira to use. They submitted these to their Kaimanaaki every fortnight in our LMS. 

Example of a tauira fortnightly planning and reflection doc


In 2019 Semester 1 we had one Tautoro class. In Semester 2 we had 2 Tautoro classes, with 5 teachers and 5 Learning Areas in each. A small number of tauira chose Tautoro for 2 out of their 3 modules. In 2020 Semester 1, one timetable line has 5 Tautoro classes (5 teachers and Learning Areas each) - so every Year 9 & 10 tauira has Tautoro for one of their modules. 


The current COVID-19 affected educational environment gives us the opportunity to further critically review what we are doing and how we are doing it. What is absolutely essential? What curriculum design will give us the best outcomes in both a remote learning structure and then (hopefully) a return to full time attendance on-site?

We are proposing that Year 9 & 10 tauira have 3 Tautoro courses - that there will be no more 2 co-teacher & 2 Learning Area modules. They will only have one Kaimanaaki across the 3 lines though. This will mean they only have one key person overseeing their learning and giving the support and advice, and will reduce the number of tauira each Year 9 & 10 teacher coaches. Even at Alert Levels 2 & 1 we see our school being impacted by staff absences and the inability to provide enough social distancing to have all tauira on-site every day. This model will provide us with more flexibility with staffing, and more opportunity for tauira to use the happenings in their lives outside of school as context for learning. 


We are also proposing expanding the concept into our Year 7 & 8 curriculum design. Currently, our Year 7 & 8 tauira stay with the same cohort of 60 tauira for all 3 lines of the timetable - they have a different co-teaching team of 2 teachers and 2 Learning Areas in each of their 3 Learning Modules. We call these ‘Sets’ i.e. Set Tahi, Set Rua… We are proposing that they still stay together, keep the same English and Maths teachers (which is what would have happened from Semester 1 to Semester 2 anyway), with 4 other new teachers to expose them to Learning Areas that they were not learning in Semester 1. Across the Set the 6 teachers will each individually be responsible for the learning in one Learning Area. The tauira will be learning all 6 Learning Areas - there will be no ‘choice of Learning Areas’ as there is for Year 9 & 10. In the final half or third of the semester, tauira will be supported to develop artifacts, projects etc to connect their learning. We will also use the Kaimanaaki model - each kaiako will coach 8-10 tauira. Our curriculum teams have started working together to delegate the creation of flipped learning resources in the strands that are the Semester 2 Curriculum Framework. These can easily be created in our LMS resources section and quickly added to individual courses. With the division of labour, more differentiated resources can be created, and during the semester kaiako can spend time coaching and guiding tauira, rather than creating learning resources and experiences. Our Maths team have done this in Tautoro this Semester, and it has been successful. 


This is what the tauira told us they got out of Tautoro, vs their regular modules:

  • I learnt a lot about how to manage my time effectively and how to plan out different activities and workshops
  • I learnt the importances of time management and the responsibilities of working independently.
  • To challenge the goals that I have set for myself and go beyond them, try harder in my learning and put more effort in my work.
  • I Have learned how to show my evidence and I have become confident in talking to the teachers and asking questions about my work.
  • that you don't always need a teacher telling you what to do, to be good at what you're learning and that we can all be independent and with hard work and can do really good high quality work.
  • I have learnt about the importance of learning to be independent and how creative you can get with your classes and how deep the big idea can go.
  • I have learned how to be more independent with my work and not relying on the teachers to remind us what's due or what needs to be done.
  • I learnt a lot about managing myself as a learner, and using organisation skills to keep up with expectations.
  • I have enjoyed being able to work at my own pace and get things done in my own time and just be very independent.
  • I have enjoyed the way that this module is student driven and it is up to the tauira to get their work done and to what standard.
  • I have enjoyed being able to direct our own learning and being able to do it at our own pace the best. It really helped me to take charge and complete task to the best of my ability
  • The choice to learn what we want to learn
  • Being able to talk to my friends and do my work without getting told off
  • The free will and choice
  • I have enjoyed being able to go off on my own and work independently on my big idea and learning new things that I was actually interested in.

What are some of the things have we learned?

  • Learning dispositions are everything. Tauira need support to develop these learning dispositions in an authentic learning setting, and this course structure provided the perfect platform for this. Our tauira did not all know how to learn like this at the start of the module, we had to teach them how. Our CLOAK (dispositional curriculum) provided the framework for this.  
  • Shifting the locus of control is hard, it’s nerve-wracking, but it’s okay
  • This model allowed us to be student-centric, but still valued the essential learning in the Learning Areas. It wasn’t a free-for-all, tauira still progressed through our Curriculum Framework essential concepts and skills. The specialist knowledge and skills the kaiako bring still have a place and are valued.
  • Qualitative observations and analysis of feedback from tauira told us that engagement was higher in Tautoro than other modules
  • Tracking tools are essential with so many tauira on their own individual pathways.
  • Tauira need to be given time to plan and reflect. This is essential learning, and deserves class time being dedicated to it.
  • We started the semester with dispositional workshops on time management, collecting effective evidence of learning, using digital learning tools (Google, Schoology), planning and reflecting on learning etc


This is also a model that could be extended into the senior schooling years. A Tautoro-like curriculum model based on the Vocational Pathways would allow tauira to experience how different bodies of knowledge contribute to career and study pathways. The flexibility of NCEA will allow for specific standards to be used to assess the pathway specific essential learnings, and for the double-dipping of standards from one piece of evidence. Use that L2 Biology report on adaptations to assess against an English writing standard, or a Statistics standard with a scientific method one. Join Claire’s NCEA Hackathon in DisruptED for more help on how to do this!

It would also be possible to achieve in a tradition single cell classroom setting, and does not require being in an ILE to work. It requires collaboration between teachers, a shift of the locus of control, and an acceptance of the fact that you will not 'cover as much content'. When teaching and learning time is committed to explicit disposition and meta-cognitive learning, something else has to give (and we are perfectly okay with that!). 

It has been an exciting and challenging journey. My biggest reflection is that we often limit flexibility and student agency in our curriculum design because we think the tauira won’t be able to do it - they can’t self-manage, don’t know how to keep track of time and deadlines, and so on. Of course they probably won’t initially. But is this not the real learning that we should be valuing the most. The whole point of structuring the curriculum differently is to provide them the opportunity to be able to learn how to learn, while they are learning. Teaching meta-cognitive skills outside of authentic learning experiences is like learning to drive in a car in a gaming console, you can learn the fundamentals in concept, but it’s not until the rubber hits the road for real that you really have to put them into practice that they become lived skills. 

Comments

  1. Hi Melissa - wow! What a tremendously useful and insightful story of the transformation of your programme at RJHS. I appreciate the shout out which drew me to this - I recall the difficulty I had in writing that report, as it was clear there was a high level of passion and care for learners driving the staff at the school. Despite that I struggled for a while to find the appropriate way of reporting on what I observed and deduced from the interviews etc. It's never easy doing this when it is clear that such statements will likely cause at least some level of discomfort or event hurt. I am so appreciative of the honesty you've demonstrated in this reflection - not simply because of the response to something I've written, but because it demonstrates how, as educators, we can always be inspired to achieve even greater things and that reflection and openness to professional critique and feedback are important parts of this process.
    Your story has inspired me! I'll look forward to when I may get the opportunity to visit you again and catch up on where you have got to with it.

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