In the state of Victoria, Australia, the Victorian Essential Learning Standards(VELS) was the curriculum framework for Preparatory to Year 10 school levels, which replaced the Curriculum and Standards Framework II (CSF 2) in 2006. Students starting Year 11 normally proceed to complete the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), but other education options are available. VELS was superseded by the Australian Curriculum AusVELS in 2013. [1]
The VELS is a curriculum framework providing a set of areas for teachers to teach. Like the Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF) and the CSF II, the VELS has six levels, with a general expectation that each level be completed in two years of schooling, with the exception of Level 1, completed in the first year of Primary schooling, known as "Prep", as follows:
Primary School Level
Secondary School Level
The following is a list of teaching areas in the VELS (domains), which are sorted further into dimensions. Each domain belongs to one of three strands: Physical, Personal and Social Learning, Discipline-based Learning or Interdisciplinary Learning. The idea is for these three strands to be woven together to give a balanced education so that students will succeed in further education, work and life. The three strands are represented graphically by a triple-helix inspired diagram.
Standards at levels 1,2,3,4,5 and 6
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 1,2,3,4,5 and 6
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 3,4,5,6
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 3, 4, 5 and 6. Civics and Citizenship aims to teach students what it means to be citizens in a democracy.
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 1,2,3,4,5 and 6.
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 3, 4, 5 and 6
The Humanities discipline is organised into four domains:
The Humanities – (Levels 1–3)
Dimensions:
The Humanities – Economics (Levels 4–6)
Dimensions:
The Humanities – Geography (Levels 4–6)
Dimensions:
The Humanities – History (Levels 4–6)
Dimensions:
Dimensions:
LOTE has two pathways:
Pathway 1 - for students who begin learning a language in primary school and continue to study the same language to Year 10.
Pathway 2 - for students who begin learning a language in Year 7.
Standards at levels 1,2,3,4,5 and 6
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 3, 4, 5 and 6
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 4, 5 and 6.
The Communication domain focuses on developing students who communicate clearly and confidently both at school and for further education and life.
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Design, Creativity and Technology aims to encourage students to think laterally and openly to design, produce and evaluate solutions to problems.
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
Dimensions:
Standards at levels 3, 4, 5 and 6
Dimensions:
Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process, some social science, and some teaching pedagogy. The standards for science education provide expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course of their K-12 education and beyond. The traditional subjects included in the standards are physical, life, earth, space, and human sciences.
Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments in order to form a judgement by the application of rational, skeptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluation. The application of critical thinking includes self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective habits of the mind, thus a critical thinker is a person who practices the skills of critical thinking or has been trained and educated in its disciplines. Richard W. Paul said that the mind of a critical thinker engages the person's intellectual abilities and personality traits. Critical thinking presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use in effective communication and problem solving, and a commitment to overcome egocentrism and sociocentrism.
In contemporary education, mathematics education—known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics—is the practice of solving the problems of others, these questions often pertaining to numbers or other forms of mathematics, as they apparently cannot solve them themselves. This field also involves teaching, learning, and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge.
The National Curriculum for England was first introduced by the Education Reform Act 1988. At the time of its introduction the legislation applied to both England and Wales. However, education later became a devolved matter for the Welsh government. The National Curriculum is a set of subjects and standards used by primary and secondary schools so children learn the same things. It covers what subjects are taught and the standards children should reach in each subject.
Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM) are guidelines produced by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 2000, setting forth recommendations for mathematics educators. They form a national vision for preschool through twelfth grade mathematics education in the US and Canada. It is the primary model for standards-based mathematics.
Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds annual national and regional conferences for teachers and publishes five journals.
Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach in which it is believed that students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Students learn about a subject by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, challenge, or problem. It is a style of active learning and inquiry-based learning. PBL contrasts with paper-based, rote memorization, or teacher-led instruction that presents established facts or portrays a smooth path to knowledge by instead posing questions, problems, or scenarios.
The Key Skills Qualification is a frequently required component of 14-20 education in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The aim of Key Skills is to encourage learners to develop and demonstrate their skills as well as learn how to select and apply skills in ways that are appropriate to their particular context.
Integrative learning is a learning theory describing a movement toward integrated lessons helping students make connections across curricula. This higher education concept is distinct from the elementary and high school "integrated curriculum" movement.
Formative assessment, formative evaluation, formative feedback, or assessment for learning, including diagnostic testing, is a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment. The goal of a formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work. It also helps faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately. It typically involves qualitative feedback for both student and teacher that focuses on the details of content and performance. It is commonly contrasted with summative assessment, which seeks to monitor educational outcomes, often for purposes of external accountability.
A curriculum framework is an organized plan or set of standards or learning outcomes that defines the content to be learned in terms of clear, definable standards of what the student should know and be able to do.
Authentic assessment is the measurement of "intellectual accomplishments that are worthwhile, significant, and meaningful," as contrasted with multiple-choice tests. Authentic assessment can be devised by the teacher, or in collaboration with the student by engaging student voice. When applying authentic assessment to student learning and achievement, a teacher applies criteria related to “construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and the value of achievement beyond the school.”
The Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF) was developed for teachers Victoria, Australia. It was introduced in Victorian schools in 1995 and republished in 2000 as the CSF II. It was superseded by the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) program in 2006.
Connected Mathematics is a comprehensive mathematics program intended for U.S. students in grades 6–8. The curriculum design, text materials for students, and supporting resources for teachers were created and have been progressively refined by the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) at Michigan State University with advice and contributions from many mathematics teachers, curriculum developers, mathematicians, and mathematics education researchers.
Contextual learning is based on a constructivist theory of teaching and learning. Learning takes place when teachers are able to present information in such a way that students are able to construct meaning based on their own experiences. Contextual learning experiences include internships, service learning and study abroad programs.
The Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project (MMCP) is a music education curricular plan that sought to improve music education through a child-centered approach.
Backward design is a method of designing an educational curriculum by setting goals before choosing instructional methods and forms of assessment. Backward design of curriculum typically involves three stages:
Differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation, is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing all students within their diverse classroom community of learners a range of different avenues for understanding new information in terms of: acquiring content; processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in their ability.Differentiated instruction means using different tools, content, and due process in order to successfully reach all individuals. Differentiated instruction, according to Carol Ann Tomlinson, is the process of "ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning." According to Boelens et al. (2018), differentiation can be on two different levels: the administration level and the classroom level. The administration level takes the socioeconomic status and gender of students into consideration. At the classroom level, differentiation revolves around content, processing, product, and effects. On the content level, teachers adapt what they are teaching to meet the needs of students. This can mean making content more challenging or simplified for students based on their levels. The process of learning can be differentiated as well. Teachers may choose to teach individually at a time, assign problems to small groups, partners or the whole group depending on the needs of the students. By differentiating product, teachers decide how students will present what they have learned. This may take the form of videos, graphic organizers, photo presentations, writing, and oral presentations. All these take place in a safe classroom environment where students feel respected and valued—effects.
In education, authentic learning is an instructional approach that allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that are relevant to the learner. It refers to a "wide variety of educational and instructional techniques focused on connecting what students are taught in school to real-world issues, problems, and applications. The basic idea is that students are more likely to be interested in what they are learning, more motivated to learn new concepts and skills, and better prepared to succeed in college, careers, and adulthood if what they are learning mirrors real-life contexts, equips them with practical and useful skills, and addresses topics that are relevant and applicable to their lives outside of school."
21st century skills comprise skills, abilities, and learning dispositions that have been identified as being required for success in 21st century society and workplaces by educators, business leaders, academics, and governmental agencies. This is part of a growing international movement focusing on the skills required for students to master in preparation for success in a rapidly changing, digital society. Many of these skills are also associated with deeper learning, which is based on mastering skills such as analytic reasoning, complex problem solving, and teamwork. These skills differ from traditional academic skills in that they are not primarily content knowledge-based.