As a part of the five educational services (Early Learning, Primary, Secondary, Out of Hours Care and High Needs Education commencing in 2020), St Luke’s Catholic College in Marsden Park is registered and accredited to teach the mandated curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12 as directed by NESA, the New South Wales Education Standards Authority. Whilst NESA is the governing body of most things curriculum, the learning of students should not entirely be imposed by a central authority.
The learning of a young person is theirs, not that of a school nor that of a central curriculum authority. As such, education leaders are obligated to explore ways where we can give back ‘my learning time’ to the learner. As students progress through their secondary learning years at St Luke’s we will continue to explore ways of providing more and more personalised learning time.
With a focus on secondary schooling from Years 7 to 10, NESA requires all schools to deliver courses within the following eight Key Learning Areas (KLAs):
- Creative Arts – Music & Visual Arts
- English
- HSIE – Human Society and its Environment including History and Geography.
- LOTE – Language Other Than English.
- Mathematics
- PDHPE – Physical Development, Health and Physical Exercise.
- Science
- TAS – Technological and Applied Studies.
At St Luke’s we will ensure indicative NESA hours for each KLA; however, we will not oversubscribe hours like most other schools. St Luke’s will also provide formal Religious Education which makes a significant contribution to the education of each child. Hours dedicated to Religious Education and the eight KLAs make up the Core Curriculum at St Luke’s. This Core Curriculum is delivered through an experiential inquiry approach to learning through the integration of KLAs which enables students to apply their knowledge to new situations. Furthermore, students focus on developing their social skills and enterprise skills as expressed through our 6 Pillars of learning.
At St Luke’s, the Core Curriculum will be complemented and connected with each student’s Personalised Curriculum. With our first Year 7 cohort in 2018, the Personalised Curriculum has commenced with an instructional approach towards post-school pathways. This is led by the Pathways Leader, teacher and coaching industry experts as outlined in this video. They, along with input from parents and other data sources, assist students to more deeply understand their own talents, and how those talents can be used to inform their purpose in a rapidly changing world.
As students progress through Years 8, 9 & 10 in the coming years, there will increasingly be more and more time for students to self direct their Personalised Curriculum. This may include, but is not limited to:
- Acceleration of core curriculum subjects leading to early commencement of HSC in one or two subjects.
- If required, intervention strategies for those students who do not meet minimum national benchmark standards for literacy and numeracy.
- Early commencement of VET (Vocational and Educational Training) subjects either at school or through TAFE.
- Participation in Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs), completion of digital badge courses or informal internships with local industry experts and ‘start ups’.
- Self directed electives and collaborative projects as a result of students working with teachers with the following provocation: Knowing my Strengths, Motivations and Interests (SIM), how can I use my identified talents and affirmed capabilities to ensure a better world?
This approach to learning will overseen by a mix of teachers and personalised learning coaches who will ensure students engage with ongoing communication with parents. The end result will see students authentically engage with post-school pathways as they progress through their secondary school years at St Luke’s. Conceptually, at this stage it looks like this…
Hours wise, it may possibly look like this…
If you have any insights, suggestions or questions, please offer a comment.
Regards
Greg
LEARN AND LEAD 