Curriculum adviser EMILIA POTENZA answers questions from teachers about outcomes-based education (OBE) and Curriculum 2005.
Q: I am a grade 7 teacher trying to implement the new Learning Areas, but the completely new Learning Areas like Economics and Management Sciences, Technology and Arts and Culture are causing problems. Most of our staff don’t feel confident about teaching these Learning Areas. Where can we get help?
Mavis Khuzwayo, Umlazi
A: Many teachers share your concern. Much of the training provided to grade 7 teachers was very generic and couldn’t, in the time available, focus sufficiently on the new Learning Areas. The problem was compounded by the fact that many of the trainers themselves do not have sufficient background in the new Learning Areas. But rather than give up in despair, we all need to become more self-motivated. First, study the textbooks for the new Learning Areas carefully and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Next, consult a public library or the Internet for information in these new areas. Make contact with NGOs that may have ideas that will help you. The Teacher will be researching and publishing a list of NGOs that are working in the new Learning Areas. To get the Illustrative Learning Programmes (actual lesson material for grade 7) for any of the eight Learning Areas, which is produced by the Gauteng Department of Education and the Gauteng Institute for Curriculum Development, contact Rheena Hansrajh at (011) 728-7068/9. You will be charged for printed material sent to you or you can be e-mailed material free of charge.
Q: I attended every session of the grade 7 training in our district. Some of it was helpful, especially what we were given on assessment. But what confused me most was this thing called macro planning. They told us that the whole staff had to work together in November last year to plan the curriculum for grade 7. We had to take the same Programme Organisers for all eight Learning Areas and work out which Specific Outcomes we could cover for each Learning Programme. Then we had to use these Specific Outcomes to develop Learning Programmes for each Learning Area. To me, this makes nonsense of the curriculum because some Programme Organisers are much better suited to certain Learning Areas than others. Learners are likely to end up learning nothing properly. Am I missing the point?
Kenneth Makwela, Attridgeville
A: I think you are right to be uncomfortable with the idea of macro planning. Macro planning is recommended by the Department of Education as a way of integrating all eight Learning Areas in the Senior Phase. The approach referred to above is that you work with a grid of Phase Organisers and Programme Organisers. You collectively choose a set of Programme Organisers or themes like nation building or health and safety for a term or a year based on a needs analysis of your school. You then group relevant Specific Outcomes into each block of the grid. This grid is supposed to form a basis for planning activities for the term or a year either for each Learning Programme or for all eight Learning Programmes.
I believe that it is misleading to be told that a curriculum can be developed in such a technical way. Developing a coherent Learning Programme for each Learning Area in the Senior Phase is a very specialised task that most teachers do not have the time or possibly the skill to perform adequately. Several teachers have said they would rather just be given a syllabus for each Learning Area with a textbook based on it — but that is clearly not on the cards.
The best advice I can offer is that you acquaint yourself with the 12 Critical Outcomes and the Specific Outcomes for your Learning Area/s. Use the new textbooks and any other resources to guide you in designing Learning Programmes. Try to maintain a balance of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes. Carefully select the concepts and content that you use as vehicles for teaching skills and exploring values and attitudes.
Are you one of the many teachers at sea about understanding and implementing OBE and Curriculum 2005? Send in your questions to our curriculum adviser, Emilia Potenza, c/o The Teacher, PO Box 91667, Auckland Park, 2006, or e-mail her at [email protected]
— The Teacher/Mail & Guardian, February 2000.
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