An overview of the key competencies and what they might mean for New Zealand schools

1. Key Competencies: The key to teaching and learning in the 21 st Century?

2. About the presentation … This PowerPoint presentation was created by Vanessa Witt for the EDIS723 (Inquiry Studies) course at the University of Canterbury College of Education in 2010. As a student teacher, I chose to inquire into the key competencies because I was excited at the prospect of implementing a more balanced, student-centred curriculum in my classroom (when I get there!). I learnt a lot about the key competencies through the course of my inquiry, and I hope that what I have shared in this presentation is also interesting and informative for you.

4. … Will the key competencies make a difference to teaching and learning in our schools? ???

7. They are complex and inter-related … Word cloud created with Wordle - www.wordle.net

9. Karen Sewell (Secretary for Education) gave these reasons … We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist … using technologies that haven’t yet been invented … in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.

10. In a nutshell, it is because ... SHIFT HAPPENS! ... and if you have managed to keep up with the ever-changing technology, you can Google ‘Did You Know’ to find the full presentation about how fast the world is changing by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod and Jeff Brenman. (Many different versions are available on youtube.com)

12. If Key Competencies are not the same as the Essential Skills, should they be broken down into sub-skills and assessed? … How?

14. Alexandra School rocks! The key competencies are unpacked for both senior and junior students. Senior students have a ‘wall of words’ and develop their own ‘key competency kid’ with personal goals on the back. Junior students also have them translated into language that they understand. They use a reflection book (covered in silver paper like a mirror) to help them set goals, reflect on their progress and keep thinking about the next steps. Thinking tools are used to develop the thinking competencies, especially with senior students. This has led to a deeper understanding of what they are experiencing. ‘ You rock!’ certificates and real rocks are used to reinforce the key competencies and values. Children bring rocks to school and these sit on their tables. They write the competency/value on the rock as a reminder. For more information about this school’s story visit: keycompetencies.tki.org.nz/School-stories

15. Habits of Mind and Heart at College Street Normal School They built on Costa’s ‘Habits of Mind’ by adding values with their own ‘Habits of Heart’. To come up with ‘Habits of Heart’ they studied people who they thought might be role models (Ghandi, Martin Luther King) across a diverse range of religions and cultures and looked for similarities within these people. They came up with five habits of heart: 1. Practicing random acts of kindness 2. Respecting others by using good manners 3. Treating all people with kindness 4. Feeling and showing compassion 5. Placing other people’s needs before one’s own For more information about this school’s story visit: keycompetencies.tki.org.nz/School-stories “ For probably the first time in my career as a teacher I feel that we, here at College Street, are giving the children the opportunity to take increasing responsibility for their learning.”

16. Attitude, Action and Achievement at Frimley School Frimley School started working on the key competencies in 2006. They unpacked the key competencies using key words to describe what they mean and sent these home for parents to discuss with their children also. They feel it is important for parents to support development of the key competencies at home so that students understand that they are important for all aspects of their life, not just while they are in the classroom. They now have the ‘Frimley Way’ model, so the key competencies come to life through their vision of attitude, action and achievement (Three As). They have aligned the school behaviour management system with the key competencies and give out ‘Awesome Awards’ for positive reinforcement. For more information about this school’s story visit: keycompetencies.tki.org.nz/School-stories

19. How could the key competencies be assessed? Assessing the key competencies was seen as a tricky issue right from when they were first being developed for The New Zealand Curriculum. When looking at assessment of key competencies in 2006, experts from NZCER identified issues of context, time and fragmentation. One suggestion was that teachers could assess the opportunity to learn the competencies, rather than assessing the progress of individual students. The MOE website (keycompetencies.tki.org.nz) refers to ‘ monitoring ’ of the key competencies, rather than ‘assessment’: Monitor = to keep track of; check continually Assess = to estimate or judge the value, character, etc., of; evaluate From this distinction, it seems that teachers are not expected to try to measure or evaluate the amount of progress a student is making in developing key competencies. So how could they keep track of them ??? …

21. How could we monitor the key competencies? Documentation for monitoring key competencies is not about recording indicators, criteria, marks, grades, or rubrics. Documentation for monitoring key competencies is more about rich descriptions, examples, accounts, and narratives. MOE: keycompetencies.tki.org.nz/Monitoring Documentation: Learning logs or journals Portfolios E-portfolios Learning stories Tools and strategies: Reflection time Leaving slips Learning blog Peer recognition Keep a camera handy! More information about these ideas here: keycompetencies.tki.org.nz/Monitoring

24. Will the key competencies make a difference? My opinion … Clearly, some schools have embraced the vision of The New Zealand Curriculum and are already reaping the benefits of a more balanced, student-centred approach to teaching and learning. However, other schools are still only just starting the process of integrating the key competencies into their school curriculum, or are meeting some ‘road blocks’, so that they are unlikely to make the changes required to make a real difference. I am especially concerned now National Standards have been imposed on schools with such haste. There is a real risk that principals and teachers will not have the time and effort to put into developing a key competencies-rich programme because they are distracted by implementing National Standards.

25. Who can make a difference? “ It is their (teachers) skill that transforms inert curriculum into living entities in classrooms. It is teachers who make learning come alive for students. The success of curriculum rests upon teachers’ ability to make wise choices and see them through.” - McGee, 1997, p.15

26. Further reading … The New Zealand Curriculum. Ministry of Education, 2007. Key competencies: the journey begins. (Kick Starts). Rosemary Hipkins, Josie Roberts and Rachel Bolstad, 2007. Key competencies: exploring the potential of participating and contributing. (Kick Starts). Rachel Bolstad, Josie Roberts, Sally Boyd and Rosemary Hipkins, 2007. Catching the knowledge wave?: the knowledge society and the future of education. Jane Gilbert, 2005. Teachers and Curriculum Decision-Making. Clive McGee, 1997. MOE key competencies website: keycompetencies.tki.org.nz NZCER website: www.shiftingthinking.org In print: Online resources: