{"id":217274,"date":"2024-10-29T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=217274"},"modified":"2024-10-24T11:59:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T10:59:48","slug":"the-curriculum-review-is-wrong-evolution-is-not-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/the-curriculum-review-is-wrong-evolution-is-not-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"The curriculum review is wrong: Evolution is not enough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2018If we put anything in, we have to take something out.\u2019 So said the chair of the curriculum and assessment review<\/a>, Professor Becky Francis, evidently in an attempt to reassure the profession. But what if that premise is wrong?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was speaking in a recent webinar on AI in education that prompted me to reflect on this. The statement\u2019s unquestioned assumption is that children are \u2018vessels\u2019 we fill with knowledge, and the review\u2019s job is to determine what knowledge, how much of it and how to ascertain its acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But pursuing this holy grail of sequenced knowledge has defined the national curriculum since its inception and has underpinned Ofsted judgments of schools since 2019. The few attempts there have been to bring \u2018soft skills\u2019 into the curriculum have been written off, making us a global outlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent Inspiring Learning survey<\/a> reveals one-third of 16- to 24-year-old employees lack employability skills and over one-quarter miss essential workplace skills like communication, resilience and problem solving. (Astonishingly, one-quarter dislike making phone calls and sometimes avoid them!) Almost half say they were never taught these skills at school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As AI replaces mundane tasks and grows in capability, business leaders all agree on the importance of oracy and listening skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the balance in education should now move away from pure knowledge acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oracy commission\u2019s recent report recommends that oracy become the \u2018fourth R\u2019 after the traditional reading, writing and arithmetic. And Labour\u2019s positive noises about oracyand AI are encouraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this only part of the radical shift in mindset and brave new approach we need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Internet Matters, half of children already use generative AI tools for their schoolwork. Despite this, two-thirds of schools do not question their students about their use of AI. Without relevant safeguards and training, how do schools know the provenance of the work children submit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The review\u2019s mantra is strangely out of kilter<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, according to Teacher Tapp, overwork leading to teacher shortages means AI is potentially an essential tool for supporting teachers day-to-day. Four in ten teachers use these tools regularly, including for crafting culturally relevant, inclusive and accessible lesson plans and resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the power of AI, if used appropriately, goes beyond shortcuts to producing outputs. AI tools can assist neurodiverse students through structuring workflows, study strategies and revision plans and support adaptive teaching to better help students with comprehension tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it reaches far beyond the school gates too. Chatbots can analyse answers and provide instant feedback. Other tools can help to summarise complex topics or bring knowledge to life with debate partners offering added nuance, new perspectives, alternative viewpoints and persuasive arguments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine the power of interviewing Picasso, Einstein or a WW1 soldier. Or the impact of a Black Death simulator that gives students an immersive sense of living during the plague, leading peasant revolts and developing vaccines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These tools exist, and they require a completely different approach, with students developing greater agency of their learning. Making use of them should free teachers up to focus more closely on how students apply rather than acquire their knowledge \u2013 and skills!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latter will need to include critical and digital literacy skills, not least because AI is highly prone to factual errors and misinformation. But Labour\u2019s investment in educational AI will help to improve that, and quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integrating AI alongside other modes of learning will transform not only classrooms and schools, but the very notion of curriculum and assessment. It will have further ramifications for school accountability too, not least how and what Ofsted inspects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the context of Labour embracing both oracy and AI so early in their time in government, the curriculum review\u2019s mantra of \u2018evolution rather than revolution\u2019 is strangely out of kilter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stark reality is that the revolution is here, whether we are ready to embrace it or not. Failing to do so will leave our young people trailing the field in competitive workforce and life skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training and support for practitioners and students in the classroom must be a priority so AI can evolve as friend, not foe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young people\u2019s ability to thrive in today\u2019s world (and workforce) requires a long-term strategic vision of education. Moving away from the EBacc to greater parity for academic, technical, creative and vocational subjects would certainly give relevant choices to children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upskilling children as independent, resilient learners and articulate critical thinkers with reasoning and problem-solving skills will equip them for their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may be less comforting for over-worked and under-resourced schools, but the workload prize alone should negate that. Paraphrasing the late Ken Robinson, a much better mantra would be that education needs to be \u2018transformed, not reformed\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reassurances of \u2018evolution, not revolution\u2019 ignore the inconvenient fact that the revolution is already happening \u2013 and we\u2019re not keeping up<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311124,"featured_media":184641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"post-theme":[3550],"class_list":["post-217274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","post-theme-opinion-curriculum-review"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t