Education
THE CURRICBy Dr Selina Samuels
W
ith millions of Aussie kids back in the classrooms, students will benefit this year from a pared-back Australian curriculum with a stronger focus on English phonics and more targeted approach to mastering essential mathematical facts, skills and concepts. Dr Selina Samuels, Chief Learning Officer at Cluey Learning, said the revamped Australian curriculum will be welcomed by teachers given how busy the school days are with an already jam-packed curriculum.
“Teachers often note how difficult it is to cover all the concepts in sufficient depth with room for differentiation and engagement,” she said. “Simplifying the curriculum does not mean making it simpler but instead will better enable students to embed the key foundational skills and knowledge and build their confidence as learners.” One core change will be a greater phonics-based approach in teaching children to read. “Systematic phonics instruction has been shown to be particularly effective for younger readers, giving them skills to decode unfamiliar words,” said Dr Samuels. “Phonics instruction should be supported by an emphasis on reading comprehension, so students learn reading fluency and understanding.” With regard to the greater emphasis on mastering core mathematical skills, Dr Samuels said this was an important revision. “It is very important children acquire strong mathematical foundations early. A secure understanding of number and numerical patterns enables them to tackle more complex and abstract concepts as they progress. Students need to be fluent with numbers and to know how to apply appropriate problem-solving strategies.” There will also be a lifting of standards for mathematics in Year 1. “In addition to securing an understanding of number and numerical patterns in the early years, there will be a focus of learning times tables to get better at addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Fluency and computational speed also give students greater confidence with maths.” Dr Samuels said there can be tell-tale signs a student requires additional academic support such as tutoring. “For younger children, statements such as, ‘I hate maths’ or ‘I’m just bad at English’ may suggest there’s a fundamental problem that needs to be addressed. continued page 38...
36 Peninsula Kids – Autumn 2023
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