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Alberta schools heading towards curriculum changes

Feb 8, 2018 | 2:57 PM

 

EDMONTON, AB – Schools across Alberta are slowly gearing up for changes to the curriculum.

According to Education Minister David Eggen, parts of the current curriculum for kindergarten to grade 12 students are between 8 to 30 years old.

Eggen said changes are long overdue.

A survey was conducted by Alberta Education to receive feedback on what kinds of changes the public would like to see. Eggen said the response was significant.

“[It] solicited responses and input from the agriculture sector, from the energy sector, forestry, finance, post-secondary institutions, you name it,” said Eggen, “And we’ve seen an amazing response. I think about 35,000 people [responded] in the first survey and almost 10,000 in the last one.”

Changes to the curriculum will focus on helping students strengthen essential skills like mathematics, language, and critical thinking.

But Eggen said the new curriculum will also include development of increasingly important skills, such as computer coding and financial literacy.

When asked if curriculum changes will put additional pressure on teachers, Eggen said the province will work to support and train them.

“It’s really important to make sure that teachers are with us every step of the way. Nothing works in schools if teachers are not there,” said Eggen.

To continue receiving feedback from teachers about the new curriculum, Eggen announced it will be available in a digital format, so teachers are given a more interactive platform to share ideas.

“They can use that digital platform to interact and share best practices with other teachers from different parts of the province and provide constructive feedback. So this is a much more fluid, modern approach to curriculum,” said Eggen.

The curriculum changes will unfold in classrooms over the next five years. Kindergarten to grade 4 classes will likely see prototypes by next December.