At the completion of this course, participants will have:

• become familiar with the features of the new curriculum

• reflected on learners in the 21st Century and their current teaching practice

• created a profile of learners in their own classroom or school

• engaged with research on how people learn.

The learner and the new curriculum is a course assisting schools to prepare to implement new syllabuses in the context of their learners and the strategies that will best engage and improve learning. This course is part of a suite of courses under the banner Implementing new curriculum¹; however it is not a prerequisite for subsequent courses in the suite.

It is preferable that teachers who participate in Implementing new curriculum professional development courses collaborate with a small team of colleagues. A more experienced teacher or supervisor may lead a group of teachers through these courses as a presenter.

If the opportunity for collaboration is not available, teachers may complete the courses individually, then confer with a supervisor to have their course completion verified on MyPL@EDU².

Topics addressed in this course will cover:

• how the new curriculum will meet the needs of learners

• the context of learners

• diversity of learners

• capacities needed by today’s learners

• how students learn.

• This course has been developed to cater for the diverse needs of teachers. Many of the readings are optional and intended as resources for further learning.

• Create a new folder for any documents associated with this course in a place convenient to you.

• Individual activities are included as interactive PDF files in each section of this course. However, you may wish to download the activity booklet with all the activities as a PDF (.pdf 470kB) or Word (.docx 972kB) document.

• Don’t forget to back up regularly!

• The links below provide optional background information for you to explore and further your understanding.

Throughout this course you will find the following icons:

This DEC course (code 151CLC020) is registered professional development under the terms of the NSW Institute of Teachers Continuing Professional Development policy.

For teachers accredited at Professional Competence, completion of this course or program will contribute 2 hours towards Institute Registered professional development.

The Department of Education and Communities is a NSW Institute of Teachers endorsed provider of professional development for the maintenance of accreditation at Professional Competence.

Scope of endorsement – all Elements of the NSW Professional Teaching Standards

In order for new scheme teachers accredited at Professional Competence to have these hours added to their ‘professional learning log’ at the NSW Institute of Teachers, the following steps must be taken:

1. Before commencing the course, advise your supervisor of your intention to do so and discuss the course requirements. Your supervisor will have to verify your completion of the course for maintenance of accreditation purposes.

2. Enrol in the scheduled event in MyPL@Edu² using your DEC portal username and password. For more details see Participants: Searching for and enrolling in professional learning events via My PL@Edu⁸ (.pdf 1.12MB)

3. Complete all course activities and deliverable/s as described on the Course overview section (above).

4. Provide the completed deliverable/s to your supervisor for approval.

5. Complete the evaluation on MyPL@Edu².

6. Have a follow up discussion with your supervisor when you have completed the course and deliverable/s. Your supervisor will then inform the course deliverer that you have met all requirements for the course and ensure this is recorded on MyPL@Edu².

7. Allow at least 10 working days for your details to be passed on to the NSW Institute of Teachers.

8. Within three months of completing the course, login to your account⁹ on the NSWIT website to complete the online evaluation so that the participation hours are recorded.