Teachers in Nanaimo school district will continue with the rollout of the B.C. Ministry of Education’s new curriculum.
Dale Burgos, district spokesman, said 103 new full-time-equivalent teachers will be added to the system this school year thanks to a Supreme Court of Canada ruling related to class size.
Teachers from kindergarten to Grade 9 will be using mandated curriculum which aims to get students involved in inquiry-based learning.
Justin Mark, École Hammond Bay Grade 5-6 teacher and vice-principal, said he likes the new curriculum. Mark said there is a lot of flexibility and it allows teachers to run deeper into the thematic areas and really focus on competencies versus content base in making a shift into 21st-century learning.
While there is use of tablets and school Wi-Fi connections as part of that, Mark said there is a balance.
“We have to be very cognizant of screen time,” he said. “We don’t want students with their face in their phones all the time or in a tablet, but it’s certainly a powerful tool. I remember when I finished university and got my first e-mail address … even back then, all the information was housed in the schools.”
“You know, the school library at UVic was sort of the hub of learning but now we have access to so much learning opportunities online that if we’re not accessing those, we’re really not doing our students a service, so it’s really finding the balance,” the vice-principal said.
In the case of elementary schools, Mark said it’s important to leverage outdoor learning. Hammond Bay Elementary has access to Neck Point Park and the students are outside moving all the time.
According to the Ministry of Education, full transition to the curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 9 began last September.
Teachers may voluntarily use draft curriculum for Grades 10-12 this year, but full transition will take place in September of 2018.