PSA will be piloting the launch of its new digital Curriculum Tracker with eight schools in two districts in Mpumalanga starting this month. This forms part of its programme with the Mpumalanga Province and the Old Mutual Flagship Programme.
The Curriculum Tracker is used by teachers, department heads, principals (and deputies) and well as circuit managers and district officials to track progress on the curriculum in schools.
Tracking is conducted at three levels:
· Informal tasks which have been set
· Formal tasks such as summative assessments
· Learning topics covered
By tracking progress in the curriculum at these three levels, both schools and DoE staff are able to develop a comprehensive view on teaching and learning progress, especially in key subjects related to literacy and mathematics. Teaching and learning is the ‘core business’ of all schools and effective tracking of the curriculum is the golden thread that enables all levels of the education system to have insight into what is really happening in the classroom.
Now that the Curriculum Tracker has been developed as a digital instrument it will enable all users to log in and to see the data that is relevant to them in real time. A Circuit Manager will typically want to see at a glance how all the schools in their circuit are performing on the curriculum while a teacher might be more interested in their specific subjects and classes.
The Curriculum Tracker relies on teachers and departments heads to provide data on the formal and informal tasks as well as the topics that they have planned and the extent to which they have managed to achieve these within a month.
“A critical element of this process of data entry is to ensure that teachers provide accurate data because they are confident that the information will be used to support them in the schools and not used to police or punish them” said Mrs Mpume Shamase, PSA COO. “Our training will emphasize the importance for department heads to provide feedback loops and effective phase meetings which review curriculum challenges and put in place effective support mechanisms for their teaching teams”.
Having sound data about the curriculum is an essential part of being able to identify problem areas and then hone in on addressing these. A school principal, for example, will be able to see immediately where teachers are struggling to cover the curriculum or where insufficient informal tasks are being set and will, together with the relevant DH, be able to help solve the challenges with the teachers concerned.
Going forward AI is taking this process even further with applications now available which support teachers in the marking of workbooks and scripts and even provide feedback to students. The data which is then collected through this process enables teachers then to have the time to analyse how each and every pupil is faring across all their subjects and to target their support accordingly. Instead of being bogged down in administration teachers are now freed up to do what most love most – teaching, especially for those who most need it.
REALs Colloquium
PSA coaches and staff from three Limpopo, KZN and the Eastern Cape participated in the Reading Recovery and Leadership Strengthening (REALS) Colloquium held at the University of KZN on 27th June 2023. Phase 1 of the programme, supported by the EU and UNICEF, which involved 650 schools in these three Provinces has just been completed and the purpose of the colloquium was to consider lessons learnt in terms of assessment for learning, curriculum recovery, as well as reading and disaster management.
