Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips was at the University of Lethbridge on Friday speaking with future teachers about the proposed curriculum changes. Many of the education students said they are excited that changes are coming.
“We do program of studies reviews in our classes and to see that some of them haven’t been updated for 30-40 years, it’s insane,” third-year education major Breanne Newton said. “It’s awesome that they’re getting it done.”
In June, the government announced a $64-million curriculum revamp. The new curriculum will impact students from Kindergarten through to Grade 12.
“Certainly among teachers and those who teach teachers there’s an appetite to see good constructive changes that are going to make sure that the province is ready for the future,” Phillips said.
READ MORE: Alberta announces sweeping 6-year overhaul of school curricula at cost of $64M
The new curriculum will focus on six core subjects, be developed in English and French and will include topics like climate change, gender diversity and First Nations’ history.
“I want them to experience all the important things that happened in Canada,” Newton said. “The residential schools, that’s going a good initiative to have kids learn about.”
For many years, teachers have had to respond to the changing society while also struggling to meet outdated curriculum requirements.
“It’s amazing how much kids change just from year to year,” fourth-year education major Shania Hurlbert said. “With technology coming into the education system, it’s totally revamped it in a way that teachers have to roll with it, but the curriculum doesn’t support it completely.”
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The overhaul is built on the principle that it will help students to be prepared for the changing world and be “future ready.”
“The workforce has changed a lot, society has changed a lot, and the economy has changed a lot in the last 30 years,” Phillips said. “Our school curriculum and the tools that teachers have to deliver content have to change as well.”
The government will focus comprehensively on technology to ensure that Alberta’s youth are just as equipped as the rest.
“We need to make sure that students have the right skills in math, science and technology so that they’re ready for the innovative, creative economy that we know is going to require some of those really technological skills,” Phillips said.
It will still be a while before curriculum changes move into the classroom. The overhaul, which is just in beginning stages, will take six years to complete. The plan is set to be rolled out in stages; students from kindergarten to Grade 4 will see a new curriculum in 2018, Grade 5 to Grade 8, by 2019, and the high school curriculum will be rolled out in 2022.
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