- Familiarise yourself with changes in content and pedagogy (see the department’s Professional learning – Curriculum K–12 and NESA Online Learning).
- Access NSW Curriculum to understand the evidence underpinning the new syllabus.
- Work in partnership with school leaders to explore professional learning needs aligned to the Performance and development framework.
- Collaborate with other teachers and schools through local school networks (see Curriculum Reform Communities).
Curriculum implementation journey – classroom teacher
Guidance for teachers implementing a new syllabus. Suggested activities, reflective questions and useful resources can be used flexibly across a range of schools for each phase of curriculum implementation.
Download the curriculum implementation journey – classroom teacher (PDF 626 KB) graphic.
Engage
In the engage phase, teachers:
- explore aspects of the new syllabus
- identify and plan for changes required for effective curriculum implementation.
Suggested activities
Explore
Identify and plan
- Work in partnership with middle leaders to effectively identify and meet the diverse learning needs of all students.
- This includes students with disability, high potential and gifted students, Aboriginal students and students who are learning English as an additional language or dialect (see Curriculum planning K–12 professional learning and Universal design for learning).
- Work with middle leaders to evaluate, select, adapt and create resources that are contextually appropriate for classroom use (see Planning programming and assessing K–12).
- Work with middle leaders to develop year or stage-based scope and sequences, differentiated units and resources (see Curriculum support and teaching resources).
- Collaboratively identify and plan for assessment (see Effective assessment practice and NESA Assessment advice).
- Identify class-based processes for the collection and analysis of student data aligned to teaching and learning activities (see Data analysis resources – guiding advice).
- Use Transition from primary to high school advice to support effective transition processes and strengthen continuity of learning practices.
- To what extent do I have a deep understanding of the syllabus and the evidence underpinning the new syllabus?
- How will I work collaboratively to evaluate, select, adapt and create resources to teach the new syllabus?
- What resources do I need to implement the new syllabus to meet curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting requirements?
Enact
In the enact phase, teachers:
- teach, assess and report using the new syllabus
- evaluate to refine practices and systems.
Suggested activities
Teach
- Access and apply professional learning to enhance student learning experiences (see Professional learning – curriculum K–12).
- Work with middle leaders to collaboratively plan teaching programs and optimise learning for all students (see Planning learning experiences for every student).
- Create opportunities to communicate with parents and carers about their child's engagement with the curriculum in line with agreed school processes.
- Implement changes to pedagogy and refine planning and programming while teaching the new syllabus (see Planning programming and assessing K–12).
- Use expertise to select the right explicit teaching strategy at the right time for the right purpose (see Explicit teaching).
- Engage with evidence-based models of collaborative inquiry to build capability for effective teaching and learning (see Guide to evidence based models of collaborative inquiry (staff only)).
Assess and report
- Collaboratively plan and use formative and summative assessment to show student progress and achievement aligned to the new syllabus outcomes (see NESA Assessment advice and Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12 policy).
- Refine assessments to reflect new syllabus outcomes (see Planning programming and assessing K–12).
- Work collaboratively with middle leaders and teachers to analyse internal and external student progress and achievement data.
- Refer to the Reporting to parents page to write reports that reflect new syllabus outcomes.
Evaluate
- Communicate feedback to school leaders about school processes to ensure they are meeting the demands of the new syllabus to optimise student learning.
- Contribute evidence that is aligned to initiatives in the School Excellence Plan.
- How will I teach the new syllabus to optimise learning for the full range of students?
- How am I contributing to planning effective learning experiences for the full range of students?
- How am I showing evidence of new syllabus outcomes, content and pedagogical changes in my planning and programming?
- To what extent are parents and the school community aware of the changes to the curriculum?
- How will I make changes to assessment and reporting?
- How will I work in partnership to evaluate the implementation of the new syllabus?
Embed
In the embed phase, teachers strengthen and scale to ensure sustainable practices and systems.
Suggested activities
Strengthen
- Work with the middle leaders to contribute to a culture of evidence-based reflective teaching and ongoing improvement (see Evaluating curriculum implementation).
- Access ongoing professional learning to ensure a high expectations culture for student learning.
- Participate in and contribute to collaboration, observations, co-teaching and planning, reviewing evidence and reflecting on practice.
Scale
- Provide feedback to leaders on processes and structures for whole school monitoring of planning and programming, assessing and reporting.
- Contribute to a review of implementation data to identify effective curriculum implementation practice for future syllabuses.
- Consider classroom physical and material needs for future syllabus implementation.
- Work collaboratively with middle leaders to reflect on areas of success and improvement for future syllabus implementation.
- How has my teaching led to improvements in student learning?
- How am I reflecting on my teaching practice?
- What are the enablers and barriers for future curriculum implementation in my classroom?
