My latest piece for the school blog on curriculum models.
By Andy Tharby
Before we consider the shape and dimensions of a subject curriculum, we should first consider its purpose. In my opinion, a curriculum should always be challenging in its depth and breadth so that:
- students acquire powerful knowledge that takes them beyond their experience;
- students are encouraged to enjoy and take an interest in the subject;
- students are well-prepared for terminal exams at the end of five years of study;
- students build their academic background knowledge and cultural capital by acquiring Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary;
- students acquire the foundations needed in each subject for further study beyond GCSE should they wish.
However, these lofty aims will not be realised unless the subject curriculum is designed to support the incremental accrual of knowledge. Cognitive science research points us to two useful findings: first that ‘higher-order’ thinking skills cannot exist without factual knowledge, and second that we learn…
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Reflecting English 