The Australian Curriculum sets out the core knowledge, understanding, skills and general capabilities important for all Australian students. It makes clear what all young Australians should learn as they progress through schooling. The Australian Curriculum is being developed progressively with English and Mathematics being introduced in 2012 and Science and History in 2013. Teachers at Durack School will begin using the Australian Curriculum to plan, program and assess, in Mathematics from Semester 1 and English from Semester 2.

What are the elements of the curriculum?

The overall structure of the curriculum is consistent across learning areas and includes the following elements:

•  A rationale that explains the place and purpose of the learning area in the school curriculum

•  Aims that identify the major learning that students will be able to demonstrate as a result of learning from the curriculum

•  An organisation overview that provides an overview of how the curriculum in the learning area will be organised Foundation to Year 12

•  Content descriptions that specify what teachers are expected to teach. These are accompanied by elaborations that illustrate the content descriptions

•  Achievement standards that describe the quality of learning typically expected of students, and which are accompanied by work samples that illustrate the achievement standards through annotated student work

•  General capabilities that describe a set of skills, behaviours and dispositions that apply across subject-based content

•  Cross-curriculum priorities that ensure the Australian Curriculum is relevant to the lives of students and addresses the contemporary issues they face.

For further information on the Australian Curriculum visit the website www.australiancurriculum.edu.au

For 2012 the Northern Territory Curriculum Framework will continue to be used for all Key Learning Areas (KLAs) other than Mathematics and English. The NTCF will gradually be phased out as the AC is developed across the KLAs.

The Northern Territory Curriculum Framework (NTCF) identifies learning outcomes for all Northern Territory learners in classes from Transistion to Year 10. It provides the major elements of curriculum, around which schools can:

• develop flexible teaching and learning programs that are inclusive of the varied pedagogical approaches of educators
• assess learner progress
• report on the outcomes achieved.
The framework enables schools and teachers to select content and teaching methods
consistent with local contexts and priorities to ensure learners achieve agreed outcomes.

Structure
The NTCF consists of the following inter-related structural components
1. EsseNTial Learnings - four domains of Inner Learner, Creative Learner, Collaborative Learner and Constructive Learner each of which has a set of culminating outcomes.
2. Learning Technology - four domains of Problem-Solving and Decision-Making through Research; Communicating through Presentation, Publication or Performance; Operating Computer Components; and Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Society.
3. English as a Second Language - includes Early Childhood/Primary and Secondary pathways.
4. Learning Areas - eight nationally agreed Learning Areas of English, Health and Physical Education, Languages, Mathematics, Science, Studies of Society and Environment, Technology and Design and The Arts.
5. Indigenous Languages and Culture - includes language and culture outcomes for Indigenous Language Maintenance and Language Revitalisation programs.

Click the button below to visit the NTCF website: