Recommendations for Introducing and Implementing the Australian Developmental Curriculum in Schools

The success and widespread interest and introduction of the Australian Developmental Curriculum into schools across Australia has been phenomenal over the past few years. However, one of the challenges is to ensure that schools and teaching teams have accurate information and support to assist with successful implementation.

One of the dangers is for teachers to simply visit a school which is implementing a version of the Australian Developmental Curriculum or a play based curriculum which may or may not actually be endorsed and certified by Kathy Walker and Associates. The Australian Developmental Curriculum has been specifically and rigorously designed and researched to ensure that explicit teaching and learning is retained alongside directed and scaffolded investigations. Successful implementation of the Australian Developmental Curriculum which will gain successful results and outcomes for children requires accurate information and ongoing mentoring.

We strongly recommend the following processes for implementing The Australian Developmental Curriculum

Symposiums: What is the Australian Developmental Curriculum?

It is important to be clear about what the approach actually is and how it works. We offer Friday afternoon symposiums in Melbourne and rural and regional symposiums which provide an overview of the approach and the steps needed to successfully implement the Australian Developmental Curriculum.

Mentoring

One information session is not sufficient to successfully implement and sustain the Australian Developmental Curriculum. In order to embed the approach, to ensure quality teaching and learning and to sustain the approach, we recommend between 2-4 mentor visits each term in the first year of implementation or in the year prior to implementation. Mentor visits are a combination of modelling teaching in the classroom as well as discussions and sharing between the team and the mentor. Listed below are some of the main of the main foci in mentoring sessions.

Discussion of values and beliefs about children and learning and teaching
Consideration of implications regarding curriculum topics, reporting and assessment, timetabling, etc
Introduction and overview of Developmental curriculum/research
Overview of a developmental curriculum alongside state/national frameworks
Child development theory research as it relates to the ADC implementation
Setting up the learning environment
Resources and budget considerations
Implementing a developmental curriculum P-2 or 3-6
What a day looks like in the approach
Planning /documentation
Linking and retaining explicit literacy and numeracy
Assessment
Reporting
Integrated curriculum: what happens to it?
Types of play and investigation
Working effectively with parents
Tuning in and reflection time ( linking back to explicit teaching)
Records of children for individual planning
Displaying and explaining the investigations to parents and children
Role of specialists
Modelling of reflection and tuning in time by associate

Visiting another school

There are a number of schools that have implemented the Australian Developmental Curriculum over a number of years and have worked with our team to ensure an accurate interpretation of the Australian Developmental Curriculum. We recommend that teams visit one or two of these schools to gain a picture of what it looks like in a classroom. Please note: These visits are not designed to inform teachers on "how" to implement the approach, but to demonstrate how the rooms are set up and how the sessions work.

We are happy to provide a list of schools we recommend for visiting and have been certified by us as using an Australian Developmental Curriculum approach. Certification is given to schools which have completed at least 20 hours of PD and mentoring over at least 18 months and meets the criteria of the Australian Developmental Curriculum. This ensures quality and an accurate interpretation and implementation of the approach. Certification does not authorise staff to mentor teachers or other schools. The only staff authorised to mentor in the Australian Developmental Curriculum are Associates of Kathy Walker who have undergone mentor training with Kathy.

Whole Staff Information Session

Even if only one team within the school is implementing the Australian Developmental Curriculum, we strongly recommend that a whole staff meeting/PD session is provided for all staff so that accurate information and explanation about Australian Developmental Curriculum is provided. This helps to support teams who are implementing the approach, helps the whole school community understand the approach, and dispels potential misunderstandings such as, : It's just play, the children don't learn, the teachers stop teaching explicitly, it's what we did in the 70's." All of which is completely wrong!!

Working with and Informing Parents

During the process of implementation it is helpful to have parents informed about the approach and to help them understand what is involved. Kathy and her colleagues are able to provide these parent information sessions during or after school hours.

Extension Sessions

After a team has been implementing the Australian Developmental Curriculum for 12 months it is recommended that they attend an extension session for more explicit details related to linking investigations to explicit teaching.

The Importance of Leadership Support and Understanding

It is important to have the leadership of the school supportive and understanding of the approach.

Understanding of philosophy
Clarity of direction
Rationale for change
Timeline for implementation and strategies
Commitment to the philosophy
Support from leadership

Further Mentoring

It is recommended that after the first 12-18 months mentoring continue at the school at least once a term or needs based to help staff and new staff continue to implement the approach successfully.

Further Information

We look forward to working with you in the future.

For further information please contact us through the website: earlylife.com.au or phone 03 9855 1243

Kathy's new book on developmental curriculum is called Play Matters Australian Developmental Curriculum and is available through her website and through Gowrie Victoria Bookshop in Carlton and ACER Victoria.