Cognition Education is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of the Curriculum Development Project in the Solomon Islands, which involved the review and development of a range of curriculum support materials for teachers in Years 1-9.
Cognition was awarded the contract to further develop curriculum resources in 2017 and over the past 18 months the project covered subject areas of Mathematics, English, social studies and science and included the development of the following resources:
- A Teaching Guide for Maths Year 1
- A Learning Guide for Maths Year 1
- A Teaching Guide for Maths Year 2
- A Learning Guide for Maths Year 2
- A Teacher Guide for Year 8 Maths
- A Teacher Guide for Year 9 Maths
- A combined Teaching and Learning Guide for Year 9 English
- A combined Teaching and Learning Guide for Year 9 Social Studies
The project has achieved significant deliverables including:
- Finalisation of the syllabi for Years 1-6 Maths and English with the latter now in schools.
- A review of Learner Books and Teachers’ Guide for core subjects in Years 1–8 to inform future approaches to both curriculum and professional development.
- The development of a Senior Secondary Curriculum Framework which lays the foundation for the re-development of the senior secondary curriculum over the next few years. Most significantly, this includes a focus on the cross-curricular Capabilities (see diagram below) which are designed to inform all new curriculum development work as appropriate in a variety of subjects at different levels of schooling.
- Development of a Five-Year Curriculum and Professional Development Plan which provides a coherent framework and plan for the development of remaining curricula up to 2024 and the professional development required to ensure that innovative, outcomes based and student-centred approaches to learning and teaching become an increasing feature of all Solomon Islands classrooms.
- Development of requirements needed to prepare for implementation of the Five-Year Curriculum and Professional Development Plan including:
- Alignment of the Capabilities from Pre-Primary to Year 12.
- A workshop outline to guide writers in the development of curriculum resources which integrate the Capabilities.
The books created by this Cognition-led project are ready for publishing, printing and use within the professional development program planned by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) over the next few years.
Cognition Education Pacific Director, Phil Coogan says, “Although we are very pleased with the achievements of the past 18 months, we recognise that curriculum and professional development is not ‘a project’ but a central and ongoing component of improved teaching and learning in Solomon Islands classrooms.”