Scene setting and goals

Introduction (5 min)

Hello! In this first lesson, we'll introduce the course. What is a 5-year mastery curriculum and why do we need it? Watch this and think about how it relates to your own situation.

Most teachers in our programme feel their curriculum focusses too much on the content. This needs to change as exams increasingly test depth of understanding and application of concepts.

Set your goals (10 min)

Let’s get specific: how do you want your curriculum to change as a result of your 5-year plan? Writing a clear goal will focus you on the most useful ideas from this course.

This activity is on page 1 of your Workbook. We suggest downloading and printing it, so you have the activity sheets for the whole course ready. Download the Workbook  

As the curriculum change is for the benefit of students, let's write the goal for them. Choose one or two particular groups of students whose outcomes you want to improve.

In the 'Now' box on the left, describe the students and the negative aspects of their current curriculum experience you want to change.

In the 'Vision' box on the right, imagine what their experience could become after you've implemented your 5-year plan.

Then answer the question about major obstacles to change that you'll have to overcome. See the list of challenges teachers sent us in this Twist discussion.

In this course, you'll be thinking like a designer. In design terms, the curriculum is a solution to a specific problem. And the problem is: how to prepare students most effectively for exams like GCSE, and whatever they will need science for later.

Let's move on to look at curriculum alignment.