Alberta Education New Curriculum Update - April 13, 2022

Alberta Education New Curriculum Update - April 13th, 2022
Posted on 04/13/2022
Alberta Education New Curriculum Update - April 13th, 2022

Implementation, piloting and engagement starting in 2022


The new K-3 English Language Arts and Literature, K-3 Mathematics and K-6 Physical Education and Wellness curriculums will be implemented in classrooms across Alberta.

School authorities will have the option to also implement the final grades 4-6 Mathematics and English Language Arts and Literature curriculums if they choose. Given implementation for these grades is optional, no Provincial Achievement Tests at the grade 6 level will be implemented using the new curriculum.

Updated draft K-6 Science, French First Language and Literature, and French Immersion Language Arts and Literature curriculums will be piloted during the 2022-23 school year. These three draft curriculums will be released in May 2022 along with details on classroom piloting.Updated K-6 Fine Arts curriculum, which include Music, Visual Arts, Dance and Drama, will be released in the future and classroom piloting is expected to begin in late 2022.

Piloting and implementation starting in 2023

The draft K-6 Science, Fine Arts, French First Language and Literature, and French Immersion Language Arts and Literature curriculums will be updated in spring 2023 based on feedback from classroom piloting.

We anticipate the new K-3 Science, Fine Arts, French First Language and Literature, and French Immersion Language Arts and Literature curriculums will be implemented in classrooms in September 2023.

The final grades 4-6 Mathematics and English Language Arts and Literature curriculums are also expected to be implemented in September 2023. Provincial Achievement Tests at the grade 6 level will follow the new curriculum.

Implementation starting in 2024

The grades 4-6 Science, Fine Arts, French First Language and Literature, and French Immersion Language Arts and Literature curriculums will be implemented in classrooms across the province starting in September 2024.

The new K-6 Social Studies curriculum is anticipated to be implemented in September 2024. A draft will be made available at a later date for further engagement with Albertans and education stakeholders before the draft curriculum is piloted and then implemented.

Investments in curriculum implementation

To ensure elementary teachers are equipped to teach updated K-6 curriculum in classrooms this fall, Alberta’s government is investing $59 million in teacher professional learning and learning and teaching resources in the 2022/23 fiscal year.

Approximately $37.7 million will be distributed to school authorities, no later than mid-May. This includes:

$17.7 million distributed on a per student basis to enable purchasing or development of learning and teaching resources.
$20 million to provide teachers with professional learning and collaboration time. This will be allocated to school authorities, at the authority level, based on a per teacher rate of up to $800.

Criteria will be provided as soon as possible to school authorities to guide all investments made at the local level, with spending of these funds limited to supporting curriculum implementation. Some information will be collected by Education to facilitate distribution of funds through a template-approach to account for the number of FTEs at each grade level and to indicate how school authorities plan to invest their allocation. Some reporting will be required to advise what supports are put in place with the funds. This approach balances flexibility and accountability while minimizing the administrative burden for both school authorities and the department.

To purchase, license and develop resources that will be available to all school authorities, Alberta Education will retain $14.8 million. Alberta Education’s allocation includes an investment of $3.5 million specifically for French resources. This approach leverages economies of scale afforded by provincial buying power and will help ensure equitable access to high-quality learning and teaching resources across all authorities.

$6.5 million has been set aside for piloting teachers, in the form of release time, to support their ability to plan for piloting the draft curriculum and to participate in feedback sessions with the department throughout the pilot year.

Individual school authorities will receive more information on their funding allocation once criteria is received and details on piloting will be available later in May.

Supports for Implementation

As we move towards the September 2022 implementation of the new curriculum, it is essential to provide education system leaders and teachers with the professional learning and resources they need to succeed.

Alberta Education, the Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia (ARPDC) and school authorities will engage in the delivery of professional learning opportunities to support curriculum implementation. Alberta Education and ARPDC will collaborate to ensure that flexibility, repeatability and optionality are fundamental components of professional learning activities. School authorities are encouraged to provide professional learning opportunities that best support their local needs and schedules.

Alberta Education’s innovative platform, new LearnAlberta.ca, is the home of the new curriculum and the suite of authorized learning and teaching resources that are aligned and integrated with the curriculum. Initial resources aligned with K-3 Mathematics, K-3 English Language Arts and Literature and K-6 Physical Education and Wellness are now available. Resources to support optional curriculum implementation in grades 4-6 for these subjects will also be available in the coming months. Additional resources to further support implementation of these subjects will continue to be added and the current resources available on LearnAlberta.ca will continue to be accessible.

Teachers will be able to search, explore and plan within the application quickly and seamlessly with the new Boards functionality that is also being released with this announcement. Included in Boards are a series of sample lesson plans that may be viewed, copied and customized as required.

The final K-6 English Language Arts and Literature, K-6 Mathematics and K-6 Physical Education and Wellness curriculums are now available on new LearnAlberta.ca. In addition to the curriculum, Alberta Education is supporting elementary teachers by providing a number of implementation supports on new LearnAlberta.ca. These resources are located in the Curriculum Implementation Information Hub under “For School Authorities, School Leaders and Teachers.” The following supports and resources are now available:

Curriculum 101: A video that provides a foundational understanding of the Ministerial Order on Student Learning, the Guiding Framework, and the architecture and design of curriculum;

Curriculum Implementation and Supports Timeline: Highlights key dates for curriculum implementation and supports;
Subject-Specific Overviews: Overviews of each of the subjects that will be implemented;

Bridging Documents: Provide information to support the transition of the subjects (3) that will be implemented; and the Provincial Resource Review Guide: New guidelines for selecting learning and teaching resources aligned to the new curriculums.

Please see the support page on new LearnAlberta.ca for frequently asked questions and a comprehensive user guide with information about account creation, viewing the curriculum, and accessing resources.

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