Skills versus knowledge?
There is a clear form
To write haiku poetry
That I need to know
——-
Two fives and a seven
Syllables are key to this
Carefully structured
——-
To use the form well
I must pull the words apart
For this I need skills
——–
I need to know words
To make my prose explain
About haiku poems
———-
Reading and writing
Are the skills I need to have
To finish the poem
———–
I love the genre
No need for anything to rhyme
Just rhythm and style
Glynis Frater
Just a bit of fun but hopefully it demonstrates what I am saying,
Skills versus knowledge: my thoughts below
OFSTED’s research published in 2018 into how the curriculum is planned and implemented focused on three different approaches to curriculum planning,
- Knowledge led
- Knowledge engaged
- Skills led
The College of Teaching’s new magazine IMPACT focused in its 4th edition on the curriculum. It is well worth a read. The conclusion I draw from both the OFSTED report and the collection of essays within the IMPACT magazine is that skills have their place as an integral part of learning in the first as well as the second and third of the suggested approaches. In one article, Designing a primary knowledge-rich curriculum which focuses on the knowledge-led approach, there is clearly an emphasis on rich and deep subject specific learning.
However, the need for pupils to have access to materials and resources that are ‘text-rich’ is cited as essential. In order to access rich text linked to knowledge acquisition requires the skill of comprehension, the ability to read and draw inference and the competence to sift and select the relevant information in order to demonstrate understanding.
The term skill was deftly left out of the observation of the need for rich text. Reading is an essential skill and one that is fundamental to all learning. Subject specific learning requires the same level of comprehension skills as scaffolded learning in English or literacy and those teachers who are not specialists in English may not have the relevant skills or understanding to ensure that pupils can access the complex language in say a piece of History source material or an unfamiliar piece of science explanation.
I don’t disagree with the three approaches to curriculum design. My thoughts are that we need to ensure that we always identify the skills that are fundamental to deepening learning and to building a seamless continuum that ensures pupils become unconsciously competent in their ability to apply their knowledge across a wide range of contexts within the national and the wider curriculum.
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