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Coleridge Concepts

Coleridge Curriculum Concepts, Knowledge and Skills.

At Coleridge we have ensured that all aspects of the curriculum have been designed with progression in mind, to ensure children build on existing skills and knowledge, which enables them to make links to new learning more easily and commit this knowledge to their long-term memories. In order to provide children with opportunities to revisit previous learning, and build their long-term memories we have ensured that concepts run throughout all our subjects so children can refer to their prior learning through these concepts.

We have also carefully planned our curriculum to ensure the small steps (components) are the building blocks that scaffold our children’s learning so they have the required knowledge and skills to complete their endpoints (composites) at the end of a unit. As we have a bespoke curriculum, we have spent a large amount of time refining our components and composites to ensure our children have the necessary tools to achieve success in their learning.

We have worked with all leaders in the school to ensure that our curriculum is built on rich and varied knowledge. The latest DfE research has been extremely supportive when revising our curriculum and we have worked tirelessly to ensure we have substantive (knowing what) and disciplinary (knowing how) knowledge throughout areas of our curriculum. Below is how we define these two types of knowledge:

Substantive knowledge is the specific, factual content for the subjects, which must be connected into a careful sequence. An example of this would be that Henry VIII had 6 wives.

Disciplinary knowledge is best described as the action taken within a particular subject to gain knowledge i.e. how we gain substantive knowledge. For example, in history, this might mean using evidence to construct a claim. Meanwhile, in science, it might mean testing hypotheses. In music, it might mean reading and writing notation. As you can see, it is quite distinct within each domain.

To ensure these types of knowledge are covered, we have a clear intent when it comes to designing our curriculum. We follow the following steps:

  • Appropriate curriculum intent makes sure the right components are identified and sequenced for each year group and are embedded in long-term memory so that children are prepared for the next stage of their learning.
  • Lessons should focus on components and should avoid overloading working memory.
  • Teaching should take into account prior learning.
  • Concepts support schema building.
  • Curriculum plans should include choices about substantive knowledge, disciplinary knowledge and vocabulary.
  • Automaticity (fluency) only happens when we plan overlearning (repeated recall).
  • Challenge isn’t about a ‘type of activity. Challenge comes from having a robust curriculum offer. Differentiation isn’t always a good thing and is becoming an outdated practice.
  • Lesson activities should enable children to remember curriculum components. They may not necessarily be exciting!

Once leaders have followed these important eight steps, they work to define disciplinary and substantive knowledge within their subjects and ensure that all pupils and teachers have clarity around these terms. These concepts are shared in lessons, on knowledge organisers (for subjects that use them) and in low-stakes quizzes and similar activities in retrieval practice, to ensure learners are constantly discussing and recalling the key knowledge and concepts. Leaders have also used the DfE research, where it is available, in their subject areas to create clarity within their subject. Leaders want to ensure that teachers and pupils know the difference between the types of knowledge being taught. As a result, the following diagrams have been created in conjunction with external consultants and specialists to support staff subject knowledge. Below is a concept map for Geography.

Staff will lead CPD around their curriculum design to ensure that these types of knowledge are taught discretely but that lessons and units include ways of connecting knowledge. In Geography, outlined factual knowledge linked to place and location (substantive knowledge) is recalled frequently through regular ‘Geography Mash-ups’. This is a discrete 15-minute session when children can recall factual information such as oceans around the world or countries in certain hemispheres. This substantive knowledge will support their disciplinary knowledge when examining other areas of geography.

We ensure that disciplinary knowledge is covered during lessons and due to the Mash-up, teachers do not have to spend time unpicking misconceptions in substantive knowledge and can spend more time unpicking thinking around disciplinary knowledge. An example of this would be the concept of scale being investigated whilst on a field trip. Learners would have to plan a route before their trip and discuss the length of the journey using an Ordinance Survey map. Pupils would discuss the scale and how long they felt the route would take in relation to the scale shown. Learners would then conduct a fieldtrip and follow the route they had planned to investigate whether it was indeed the scale that they had predicted.

Subject leaders support staff to implement and deliver their curriculums and key concepts. Leaders have used the DfE research and experts from the Local Authority and subject associations to develop their concepts in more detail. Below is how we explore enquiry and conceptual understanding across our Geography Curriculum.

Staff will lead CPD around their curriculum design to ensure that these types of knowledge are taught discretely but that lessons and units include ways of connecting knowledge. In Geography, outlined factual knowledge linked to place and location (substantive knowledge) is recalled frequently through regular ‘Geography Mash-ups’. This is a discrete 15-minute session when children can recall factual information such as oceans around the world or countries in certain hemispheres. This substantive knowledge will support their disciplinary knowledge when examining other areas of geography.

We ensure that disciplinary knowledge is covered during lessons and due to the Mash-up, teachers do not have to spend time unpicking misconceptions in substantive knowledge and can spend more time unpicking thinking around disciplinary knowledge. An example of this would be the concept of scale being investigated whilst on a field trip. Learners would have to plan a route before their trip and discuss the length of the journey using an Ordinance Survey map. Pupils would discuss the scale and how long they felt the route would take in relation to the scale shown. Learners would then conduct a fieldtrip and follow the route they had planned to investigate whether it was indeed the scale that they had predicted.

Subject leaders support staff to implement and deliver their curriculums and key concepts. Leaders have used the DfE research and experts from the Local Authority and subject associations to develop their concepts in more detail. Below is how we explore enquiry and conceptual understanding across our Geography Curriculum.

Staff will lead CPD around their curriculum design to ensure that these types of knowledge are taught discretely but that lessons and units include ways of connecting knowledge. In Geography, outlined factual knowledge linked to place and location (substantive knowledge) is recalled frequently through regular ‘Geography Mash-ups’. This is a discrete 15-minute session when children can recall factual information such as oceans around the world or countries in certain hemispheres. This substantive knowledge will support their disciplinary knowledge when examining other areas of geography.

We ensure that disciplinary knowledge is covered during lessons and due to the Mash-up, teachers do not have to spend time unpicking misconceptions in substantive knowledge and can spend more time unpicking thinking around disciplinary knowledge. An example of this would be the concept of scale being investigated whilst on a field trip. Learners would have to plan a route before their trip and discuss the length of the journey using an Ordinance Survey map. Pupils would discuss the scale and how long they felt the route would take in relation to the scale shown. Learners would then conduct a fieldtrip and follow the route they had planned to investigate whether it was indeed the scale that they had predicted.

Subject leaders support staff to implement and deliver their curriculums and key concepts. Leaders have used the DfE research and experts from the Local Authority and subject associations to develop their concepts in more detail. Below is how we explore enquiry and conceptual understanding across our Geography Curriculum.

Staff will lead CPD around their curriculum design to ensure that these types of knowledge are taught discretely but that lessons and units include ways of connecting knowledge. In Geography, outlined factual knowledge linked to place and location (substantive knowledge) is recalled frequently through regular ‘Geography Mash-ups’. This is a discrete 15-minute session when children can recall factual information such as oceans around the world or countries in certain hemispheres. This substantive knowledge will support their disciplinary knowledge when examining other areas of geography.

We ensure that disciplinary knowledge is covered during lessons and due to the Mash-up, teachers do not have to spend time unpicking misconceptions in substantive knowledge and can spend more time unpicking thinking around disciplinary knowledge. An example of this would be the concept of scale being investigated whilst on a field trip. Learners would have to plan a route before their trip and discuss the length of the journey using an Ordinance Survey map. Pupils would discuss the scale and how long they felt the route would take in relation to the scale shown. Learners would then conduct a fieldtrip and follow the route they had planned to investigate whether it was indeed the scale that they had predicted.

Subject leaders support staff to implement and deliver their curriculums and key concepts. Leaders have used the DfE research and experts from the Local Authority and subject associations to develop their concepts in more detail. Below is how we explore enquiry and conceptual understanding across our Geography Curriculum.

 

 

The most important aspect of our curriculum is that children are engaged and progressing. We felt the DfE research was extremely clear in the ways children should progress across the two areas of knowledge. The research states the following:

Pupils make progress in geography by developing:

Substantive knowledge through the interrelated forms of locational knowledge, place knowledge, human & physical processes (including environmental processes) & geographical skills.

Disciplinary knowledge of how geographical knowledge originates and is revised. It is through disciplinary knowledge that pupils learn the practices of geographers.

We will assess children’s progress through work scrutiny, pupil interviews, low-stakes quizzes and constant AFL strategies.

Although we have used Geography as an example of the concepts covered within our curriculum, the DfE research has informed all other subject areas where it has been released. Subject leaders have concept maps and concept stories (which can be found on Subject Pages and accessed through the links below) to outline how concepts are covered across year groups.