- Curriculum for Wales
Bridging Curriculum and Pedagogy: RM Compare in the New Welsh Classroom
This is the first post in our 10 part series offering a Welsh Curriculum practitioners guide to RM Compare.
The Dawn of a New Educational Era
Welsh teachers find themselves at the forefront of an educational revolution. The new Curriculum for Wales brings fresh challenges and opportunities, reimagining not just what is taught, but how learning is assessed. At the heart of this transformation lies a crucial question: How can educators effectively bridge the gap between curriculum goals and classroom practice? RM Compare emerges as a powerful tool designed to support teachers in this transition, offering a practical solution to the assessment challenges posed by the new curriculum.
Aligning Assessment with the Four Purposes
The new curriculum is built upon four core purposes, aiming to develop children and young people as ambitious, capable learners; enterprising, creative contributors; ethical, informed citizens; and healthy, confident individuals. These purposes represent a holistic approach to education that goes beyond traditional academic measures. RM Compare aligns seamlessly with this vision by allowing teachers to assess a wide range of skills and competencies through comparative judgement.
Instead of relying on rigid marking schemes, educators can now evaluate diverse types of work, from essays to creative projects, in a way that truly reflects the multifaceted nature of learning. This approach enables teachers to capture and nurture the qualities that are at the heart of the new curriculum, providing a more comprehensive picture of each learner's development.
Empowering Professional Judgement
One of the most significant shifts in the new curriculum is the emphasis on teacher autonomy and professional judgement. RM Compare is built on this principle, putting educators in the driver's seat of assessment. Teachers now have the flexibility to design assessments that authentically reflect their teaching and their pupils' learning experiences.
Moreover, RM Compare facilitates collaboration among colleagues. Through shared moderation processes, teachers can work together to build a collective understanding of what constitutes quality work across different subject areas. This collaborative approach not only enhances consistency in assessment but also contributes to ongoing professional development.
Bridging Theory and Practice
The concept of assessment as a bridge between curriculum and pedagogy is central to the effective implementation of the new Welsh curriculum. RM Compare serves as this bridge, allowing teachers to translate curricular goals into meaningful classroom practices. By using comparative judgement, educators can ensure that their assessments are not just measuring what's easy to measure, but what they truly value in their pupils' work.
This shift in approach encourages teachers to "measure what they treasure" rather than simply "treasuring what they measure." It's a subtle but powerful change that aligns assessment practices more closely with the curriculum's broader educational goals.
Supporting Inclusive Assessment
In the diverse classrooms of Wales, ensuring fair and inclusive assessment is paramount. RM Compare supports this goal by allowing for the evaluation of a wide range of work types. This flexibility ensures that pupils with different strengths and learning styles have equal opportunities to demonstrate their abilities.
Furthermore, the comparative approach inherent in RM Compare helps to reduce unconscious biases in assessment. By focusing on direct comparisons between pieces of work, rather than matching against predefined criteria, teachers can make more objective judgements about pupil performance.
Looking to the Future
As Welsh education embarks on this new chapter, RM Compare stands ready to support teachers every step of the way. The tool not only helps meet the requirements of the new curriculum but also enhances teaching practices and supports pupil growth. With RM Compare, educators are well-equipped to nurture the ambitious, capable, and well-rounded learners that are at the heart of the Curriculum for Wales.
The journey of implementing the new curriculum is just beginning, and assessment practices will continue to evolve. Future developments, such as RM Compare On-Demand, promise even greater flexibility and efficiency in assessment. These advancements will further empower teachers to focus on what matters most: guiding and supporting their pupils' learning journeys.
In embracing RM Compare, Welsh teachers are not just adopting a new assessment tool; they are actively shaping the future of education in Wales. By bridging curriculum and pedagogy through innovative assessment practices, educators are paving the way for a more responsive, inclusive, and effective educational experience for every pupil in their classrooms.