At the heart of British Columbia’s curriculum are the 1) Core Competencies, 2) Essential Learnings and 3) Foundations in Literacy and Numeracy. All three features contribute to deeper learning:
- Core Competencies
Core Competencies underpin the curricular competencies in all areas of learning. They are directly related to the educated citizen and as such are what we value for all students in the system. - Essential Learnings
The curriculum for each subject area includes the essential learning for students, which represent society’s aspirations for B.C’s educated citizen. The BC curriculum develops the key knowledge, concepts, skills and big ideas that foster the higher-order thinking demanded in today’s world. - Foundations in Literacy and Numeracy
Literacy is the ability to understand, critically analyze, and create a variety of forms of communication, including oral, written, visual, digital, and multimedia, in order to accomplish one’s goals.
Numeracy is the ability to understand and apply mathematical concepts, processes, and skills to solve problems in a variety of contexts.Literacy and numeracy are fundamental to all learning. While they are commonly associated with language learning and mathematics, literacy and numeracy are applied in all areas of learning.
Curriculum Model
All areas of learning are based on a “Know-Do-Understand” model to support a concept-based competency-driven approach to learning.
Three elements, the Content (Know), Curricular Competencies (Do), and Big Ideas (Understand) all work together to support deeper learning.
Indigenous Perspectives and Knowledge
Indigenous perspectives and knowledge are a key part of the historical and contemporary foundation of British Columbia and Canada. British Columbia’s education transformation incorporates the Indigenous voice and perspective by having Indigenous expertise at all levels, ensuring that Indigenous content is a part of the learning journey for all students.
Over the past decade, British Columbia’s curriculum has integrated Indigenous content into specific courses. This means that from Kindergarten to graduation, students will experience Indigenous perspectives and knowledge as part of what they are learning. And because Indigenous perspectives and knowledge are embedded in the curriculum, they will naturally influence the ways in which students will be assessed.
The First Peoples Principles of Learning provides a lens for teachers when embedding Indigenous knowledge and worldviews in curriculum in authentic and meaningful ways.
In Delta our Indigenous Education website provides access to district resources, curated lists of useful sites, professional learning opportunities and more.
Other Curriculum Documents:
BC Curriculum: An Orientation Guide
BC Curriculum: All K-12 Courses (with Big Idea and Competencies)