UPDATED: Alberta government says new draft social studies curriculum ready to pilot

The Alberta government said elementary school teachers and students will benefit from an updated kindergarten-to-Grade 6 social studies curriculum and resources in classrooms in fall 2024. With this curriculum, the Alberta government claimed it will modernize the education system and improve student success. Since August, it has been engaging with parents, teachers, education partners and curriculum specialists to develop the new curriculum. “I am incredibly proud of the work that’s gone into developing this new K-to-6 social studies curriculum and I am excited to see how it transfers into the classroom through piloting this fall,” said Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides in a Friday press release.“I look forward to further collaboration with school leaders and teachers as we continue our work to build a comprehensive curriculum that builds students’ critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making skills and empowers them to be active citizens.”The Alberta government said draft curriculum content was adjusted to take measures such as strengthening opportunities that encourage the development of critical thinking skills throughout the curriculum; enhance skills development on active citizenship; and address feedback on curriculum appropriateness and load. Nicolaides said some content that was in Grade 2 such as taxes has been moved to Grade 5. In some grades such as Grade 4, he said the total amount of content has been reduced to respond to concerns about content load. Additional indigenous and francophone content has been included. Lessons about racism, anti-racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia have been added. Nicolaides acknowledged changes have been made to strengthen the development of critical thinking skills. When developing curriculum, he pointed out there is a range of possible learning outcomes that can be used to demonstrate a student’s level of understanding. At the lower end, students are asked to recall and memorize. At the higher end, they are asked to evaluate and create. After revisions, the amount of outcomes that have been asked to recall and remember information has been reduced. He said asking students to memorize less information and apply it “will ensure that students are given the opportunity to build essential critical thinking skills.”“CASS (College of Alberta School Superintendents) is appreciative of the multiple entry points for engagement and eventual piloting that will continue to refine the new elementary social studies curriculum,” said CASS President Andrea Holowka. “Ideas and outcomes within the curriculum explore connections between people, place and time that will help students become critical thinkers and make meaning of the world and society.”Montreal Economic Institute Founding President Michel Kelly-Gagnon said the proposed curriculum “covers many important issues of our time in a thoughtful manner.”“The draft curriculum is a solid base to further develop through the classroom pilot; I believe we have something pretty solid in hand with this latest version,” said Kelly-Gagnon. The Alberta government added it is providing flexibility in how school authorities participate in optional classroom piloting, including which grades are part of it and how many learning outcomes will receive feedback. Throughout the piloting process, it said teachers will be provided with the information and tools they need to work with the draft curriculum in their classrooms such as teacher planning days, instruction and preparation, and learning and teaching resources. Teachers can access comprehensive learning and teaching resources and professional learning supports aligned with the draft curriculum on the Alberta government's website. Alberta Education will examine all feedback from classroom piloting to finalize the new K-to-6 social studies curriculum prior to implementation. To participate in classroom piloting during the 2024/2025 school year, school authorities have to sign up by May 15.Nicolaides followed up by saying it is hard to say how many school boards will participate in the pilot. “We’ve received some early expression of interests already from some school boards,” he said. “I anticipate we will see a broad number that will help us pilot it in different school divisions across the province and different student communites, which I think is the perfect mix so that the curriculum rolls out in the right way for different communities.” The Alberta government launched a draft of the updated social studies curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 12 students on March 14. READ MORE: UPDATED: Alberta government unveils planned social studies curriculum“As minister of education, I believe social studies should empower students to develop important life skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and foster their ability to articulate ideas and understand complex historical events and contemporary issues,” said Nicolaides. “After my appointment as minister in June 2023, I immediately directed my time to begin to build a new consultation framework that would involve our partners and members of the public to inform the development of a new draft curriculum.”