Prior to becoming a staff officer at the Alberta Teachers’ Association, I was a high school mathematics teacher. And, as a teacher, part of my job was to understand the curriculum and decide how to teach its content. Depending on the material, I sometimes chose to deliver a traditional lecture; other times I would initiate a student-led discussion or have my students engage in peer-to-peer instruction.

People who aren’t immersed in the daily workings of the education system are often unaware of the distinction between what is taught (curriculum) and how it’s taught (pedagogy), as well as the fact that the responsibility for each of these aspects lies with a different entity.

In Alberta, as is common in jurisdictions with a public education system that employs professional teachers, the government establishes the curriculum (also referred to as programs of study), which outlines what is to be taught in Alberta schools in each grade and subject.

Alberta Education has recently released new draft curriculum for kindergarten to Grade 4. The curriculum documents for each subject contain a range of guiding statements and questions, as well as specific learning outcomes.

An example of a learning outcome, taken from English language arts, is “Students apply oral communication skills when participating in discussions.”

These learning outcomes are are the main elements that teachers focus on, because they specify what students must learn.

To be clear, although the government does identify very specific outcomes within the curriculum, it has absolutely no involvement in deciding how it is taught. This responsibility lies with individual teachers. The Alberta Teachers’ Association has many resources and workshops aimed at helping teachers improve their practice, but even the Association itself does not tell its members how to teach. This responsibility lies with individual teachers.

To address the learning outcomes contained in the curriculum, teachers formulate lesson plans that are tailored to their students’ aptitudes and learning styles. This aspect of teaching encompasses a large part of a teacher’s training and ongoing professional development. Figuratively speaking, teachers possess vast tool boxes that are full of teaching techniques. They are constantly assessing and adjusting their practice and are always on the hunt for new ideas. Ideally, when delivering curriculum, a teacher finds a way to bring it to life.

Alberta will begin implementing its brand new K–4 curriculum in 2019. In this issue of The Learning Team, we feature an article from Alberta Education that explains how and why the new program of studies was developed. The rest of the issue provides a glimpse at how teachers might bring the new curriculum to life. This is the essence of teaching, and I’m excited to share it with you.