Curriculum And Assessment Reforms and Development
Thomas Quirke, Niall Shiels, David Culloty, Oisin Nugent, Niamh Dunne, Olivia Morris Nolan
Introduction
The main aim of this project is to discuss Curriculum and Assessment Reforms and
Developments.  •
Main objective:
• Investigate factors impacting on curriculum reform
• Examine the impact of school organisational culture of curriculum development.
• Reflect on the general theme of curriculum change and culture initially.
• Identify who or what impacts on bringing about significant curricular change
Literature
Junior cycle reform:
The new Junior cycle features newly developed subjects and short courses, a focus on key skills and new approaches to assessment and
reporting. The reform was piloted in 24 schools in 2008 before being phased in across the country between 2010 and 2014. It was a
fundamental revision of the post-primary mathematics curriculum for the Junior and Senior Cycles, not just in terms of content, but
also methodology and assessment. The new curriculum promoted more active learning and problem-solving techniques.
Why was the new junior cycle introduced:
 Education is moving away from the idea that learning only occurs when teaching occurs. It is effectively removing the one size
fits all approach to teaching and learning.
 The junior cycle was reformed to aid the above statement. The junior cycle focuses on Literacy, numeracy and developing new
skills. “Key skills help learners develop the knowledge, skills and attributes to face many challenges in today’s world. They also
support students in learning how to learn and to take responsibility for their own learning (NCCA,2020).
 For every subject teachers will carry out two classroom based assessments on the students.
 A Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA) will be issued to students by their schools; this will record learning arising from
short courses; classroom assessments and the results of state exams.
Transition Year:
Transition year is a one year program which is often part of a three year senior cycle in many schools. It is designed to act as a bridge
between Junior cycle and Senior cycle. It is available to all second level schools and currently 75% of schools offer the program. TY is
optional in most schools.
The main purposes for TY are outlined by the NCCA:
• Students will be exposed to new experiences that will prepare them to be participative members in society.
• Help them prepare for the demands of the adult world of work.
• Prepare them for greater responsibilities and decisions, which will be useful during Senior cycle for things such as subject choices
and CAO.
There have been concerns over the effectiveness of TY as it sometimes thought of a “Gap Year” for students between junior and senior
cycle. In an article which looks at the programme in the last decade, it was suggested that students being less exposed to formal
mathematics in a TY classroom could be the cause for the relative decline in Irelands performances in mathematics test when compared
to other countries. (Clerkin,2013).
Acknowledgements:
Pauline Logue
Cornelia Connolly
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Findings Chart 1. The 8 Key Skills Of Junior Cycle Reform . Chart 1. Assessment for Junior Cycle .
Factors impacting reform:
Learning from abroad:
Scotland curriculum for excellence:
 Aims for closer links between primary and post primary.
 Target to improve student engagement with curricula
 Lack of clear guidance for teachers and pupils.
 Too much change at once.
Australian Education
 No centralised examinations
 Fully classroom-based assessments
 Freedom for teachers to experiment with varied assessment methods
Singapore Learning for life:
Move away from student ranking based system
• Engagement with industry to make education more relevant to jobs market.
• More empowerment for teachers to influence curricula.
Stake Holders of the Junior Cycle Reform:
The stake holders of the junior cycle reform include any group who influenced the reform, examples of such groups would include the
department of education, NCCA, teachers' unions (ASTI &TUI), parent councils student councils and school board of managements.
Rational For The Change:
Video Explaining Junior Cycle Assessments:
The facts showed that many students were struggling with literacy, numeracy and staying engaged. The old model promoted teaching Click here to read more about the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyFEPUUTJSc
towards an exam and so a lack of understanding was common. The department of education hope, that by implementing a curriculum importance of these key skills:
reform it will give schools more freedom to create a more student tailored Junior cycle. https://ncca.ie/en/junior-cycle/framew
Concerns from Teacher Unions: ork-for-junior-cycle/
They opposed to the original opposition of teachers marking their own students third year exams. Teachers felt this would be unfair
School Board of Managements:
Discussion
The main worry the schools had was that schools wouldn’t have the teacher numbers to cover the new short courses of the new Junior
Cycle or the budget to afford more teachers. Junior cycle education places students at the centre of the educational experience, enabling them to actively participate in their
communities and in society and to be resourceful and confident learners in all aspects and stages of their lives. Junior cycle is
inclusive of all students and contributes to equality of opportunity, participation and outcome for all. The junior cycle allows students
Findings on the Benefits of Transition Year: to make a greater connection with learning by focusing on the quality of learning that takes place and by offering experiences that are
There was an average difference of 26 points between those who completed the TY program and who did not. engaging and enjoyable for them, and relevant to their lives. These experiences are of a high quality, contribute directly to the
physical, mental and social wellbeing of learners, and where possible, provide opportunities for them to develop their abilities and
Curriculum Reform in Graphics: talents in the areas of creativity, innovation and enterprise. The learner’s junior cycle programme builds on their learning to date and
The study of Graphics at junior cycle aims to: actively supports their progress in learning and in addition, supports them in developing the learning skills that will assist them in
meeting the challenges of life beyond school.
• Develop the student’s creativity, spatial ability, and capacity to reason and communicate ideas through engagement with abstract
The Junior Cycle promotes active learning strategies, the following three videos are active learning strategies which would be
and applied geometric problem-solving activities
beneficial in the new Junior cycle:
• Encourage the development of the cognitive and practical dexterity skills associated with graphical communication https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL62HgKBv1k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmHU6t8ZhRE
• Instil an appreciation of the role of graphics in the world around them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPss8oC1aU8
• Equip all students to make judgements on the best mode through which to represent their ideas and solutions
• Encourage the production of drawings that promotes the skills of communicating through graphics
• Develop students cognitive and practical skills associated with modelling and graphical communication
View the full information about the new Junior cycle Graphics subject here
https://www.curriculumonline.ie/getmedia/ca152005-ae74-4360-914e-67da18f67474/Graphics.pdf
Curriculum Reform in Maths: Conclusions
The objective of Junior Cycle mathematics is that all students develop mathematical proficiency. Mathematical proficiency is more
than just procedural fluency and is explicitly characterised in the syllabus as In conclusion of this poster, concentrating on Curriculum and Assessment reforms and
•conceptual understanding—comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations, and relations development, we have a major in phasis on the junior cycle. The junior cycle has been
•procedural fluency—skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately
•strategic competence—ability to formulate, represent, and solve mathematical problems in both familiar and unfamiliar contexts reformed to create a better teaching and learning environment for all. The new Junior cycle
•adaptive reasoning—capacity for logical thought, reflection, explanation, justification and communication has removed a one size fits all approached toward teaching and learning. It has designed a
•productive disposition—habitual inclination to see mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in
diligence, perseverance and one’s own efficacy.
curriculum which will benefit students' life skills along with education. There are 8 key skills
View the full information about the new Junior Cycle Maths subject here: https://curriculumonline.ie/Junior-cycle/Junior-Cycle-Subjects/Mathematics/ which the junior cycle reform focusses on which are being literate, managing myself, staying
well, managing information and thinking, being numerate, being creative, working with
others and communicating.
We have also discussed the reasons for reform in this poster and we learned the impact of
learning from abroad and stakeholders are the main contributing factors for the change.
Finally, we have also looked at the benefits a well-structured TY program can benefit
students in Senior cycle and indeed life after school.
References https://curriculumonline.ie/Junior-cycle/Junior-Cycle-Subjects/Mathematics/
https://ncca.ie/en/junior-cycle/curriculum-developments/mathematics/
https://www.curriculumonline.ie/getmedia/ca152005-ae74-4360-914e-67da18f67474/Graphics.pdf
https://www.jct.ie/perch/resources/publications/irelands-yearbook-of-education-2018-2019-second-lev
el.pdf
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03323315.2013.770663
https://ncca.ie/en/junior-cycle/framework-for-junior-cycle/