DRAFT

 

The task is to develop minimum learning standards for Grades 9-12. These standards will be applied across all school systems in Pakistan; both public and private. They are meant to be a metaphorical floor and not a ceiling in terms of what should be taught in schools.

 

Some considerations to take into account for deciding what should be a 'minimum' standard:

 

Current Prevalent Curricula in Pakistan: Feasibility of implementation matters. Introducing a completely new topic to be taught means that teachers may not feel adequately prepared, and support materials such as textbooks may not be readily available. Teachers may not be comfortable shifting away from their norns. This does not mean that new topics should not be introduced if the need is felt, but these should be compared against the current prevalent norms.

 

Designed for Flexibility and Customisation: It is expected that many schools will go beyond the minimum learning standards in line with their curricula visions and objectives. The minimum standards should not be so extensive, that they do not allow schools to add in any additional topics or depth of their own within an academic year. However well designed minimum standards by their nature are so obviously needed for covering the 'core' of the subject, that they should only serve to enhance any progressive curricular vision.

 

Clarity of Standards: The minimum standards developed should be clearly understandable without ambiguity. The command term at the beginning of each SLO should be aligned with the Glossary of Command Terms so that it is clear at what level of Bloom's taxonomy to students need to achieve competence for that concept/skill. It should also be clear to what extent of complexity is the SLO to be explored e.g. if the SLO is "Applying Work Done = Force x displacement to problems" then it should be followed by an additional clarification that 'applying' means to one-dimensional linear problems such as the case of a ball falling to the ground. It should also be clear enough that it is obvious what the sub-concepts are that would be required to cover the SLO e.g. "Describe the motion of an object moving under the influence of gravity" is not clear enough by itself. It should be followed by an additional clarification that it would will involve (as a hypothetical example) use of terms 'translational motion', 'rotational motion', 'circular motion', 'velocity', 'acceleration' but not the idea of 'terminal velocity'.

 

Relevant International Schooling Benchmarks: Well-respected relevant curricula of other countries should be considered once the basic minimum learning standards first draft have been prepared. These should not simply be Western curricula; it should involve a systematic scanning for inspiration from relevant curricula. For example, Asian countries that are well-reputed for school education would be important since they may have better overlapping with the Pakistani context as well.

 

Continuity with Grades 6-8 Standards: The minimum learning standards for Grades 9-12 should logically follow from the standards already set for Grades 6-8, and should assume that students will already have that base knowledge.

 

Alignment with Pakistan National Curriculum's Vision: The vision states the curriculum is intended to help students become not only ready for further student in the sciences and engineering, but become equipped as science-informed democratic citizens who can meaningfully play roles on issues of public importance such as climate change. The vision also wants to create interdisciplinary critical thinkers; so it is important that the minimum learning standards set an expectation what this interdisciplinary critical thinking knowledge involves while studying the sciences. The vision also says that students should be have a good idea of what future careers they could pursue, and that they see themselves as being able to contribute to global science regardless of their gender etc. These factors should be meaningfully considered and translated into clealrly executable minimum learning standards.

 

Continuity with Admissions Expectations by Local Higher Education Institutions: Students in Grades 9-12 will then next likely be applying to Pakistani universities for admission into undegraduate programs. It is important that the minimum learning standards developed adequately prepare students for undergraduate study in the sciences and engineering. This means that the curricula of prominent university admissions tests should be considered, as well as the typical topics that are taught in the first year of undergraduate STEM programs.

 

Continuity with Admissions Expectations by Prominent International Higher Education Institutions: Many students want to apply abroad for undergraduate studies. Hence it is important that the minimum learning standards also consider the admission expectations of popular higher educationl international destinations for Pakistani students, and popular admissions tests like the SAT.