Two new non-instructional days as Kamloops-Thompson teachers learn new curriculum

KAMLOOPS – Students in the Kamloops-Thompson School District will get two extra days off in the new year while their teachers learn more about the new provincial curriculum.

The B.C. Ministry of Education has added Friday, Jan. 22, 2016 and Monday, April 4, 2016, as professional development days for teachers, who will get the extra time to go over the significant changes of the new provincial curriculum, Supt. Karl deBruijn says, adding the curriculum changes the ‘pedagogy,’ or method in which subjects are taught.

“(There will be) more emphasis on critical thinking,” deBruijn says.

The information on the new curriculum has been out since the summer but the professional days mark the first time local teachers will have an ‘organized collective look at it.’

On Jan. 22 school staff will look at what will still be the same and what will change, deBruijn says. During the second development day in April teachers will examine how the curriculum changes affect different grade groupings or subjects.

DeBruijn says while ‘it’s not like they’ve reinvented teaching,’ these changes are the most he’s seen in his career across all subjects at once and definitely warrant the extra professional development days.

The province has a three year window in which to completely change over and deBruijn says by the 2017-18 school year the new curriculum will be implemented across Kindergarten to Grade 12.

He says both the next two school years will lose one instructional day because of continuing professional development related to the new curriculum as well.

The revised calendar can be found on the district website.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dana Reynolds at dreynolds@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.