Saskatchewan’s Band 10/20/30 Curriculum: https://www.edonline.sk.ca/bbcswebdav/library/curricula/English/Arts_education/Band_10_20_30_1993.pdf
Alberta’s Instrumental Music 10/20/30 Curriculum: https://education.alberta.ca/media/482119/instmu10.pdf
I chose to explore the Band curriculum because I am quite familiar with the SK curriculum and I have many friends from AB. The SK curriculum was created in 1993 and the AB curriculum in 1991, which I feel are both very outdated.
Describe structure, what kind of framing/foundational ideals (eg: BALs, CCCs, CELs) are found in the document?
SK: The BALs are Lifelong Learners, Engaged Citizens, and Sense of Self, Community, and Place. The CCCs (or if you’re looking in the old band curriculum, CELs) are Communication, Critical and Creative Thinking, Independent Learning, Numeracy, Personal and Social Values and Skills, and Technological Literacy. The curriculum also discusses philosophy, FNMI Perspectives (but uses outdated language, yikes!)
AB: I couldn’t explicitly find the BALs or a common theme that every student should be learning with. The CCCs (or competencies), are Performing, Listening, Creating, Researching, Valuing. The curriculum has a section that covers what its philosophy for music education is, and it discusses aspects such as Performer, Listener, Evaluator, Consumer, Historian, and Composer, which seem similar to the competencies.
There is a really helpful concept/skills chart that shows what each level (IV, V, or VI) of student (which I assume are Grade 10, 20, 30) should be able to do. It shows rhythms, aural abilities, history, ranges of instrument, articulations, and other technical aspects.
How are learning goals framed? (eg: outcomes & indicators, objectives)
SK: The outcomes and indicators are framed as specific outcomes with indicators that show how the outcomes can be achieved. Outcomes involve aural skills, musical literacy, decision making, technique, and attitudes/values.
AB: The outcomes are framed as different levels with what the student should achieve by that level. It uses pictures, diagrams, and is very very clear about what the student should be achieving at that level. Expectations include performance, ranges, articulations, rhythms, aural, history, and interpretive. It shows specific performance tasks instead of just a concept.
What kinds of resources are included?
SK: This curriculum has resources for assessment, self evaluation forms, units, and scores. Of course, this is all pretty outdated so I am not sure how many music educators actually use what the curriculum has made available.
AB: The resources is pretty much the curriculum. Since it is so specific about what rhythms what level should be able to achieve, it gives you a strong idea of what to do. It also gives examples of what scores and listenings to use as well.
Which do you prefer?
I feel like a sell out, but I like how detailed the AB curriculum is compared to the SK. I think that some of the outcomes are realistically difficult to achieve for perhaps the age group, but I really love how detailed the curriculum is. It provides structure to the educator and it lays out exactly what the teacher needs to teach. It doesn’t however, have any extra resources like units, grading, and different forms. The SK leaves a lot of room for the educator to design their program in the way that they want and does have some extra forms and other resources. I do love how detailed the AB curriculum is though.
ECUR 165 