What's the purpose of a scheme of learning?

The curriculum planned for a science department will be turned into a scheme of work, which enables teachers to plan their lessons to ensure full coverage of the content.

While many schools follow the same content, for example in England the National Curriculum or GCSE specification, the modes of designing the delivery locally are wide and varied. So perhaps as a starting point, we should consider having a scheme of learning, rather than a scheme of work. This shifts the emphasis to what is being learnt, rather than what is being taught.

Whether you are in charge of, or contributing to, designing how the science curriculum is implemented in your school, you will need to consider how it will affect all of the teachers, technicians and others. It is worthwhile consulting with other members of the science department to engage their opinions rather than just impose a particular model.

Later in the week we will look at what should be in a scheme of work, and what shouldn’t. But first, what is the point of a scheme of work? Is it a useful for document for teachers? Or is it a document that is designed to appease someone else, such as a management team?

In the video above, teachers from our New and Aspiring Heads of Science residential course share their views of why we have schemes of learning.

Discuss

What do you believe is the main purpose of a scheme of learning?