Curriculum Framework
Lifelong Learning
OVERVIEW
The curriculum offers all learners a broad experiential and culturally responsive education across all learning areas and environments. It recognizes the learning that occurs before and outside school and supports transitions. Education opens pathways to sustaining learning—connecting and contributing beyond school—to support the personal fulfillment, growth, and agency of all learners to make life better for themselves and others.
ENACTED IN THE CURRICULUM
The development of a lifelong learning mindset doesn’t just happen—learners need to practice. They need opportunities to figure out their own learning processes, their passions, and how to make time for exploring their interests.
A lifelong learning mindset is encouraged throughout the curriculum by valuing different skills, perspectives, and experiences including learning experiences from outside of traditional school. Barriers and boundaries to learning are removed and curiosity is encouraged. A lifelong learning mindset helps foster agency in students because they have confidence in their independent learning skills, are not afraid to take learning risks, and are comfortable with making mistakes during the process as they see mistakes as part of the experience.
Transition planning and career-connected learning opportunities help learners to become lifelong learners by making meaningful connections to academic subjects and encouraging them to transfer skills to authentic contexts. In practice this:
- looks like resilient, adaptable, and focussed learners leading their own learning;
- sounds like engaged, responsive, and enthusiastic learning environments; and
- feels like creative mentoring, lots of questions and feedback, and role-modeling by teachers who are also lifelong learners.
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
It is a common misconception that meaningful learning occurs primarily in K–12 classrooms; however, learning opportunities exist everywhere. The learner who bakes with a parent learns and practises tangible fractions; the learner who is curious about computer architecture and researches it online explores a concept beyond the scope of a K-12 classroom; and the learner who watches cartoons in another language on television is immersed in that language.
Alignment with New Brunswick Global Competencies
The tenet, Lifelong Learning, is closely aligned with two of the New Brunswick Global Competencies:
- Self-Awareness and Self-Management involve becoming aware of and managing one’s identity, efficacy, and belief in oneself as a learner. It is the ability to identify opportunities, set goals, and establish and monitor plans while adapting to change and adverse conditions and the capacity to self-regulate, manage one’s holistic well-being, self-assess, and advocate for support in an ever-changing world. Learners who are self-aware and self-manage effectively are better situated to be lifelong learners, personally fulfilled, and contributing citizens.
- Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving involves addressing complex issues and problems by acquiring, processing, analyzing, and interpreting information to make informed judgments and decisions. The capacity to engage in cognitive processes to understand and resolve problems includes the desire to achieve one’s potential as a constructive and reflective citizen. Learning is deepened when situated in meaningful real-world experiences.