What is the 2015 revised curriculum? Advantages and disadvantages of core competencies and convergence education

The 2015 revised curriculum is a national curriculum announced by the Ministry of Education with the goal of nurturing creative convergence talents with humanistic imagination and scientific and technological creativity. It was applied sequentially to each grade starting from the first and second grades of elementary school in 2017, and its biggest feature was convergence education that lowered the barriers between subjects.

Because this is a topic that comes up frequently in curriculum theory and teaching essays, I have summarized the major changes and the pros and cons of convergence education. Currently, the 2022 revised curriculum is being applied one by one, so you can read it from a comparative perspective.

What changed in the 2015 revised curriculum?

The biggest change is the shift from having a lot of knowledge to cultivating the ability to use what you know, that is, cultivating core competencies. High school studies, which were divided into liberal arts and sciences, were integrated so that all students learn common subjects, and the amount of learning was optimized to increase student participation in classes.

• Integrated Society and Integrated Science newly established as common subjects for the first year of high school
• Introduction of ‘Safe Life’ in 1st and 2nd grade of elementary school
• Strengthening software education and cultivating sensitivity through arts and physical education

In this way, the 2015 revision can be summarized as a curriculum that focuses on what students will be able to do rather than what to teach.

What are the six core competencies?

The 2015 revised curriculum presented six core competencies that students should develop: self-management competency, knowledge information processing competency, creative thinking competency, aesthetic and emotional competency, communication competency, and community competency. Each subject was designed to develop achievement standards and teaching methods in a way that fosters this competency.

The emphasis on collaborating with peers to solve problems means that difficult tasks can be accomplished on one's own with help. Vygotsky zone of proximal development It is also connected to theory.

질문이 나올 만한 부분을 미리 세 개쯤 생각해 두면 마음이 편하더라고요. 연습할 때 휴대폰으로 녹음해서 들어 보는 것도 좋을 것 같아요.

What are the advantages of convergence education?

Convergence education starts from the fact that real life problems are not divided into one subject. For example, if climate change is treated from the perspectives of science, society, and ethics, students can discover the connections between knowledge and develop the power to apply what they have learned to real-world problems. There is also the advantage that student participation increases as discussions and project classes increase.

We must also remember that these advantages only come to life when teachers have the time and support to design lessons together across subject boundaries.

What are the limitations and criticisms of convergence education?

There has been criticism in the field that convergence is only in name and that in reality, it remains within existing subject-centered classes. There were also criticisms that teacher education and training were conducted on a subject-by-subject basis, making it difficult to teach multiple subjects together, and that the university entrance exam system remained the same, so integrated subjects were only covered broadly and without depth. Some policies, such as revitalizing Chinese character education, continued to be debated for and against.

How should I use the assignment?

The report has a clear flow if you write it in the following order: Background of revision → Talent and core competencies → Major revisions → Advantages of convergence → Limitations and criticism → Desirable direction of convergence and my opinion. Comparing the strengths and limitations with actual class examples will increase persuasiveness, and adding a line or two about what has continued and changed in the 2022 revised curriculum will make it more timely. Campus Down 2015 Revised Curriculum Convergence Discussion Material can be a reference for organizing the revised contents and issues for those preparing curriculum theory or teaching essays.