Using the Curriculum Planning Tool: Video tutorials

3. Using the search facility
 

5. Additional features in the planning tool

Using the Curriculum Planning Tool: Instructions to download

Step-by-step instructions for getting started with the planning tool.
Download as PDF (155 KB)

Additional help with planning: Guidelines to download

These draft guidelines have been developed by an interagency committee with representatives from DES, NCCA, PDST and the National Induction Programme for Teachers (Primary). They are designed to meet the needs of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) but also provide planning support for teachers and schools in generaL. The guidelines and the Curriculum Planning Tool use the same planning headings.

Frequently asked questions

Why are all the buttons greyed out, so I can’t click anything?
You need to select a class, subject, strand and strand units, and to have clicked on at least one content objective in the panel at the bottom left before the Add to Plan button can be used – so the tool knows what to add to the My Selection panel. Similarly, you must have added some objectives to your plan, so that they appear in the My Selection panel on the right, before the Long term plan or Short term plan buttons can be selected – so that the planning tool knows what content to insert in the Word document.

Do I have to plan under all of the headings in the short-term templates provided?
No. You can decide what headings you wish to use in support of your planning. For example, if, on occasion, you don't wish to include the heading Differentiation for a particular subject in your short-term plan then simply ignore it. You can also delete any unwanted heading after you have saved the short-term plan to your desktop. It is recommended by the National Programme for Teacher Induction that newly qualified teachers should include all headings when planning.

Can I use my own planning template instead of the templates provided?
Yes. If you already have a planning template that you like you can right-click with your mouse and copy and paste the objectives you have selected into your own template quickly and easily. The Additional Features video tutorial above shows how to do this.

How do I populate the panel in the bottom right of the screen?
Click on the blue (i) button next to the subject name, and a list of the skills/concepts described in the curriculum for that subject will appear. You can then select items to add to your plan. The video tutorial above Adding skills and concepts to your plan gives a more comprehensive explanation of this function, and has useful advice about choosing skills and linking them to content objectives.

When I open the plan generated by the planning tool I can’t edit it or type extra information. Why is this happening?
The problem may relate to the format in which you opened the document. Sometimes your computer will automatically open it in your browser – such as Mozilla, Internet Explorer etc. – and this does not allow editing. Make sure to select a word-processing application (such as Microsoft Word or Open Office) from the drop-down box in the pop-up that appears when you first click Submit Plan and save or open the document in that format.
The problem may relate to the format in which you opened the document. Sometimes your computer will automatically open it in your browser – such as Mozilla, Internet Explorer etc. – and this does not allow editing. Make sure to select a word-processing application (such as Microsoft Word or Open Office) from the drop-down box in the pop-up that appears when you first click Submit Plan, and save or open the document in that format.

How do I select more than one class or subject?
Hold the CTRL button while clicking to select multiple classes, subjects, strands, or strand units. This design feature supports the multi-grade class teacher in simultaneously planning with more than one subject for two classes or more. You can see a demonstration of how to do this in video tutorial 1: Getting started: basic instructions.

Why is the heading Learning objectives included in the short-term planning templates?
Some content objectives are stated in broad terms in the curriculum to reflect learning that will occur over a long period of time. You may wish to refine these broadly stated objectives to identify and plan for the learning that you hope to achieve in the period of time represented by your short-term plan. Here's an example from the English curriculum to illustrate a content objective stated in broad terms.

English>> Senior infants >>Writing>> Competence and confidence in using language

Content objective: Write and draw frequently

Let's refine this content objective to identify the learning that will be achieved in the period of time represented by your short-term plan:

Learning objective: to enable the children to write captions for a Wall Story based a retell of Farmer Duck.

 

The next example from the Science curriculum illustrates when there is no need to refine the content objective as it is stated in terms that are specific enough to clearly identify the learning to be achieved for the period of time represented by your short-term plan. In this case the planning heading Learning objectives will not be needed.

Science>> Fifth and Sixth>>Energy and forces >>Magnetism and electricity

Content objective: Learn that magnets can push or pull magnetic materials

So, in short, you will use your own discretion to decide when you to plan under the heading Learning objectives.

It should be noted that Newly Qualified Teachers are required to use Learning objectives for all short-term planning.

 

Sample short-term plans

Weekly Plans (NQTs)

Additional sample plans will be added over time.

 

Fortnightly Plans (All teachers)

Would you like to share your short-term plan created using the Planning Tool here? Why not submit your completed plan for one or more subjects? Please send it to planning@ncca.ie.

 

Reflection tools

The reflection tool may be used at the end of each week (NQT) or fortnight. You may wish to include the completed reflection as part of your monthly report (Cuntas Míosúil).