Catalyst • Junior Secondary Curriculum • Handbook 2021
Catalyst BIG Skills –
developing a 21st Century toolkit
To be successful in the 21st Century requires skills
that previous generations never imagined. Schools,
skills and learning as we have known them to this
point, are 19th Century inventions driven by the
needs of an industrial economy. Today, the landscape
is significantly different; technological advances,
globalisation and the “knowledge revolution” have
transformed our world. To be successful today we
believe students need a suite of transferable skills
that will enable them to adapt and contribute to this
changing world.
Catalyst BIG skills
Literacy and numeracy
A literate person in the 21st Century must possess a
broad range of competencies that will allow them to
pose and solve problems in a collaborative manner,
critique, analyse and create multimedia texts and
become proficient with changing technologies. Every
core course, Discovery course or program in our
curriculum focuses on the development of literacy,
encouraging students to extend their range of skills
and strategies including:
• Personal literacy – knowledge of self, learning
style, talents and abilities
• Functional literacy – knowledge of spelling,
grammar, mechanics of writing, rules
• Emergent literacy – knowledge and competency
in emerging technologies
• Academic literacy – knowing how to learn, find,
question
• Information literacy – ability to use and assess
information and information sources.
At Guildford Grammar School, numeracy is a
fundamental component of learning across all areas
of the curriculum. It involves the ability to use, in
context, a combination of:
• Underlying mathematical concepts and skills from
across the disciplines (number, measurement,
space, statistics and algebra)
• Mathematical reasoning and strategies
• General logic and thinking skills
• Practical mathematical skills.
Historically, literacy and numeracy have been taught
in English and Mathematics. In the junior secondary
curriculum, literacy and numeracy are a culture,
rather than a subject. Numeracy and literacy are the
foundation of our Catalyst BIG skills and permeate
all areas of the junior secondary curriculum. Every
subject, Discovery course or Action Project in our
curriculum focuses on the development of these
important skills.
Critical thinking and problem solving
We all think. However, it is the quality of our
thoughts that influences good decision-making and
ultimately influences the quality of our life and the
things we achieve, produce or build. It is crucial that
students become aware of how they are making
their choices and utilise tools to analyse and assess
information which directs them to well-reasoned
conclusions. In this way, problems are viewed more
as challenges and resilience is fostered through the
confidence to deal with obstacles in a systematic,
self-disciplined way.
To be numerate is to have the basic mathematical
knowledge and skills to effectively meet the general
demands of everyday life at home, in paid work and
for participation in community and civic life.
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