If you were not limited by the demands of the national/ regional curriculum, what would you say is the most important thing you would teach your students about your subject( in a clil context) ? How would you assess  their learning? 

From the point of view of sciences or maths, some subjects I am very keen on teaching, it is true that the curriculum, both regional and national, is too much concerned about results. Thus, many times it is just focused on testing and teaching is relegated to the background.

The main reason of this happening is because the governments behind the curriculums are worried of the marks they get in the international rating report best known as PISA. This report is very controversial among the teachers and professors since many of them consider that it is very biased and a lot of economic interests are involved in it. PISA report is carried out by OECD, which is an economic organisation which keenness is on economic profits and their aims are written thinking in learning as a process and not as an end itself.

The way to teach sciences and maths is just seen in terms of learning concepts and mathematical formulas and the reason of why doing so as well as the causes and consequences are forgotten.

I would prefer to take another approach in which students were conscious of why they are learning to do math operations and the many uses that it could have in the science world. Doing practical lessons in which the students were able to make experiments and experience the causes and consequences of science by themselves would be something very positive for them. This way they would be linking the theoretical concepts with real life experiences and the subject will be really meaningful for them.

The assessment of this would be different as well, since it would be based on the processes more than in the product. That is to say, a portfolio with their individual and group work and their reflections about the matters dealt with in the subject would take a great part of the final mark. It doesn’t mean that teachers must erase exams but their importance would be lower and the students were feeling less pressured.