Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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Matthew McClure, SID: 18372205, Designing Teaching and Learning, 2H, 2017.
1 Intellectual quality
1.1 Deep knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments: Class’s tasks focused on a small number of concepts such as students’ prior
5 knowledge of Egypt and the geography of Egypt (although the latter featured little). The
relation between concepts (such as Egypt and mummification) was considered.
1.5 Metalanguage
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments: Lesson focused extensively and consistently on specialist terminology relevant
5 to the subject. The context and different methods of using terms was also present.
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Matthew McClure, SID: 18372205, Designing Teaching and Learning, 2H, 2017.
2.2 Engagement
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments: Lesson plan gave extensive opportunity for student engagement by including
5 group activities and technology. Also, teacher gave team to go around to each group
providing more personalised engagement.
3 Significance
3.1 Background knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments: Class drew extensively from students’ background knowledge in a sustained
5 manner. This prior knowledge was directly engaged with and built upon.
3.4 Inclusivity
1–2–3–4– Comments: Class dedicated a significant portion of time to activities that allowed for
5 participation by all students irrespective of cultural or social background.
3.5 Connectedness
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments: Students’ learning was not connected to real-world situations and no specific
5 opportunities were provided by which students could share their learning outside of school.
3.6 Narrative
1–2–3–4– Comments: Narratives were not used to frame knowledge. However, the lesson did provide
5 a foundation of knowledge from which a narrative may be built in future classes
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Matthew McClure, SID: 18372205, Designing Teaching and Learning, 2H, 2017.
Identify the two APST standards and two NSW QT model elements you are targeting for
improvement.
APST
1) 1.4 Strategies for Teaching Aboriginal 2) 5.1. Assess Student Learning
and Torres Strait Islander students
QT model
1) 2.6 Student Direction 2) 3.5 Connectedness
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Matthew McClure, SID: 18372205, Designing Teaching and Learning, 2H, 2017.
Feature Map class brain- Teacher: Provide instructions and assist with T/S
storm activity: the map.
30- Teacher is to have the Student: Follow instructions and respond to
40 words “Ancient Egypt” on questions.
the white board. Teacher is Resources:
to go around the room and
ask each pair about the
importance of geographical
features on Egypt’s
society. Students should
then be asked to consider
the influence of geography
on Australian society.
40- Glossary Activity 1: Teacher: To give instructions. T/S
50 Students are given a Student: Work on the worksheet.
glossary worksheet to Resources: Glossary Activity 1.
complete. They need to use
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Matthew McClure, SID: 18372205, Designing Teaching and Learning, 2H, 2017.
Justification
Regarding the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (2011), the original
lesson plan failed to provide strategies for both engaging Indigenous students (1.4) and
assessing students’ learning (5.1). Similarly, the lesson plan did not address the Quality
Teaching Model’s call for student direction and connectedness. These areas were targeted
The modified lesson plan included strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
(ATSI) students by highlighting features of Egyptian society that were relatable to Indigenous society.
As the lesson’s focus was on geography, the concept of land and its importance to people was
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Matthew McClure, SID: 18372205, Designing Teaching and Learning, 2H, 2017.
prominent. This was relayed using a cartoon presentation (Powtoon) created by the teacher. The benefit
of using visual media for teaching Indigenous students was in its adaptability. The teacher could create
and re-create the Powtoon presentation to relate to different features of Indigenous society such as
community or spirituality. Moreover, presentations could be adapted to suit individual students’ needs.
Nakata (2011) shows the relevance of this in modern classroom practices, noting that most Australian
classes feature a minority of ATSI students with the majority being non-Indigenous. In turn, the lesson
plan’s use of a Powtoon to engage ATSI students is an example of best practice due to its versatility; a
specific presentation can highlight one feature of Egyptian society to engage ATSI students whilst
The modified lesson plan demonstrated best-practice by utilising multiple methods by which to
assess students’ learning. It contrasted the original lesson plan which informally assessed students on
one occasion only. The modified lesson plan firstly introduces a formal assessment by telling students
that the lesson’s content will later be used in an end-of-term exam. Masters (2013) suggests that
introducing a long-term formal assessment “scopes students’ attention and allows them to allocate what
[lesson content] is and is not important for them to retain.” However, the modified lesson plan extends
beyond this by providing multiple opportunities for informal assessment. Examples include students
using Egyptian terminology (for example, ‘Nile’ or ‘Sphinx’) to fill in maps featuring key geographical
features. Likewise, students, having learned of the influence of geography on an ancient society, were
then encouraged to see geography’s impact upon modern Australian society. Lastly, the lesson also
emphasises students’ use of relevant terminology; this provides another avenue for informal assessment.
The revised lesson plan also addresses the Quality Teaching Model’s (QMT) stipulation
concerning student direction. Specifically, the lesson plan provided students some control over their
learning by allowing them to specialise their knowledge of Egyptian geography. This was achieved by
providing all students will a standard understanding of all relevant geographical features; students were
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Matthew McClure, SID: 18372205, Designing Teaching and Learning, 2H, 2017.
then give time to obtain a deeper understanding of a geographic feature of their choosing. George (2002)
labels this practice of allowing students to choose their specialist knowledge within a pre-set subject
area, “self-determined differentiated.” It is argued that this practice is can be repeated in most classes
within a lesson sequence and progressively allows students to build a knowledge within a subject that
interests them. Moreover, Borg (2015) notes that this is an example of best-practice teaching as it better
prepares students for independent study and builds their ability to construct knowledge on an
independent, rather than teacher-driven, basis. The revised lesson plan further facilitated student
direction by asking them to relate their knowledge of geography’s impact in Egypt to its influence in
contemporary Australia. Here, students’ responses could draw upon their personal experiences and life
The revised lesson plan also catered for the QMT’s requirement of connectedness. The lesson plan
allowed avenues for students to relay their knowledge of Egyptian geography to ‘the real-world’ by,
firstly, asking them to consider geography’s influence on Ancient Egyptian and contemporary
Australian societies. However, it was the presentation of content proved key to facilitating this linking
of class-content to contemporary society (Mayer, 2003). Specifically, the intensive use of modern
technologies – visual and social medias like Powtoon and YouTube – further worked to make subject
matter relevant. This multi-faceted method of making classroom experiences relevant to the real world
is a further example of best practice (Mayer, 2003). The modified lesson plan also incorporated a ‘re-
capping’ of the lesson’s content to be used in the end-of-term exam. According to Burmark (2004), this
promotes connectedness by helping students see what class-content is relevant to their success in
Link to E-Portfolio:
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Matthew McClure, SID: 18372205, Designing Teaching and Learning, 2H, 2017.
References
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2011). Australian Professional
resources/australian_professional_standard_for_teachers_final.pdf.
Borg, W., R. (2015). Applying Educational Research: how to read, do, and use research to solve
Burmark, L. (2004). Visual presentations that prompt, flash& transform. Media and Methods, 40
Department of Education and Training. (2003). Quality Teaching in New South Wales Public
George, D. (2002), From Analysis to Design: Visual Communication in the Teaching of Writing.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1512100.
https://www.JSTORcom.au/articles/assessment-in-context-based-teaching-and-learning.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959475202000166.
Nakata, M. (2011). Pathways for Indigenous Education in the Australian Curriculum Framework.