Connecting Through CEC English Studies Natalie Pollock – Mount Austin High School

 Planning  What are the best modules to teach?  In what order should I present them?  What about a school based module?  Engaging Students  What is relevant to my students?  Is this accessible?  Are they really going to do it?  Assessment  How can my assessment schedule be flexible?  What sort of exam will I use?  What about the portfolio? Challenges in Implementation

Developing a School-Based Module Planning

 What are my student’s interests?  What are their strengths?  What are their weaknesses?  What do I want them to be able to do? Developing a School-Based Module

 Start from the end and work backwards  Decide what you want the students to be able to do  Design the assessment task that reflects this  Map backwards: What skills do the students need to develop to be able to complete this?

Developing a School-Based Module Through study of the module Shout Out! – Developing a personal voice students will gain understanding of the ways in which language is used to represent personal worlds and a sense of self. Students will continue to develop knowledge and skills in how to use English appropriately and accurately to convey information about themselves, their interests and values to a broad audience. Students will have the opportunity to experience, engage with and critique literary texts that represent through an imaginative use of language the variety and richness of personal human experience and appreciate how literature can be used as a medium to convey emotion and personal perspective. Texts may include larger works such as novels, biographies, films, anthologies, television series and plays. Through engaging with a range of literary texts both in written and electronic forms, students will broaden their understanding of the importance of personal perspective in shaping their view of their world. In addition, by studying these texts students will extend their skills in comprehending and responding to texts and their abilities to use language expressively and imaginatively to represent their own interests and values. From: English Studies Draft Syllabus c/pdf_doc/english-studies-CEC-st6-draft-syllabus pdf Accessed 5/8/11

 Modules may only be 20 hours in length  Scaffolding, scaffolding, scaffolding!  Include high engagement and hands-on activities  Make friends with your careers advisor  Use as many “experts” as possible (especially if the experts are students)  Have fun  BE FLEXIBLE Developing a School-Based Module Things to Remember:

Planning Assessment

 Try to include a range of activities  Use scaffolds where appropriate  Consider your exam style: written, multiple choice, oral, viva voce  Allow some flexibility for unseen circumstances Assessment - Planning

Creating a Digital Portfolio Assessment

“In each of the Preliminary and HSC years students are required to:  Develop a portfolio of texts they have planned, drafted, edited and presented in written, graphic and electronic forms across all the modules undertaken during the year.” Creating a Digital Portfolio From: English Studies Draft Syllabus draft-syllabus-2011.pdf Accessed 5/8/11 Why create a portfolio?

 Word, PowerPoint, jpeg, mp3, film and a range of other files can be included  Students need to develop familiarity with a range of software for use in modern workplaces  High levels of student engagement  Convenient size to submit for assessment Creating a Digital Portfolio Why create a digital portfolio?

 PowerPoint  Adobe Acrobat Pro Extend  Online Creating a Digital Portfolio What software can I use?

 PDF Portfolios may be quite large depending on the types of files included so these will not always well.  They cannot be edited once finally saved, so ensure that students triple check everything before pressing the save button.  The more organised you are at the beginning of the year, the better. Have students create folders for each module at the very beginning of the year so there is little work to do later. Creating a Digital Portfolio Things to remember:

BE FLEXIBLE! These are just some ideas, remember:

Natalie Pollock Mount Austin High School Leavenworth Drive Wagga Wagga 2650 Ph: Fax: Questions?