1. Planning for quality learning and teaching
EDFGC 5807 Theory and Practice of Learning and Teaching
Week 6
Monday 3rd April 2017

2. Assignment Task 2 Critical Incident
A critical incident need not be a dramatic event: usually it is an incident which has significance for you. It is often an event which made you stop and think, or one that raised questions for you. It may have made you question an aspect of your beliefs, values, attitude or behaviour. It is an incident which in some way has had a significant impact on your personal and professional learning.

3. Theoretical Perspectives
Psychological
Sociological
Philosophical

4. Psychological Perspective
Is concerned with the scientific study of human learning:
Behavioural
Cognitive
Developmental
Constructivist
Motivational
(John Locke, John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, Benjamin Bloom)

5. Sociological Perspective
Is concerned with how education serves society through:
Socialization
Conflict theory – looks at social inequality, funding and learning conditions
Symbolic interactionism- is a perspective focuses on social interaction in the classroom, on the playground, and in other school venues.
(Emile Durkheim, Pierre Bourdieu)

6. Philosophical Perspective
Unifies pedagogy, curriculum, learning theory and the purpose of education:
Constructivism/Cognitivism - the learner actively constructs his or her own understandings of reality through interaction with objects, events, and people in the environment, and reflecting on these interactions. (Piaget, Vygotsky)
Behaviourism - behaviour that is shaped deliberately by forces in the environment (Pavlov)

7. Examples of Critical Incident
Observations of a student with learning difficulties (inclusion of all students)
Theoretical perspectives – psychological (cognitive development) and humanistic
Learning/teaching theories in a Prep classroom
Theoretical perspectives of Sociocultural – Vygotsky and the zone of proximal development and behavioural – use of rewards
Literacy Workshop with a focus on report writing
Theoretical perspectives- socio-cultural approach (Vygotsky) and social learning theory (Bandura)

8. AT2 Practical Research Task Ideas
Critical Incident
Perspective
Structure of a literacy lesson: student learning and engagement
Sociocultural approach, social learning theory
Vygotsky, Bandura
Student playing the class clown
Stages of cognitive development
Piaget
Absenteeism: leading the student missing sequences of lessons, disengagement
Sociocultural perspective
Exposure to only an hour art lesson once a week
Piaget, Vygotsky, Reggio Emilia Approach
Constant and open access to IPads in the classroom
Bloom
Difference in student behaviour between regular teacher and a CRT
Bandura
Student distracting others
Vygotsky
Inquiry based learning

9. What is an Annotated Bibliography?
It is a list of resources where each entry is accompanied by a summary and evaluation.
It is written to demonstrate your understanding of the main arguments in each resource and their relevance to the topic you have chosen.
It is not an essay.

10. Where do I start? Library catalogue Reading list Journal articles
Book chapters
Web documentation ( gov or edu)

11. Read Critically The text is constructed and interpreted
Writers and readers are influenced by values: social, cultural, religious and political
Identify: the purpose of the text, theoretical approach, key issues
Evaluate: what is included, what is missing in the text
Reflect: How do these ideas differ from others, from my own, are they relevant.

12. Annotated Bibliography
The annotated bibliography presents a summary of relevant references in turn with each paragraph describing and evaluating an individual reference.
So you will need to:
Select a suitable event;
Describe the event briefly;
Identify an aspect of this event as the focus for the annotated bibliography;
Justify the choice of your theoretical perspective;
Include 7 or 8 references in the annotated bibliography. (References must include a majority of articles from peer-reviewed journals – web resources are acceptable provided they constitute a minority of the references).

13. Entry Structure: 1 – 2 Paragraphs
Full APA reference
Concise summary: which outlines main arguments, methodology, evidence target audience etc
Critique/evaluation: identifies strengths and weaknesses of the source, limitations, reliability, authority to make claims
Reflection: reflects on the usefulness/relevance of the source

14. Assignment Task 2 Part 2 Implications for future educational practice:
Make reference back to educational theorist(s) approach
Written from a personal point of view

15. Annotated Bibliography Sample
See sample on Moodle

16. Example of Assignment 2
See example on Moodle

17. Planning for quality learning and teaching

18. Why education in Singapore and Finland works?
Compare
What is the same/different?

19. Achieving high quality teaching and learning
Make a list of attributes
Assessment for Learning
Differentiation
Student Engagement
Support to Improve Practice
Building Capacity within the School

20. Reading: Churchill et al., Chapter 7
Reading 1: Opening Case (Churchill et al., 2013, P. 211)
Reading 2: Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment (Churchill et al., 2013, P 213 – 216)
What are the implications for you as a teacher?

21. ACARA: Australian Curriculum Assessment & Reporting Authority
An independent statutory author that aims to improve the learning of all Australian’s through the curriculum, assessment and reporting.
Australian Curriculum
Find one interesting fact
Report to group

22. AITSL Standards
Regarding the AITSL professional standards, the second standard is 'Know the content and how to teach it', and the third standard, 'Professional practice', so every PST student has a responsibility to know the curriculum they are to teach. 
Illustrations of Practice Series of Lessons:
Endangered Animals
Sea Explorers

23. Defining curriculum and the teaching and learning program:
Within the whole-school curriculum planning materials there is reference to both curriculum and the teaching and learning program. It is important to have a clear and consistent understanding of the terminology and recognise the relationship between curriculum and the teaching and learning program.

24. The curriculum is:
A statement of the purpose of schooling. It defines what it is that students will have the opportunity to learn as a result of their schooling. The content of the curriculum includes both knowledge and skills.
The common and core set of knowledge and skills that are required both for life-long learning and active and informed citizenship.
A mandated requirement for all schools.

25. Where should we start?
The whole-school curriculum plan has four interrelated layers: By School, By Curriculum Area, By Year Level, By Unit/Lesson. Each layer highlights different elements and represents a different perspective of how the curriculum is being organised into the teaching and learning program.
The following slide demonstrates the interrelationships across and between each layer as well as the specific curriculum planning elements within each layer. Schools are advised to consider the consistency of related information between layers, as well as specific information, when preparing each layer of documentation.

26. Understanding the four interrelated layers in curriculum planning
Curriculum Planning element
Layer
School
Curriculum Area
Year Level
Unit/ Lessons
Policy statement ✶u
Areas of specialisation stated
Coverage of all curriculum areas
Diagram or table representing the teaching and learning program
Specific/appropriate curriculum areas ✶
Content descriptions
Achievement standards
Assessments used to monitor and progress student learning
Time allocations ✶c
Overarching concepts and ideas developed across years of schooling
Sequencing of knowledge and skills
Context/topics to be covered
Context/topics in sequence
Provision for the range of student abilities
Co-curricular activities

27. Understanding the four interrelated layers in curriculum planning
Curriculum planning cannot be seen as the responsibility of an individual teacher, it is a school- wide activity. It is the school’s responsibility to provide a high-quality program for all students as they progress through their primary and secondary school education. This is impossible for the individual teacher to prepare in isolation. The units and lessons that are developed for and delivered in the individual class are significant, but the teaching and learning program needs to be seen as more than a unit, semester or yearly plan.
Viewing the teaching and learning program from the perspective of the curriculum area and year level layers enables schools to assess the coverage of the knowledge and skills from the curriculum, to identify the context/topics required to deliver the knowledge and skills, and to ensure the sequencing of materials best supports the student’s progression of learning.

28. Understanding the four interrelated layers in curriculum planning
The big picture supports the governance of the school, ensuring local priorities, resources and decisions guide and are evident in everyday practice.
The whole-school curriculum planning materials provided on this website are designed to support schools to draw together the many pieces of curriculum documentation in a considered manner. Schools can then base their discussions and future planning on a comprehensive set of documentation and ensure that the teaching and learning program being delivered in their classrooms is consistent with the curriculum and that local decisions truly reflect the school’s resources and priorities.

29. Is curriculum planning every complete?
Whole-school curriculum planning is an ongoing process. Schools may find it useful to consider the development of these plans as a cyclical or iterative process, responsive to new curriculum, priorities, data and/or reflections on practice.
For example, the school may consider the need to review the whole-school curriculum plan to align with the development and implementation of the school’s strategic/improvement/action plans. At the teacher level, adjustments may be made to existing sequences of lessons in response to formative assessment data.
Schools also have the flexibility to consider their curriculum planning in bands/stages of schooling and to structure appropriate themes or topics to be covered over a two year rotation.

30. How can a whole-school curriculum plan help improve student learning?
A clear benefit of documenting a comprehensive whole-school curriculum plan is to improve student learning by providing an explicit and coherent teaching and learning program based on the knowledge and skills set out in the Victorian Curriculum F–10. The process of developing a whole-school curriculum plan also involves verifying the currency of the information provided and ensures openness and accessibility across the school.
The four interrelated layers of curriculum planning documentation allows the school leadership team to work with staff to identify and address any gaps in the program and to support cumulative learning, making relevant connections and removing unnecessary overlap and duplication. Schools may have found it difficult to identify the areas for review and improvement using disparate documents with inconsistent information.  

31. How can a whole-school curriculum plan help improve student learning?
Other examples of potential benefits of developing a whole-school curriculum plan include:
Themes developed in individual domains may be similar. Identifying this situation may present an opportunity to remove potential duplication of content or to provide depth or different perspectives to a particular theme.
The sequencing of content may be improved, such as students developing their understanding about graphs in mathematics prior to them using graphs in geography.
Opportunities to maximise student learning, such as using an excursion to a museum or art gallery as a way to address content from multiple curriculum areas.

32. How can a whole-school curriculum plan help improve student learning?
Another important aspect of Year Level planning is to have a documented overview of the assessments used to monitor and progress student learning. This supports a discussion about what assessments will be used and whether there is an assessment burden concentrated at particular times throughout the year.

33. Curriculum Area Documentation
The development of Curriculum Area layer documentation requires teachers to become deeply familiar with the curriculum. It articulates the overarching concepts/ideas this curriculum area contributes to a student’s overall education across the years of schooling.
This familiarity enables informed decisions to be made about the context/topics used to develop the knowledge and skills specified in the Victorian Curriculum F–10, as well as sequencing the teaching and learning to ensure student progress. Having these detailed discussions at the Curriculum Area level minimises the risk of repetition or serious gaps occurring when the units/sequences of lessons are developed.

34. Developing a unit plan or sequence of lessons
The development of a unit plan or sequence of lessons is seen as the core work and the responsibility of the classroom teacher. It is important that this is developed in the context of the whole-school curriculum plan.
The unit plan or sequence of lessons delivered in a term, semester or year cannot be seen in isolation – they are part of the bigger picture. This layer of documentation ensures that the unit plan or sequence of lessons reflect decisions made at Curriculum Area and Year Level layers of this whole-school process.

35. Developing a unit plan or sequence of lessons
The classroom teacher needs to have a clear understanding of the elements required to be documented within this layer. Specifying the information required and gathering this information in a consistent manner makes it much easier for the school leadership team to draw together the whole-school curriculum plan and to continue to review this documentation to improve student learning.
The exact form of this documentation should be decided by the school, preferably with teacher input, as this will develop greater ownership and build a professional and collegiate approach to curriculum planning.

36. Curriculum Planning

37. Reference