Mot (Ly) Folio

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2011

Scott Anderson

4/15/2011

Later Years Folio


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Table of Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 2

Student Development ................................................................................................................. 2

Cognitive Development Vygotskys Theory ........................................................................... 2

Socio- Ecological Model ........................................................................................................... 3

Curriculum Documents ............................................................................................................... 4

Classroom Management ............................................................................................................. 6

School-wide Perspectives ........................................................................................................ 6

Classroom Management Situations ......................................................................................... 6

Teachingand Learning ................................................................................................................ 7

Resources and ICT Integration ................................................................................................. 7

Observed Classroom Learning Strategies ................................................................................. 7

Assessment ............................................................................................................................. 8

Literacy and Numeracy ............................................................................................................... 9

Literacy Needs within Biology ................................................................................................ 10

Numeracy Needs in Biology ................................................................................................... 10

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 11

Reference List ........................................................................................................................... 12

Appendix 1 Lesson Notes Example ...................................................................................... 13

Appendix 2 - Staff Guidelines ................................................................................................. 14

Appendix 3 - Class Code of Conduct....................................................................................... 15

Appendix 4 - Student Engagement Procedures ...................................................................... 16

Appendix 5 - ICT Strategy ...................................................................................................... 17

Appendix 6 - Library Resources and Procedures .................................................................... 18

Appendix 7 Summative Assessment (Year 12 SAC/Prac) ..................................................... 20

Appendix 8 Formative Assessment - Year 10 Revision ......................................................... 25


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Introduction

The following folio is compilation of my experiences from observinga Later Years setting in the

Hume Region. The students and teachers names are fictitious. The main subject areas observed

were Biology and Science which were taught by Miss Smith. The curriculum documents which

will be examined will focus on Biology (Unit 1 Unity and Diversity). A number of othersubjects were observed during the observations which included Math, Health, VET Soccer,

Physics and Physical Education. An example of the observation notes taken can be found in

Appendix 1. It is a combination ofall these observed experiences which I will draw upon during

this folio. In the end, the main aim of the folio will be to relate my experiences with theories

and literature to gain a better understanding of the Later Years framework.

Student Development

Before attempting to interpret the observations made, it is important to understand the range

of issues that may influence a students learning. There are many different facets of childhood

development including:

y Cognitive Developmenty Social and Personal Developmenty Behavioural Developmenty Physical Development

All of these facets are interrelated and equally important in childhood development but for the

purposes of this folio, I will be concentrating on the cognitive and social development of

students. This is due to the fact that cognitive and social aspects of learning would be more

applicable to later years teaching. For example, at 16 18 years ofage the physical

development of students would not be as influential in learning since most students will be

reaching the end of puberty.

While there have been many different theories for child development, it is important to view

the theories as a useful tool to predict student behavior over time rather than a concrete set of

rules. Developmental theories have not been validated empirically and would therefore be

incorrect to adopt a single theory when practicing teaching (Marsh 2008, p. 17).

Cognitive Development Vygotskys Theory

There are many different theories for cognitive development such as Piagets and Bruners

theories, but Vygotskys Theory began to explain the social nature of learning. Another term


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for Vygotskys theory was social

constructivism. McInerney and McInerney

(2006) describe Vygotskys theory as the

unfolding of cognitive understandings of

social beings within social contexts. One ofthe main concepts of Vygotskys theory was

the Zone ofProximal Development (ZPD, See

Fig. 1). The ZPD is the zone in which a

student is capable of potential learning. If

the level of challenge is too great, the

learner becomes frustrated and may give up

on the concept. If the level of challenge is

minimal then a learner may become bored and

uninterested in the concept. Therefore an

appropriate level of difficulty must be reached in order to achieve learning.

The role of the educator within this model is to assist the students in reaching the ZPD. This is

referred to as scaffolded instruction (McInerney & McInerney, 2006, p59). Just as scaffolding

supports a building, educators provide support for the learner until the learner becomes adept

at the task and can independently perform the task (Marsh, 2008, p25). Resources such as

learning programs, curriculum documents and other resources can also assist in scaffold

learning (McInerney & McInerney, 2006, p59). While Vygotskys theory may be a prominent

theory in child development, it would need to be used in conjunction with other theories to

become effective.

Socio- Ecological Model

Another effective model on the social aspect of learning is Bronfenbrenners Socio-Ecological

Model (see Fig. 2). While a large proportion of formal learning occurs in a school setting but

there are many factors which influence how a student learns and the rate of development.

Bronfenbrenners model attempts to explain the influences that societies, family and culture

can have on learning.

It starts with the student at the centre of the model and shows a range of different systems in

which the child has interactions. The systems and explanations are as follows:

Figure 1 Zone of Proximal Development (Miles 2011, p22)


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y Microsystemo The setting in which a student lives and interacts directly (eg. Family, friends,

school etc)

y Mesosystemo Relations between systems (eg. School to family experiences, school to peer

experiences)

y Exosystemo Social setting where the student does not have an active role (eg. Family friends)

y Macrosystemo The ideals of society or culture

y Chronosystemo The changes in the systems over time

This model can become very useful in attempting to understand the social difficulties that may

impede a students learning. For example, ifa students parents are going through a divorce it

can cause an enormous amount of stress which can result in disengagement from learning.

Curriculum Documents

The Curriculum documents for Biology can be found at the following URL

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/biology/biologystd.pdf.

Figure 2 The Socio-Ecological Model (Miles 2011, p40)


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While my subjects are Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) subjects, it is important to

account for students who may be part of the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) or

Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs. The various pathways can be shown in Fig.

3.

Figure 3 Learning Pathways of VCE/VET/VCAL Programs (VCAA 2010)


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The VCAL program involves vocational training from VET courses which may be undertaken

outside school by Registered Training Organisations (RTO) (VCAA 2011). VCE VET students both

have the opportunity to receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) whereas VCAL

students do not. Depending on which VET courses are chosen will determine ifan ATAR score

can be attained.

Classroom Management

Before discussing the teachingand learning strategies, It will be important to discuss the issues

that prevented effective learning during my observations.

School-wide Perspectives

Each school has a different set ofguidelines for both teachers and students so everyone knows

what is expected of them. The followingguidelines have been included from the observed

school:

y Staff Guidelines (see Appendix 2)y Class Code of Conduct (see Appendix 3)y Student Engagement Procedures (see Appendix 4)

The guidelines are set out to deter anti-social behaviours but it was observed the guidelines

were not properly implemented in many cases. For example, in the Class Code of Conduct it is

stated that uniform is to be checked at the beginning of class and students who have incorrect

uniform are to be sent to the Assistant Principals office to change. It was observed that many

students did not have the correct uniform and no action was taken. Many inconsistencies such

as this were evident which gives students more freedom to take liberties with the regulations.

Classroom Management Situations

The aim of classroom management is to provide students with effective learning opportunities

on classroom activities (Marsh 2008, p.179). If students are constantly off task, this will severely

limit their opportunities to learn. Before discussing the teaching/learning strategies of teachers,

it would be appropriate to address the behaviours of students during classes. Some of the

behaviours observed included:

y Sending text messages on phonesy Receivingand answering phone callsy Listening to musicy Swearingy Bringing insufficient equipment to class


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y Laptop distractions (playinggames, watching movies, Facebook etc)The school has received the Federal Government notebook rollout whereby each student

receives a laptop to use in class. The introduction of new technology has brought many new

opportunities for teachingand learning but has also brought a new set of challenges for

classroom management. Students are being distracted by technology, including phones and

laptops, seems to be the main cause of distraction and disengagement among students.

Teaching and Learning

Resources and ICTIntegration

As discussed in Classroom Management Situations, the students have all received a laptop to

use for educational purposes. According to MCTEEYA (2005) by implementing ICT in a

classroom it can create new opportunities for teachingand learning, extend the depth of

learningand enhance communication and collaboration (pp. 8-9). However if ICT is not

properly planned and integrated it will not provide an advantage for learning (Sanjakdar et al

2010). A copy of the schools ICT policy has been attached (see Appendix 5). The ICT policy

describes ICT mainly being used for a tool to improve administration but does not provide a

policy for implementing ICT as an education tool. From informal conversation with Miss Smith,

ICT is a tool which teachers can choose to use but most teachers have not had the appropriate

amount of professional development to implement it to its full extent.

The most successful use of ICT throughout the school is the use ofa Learning ManagementSystem (LMS). The LMS can be used by both teachers and students as a resource for

worksheets, practice exams and communication. An observed effective strategy used by a

teacher was the use of weekly blogs. Each Friday the students were required to submit a blog

on how they are going with their learningand their objectives for the following week. The

teacher could then comment on any blog to give positive feedback or suggestions for self-

directed learning. The strategy took a few weeks to implement but once students began using

it, it became an effective tool for feedback.

For other resources, the students also have access to the library. The library overview has been

attached (see Appendix 6).

Observed Classroom Learning Strategies

The most common strategies used in the classroom were the use of open ended questions to

determine the prior knowledge and direct instruction teaching. Some other teachingand

learning strategies included:


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y Youtube and other video clips to demonstrate pointsy Use of practical experiments to further development learningy Using Google to fill concept knowledge gapsy Worksheets from LMSy Powerpoint to show new concepts

o Students take their own notesy Using models and physical examples to demonstrate conceptsy Relating concepts to real life examplesy Get students to generate aglossary of termsy Spend 15 minutes reviewing previous concepts

Many of the learning strategies have been around for many years but were effective in

engaging some students in the classroom. In the case ofasking questions, the same students

seemed to be answering the questions while others were completely disengaged and had the

chance to use their laptops for entertainment purposes. Group work was not observed during

any class and could have been an effective tool to limit distractions from the laptops. For

example, students could complete a KWL exercise for a new concept and couple it with a Think-

Pair-Share to compare their knowledge with other people. I have tried to develop new learning

activities for Biology in The Lesson Plan Series of the assignment.

Assessment

Throughout the observations, there were a number ofassessment tasks which the students

were completing. Some of the tasks that were completed:

y Year 12 Biology SAC/Prac on Enzymes (See Appendix 7)y Year 10 Science Practice Exam on Genetics (See Appendix 8)y Year 10 Science Written Examy Year 11 Health Written SAC

There are two types ofassessment which both have different outcomes associated with them.

Table 1 shows the different assessment types.


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Table 1 Types of Assessment (Sanjakdar et al, 2010 p147)

Formative Summative

Purpose to acquire information to base

further teaching

Purpose To acquire information for reporting

about the student at the end of the

term/semester/year (stage)

Formal Carried out as a discrete, structured

information gathering task

Informal Carried out as part ofan everyday

teaching/ learning

Continuous Happening throughout a stage Terminal Happeningat the end of the stage

Coursework What the student does or produces

during the stage, which may be in

response to set tasks

Examination What the student does or produces

in response to set items, at a set

time and under certain conditions

Process-

Orientated

Focused on what is done assessed

in real time

Product-

Orientated

Focused on what is produced

tangible evidence

From the table above, one example of formative assessment is a Year 10 Science practice exam

whereby the focus was on how the students get to their answers and to gauge the knowledge

base of the students. Alternatively, an example of summative assessment is the Year 12 BiologySAC where students were required to answer questions relating to the practical exam in order

to demonstrate knowledge of the subject.

In order to facilitate learning; marking, trackingand prompt return ofassessment is an

important part of the process. If students receive feedback promptly they will be able rectify

common mistakes quickly and utilise the learning in later assessment.

Literacy and Numeracy

The development of literacy and numeracy skills are an important factor for a student to be

successful across any science subject. The best definition of literacy and numeracy within

science is using quantitative and qualitative analysis. Quantitative analysis involves quantifying

the results (numeracy) and qualitative analysis involves describing the nature of the results

(literacy).


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Literacy Needs within Biology

Fig.4 displays examples of literacy needs within Biology.

Numeracy Needs in Biology

Fig. 5 displays examples of numeracy needs within Biology.

Figure 4 Literacy needs in Biology

Figure 5 Numeracy Needs in Biology


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Conclusion

The main aim of this folio was to use my observations and relate them to concepts from the

literature and reading. During the course of the folio, the development of students, classroom

management, teachingand learning strategies, and the literacy and numeracy of Biology was

covered to demonstrate knowledge of the later years framework in a clear and concise manner.


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Reference List

1. Marsh, C.(2008).Becoming a Teacher: Knowledge, Skills and Issues (4thEdition). FrenchsForest:Pearson Education Australia

2. Ministerial Council for Education, Employment, Trainingand Youth Affairs(MCEETYA).(2005).Pedagogy Strategy: Learning in an Online World. Retrieved from

http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/ICT_LearningOnlineWorld-

PedagogyStrategy.pdf

3. Sanjakdar, F., Sutherland-Smith, W., Webster, S. (2010). EDF4004: Curriculum andAssessment. Frenchs Forest:Pearson Australia

4. Miles, B. (2011). Child and AdolescentDevelopment. La Trobe University: Australia5. McInerney,D.M., McInerney,V.(2006).EducationalPsychology: Constructing Learning (4th

Edition).Frenchs Forest:Pearson Education Australia

6. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). (2010). Learning Pathways.Retrieved from http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/publications/wheretonow/learning-

pathways-chart.pdf

7. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). (2011).An Overview of VET inThe VCEand VCAL. Retrieved from

http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcaa/vet/vetoverview.pdf


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Appendix 2 - Staff Guidelines


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Appendix 3 - Class Code of Conduct


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Appendix 4 - Student Engagement Procedures


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Appendix 5 - ICT Strategy


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Appendix 6 - Library Resources and Procedures


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Appendix 7 SummativeAssessment (Year 12 SAC/Prac)


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Appendix 8 FormativeAssessment - Year 10 Revision

Mot (Ly) Folio

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