PLANNING PROCESS IN ORGANIZATION

General Feedback on EDC1400 Assignment 1

General comments

The following points applied to a large % of the assignments marked –

• The presence of significant grammatical errors e.g. having single sentences stand alone; incorrect verb-subject correlation; inconsistency of tense i.e. some present some past
• Some assignments had lots of very small paragraphs only consisting of a couple of sentences while others had few paragraphs. Paragraph breaks must be carefully considered as the length of a paragraph should be determined by whether or not a single point or concept is being discussed – a new concept should be a new paragraph.
• The use of incorrect APA referencing (in first year no marker would expect that referencing would be totally accurate, however, a very comprehensive APA referencing guide is available on the library website plus the EDC1400 Study Desk has a link to help and practice guide therefore close to accurate referencing is expected)
• Few references to course materials and course readings included.
• The word count (plus or minus 10%) should be adhered to.
• The guide to academic writing style found within the module introduction clearly states that presentation format should be using a font (preferably Times New Roman) 12 pt in size and with at least 1.5 line spacing.

A grade of HD is awarded when a student has gone above and beyond the basic assignment requirements. So for an HD the following points were looked for: An introductory sentence was included that indicated the role that both curriculum and pedagogy play in education. This was then followed by a sentence indicating the organisation of the essay and how Curriculum would be looked at followed by Pedagogy and then a summary. There were frequent references to lecture and/or tute notesand the more difficult concepts related to aspects of curriculum such as the Hidden Curriculum. Students discussed more than just the Delors Report and the Australian Curriculum, including very sector specific ones. A deep understanding of how pedagogy is more than just application of teaching strategies was displayed. Examples of how content could be delivered in different ways, influenced by personal pedagogical intent, was also necessary as was the need to have drawn on a wide range of the course activities in relation to the creation of a pedagogical approach to teaching curriculum content e.g. Myers Briggs; Pratt’s teaching perspectives; Bloom’s Taxonomies; the Productive Pedagogies. Finally a summing up paragraph was necessary, as well as reference to over 10 authoritative sources (general figure): course lectures, tutorials, readings, modules, additional articles and/or books including course texts.

PART A

Take a holistic view and explore the many facets of curriculum:

• An holistic summing up of what curriculum is in relation to any context e.g. plan for learning incorporating more than just content and assessment etc.

• Aspects would be generally grouped under organisers: rationale; aims and objectives; content descriptions; outcomes; assessment focus; standards; competencies etc (The names used will change according to sector.)

• Curriculum types:  integrated; play based; outcomes based; themed; subject centred; student centred; hidden (All sorts of different names will come up here but certainly the hidden curriculum should have been discussed.)

Demonstrate knowledge of the curriculum framework relevant to context (Some overseas students will have referred to their own curriculum frameworks; all students were asked to supply a hyperlink to the document referred to):

• A particular curriculum framework should have been named and discussed e.g. The Early Years Learning Framework; the Australian Curriculum (Qld only); state curriculum frameworks e.g. Victoria has VELs Victorian Essential Learnings; specific  training packages

• Major landmarks that have impacted on sector curriculum frameworks could include any of the following, as well as others that I have not named but relevant to context:

The Early Years:

The National Quality Framework (NQF) 2012; Early Childhood education: need and opportunity by Weikart 2000 a UNESCO report; Changing Perspectives on Early Childhood UNESCO report 2007; Reggio Emilia philosophy; the Waldorf Approach; Montesorri; Dewey and hands on learning; Froebel’s concept of kindergarten;  Piaget’s theories; DAP Developmentally Appropriate Practice; the concept of emergent curriculum

Primary, Special Education & Secondary:

Delors Report; Hobart Declaration; Adelaide Declaration; Melbourne Declaration; the formation of ACARA; the Queensland School Reform  Longitudinal Study (Rich Tasks, Productive Pedagogies)

Students might also refer to articles or discussions which are linked to the move to Outcomes Based education: the introduction of the Essential Learnings; the introduction of prep rather than preschool (Primary only); the concept of lifelong learning (linked to Delors); the introduction of alternative pathways through VET subjects (Secondary only); the development on Professional Standards for teachers; the increased profile on the maths and sciences; the focus on literacy across all subject areas; the introduction of priority areas such as ICT and Indigenous perspectives,; individualising learning to meet specific needs (differentiation); segregated special needs units; integrated special needs approaches.

VET and TVE : the Kangan Inquiry; a TAFE commission; the concept of lifelong learning (linked to Delors); Australia reconstructed (an ACTU & TDC report); Skills for Australia policy statement; the Deveson Review; the establishment of  MOVEET and VEETAC; National Training Board formation (1990); the Finn Inquiry; the National training Board Agenda (ANTA); The Department of Education, Science and Training, inherited ANTA’s responsibilities ‘training packages are the pillars of the National Training Framework’ (2006, p.12) ; introduction of VET; National Council report VET products for the 21^st Century (2009); Guthrie 2009; Schofield (1999, 2000); Competency based training; the  Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) introduced in 1995.

• Social, political, economic, cultural, global concerns impacting on education: move from industrial age to the age of knowledge workers; longer work hours; lack of extended family; technological advancement; ease of travel and communication; worldwide concerns e.g. environmental issues, financial interdependence; global financial crisis; strengthening political ties in the S-E Asian region; shared workloads; greater accountability etc

PART B

Reference to at least some of the following points should have been included (all have been covered in lectures and tutes at some point):

• Teaching Perspectives (Pratt’s);
• Past personal experiences of learning;
• Explicit teaching; direct instruction; cooperative learning; differentiated  learning;
• Productive pedagogies;
• Bloom’s taxonomies (particularly the cognitive taxonomy)
• Personality type (Myers Briggs)

Students might also have discussed the following:

• Hidden bias;
• Cultural background;
• Habits of mind (de Costa)
• Various Early Childhood links to play based learning
• Dewey/Vygotsky

The types of factors that influence pedagogical decision making may include:

• Organisational factors
• Systemic requirements
• Student abilities
• Student prior knowledge
• The incorporation of activities to suit different learning styles (Multiple Intelligences – Gardner)
• The importance of asking quality questions
• How to both support and challenge (differentiation)

Students needed to have includedat least one example of how personal pedagogical beliefs might influence practice and delivery of content.

SOLUTION

LE36