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EDSS520: History Curriculum Pedagogy

EDSS520: History Curriculum, Pedagogy & Assessment 1

ASSIGNMENT 1: Depth Study 6 Unit of Work

Purpose: The purpose of this task is to develop knowledge and expertise in an area of the 1980’s – present and to develop an engaging
unit of work on this area of history which would be suitable for Year 10 students. Its aim is to help develop your skills in sequencing historical lessons, selecting and organising material for classrooms, and understanding the concepts and structure of the K-10 History syllabus.

Assessment criteria:

• Demonstration of the ability to understand, interpret, and implement the K-10 History Syllabus for New South Wales
• Evidence of consulting the works of key historians and other experts
• Preparation of creative and original material to support quality teaching and learning
• Linkage of relevant content, teaching strategies, outcomes, skills, resources and activities in an appropriate and engaging way
• Evidence of individual initiative & presentation of a professional unit of work

Nature of the task:

“History is a disciplined process of inquiry into the past that helps to explain how people, events and forces from the past have shaped our world. It allows students to locate and understand themselves and others in the continuum of human experience up to the present. History provides opportunities for students to explore human actions and achievements in a range of historical contexts.” (extract from the Rationale of the History Syllabus K-10, 2014) In the spirit of the Rationale of the History Syllabus, this task is to develop a topic to be taught as a school-developed study for Depth Study 6 in Stage 5. The topic is to be constructed using the guidelines on p. 103 of the pdf version of the History Syllabus and to align with the overview for ‘The Modern World and Australia’ (p. 94). Further guidance will be given in the lectures in the first few weeks of the course regarding the choice of a topic.

Completion of this assignment will result in a ready-to-use school-developed unit of work for Depth Study 6.

What is a ‘unit of work’?

Units of work are written for each depth study that is chosen for a teaching program for a year or stage. For example, in Year 10, a class may do three depth studies – ‘Rights and Freedoms’, ‘Popular Culture’ and ‘Australia in the ‘Vietnam War’. A unit of work would be written for each depth study. The overview for Stage 5 may be written up as a separate unit of work or may be incorporated into the other three units of work.

The Finished Product:

The Unit of Work The outcome of this task will be the creation of a 18-hour long unit of work for a topic to be taught at the end of Year 10. This will be in a landscape document of no more than 10 A4 pages (Standard format, 10 pt Arial/TNR font) in length.

This unit of work will:

• have an original and engaging title, if this is possible
• Be based on more contemporary history 1980 – present.
• will include from the History K-10 Syllabus – the ‘key inquiry questions’, the relevant ‘historical skills’, the ‘historical concepts’ tailored to this unit, and reference to a site study
• Also to be included in this unit of work – a statement indicating how this topic relates to the overview for ‘The Modern World and Australia’, framing questions (up to 10), key events (10- 15), key historical terms (up to 30).
• identify the key content of this topic and determine how this content can be best presented to students of this age
• divide the unit of work into logical sections
• throughout the program there should be references to key historians and experts, historical debates (where they exist), books, and resources. Live urls may be used for online sources.
• include details of individual lessons such as the teaching and learning strategies, activities, discussion questions, historical skills and historical concepts. (Note: No actual activities or resources need to be constructed)

ASSIGNMENT 2:

Purpose: Sequencing historical lesson plans

Pedagogy & Content Knowledge:

1. demonstration and understanding of and the ability to implement the appropriate state and territory curriculum documents
2. examination and evaluation of a wide range of programs, reference materials and resources to enable appropriate and effective teaching and learning to occur
3. consolidation and extension of your basic knowledge and the skills required for effective teaching and learning to occur
4. demonstration of planning relevant units of work which are inclusive in the selection of content and resources and which take account of students different abilities, learning styles and needs

Presentation & Engagement:

1. Development of an engaging teaching scenario appropriate to the chosen stage.
2. Effective use of teaching space, creativity in dressing/using the teaching space.

Task:

Continuing from your Depth Study 6 Unit of Work, you are to select and design appropriate teaching and learning activities equivalent to 3 lessons of 1 hour in length each.

1. Review your UoW and select and develop appropriate content, strategies and material into a sequence of 3 lessons. Each lesson will be the standard 1-hour period and represents a typical 3 period week in a secondary History classroom.
2. You must create a lesson plan using the template provided on LEO under the Assessment Support box. Each lesson should demonstrate clear introductory, development and concluding/consolidating activities. Your lessons can be sequenced together or be standalone/not linked, however they should reflect the overall progression in your UoW.
3. Your lessons should demonstrate relevant pedagogical strategies for Stage 5 History, be inquiry based, utilise a diverse range of resources and teaching material incorporating literacy/numeracy & ICT. The lessons will aid students development of historical thinking and knowledge along with relevant historical skills & concepts for Stage 5.
4. Develop resources and activities to teach these lessons in your plan. You are not creating the actual resource for this task, however you should demonstrate diverse types of resources and activities to engage learners, promote the inquiry learning, enable feedback and student reflection of learning.

Things to consider:

1. Activities should investigate multiple aspects of your chosen topic and should follow inquiry principles.
2. Sources and activities should develop historical thinking & knowledge and critical literacy, numeracy and ICT competence in students.
3. Explicit evidence of Cross-Curriculum priorities being integrated throughout the lesson.
4. Be creative! You have creative control over the learning space, setup, technology used. You may also consider decorations & props to enhance the learning experience. Lessons are a combination of promoting student engagement and innovation with History and pedagogy alongside developing historical thinking & critical thinking skills.

ASSIGNMENT 3: Critical Syllabus Reflection

Length: 1,500 – 1,800 words

Assessment criteria:

• Extent & quality of research and depth of critical understanding about the discipline of Social Science
• Effective use of evidence in the argument
• Critical use of sources including state-based curricula, academic journals and texts
• Clarity of written expression and coherence of the ideas presented

Task:

Read through the following excerpt from a speech given by Sir Peter Cosgrove on good neighbours in the wake of the 2004 Tsunami and Bali Bombings then respond to the question that follows. Develop a 1500 – 1800 (excluding refs) critical extended response:

Good neighbours learn to speak each other’s languages. Good neighbours learn to respect each other’s religious and cultural beliefs. Good neighbours learn to allow for differences and to be inclusive. Good neighbours spend time with each other. – Sir Peter Cosgrove, Governor General of Australia.

Critically evaluate the effectiveness of cultures-based education in History to enable students to be ‘good neighbours’. In your response, refer to an appropriate Depth Study in Stage 4 and 5 from the NESA K-10 History syllabus.

REFERENCING: This unit requires you to use the APA referencing system.