102086 Designing, Teaching and Learning

Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304

Assignment 2

Part A

Standard 1: Know students and how they learn

Focus: Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across

the full range of abilities

1.5.1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating

teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of

abilities

This focus area is achieved in the lesson plan by the differentiating teaching methods

the teacher has used to cater to the diverse learning needs of his/her students in the

classroom. Scaffolding is used in the designing of the lesson plan activities which is

an effective way of catering to diverse student learning abilities by building their

knowledge of the lesson plan content as a whole class at the beginning and then

asking students to critically analyse and investigate the content further towards the

end of the lesson as they gain more confidence and independence. The teacher has

also used group work as a way to cater to diverse student learning by having peers

discuss and actively engage in content together, developing their critical thinking as a

team and helping those that may find the tasks more challenging.

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 102086 Designing, Teaching and Learning
Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304
Tutorial: Monday 1:30pm, Nathan Berger

Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it

Focus: Curriculum, assessment and reporting

2.3.1 Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning

sequences and lesson plans

The lesson plan Technological Changes and the Industrial Revolution Lesson Plan

Year 9 Depth Study is designed to fulfil the curriculum and syllabus requirements for

students studying year 9 History. The lesson plan is aiming to teach students about the

technological changes and inventions that led to the industrial revolution and how that

has made negative and positive impacts on our society today. Throughout the lesson

the teacher is also able to assess his/her students through formal and informal

methods. While students are working in groups or pairs in the first activity, the

teacher can observe the students understanding of the topic and then formally assess

their understanding in the homework/assessment task set for the next lesson.

Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it

Focus: Information and communication technology (ICT)

2.6.1 Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning

opportunities for students

This focus area is achieved in the lesson plan by the use of ICT materials throughout

activities 2, 3 and 4 and the homework/assessment task. Students use critical thinking

in activity 2 by analysing sources of an image of a steam engine before the Industrial

Revolution. Activity 2 does not specify if it is an individual or group activity but it

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 102086 Designing, Teaching and Learning
Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304
Tutorial: Monday 1:30pm, Nathan Berger

indicates this is completed as a class and the students decide what image they want to

investigate. This activity is developing students’ analytical and investigative skills to

be able to communicate effectively about the past. In the fourth activity students work

together using web sources to find technology that influenced the Industrial

Revolution and its implications. By students actively researching and analysing

historical evidence, the students are more likely to be engaged. The ICT materials

used such as PowerPoint, computers, you tube and printed out images are useful in

engaging students from multiple intelligences because it incorporates oral, written,

visual and physical ways of learning.

Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

Focus: Plan, structure and sequence learning programs

3.2.1 Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and

effective teaching strategies

The lesson plan achieves this standard by designing the lesson with a scaffolding

method so the students develop a deeper understanding towards the end of the lesson.

The first activity of the lesson is for students to complete a think/pair/share activity

where the students discuss with their peers what life was like in medieval times. Then

as a class the teacher creates a mind map and students copy down the information.

This is an effective teaching strategy as students are using social interaction to

develop their ideas and gain more confidence by having their peers contribute

together. It is also effective for the teacher to assess where students are in their

knowledge of the topic and what needs to be covered in another lesson.

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 102086 Designing, Teaching and Learning
Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304
Tutorial: Monday 1:30pm, Nathan Berger

Part B

Section 1

The first focus area that is conveyed in the lesson plan 1.5.1 (Board of Studies,

Teaching and Educational Standards NSW, 2010) has been achieved to cater to

students’ diverse learning needs. The teacher is demonstrating knowledge and

understanding strategies for students with diverse needs and learning abilities by

scaffolding the lesson to develop students knowledge of the topic but also catering to

students who may need more support than others or struggle with literacy. Vygotsky’s

social interaction theory on human development and zone of proximal development

(ZPD) can be applied to this lesson plan design from activities 1-4 and then with an

optional extended activity and homework/assessment task (Clarke & Pittaway, 2014;

Parker, 2013). In activity 1 students work together to build on their assumed

knowledge of life in medieval times and then in activity 2 and 3 develop that

knowledge further by analysing particular sources (Parker, 2013). Students who need

more assistance developing their understanding are helped by their peers in groups

and as a whole class (Parker, 2013). This is catering to students who may lack

engagement, have problems with reading or writing and struggle to work individually

(Combs, 2012).

By using ICT materials in each activity, the teacher is conveying differentiated

teaching by providing a learning environment that caters to students who obtain

information and knowledge through multiple learning styles. Students that learn

through verbal linguistic intelligence and interpersonal intelligence benefit from the

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 102086 Designing, Teaching and Learning
Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304
Tutorial: Monday 1:30pm, Nathan Berger

group work activities, as they are able to express their thoughts and understand their

peers, and students who attain information kinaesthetically are catered to by actively

investigating and researching throughout the lesson and in the homework task using

technology (Clarke & Pittaway, 2014; Parker, 2013).

The second focus area achieved in the lesson plan 2.3.1 (Board of Studies, Teaching

and Educational Standards NSW, 2010) has been reached by meeting syllabus and

curriculum requirements. The teacher has planned the lesson based on content from

the Stage 5 History Syllabus, Depth Study 1: Making a Better World? (Board of

Studies, 2012). The activities the students complete in the lesson such as discussing

life in medieval times, finding types of machinery used at the start of the industrial

revolution and its implications achieve the outcomes from the syllabus:

HT5-4 Explains and analyses the causes and effects of events and developments in the

modern world and Australia

HT5-10 Selects and uses appropriate oral, written, visual and digital forms to

communicate effectively about the past for different audiences (p.85).

Both outcomes are used to cater to linguistic needs of English language learners

(ELL). The teacher is using cooperative learning through small group work activities

to give relevance and meaning to the syllabus (Jollife, 2007). Through face-to-face

interaction and the use of visual and digital forms, the teacher is creating a safe and

welcoming environment for ELL learners (Jollife, 2007). The teacher throughout the

lesson can then assess through observation and the homework task how effective the

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 102086 Designing, Teaching and Learning
Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304
Tutorial: Monday 1:30pm, Nathan Berger

lesson plan has catered to their needs and what needs to be revised in another lesson

(Clarke & Pittaway, 2014).

The third focus area in the lesson plan 2.6.1 (Board of Studies, Teaching and

Educational Standards NSW, 2010) has achieved effective teaching strategies to cater

to students from Indigenous and low socio-economic learning needs using ICT

materials. Students living in poverty often develop a resistance to schooling and they

don’t feel that education is a positive part of their lives (Callow & Orlando, 2015).

By using technology such as PowerPoint, you tube, printed images and computers, the

teacher is creating a more inclusive and active lesson for students that lack

engagement with their education (Callow & Orlando, 2015). Steinberg, Burridge and

Whalan (2013) discuss in their book how important ICT materials are in enhancing

Aboriginal students’ literacy engagement and results. By the teacher implementing

the lesson plan activities with the use of ICT materials, Aboriginal students are given

a sense of ownership and identity which is a crucial connection to their culture and

community (Steinberg, Burridge & Whalan, 2013).

The fourth focus area in the lesson plan 3.2.1 (Board of Studies, Teaching and

Educational Standards NSW, 2010) has been achieved to cater for diverse learning

capabilities of students’ throughout the sequence of the lesson plan and the teacher’s

knowledge of his/her students. Although there is a significant amount of group work

involved throughout the lesson activities, there is also opportunity for students to have

individualised learning. The sequence of the lesson plan develops and builds on

students’ knowledge about the topic and deepens their understanding in groups

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 102086 Designing, Teaching and Learning
Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304
Tutorial: Monday 1:30pm, Nathan Berger

(Parker, 2013). This is an effective strategy to teach different levels of content

according to student needs and vary the types and difficulty levels of assessment

(Clarke & Pittaway, 2014). The extension activity offered in the lesson plan is an

individualised learning activity catered for students that want to challenge themselves

further and develop the knowledge they gained from the group activities individually

(Clarke & Pittaway, 2014; Parker, 2013). The homework task outlined at the end of

the lesson plan is also an example of the teacher using differentiated teaching and

individualised learning to assess students’ development and understanding of the

syllabus content (Parker, 2013).

Section 2

The peer-reviewed feedback received for the standard focus areas chosen in the lesson

plan was overall positive. There was a general consensus that the standards chosen

were justified and appropriate to the lesson plan and catered to diverse learning needs

of students. One of the peer review feedback sheets mentioned that there was too

much group work and not enough individual learning conveyed in the lesson plan that

could effect catering for students with diverse learning needs. Although I did not

modify or change my standards in Part A, I did however incorporate how

individualised learning is achieved in the lesson plan under the focus area 3.2.1 in

Part B. The peer reviewed feedback was helpful in this regard because I did not

consider how individualised learning was catered for in the lesson and focused

significantly on how group work was used to cater to diverse learning needs of

students.

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 102086 Designing, Teaching and Learning
Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304
Tutorial: Monday 1:30pm, Nathan Berger

References

Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW (2010). Australian

professional standards for teachers. Retrieved from

http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/publications-policies-

resources/publications/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/

Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW. (2012). NSW syllabus

for the Australian curriculum: History K-10 syllabus. Retrieved from

http://syllabus.bostes.nsw.edu.au/hsie/history-k10/

Callow, J., & Orlando, J. (2015). Enabling exemplary teaching: A framework of

student engagement for students from low socio-economic backgrounds with

implications for technology and literacy practices. Pedagogies: An

International Journal 10:4, 349-317. doi: 10.1080/1554480X.2015.1066678

Clarke, M., Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh's becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Frenchs

Forest, Australia: Pearson.

Combs, B. (2012). Assessing and addressing literacy needs: Cases and instructional

strategies. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi:

10.4135/9781452243900

Jolliffe, W. (2007). Cooperative learning in the classroom: Putting it into practice

London: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi: 10.4135/9781446213971

Parker, M. (2013). Technology changes and the industrial revolution lesson plan –

Year 9 depth study. Retrieved from

http://www.australiancurriculumlessons.com.au/2013/08/16/technological-

changes-and-the-industrial-revolution-lesson-year-9-depth-study/

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 102086 Designing, Teaching and Learning
Jacqueline Bryson, 17883304
Tutorial: Monday 1:30pm, Nathan Berger

Steinberg, S. R., Burridge, N., & Whalan, F. (Eds.). (2013). Indigenous education: A

learning journey for teachers, schools and communities. Rotterdam, NLD:

Sense Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com