The Outcomes express the specific intended student learning that results from the teaching of the syllabus. Outcomes are derived from the objectives and provide clear statements of knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes gained by most students by the end of a stage as a result of effective learning and teaching. (Years7-10 support document, 2009).
Each unit of work the teacher develops must include the selected PFA, knowledge, understanding and skills essential content relevant to the stage outcomes and appropriate to the chosen context. It would be expected that the learning experiences within the teaching program provide opportunities to assist students to work towards the achievement of the values and attitudes outcomes.
The Mapping Grids has the syllabus outcomes and essential content arranged in tables and columns that can be adjusted to allow for the number of learning units in each year of the school program. The content mapping grids provide a useful tool for planning where the PFA and Domain: knowledge, understanding and skills essential content will be explicitly addressed in a year. These grids can also be used to demonstrate the development of the syllabus essential content (Student ‘learn about’ and ‘learn to’) across a stage in relation to the scope of targeted outcomes identified for each unit in the sequence.
In a learning program, skill development within and across Preliminary and HSC course needs to be carefully and systematically planned and tracked. The use of the content mapping grids helps to ensure that all aspects of each skill have been addressed by the end of each course. It is also useful during the planning and implementing of the program to alert teachers to the level of student independence required in performing the specific skills in each unit of work.
Planning the program involves a number of interrelated activities. The fundamental step is the establishment of a program overview with a scope and sequence plan that is based on the syllabus outcomes and the course requirements that are being addressed within the year across the syllabus. The elements that are included in the overview of the program are:
– the sequence and title of each learning unit for the year
– the time in weeks allocated to each learning unit
– the placement of class time for at least one Student Research Project in the stage.
The mapping of the scope of the targeted outcomes in each unit in each year and across the stage identifies:
– all PFA outcomes that are addressed at least once each year
– a range of selected Domain: knowledge and understanding outcomes targeted in each unit
– all of the knowledge and understanding outcomes
– all skills outcomes are addressed at least once in each year
– Values and attitudes outcomes are addressed across the stage.
Together, the sequence plan and the outcomes mapping grid provide a means by which teachers can ensure that the learning/teaching program established by the school addresses the syllabus requirements. In the content mapping grid the learning experiences are broadly classified into one of three developmental levels. In the learning phase (L) the teacher establishes the student’s prior learning and uses this as the basis for developing student understanding through appropriate explicit teaching of the relevant knowledge, understanding and skills components. In the practising phase (P) the student uses the knowledge, understanding and/or skills in tasks to achieve specific goals. The application phase (A) is when the student independently uses the knowledge, understanding and skills in the course of regular work and as a foundation for the development of learning.
By using the syllabus mapping grids, a clear overview is provided that identifies where the learning experiences are located that specifically target the syllabus essential content in each unit of work. The mapping provides a means of evaluating whether the learning/teaching program provides a comprehensive and balanced development of all knowledge, understanding and skills essential content within each year.
During the planning process a manageable number of outcomes for each learning unit are identified on the scope and sequence and these will be the focus of the organization of the essential content and learning experiences within the units. The targeted outcomes in the unit are also central to the decisions on the required evidence of learning. It is necessary to identify specific evidence of learning to be observed through the teaching, learning and assessment activities for the unit outcomes. The evidence of learning provides a basis for informing and adjusting the teaching/learning program.
Assessment is the process of identifying, gathering and interpreting information about student achievement. It occurs as an integral part of teaching and learning and involves using assessment activities to assist students in understanding their learning and the learning processes. An assessment focuses on the syllabus outcomes and clearly expresses for the student and teacher the criteria by which learning will be assessed. By integrating assessment for learning activities in the learning/teaching sequences, teachers are able to gather evidence of learning and make judgments about student achievement in relation to the outcomes. Assessment for learning enables teachers to plan ways to remedy students’ alternative conceptions or misconceptions, promote deeper understanding, and encourage the development of positive values and informed critical attitudes. It is necessary to identify specific evidence of learning to be observed and that will be gathered for the targeted outcomes that are the focus of learning in each unit. In order to collect the desired evidence, a range of assessment strategies are selected that will:
· provide valid and reliable evidence of student learning
· enable students to demonstrate the extent of their knowledge, understanding and skills
· provide a balance between informal and formal evidence gathering
· Support the learning process and be manageable within the time allocated to the unit.
In overall outcomes are central to the decisions teachers make about the learning to be undertaken and the evidence of learning that needs to be collected. The evidence of learning assists teachers and students to decide if students are ready for the next phase of learning, or if teachers need to adapt programs to provide further learning experiences to consolidate students’ knowledge, understanding and skills.
To site an example of a scope and sequence plan, during term 1 in school, week 1 starts with
Preliminary Module 8.2 – A local ecosystem. Allocated time to complete this module is 30 hours. Outcomes that need to be addressed in this module are P2, P3, P7, P8, P11, P12 and P13. At the end of week 8, students understanding, knowledge and skills are tested using a research assessment task based on this module. Various formative assessment strategies are designed by teachers during these 8 weeks to identify and collect student’s progress regarding their content understanding. Teachers are provided with stage 6 preliminary outcomes mapping grid and content biology skills mapping grid that specifies the outcomes that have to addressed during each module and the level of competence that each student must acquire regarding each skill i.e. either in Learning phase (L), Practicising Phase (P) or Application phase (A).
Bibliography
- NSW Board of studies. (2009).Science years 7-10 support document. Retrieved from http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_sc/pdf_doc/science-years7-10-support2009.pdf
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