Assignment Cover Sheet

School of Education

Student details
Student name:

Student ID
number:

Danny Isshak

17006040

Unit and tutorial details

Unit name:

Designing Teaching and Learning

Tutorial group:
Lecturer or Tutor name:

Unit number:

102086

Tutorial day and time:

Tuesday 1430-1600

Garry Pursehouse

Assignment details
Title:

Assignment 2

Length:

1525 words

Due date:

Home campus (where you are enrolled):

26/04/2016

Date submitted:

26/04/2016

Penrith

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I hold a copy of this assignment if the original is lost or damaged.
I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been copied from any other students work
or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made in the assignment.
I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been submitted by me in another
(previous or current) assessment, except where appropriately referenced, and with prior permission
from the Lecturer / Tutor / Unit Coordinator for this unit.
No part of the assignment/product has been written/produced for me by any other person except
where collaboration has been authorised by the Lecturer / Tutor /Unit Coordinator concerned.
I am aware that this work will be reproduced and submitted to plagiarism detection software programs for
the purpose of detecting possible plagiarism (which may retain a copy on its database for future
plagiarism checking).

Students signature:
Note: An examiner or lecturer / tutor has the right to not mark this assignment if the above declaration has
not been signed.

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Assignment 2
Part A:
Standard 2.3.1 Graduate - Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design
learning sequences and lesson plans.
This focus area is achieved in the Australian Curriculum links section of the lesson plan. The
lesson plan outlines seven curriculum standards for year eight and nine students. These
curriculum standards vary on the year that is being taught. For example, year eight students
are required to recognise that vocabulary choices contribute to the specificity, abstraction and
style of texts (ACELA1547). On the other hand, year nine students identify how vocabulary
choices contribute to specificity, abstraction and stylistic effectiveness (ACELA1561). The
lesson plan is designed according to these specific curriculum links which creates a consistent
learning environment for students that acquire different learning abilities. The lesson plan is
designed accordingly to achieve the standards of the Australian curriculum.
Standard 3.1.1 Graduate - Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students
of varying abilities and characteristics.
The body of the lesson plan sets learning goals that provide achievable challenges for
students of varying abilities and characteristics. The first activity is a collaborative group
annotation which uses Vygotskys sociocultural theory that demonstrates that learning
commences in a social world. As described by Piaget, children transform their knowledge of
what others have said in a dialogue into their own personal schemata (Marsh, Clarke, &
Pittaway, 2014). In addition, students are required to select images from a magazine which
reflects characteristics of the person they look up to. This visual exercise benefits kinaesthetic
learners by providing a more hands on activity. The last exercise allows students to write their
own metaphors, creating an achievable challenge for students from varying abilities.
Standard 4.2.1 Graduate - Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and
provide clear directions.
The lesson plan manages classroom activities by creating a lesson outline which breaks the
lesson up into an introduction, body, conclusion and assessment. The introduction is
scheduled for seven minutes and requires students to brainstorm individuals they look up to.
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The body has clear step by step instructions for each activity with specific time limits to
ensure students are working efficiently. Furthermore, the lesson plan is broken up into four
different activities that utilise a variety of teaching methods to create a positive impact to
student learning. To conclude the class, students are instructed to write their own metaphor
with reference to their idol. This focus area is achieved by providing specific classroom
instructions and clear directions, by organising group and individual focused activities.
Standard 5.1.1 Graduate - Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including
informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student
learning.
The formal assessment at the end of the lesson assesses the students ability to recognize
metaphors and imagery through annotation and exit slip which is handed in at the end of the
class. Also the writing assignment that has to be completed during the second class period is
another form of formal assessment. Informal assessment is seen through sharing the group
statements with the class. This is a naturalistic way of assessing students as they dont think
they are being assessed but the teacher can gain valuable knowledge. There is formative
assessment at the end of the lesson gathering data on students learning to provide feedback
on their progress. However, there are no signs of diagnostic and summative assessment
throughout the lesson plan.
Part B:
Standard 2.3.1
Students are being assessed to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Results from these
assessments highlight the gaps in knowledge which is incumbent on the teacher to re-teach
their strategies in order to fill in the gaps. The curriculum can be differentiated based on the
learning needs and styles of each student. For example, this lesson can be delivered in a
jigsaw type activity, using visual aids, computers, ICT and home based research tasks. Leu et
al (2001) states that the content standards for each year, examples of what should be taught,
also include limited evidence that online comprehension skills should be developed. ICT can
be a great way to challenge students with differentiated learner needs as it provides a great
tool to increase literacy skills. Krause, Bochner & Duchesne, (2003) suggest if Vygotsky had
lived in the 21st century he would have no doubt included the computer as a major intellectual
tool. By applying a variety of learning modes, students with different learning needs are able
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to access the curriculum fairly and equitably. Following curriculum standards, teachers are
able to set a bench mark for their students learning with the expectation that they will meet
deadlines and the outcomes set in the syllabus.
Standard 3.1.1
Students learning goals are individual based on their academia and their commitment to
learning. The first activity encourages students to infer the information and through inference
is targeting a higher order level of literacy. Piagets theory for teaching suggests that to
achieve a high level of learning, students need to be physically and mentally involved in their
environment. Learning goals can be modified for students with linguistic needs and learning
difficulties. For example, a refugee type student who is fluent in their native language will
need scaffold tasks to ensure that they are understanding and comprehending instructions in
the English language. As children become more adept at performing a new task, their
scaffolding is gradually phased out so that they eventually accomplish it entirely on their own
(McDevitt et al, 2013). Students may be very intelligent in their native language but may risk
falling through the cracks without an intervention and individualized learning plan. This is
related to Piagets theory of adapting schemata through assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation occurs when a child incorporates new knowledge into existing knowledge
(Marsh, Clarke, & Pittaway, 2014).
Standard 4.2.1
Students learn in modes other than chalk and talk delivery. Activities need to be delivered in
short, intermittent bursts to encourage attention and engagement. Cowan, (2001) suggests that
short term memory is limited to processing two to four elements of information. In order to
manage classroom activities effectively, teachers need to ensure that a variety of delivery
methods are being met. Engaging students in think, pair, share activities and group work as
well as outdoor lessons encourages kinaesthetic learning, providing a safe and open learning
environment. Vygotsky initiates that learning begins in the social world, whereby children
learn language and ways of thinking from others (Marsh, Clarke, & Pittaway, 2014).
Different types of students are catered for through the delivery methods ensuring there are no
gaps within the students. Teacher must use cross-cultural learning as well as embedding
Indigenous perspectives in the classroom as it has shown to improve Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander students attendance, engagement, participation and pathways into further

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education and work (Cahill & Collard, 2003). By organising cross-cultural learning into
classroom activities can promote equity amongst Indigenous Australians.
Standard 5.1.1
Whilst assessment can be seen as a primary indicator of student achievement, students can
feel intimidated or disengaged from an assessment when there is a mark or grade linked to a
piece of work. In order for assessment to be an effective indicator for students learning,
students must engage with and respect the outcome of the assessment process. Strategies do
not need to be limited to formal assessment as this can be seen as detrimental to a students
growth and development. For example peer assessment is a non-invasive form of feedback
provided to students by students gaging their success in a particular field. Students with
individualized learning plans such as linguistic and learning difficulties can have modified
assessment which caters to their plans and allows them to access their learning whilst being
assessed in an appropriate way. By observing students work habits, manual dexterity skills
and small group behaviour can provide useful information for a teacher as it illustrates how
students cope with their school work such as assessment tasks and how they interact with
their peers (Marsh, Clarke, & Pittaway, 2014). This form of informal assessment can be in
some cases more useful as students do not feel the pressure of a formal assessment.
How you incorporated peer feedback into the revised explanations.
All peers gave positive feedback suggesting that my focus areas were clearly linked to the
lesson plan. Specifically, one peer illustrated that standard 3.1.1 was highlighted in the lesson
plan through the use of the exit ticket as a learner goal. On the other hand, the only negative
feedback given was to reconsider changing standard 4.2.1, demonstrate the capacity to
organize classroom activities and provide clear direction to standard 2.2.1, organise content
into an effective learning and teaching sequence. I did not change this standard because I
believe the lesson plan demonstrates the capacity to organise classroom activities by breaking
the lesson plan up into an introduction, body, conclusion and assessment. Although both
standards are similar, the lesson plan relates more to standard 4.2.1 as it provides clear steps
for each activity. I did not receive another other suggestions or feedback, therefore not giving
me much of an option to revise my explanations. However, the positive feedback allowed me
to keep my explanations and elaborate on the areas that needed work.

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References
Australian Curriculum Lessons. (2012). Teaching Metaphor and Imagery with Billy Collins
Litany. Retrieved on 12th April 2016 from,
http://www.australiancurriculumlessons.com.au/2012/11/01/teaching-metaphor-and
imagery-with-billy-collins-litany
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2014). Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers. Retrieved on 12th April 2016 from,
http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list
Cahill, R., & Collard, G. (2003). Deadly ways to learn a yarn about some learning we did
together. Comparative Educations, 39(2), 211-219.
Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: a reconsideration of mental
storage capacity. Pages, 87-114. US National Library of Medicine.
Krause, K. L., Bochner, S., & Duchesne, S. (2003). Educational psychology for learning and
teaching. Melbourne: Thomson.
Leu, D. j., McVerry, J. G., OByrne, W. I., Kiili, C., Zawilinksi, L., EverettCacoparado, H., Kennedy, C., & Forzani, E. (2001). The New Literacies of
Online Reading Comprehension: Expanding the Literacy and Learning
Curriculum. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy Volume 55, Issue 1,
pages 514.
DOI: 10.1598/JAAL.55.1.1
Marsh, C. J., Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marshs becoming a teacher. (6th Ed).
Pearson, Australia.
McDevitt, T.M., Ormrod, J. E., Cupit, G., Chandler, M., & Aloa, V. (20103). Child
development and education. Sydney: Pearson Australia.

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