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ASSIGNMENT 1
Introduction
Planning is an essential skill for the profession of teaching. Whilst the role requires flexibility
of thought, effective teaching is enhanced through planning, however planning for effective
teaching needs to take into consideration many factors such as the various needs of students,
the school, and professional standard guidelines. When considering these factors there are
four key areas of interest that impact upon the planning and decision making process and will
be discussed within this essay. The first area is The Board of Studies Teaching & Educational
Standards NSW (BOSTES, 2016) who is responsible for controlling state education in NSW
and act as the ruling body for the implementation and foresight for syllabi construction. The
syllabus provided by BOSTES enables teachers to hone in on stage specific development for
students and measure their current educational needs. This allows teachers to effectively plan
towards outcomes and criterion so that students have mastered these objectives prior to
commencement of the next stage. The second area discussed will be the diverse needs of
students. The Australian classroom has become far more diverse, and the need to plan for
inclusive teaching should not be disregarded as an essential task for the successful teacher.
Planning will play a critical role in how to effectively teach for students of varying abilities
and needs, with planning leading to the difference between a good to great lesson. The third
area to be discussed involves previous data. Within the role of a teacher, recording student
performance and developmental levels are crucial. Previous assessment data will help with
future plans and give a frame of reference for what students may be lacking, or what can be
changed within a lesson plan to make up for a gap in development. The fourth area is the
National Professional Standards for teachers set by the Australian Institute for Teaching and
School Leadership (AITSL, 2014). These national standards are utilised by teachers to uphold
a level of excellence in their professional career. These guidelines also impact upon planning
and decision making throughout their career. They also play an important role in how to
approach planning and tasks and what criteria the teachers themselves need to achieve while
dealing with the other key areas. These four key areas will be discussed with reference to a
stage 5 Science syllabus lesson plan provided by BOSTES to determine the level of planning
and the role played.
Syllabus
BOSTES create syllabi for NSW teachers and for certain key learning areas (KLAs) have
developed a national curriculum (BOSTES, 2016). The syllabus is the content which is
required to be taught in a course or unit as defined by Marsh, Clarke & Pittaway (2014). The
syllabi that are created for each subject outline course content and timeframe, student
outcomes, objectives, and life skills that are designed to be completed in stages (BOSTES,
2016). The syllabus being seen as a contract is discussed by Fornaciari and Dean (2014) this
metaphor portrays the syllabus as law. With the weight this metaphor carries, there can be a
binding situation in which classroom freedom vs. authoritative structure poses a risk to the
learning environment, and this is where planning is crucial. While the syllabus plays an
influential role in lesson planning, it is very important that teachers are able to use the
syllabus structure provided as a framework. This means that the syllabus provides ideas
towards the lesson plan, but does not dictate how to teach it and allow for change. The
difficulty of this concept is the nature of the syllabus that it still decides what is required to be
taught and that there is a timeframe on content and outcomes. The key to running an effective
class while juggling with the syllabus and how, what, when and where to teach is planning.
current skills, and skill development (Marsh et al 2014). Previous assessment data is
undertaken for several reasons; to measure teacher effectiveness, gauge future achievements,
monitoring student learning and progress, motivation, and ultimately grading students (Marsh
et al 2014). The criticism for teaching for grading has provided negative implications for the
teacher pedagogies, in which teaching for assessment grades are encouraged to improve
school standard scores. Though negative aspects are related to teaching purely for results,
teaching without assessments can limit student growth and lead to students that may not have
benefitted or gleaned any content from the lesson (Jones, Jones & Vermette, 2011). With this
lack of assessment data there will be no student information to base future lesson plans and
create content appropriate to learner levels. Teachers must collect data as it is an essential role
to effectively plan for what and how to teach. Performance data demonstrates the
responsibility of the learner, teacher and school (Wayman, 2009).
National Professional Standards for Teachers
The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers created by AITSL are split into three
domains, Professional Knowledge, Practice and Engagement. These standards provide a code
of conduct that shapes the profession of teaching, and how teachers practice, which in turn
influences how students are themselves shaped (Cavanagh & Prescott, 2015). These standards
shape and influence how and what to teach, and will also influence the lesson plan, however
the standards themselves are written in a broad and generalised manner, as an example under
the domain:
Professional Knowledge Standard 1 Know students and how they learn. Focus Area- 1.1
Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students. 1.2 Understand
how students learn. 1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic
backgrounds. - AITSL (2014)
There are three more focus areas under standard 1 however it can be seen with these
examples that the language provided with these standards is broad, and does not give a
complete directive however does provide a foundation of codes. Gannon (2012) criticises the
standards that are implemented in Australia, as they introduce economies of performance
and that they measure quality of teachers. This critique highlights the push toward
performance based culture of education. The need to understand the Australian Professional
Standards for teachers is mandatory for success in the profession. Understanding the context
and how to apply standards to lesson plans will be critical for the how and what to teach in
classrooms.
Stage 5 Science Lesson Plan: Living World
The sample lesson plan for Year 9 (BOSTES, 2016) directly links with the syllabus; the
content is derived from the Living World and refers to LW2
Conserving and maintaining the quality and sustainability of the environment
requires scientific understanding of interactions within, the cycling of matter and the
flow of energy through ecosystems. BOSTES
This lesson framework engages students with concepts of biological systems and addresses
two sub points from LW2 - (a) recall that ecosystems consist of communities of
interdependent organisms and abiotic components of the environment and (c) describe how
energy flows through ecosystems, including input and output through food webs directly
taken from the syllabus (BOSTES, 2016). The student outcomes SC5-14LW- analyses
interactions between components and processes within biological systems (BOSTES 2016).
Through understanding this lesson plan there are direct links incorporated from the syllabus
which students undertake through the activities outlined within. Upon lesson completion
reference to assessment data and this specific lesson plan it has been mentioned that the tasks
scale throughout the lesson, without understanding the assessment data of specific classroom
scenarios. This plan serves as a framework that can be adapted accordingly rather than an all
encompassing plan that contains everything.
Within the National Standards (AITSL, 2014) there are many that are included within this
lesson plan, to highlight several:
2.2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
3.3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
3.3.4 Select and use resources
4.4.1 Support student participation
4.4.2 Manage classroom activities
Understanding that these points are fundamental to the profession of teaching as
acknowledged previously, the lesson plan incorporates the above standards in broad terms.
There are activities that are created as part of the teaching strategies which are created in
stages that promote a structured sequence for the lesson. Oxford Big Ideas text highlighted as
the resource that will be utilised throughout the lesson with students to perform a joint
construction which may be split into groups. The standards are linked to lesson planning in a
broad way; however standards relating to diverse learner needs are not incorporated within
this lesson plan such as:
1.1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
1.1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
factors attributed to the teaching profession will be critical in effective teaching, and only
through rigorous planning will they be made clear.