Our Approach
Student-Centred Pedagogies
The Australian Curriculum supports pedagogical decision-making by individual schools and teachers. The English curriculum document states that "students learn at different rates and in different stages" (ACARA, 2012a). The History curriculum employs a skills and inquiry-based model of teaching (ACARA, 2012b), while the Mathematics curriculum emphasises mathematical reasoning and the application of mathematical understanding creatively (ACARA, 2012c). The Science curriculum involves inquiry processes and the construction of explanations based on evidence (ACARA, 2012d).
The pedagogical approaches suggested in this resource align with frameworks currently used in various Australian states, such as the Queensland Productive Pedagogies model, the New South Wales Quality Teaching Framework, and the Victorian Principles of Learning and Teaching. These approaches emphasise building authentic understanding, real-world context, student decision-making, and tailoring learning to individual students' needs.
A 'Backward Design' Approach
The 'backward design' or 'backward mapping' approach to curriculum design is often invoked but rarely understood in Australian educational contexts. The Understanding by Design (UbD) method (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998), adapted for use in Australian schools, draws on Tyler's 'objectives' approach to curriculum design (Tyler, 1949) and Bruner's 'process' approach to curriculum development (Bruner, 1960). In UbD, educators identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence of learning, and plan learning experiences and instruction.
This disciplined method encourages a design driven by understanding rather than student activity. Despite criticisms of its linearity, the model's iterative process achieves coherence between aims, assessment, and teaching and learning.
Authentic Assessment
Authentic assessment drives teaching and learning by requiring students to demonstrate their understanding through tasks that emulate real-life situations (Wiggins, 1993). This approach contrasts with traditional forced-choice assessments, focusing on higher-order thinking, student-structured responses, and the creation of new knowledge (Kriesman, Knoll, & Melchior, 1995; Black & Wiliam, 1998).
Inquiry and Argumentation
Inquiry and argumentation are pedagogical approaches that promote transformative views of knowledge and learning. These methods encourage students to ask questions and develop answers based on evidence, supporting a constructivist approach (Piaget, Dewey, Vygotsky, & Friere). The 5Es model (Bybee, et al., 2006) provides a scaffold for planning inquiry-based teaching, emphasising engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation.
Differentiation
"In the differentiated classroom, the teacher assumes that different learners have differing needs" (Tomlinson, 2001). Using diagnostic assessment, teachers plan learning experiences that progress from each student's current level. Differentiation involves selecting content, process, product, and learning environment modifications to meet individual learning needs (Maker, 1982).
Integrated Information, Communication, and Learning Technologies
The Digital Education Revolution has made Australian schools increasingly technology-rich. ICTs have the potential to transform the learning environment, support student-centred pedagogies, and enable effective collaboration, communication, and creation. These units of work assume access to a range of ICTs, adaptable to various technology-rich environments.
Literacy and Numeracy
The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians emphasises essential skills in literacy and numeracy for successful learning (MCEETYA, 2008). Teachers in all subjects must ensure students have the necessary literacy and numeracy skills to access and demonstrate subject-specific knowledge and skills.
Understanding by Design
This series of books represents one curriculum design response to the Australian Curriculum. While we draw on theoretical perspectives, particularly those discussed in Chapter 1, our aim is to provide teachers and pre-service teachers with practical applications adaptable to local needs and classroom implementation (Mockler & Talbot, 2012). We have aimed to maximise identification with group goals, such as those established in the Melbourne Declaration, and to generate excitement among both teachers and students. Additionally, we strive to meet the needs of all learners via a differentiated approach embedded in the units (ACARA, 2022).
In designing units of student work for Years 7-10, our goal has been to integrate a range of approaches consistent with the spirit and aims of the Australian Curriculum, reflecting good classroom practice that fosters deep and sustained learning (ACARA, 2023). Figure 1 provides a visual representation of our approach.
Our aim in this resource is to provide teachers and pre-service teachers with adaptable, implementable units of student work that respond to the Australian Curriculum's requirements and integrate contemporary approaches to learning. This resource also serves as a model to guide teachers in their own curriculum design processes.
Figure 1: Our Approach
We hope this website provides adaptable, implementable units of work that teachers and students alike find interesting, engaging, and educationally sound. Our intention is to encourage teachers to engage in the design process and develop their creative capacities while tailoring the units to meet the needs of their students.
We invoke the words of the late Garth Boomer, highlighting the importance of engaging student interests:
"If teachers set out to teach according to a planned curriculum, without engaging the interests of the students, the quality of the learning will suffer. Student interest involves student investment and personal commitment. Negotiating the curriculum means deliberately planning to invite students to contribute to and modify the educational program, so that they will have a real investment both in the learning journey and the outcomes" (Boomer, 1992).
For a more detailed discussion, please refer to the downloadable chapter PDF’s below:
For a template to design your own Unit of Work, please refer to the downloadable DOC template below:
