Final thoughts on Curriculum

The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA) 2008 established goals so that all young people in Australia should be supported to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens.

As part of the strategy to build on these goals within the Australian Curriculum is to embed general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities.

General Capabilities

The general capabilities " encompass knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that, together with curriculum content in each learning area and the cross-curriculum priorities, will assist students to live and work successfully in the twenty-first century". (http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/curriculum.html)

The Australian Curriculum identifies seven general capabilities

• Literacy
• Numeracy
• Information and communication technology capability
• Critical and creative thinking
• Personal and social capability
• Ethical understanding
• Intercultural understanding

 Cross Curriculum Priorities

The Cross-curriculum priorities are addressed through the  learning areas while at the same time developing knowledge, understanding and skills relating to

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures,
• Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia
• Sustainability

The cross curriculum priorities allow opportunity to add depth and richness to student learning around a topic but obviously each have a varying presence within a unit depending on their relevance to that particular learning area. 

In practice this means while the teacher will be planning out the sequence of lessons following either the C2C framework or school decided curriculum, this beginning stage of planning is just the platform. The cross curriculum priorities may be embedded in the learning particularly if the content addresses issues of any three of the priorities. If using the C2C material, the priorities will be tagged to notify the teacher of the need to address them at this time.General capabilities will also be required in every unit as they are the essential skills used daily to complete tasks.

In the example of studying a unit of work on textiles and the influence of our international neighbours Asia, (blog: Flipped Textile Class)  there would be plenty of opportunity to engage cross curriculum priorities in this area.  ACARA notes,

"This priority (engagement with Asia) will ensure that students learn about and recognise the diversity within and between the countries of the Asia region. They will develop knowledge and understanding of Asian societies, cultures, beliefs and environments, and the connections between the peoples of Asia, Australia, and the rest of the world. Asia literacy provides students with the skills to communicate and engage with the peoples of Asia so they can effectively live, work and learn in the regions”. (http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/cross_curriculum_priorities.html)

Teachers need to be aware of sensitive understanding required of students and politically correct terminology of these priorities for engaging assessment. It also means teachers embed this understanding in the unit of work to engage students whose cultural background is not Australian and English is their second language.

General capabilities involve a means for engaging the curriculum. If the curriculum involves a critical enquiry with students writing a report about these influences on textiles with Asia, students will need to have the skills to “critically enquire” and skills to “write a report”. Inability in literacy skill does not mean a student does not know about the subject rather needs support in literacy. As such the teacher with knowledge of the general capabilities can unpack the curriculum and the general capability demands and support where needed. This may be in the form of scaffolding support for literacy skills in content specific vocabulary, grammar & punctuation, or support for comprehending and composing text. For students with dyslexia, ICT support like Texthelp R&W Gold may help student to complete this aspect of research and assessment. Student where English is a second language, also need to support in these areas to engage the curriculum.

Other aspects  of the general capabilities need consideration and knowledge of the student cohort in order to plan effectively for successful student learning. Students particularly weak in an area may need targeted support for these skills.

Some other examples of other general capabilities evident in a unit include:

eg Critical and creative thinking - inquiry sills, generating ideas, reflective practices, analysing and evaluating information. Many of these skills are required to unpack a Home Economics design brief and students may need guidance with six hat thinking or critical thinking skills frameworks to guide this thinking while other students may have these skills spontaneously.

eg Personal and social capability - Social awareness and ability to manage time and deadlines, present work and engage productive discussions within the class.

eg Ethical understanding - understanding ethical concepts and issues; exploring values, rights & responsibilities  and  reasoned decision making. These skills need to be targeted in certain units in order for our students to be active and informed citizens

eg Intercultural understanding - recognising culture influences within a unit and developing respect for our differences

Helpful resources in implementing these priorities and capabilities:

Australian Curriculum: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/crosscurriculumpriorities

Australian Curriculum Assessment & Reporting Authority http://www.acara.edu.au/default.asp

Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the curriculum http://indigenous.education.qld.gov.au/eatsips/Pages/default.aspx

Indigenous Portal: https://indigenousportal.eq.edu.au/Pages/home.aspx

Generation One Blog: http://generationone.org.au/blog
New Learning: Transformational Designs for pedagogy & Assessment http://newlearningonline.com/literacies/chapter-1/eight-aboriginal-ways-of-learning

Values curriculum resource: http://www.curriculum.edu.au/values/wov_landing,29317.html

Asia Education Foundation: www.asiaeducation.edu.au some curriculum resources

Global Education website: www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au

Thinking skills framework (Teacher framework guide): http://www.asla.org.au/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/documents/inquiry-learning-asla2013.pdf

Literacy Solutions: http://www.literacysolutions.com.au/resources/ (Lots of visuals which may give you ideas how to present some information or do a flipped classroom activity with the outcome you need) The multiple Intelligence cards have some fun activities, but pick your year level and in the end consider how is this going to support my learner with "......" capability.

Literacy support in Mainstream: http://www.spectronics.com.au/online/resource/category/ipads-for-literacy-support/

Web 2 Tools in the Classroom

Web 2 tools 

I'll be honest I have struggled with the mass introduction of technology especially in education. It's not new in Special Education because we have used support equipment for the 25 yrs+ I have been teaching. However there is a difference between the "Big Mac" button I used for my non verbal children to answer questions and the the myriad of "tools" now available.

So, MY HUSBAND bought me an ipad two years ago so this "dinosaur" of the school could keep up with technology and use the ipads that each of the students in my class use daily.

So Google says, Web 2 tools are "second generation of web development and design, that facilitates communication, secure information sharing, interoperability, and collaboration on the World Wide Web".

(https://www.pthsteachers.pbworks.com)

Classroom Innovation

If you are thinking of trying a flipped classroom or differentiated instruction, then Web 2 tools are a good place to start. Some of the best teachers and schools in the country are providing free material online or you can subscribe to some as a school. You can use the sites to supplement your own lessons, collect data, help students prepare for tests, or let accelerated students extend their learning. 

I have found some very important wisdom in using Web 2 tools I would like to share before I list a few tools I think have merit.

1. TRAINING - The first thing I did with my ipad after having a play myself was attend a SPECTRONICS workshop on using ipads. It was super fast paced but really helped me get my head around the essentials. In reality, using and playing is the best teacher but information in "cyberspace", particularly student information, needs to remain secure. I was not confident I knew the boundaries of this concept until I attended the workshop ( and saw our lovely Tech guy from work!!)

2. ICT is also an acronym for IT CAN'T TEACH. In the end, the effectiveness of the lesson is about my quality planning based on sound pedagogical practice and thoughtful choice of the "tools" to execute my planning. I am not using a Web 2 tool without purpose.

3.  This brings me to my third point. I need to EVALUATE the "tools" I am using. There are rubrics available and I have include one for ipads (https://www.web2-4languageteachers.wikispaces.com).Good pedagogical practice is about reflecting on my own practice and choosing tools to make my teaching more specific or help a student learn more effectively in a style or with a tool that will allow that to happen.

(https://www.web2-4languageteachers.wikispaces.com)

https://www.learninginhand.com

SCHOOL or CLASS TOOLS

Wordpress - Create a class website or blog on this free, easy-to-use site. Teachers of younger students can keep parents informed of class activities and upcoming events. Teachers of older students can link to interesting websites, launch online discussions, and post study guides. Some teachers foster writing and technology skills by requiring each student to write a blog post.

Facebook page – Some schools/classes have a page for communicating information. Definitely a possibility for a textiles class.

EduBlogs- Set up blogs on this for yourself or your students. The teacher is in control of the safety settings. This could be great for small homework pieces or the six hat thinking on problems.

Khan Academy - This site is school supported and usually has a small subscription.Students/parents are given an access code. Students can watch video lessons and test their knowledge, progressing at their own pace, and teachers keep track of students’ progress. Use this tool to differentiate instruction or to flip your classroom. Students can review material ahead of tests.

Youtube – video’s and tutorials for just about anything. Most of the textile techniques on this blog link to youtube tutorials.

Survey Monkey - this little tool is great for feedback about anything. It is important to be aware of making questions for students that give you the feedback you need. Examples are provided in the set up.

Behind the News http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3749317.htm (sweatshops)
Current affairs news on a variety of issues. You can use the keyword search to see what may be available around your particular topic of learning and could be used for learning at home.

Creativity tools

Pintrest - create boards of inspiration for class activities or anything really. Link with students and you could use this tool for flipped classroom learning.

Polyvore - make mood boards for textiles or fashion and design and share them with others.

Photoshop - This tool is for purchase but has some definite value for creativity and for fashion & design work. Students in graphics or other digital technology classes would use it as well.

Organisation & Planning

Evernote - This was recommended at a workshop and it great for keeping notes and information together that can be sent to others.

Dropbox - it's like the filing cabinet in cyberspace for all your work. It can be accessed on another computer, anywhere.

Wordle - creating word clouds which could be used for a unit of work. Use clouds to identify key vocabulary, main ideas, use it as a creative tool to compare two topics eg natural dyes and chemical dyes

QR Codes - This is a great tool for self directed learning. I make up worksheets with the code on it and students can use the ipads to download the information I want them to engage. This way I can actually provide a lot of information on just one A4 page. Laminated codes can also be used regularly in the class.

Teacher development

Edutopia - a website and online community that increases knowledge, sharing, and adoption of what works in P-12 education. topics like: project-based learning, assessment, educational leadership and teacher development, and technology integration.

Teaching Channel - Similar to Edutopia (though American) it provides a lot of information and video's on the micro skills of teaching. I get lots of good ideas here

My Standards (aitsl) - This app/tool can be used for collating your professional practice and link to the Australian Standards. This handy tool is to showcase your excellent teaching.

The Learning Place (Education Qld) & On-line courses: This site provides staff and student space to manage on-line learning like Code of Conduct, Student Protection, Keys to managing information, mentoring and other topics relevant to professional practice.

360° Feedback - gain feedback from colleague on your teaching. This is a good tool for reflective practice and target area of growth.

Slideshare – Keep your powerpoint presentations and share them with others.

Differentiation in Special Education

Boardmaker on-line - create visual resources to support learning or access the on-line library of resources.

Ibooks

Tarheel Reader - able to write your own books as well as access the almost unlimited number. While it is geared to lower level readers, it could be used as a project for writing books on textile creations and knowledge for students with learning support needs.

Dragon dictation - great tool for converting speech to text for students who struggle with lengthy written task

Texthelp R & W GOLD - targeted tool which can be purchased by the school for students with dyslexia. The floating toolbar offers a lot of features for helping students with processing and identifying critical information

Ipad apps for Home Economics

Culinary Fundamentals - short video clips on a variety of cooking skills. I use this app often for students to see how to prepare something while I work with another student. Great in hospitality too

The Cooks Companion - helpful cooking information

Woolworths on-line - checking prices and information in food technology


FOR THE ULTIMATE LIST OF WEBSITES IN EDUCATION (Including Web 2 Tools) CHECK OUT WEALLY WONDERFUL WEBSITES by Gerry Kennedy, Spectronics.http://www.spectronics.com.au/blog/web-links/weally-wonderful-websites-v8-0/

Flipped Textile Class

We live in a very multi-cultural country and the diversity of religion, food, & cultural experiences provides a great platform from which to learn. This would be a perfect opportunity to engage a flipped classroom. Here's my ideas:

Unit of work: Textiles & Design/Cultural Story

Design Context: Australia has a close relationship with Asian and this international influence is reflected in many areas of Australia’s diverse culture including the variety in it's textiles and the influences on it's styles.

LEARNING: Research the textile component of our international neighbour and investigate the elements of design in those textiles to produce a garments (pants, shirt, shorts) inspired by these techniques.

(batik design https://www.sarong-pareo-bali.com)

Considering the task requirements typical Home Economics, the learning could be broken into the following skills:

IDENTIFYING: Asian/Indian cultures that influence textile designs, textile techniques, elements & principles of design within the cultural designs 

                                                                                                                                                      (shibori design www.designsponge.com)         

   
CREATING: ideas, polyvore or own created mood board reflecting these techniques, drawings, mind maps, making the actual garments


RESEARCHING a bit about the cultures, techniques, fabrics 


EVALUATING: trial attempts at techniques and with different fabrics, the end product


Initial class time could be used for Blue hat thinking about the learning. Students could work in groups to identify "international neighbours" and come up with some possibilities.


The CREATING and RESEARCHING aspect of the learning could definitely be an opportunity for a flipped classroom. Students would be given not only the task sheet, but additional information on these topics and access to a blog like this one.



1. Information about textiles - Japan, Asia, India


Flipped classroom activity: Read through the information at home and using a thinking skills framework or Web 2 tool for organizing information, bring a summary of findings with information about the cultures and influences on designs. In class time could be used for shared responses/learning and move onto the next section by the teacher demonstrating a particular technique. Students could then be involved in another flipped classroom time of further research on techniques.



2. History of Batik Art/Textile, Shibori dyeing, Ikat or Kasuri dyeing


Flipped classroom activity 2: Read through the information at home and using a thinking skills framework or Web 2 tool for organizing information, bring a summary of findings with black hat thinking of what techniques are feasible and able to be recreated for the purpose of designing and creating in the Home Ec room. Students could access the blog at home to look at techniques and any other information relevant to the research.


3. Elements & Principles of Design


Flipped classroom activity (on-going): Engage information about the elements and principles of design and create a small portfolio of examples. As the weeks continue and students learn more about different cultural techniques and dyeing they could add to their portfolio including the textile designs from Asia. An on-line quiz tool could be used to check students are keeping up to speed and have the correct knowledge.


In class time: The actual design for fabric and construction of the garment could become the assessment part of the learning for students in class time. In this way the students have been through a process of collaborative decision making on research and techniques for future learning. 

In class time could be utilized for tutoring of concepts and the general capability requirements of assessment in class (eg literacy skills for written work, intercultural understandings, ethical understandings) and cross cultural priorities embedded in the curriculum

The creating of mood boards in class opens opportunity for the teacher to work with individual students who may be struggling with the creativity process and designs a well as supporting the student in the actual dyeing process and corresponding work place health & safety issues.

The flipped classroom

The flipped classroom

The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. Short video lectures are viewed by students at home before the class session, while in-class time is devoted to exercises, projects, or discussions

https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7081.pdf

The flipped classroom is very much about moving away from teacher directed learning in big spaces to more self-directed learning in the individual learning space. It is not on-line learning but opportunity throughout the learning unit to engage the learning material individually before returning to class to discuss any questions or concerns that came out of the learning.

A big element  of the flipped classroom is REFLECTION which is central to good pedagogical practice and higher order thinking. Research (Butler & Winne, 1995 in Marzano) notes asking students to identify and record their confusion about content enhances their learning. This is particularly relevant after critical-input experiences. It is important for helping students to effectively interact with new knowledge and actively process the content.

Effective flips require careful preparation. This should not be rocket science from the point of view that every lesson and unit of work requires careful preparation. In fact studies (Haycock 1998; Marzano 2003; Nye, Konstantopoulos & Hedges 2004 in Marzano) on how effective schools make substantial differences in the achievement of students noted one most influential component and that was the individual teachers within the school. Effective teachers used effective instructional strategies, effective classroom management strategies and effective classroom curriculum design.

Flipped is not synonymous for video teaching. In a textiles environment it may be a case of trying different production methods to come to a conclusion about an issue

A Flipped classroom also requires effective instructional strategies (for a flexible learning environment), effective classroom management strategies (shift in learning culture) and effective classroom curriculum design (intentional content, videoed and prepared)

The downside to this style of teaching and learning is the loss of face-to face in the immediacy of the experience and a potential reliance on technology for the delivery of on-line video’s. In the event of teachers sending home written material, the difficulty lies with students who are poor readers with corresponding difficulty comprehending the material.  The exponential impact of this scenario is the student loss of interest and not engaging the content and subsequently withdrawing from class discussion.

However, the positive to this scenario is the teacher may find their time is devoted to the students who are struggling and the proactive learners continue learning in a self-directed manner.

The emphasis is to move away from “passive” learning and information giving to engaging, testing and questioning knowledge. Such skills are in line with the 18 key elements Marzano identifies as important for engaging content – all of which can be accommodated in a flipped classroom.

An important consideration is the year level/age group ability to be disciplined and have the skills to engage material and question. In part this require some higher order thinking skills to identify the critical information and ability to engage the material with any one of the thinking hats to be ready for the next class and have an informed discussion about the material. From this point of view, not every class would be a flipped class. Rather in the big scheme of intentional planning the teacher would need to identify the timing of the flipped lessons.

As a student myself engaging a textile curriculum it has been a challenging task on-line. The self-directed learning has been invaluable but the lack of face-to-face has made it difficult to gauge if my learning is still on track. The flipped classroom seems a happy in-between balance of self-directed learning and teacher led for the students who have the ability to engage this new culture of learning.

While research is limited on the effectiveness of flipped learning, some relevant factors have been identified for its benefits. These include effectiveness from:

• active learning
• peer tutoring
• greater recall
• accommodation of diverse learners

I can see that these elements are relevant to a textiles classroom particularly engaging a critical enquiry assessment approach. Time in class could be utilised well by the teacher to support students who need extra help and for students with more diverse needs provided the curriculum and resources were well planned.

References

Jon Bergmann, Jerry Overmyer and Brett Wilie (2003) The flipped class: Myth vs Reality  in The Daily Riff viewed on http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-flipped-class-conversation-

689.php

 Marzano, J (2007)The Art & Science of Teaching Heatherton, Australia

http://www.flippedlearning.org/cms/lib07/VA01923112/Centricity/Domain/41/LitReview_FlippedLearning.pdf

Creative Planning & Assessment

So you have a design brief in Home Economics and you are either

1. The student trying sort out what to do

2. The teacher knowing you have to assess this work!!

Like many things in life a little planning is important. Even more so is unpacking those tasks that require some good inspiration to have a one-of-a –kind piece of work to really showcase your talent and ideas.  While this quote is a succinct expression of what usually happens for complex tasks you are by no means a failure when it comes to being creative. Remember, ever experience is an opportunity for learning. However good planning takes the stress away from the fluid flow of ideas for students and for teachers, allows us that clear head to objectively work through a process to lead our students to learn as much as they can.

Remember this is good pedagogical planning that allows students to gain some knowledge and then USE IT and discover more for themselves.

There are many different ways to use textiles as a learning tool. In education it is embedded within the design technologies and through a critical enquiry approach, students solve a problem.

The focus for student learning then is understanding,  “Textile choices and practices within the textile industry impact directly on the wellbeing of individuals, families and communities”.  (Senior Syllabus 2010)

Students will acquire knowledge of, develop inquiry skills about and investigate issues relating to textiles.

So WHERE do you start? Most things start with a question so each year level will have a different focus and require a different set of skills. What doesn’t change is necessarily how you go about finding some of those answers…. By being a critical thinker!

Have you ever been with a group of friends and had a bit of an encounter (good, bad or otherwise). You come home and proceed to tell your parents and everyone has a slightly different version of the story. Which one is correct … or are they all just different views of the story. In the end you could say it’s a well-rounded version of the events because everyone has related their story from a different perspective.

Tackling a problem could be the same.

We start thinking about the process in front of us. What do I need to think about? What’s my plan of action? We find out the facts, organise ideas, think of more ideas and perhaps start the process.

Two great frameworks to help with unpacking ideas is Edward DeBono’s concept of the The Six Thinking Hats and a Thinking Skills Framework (Bloom’s Taxonomy) which identifies the steps to higher order thinking.

SIX THINKING HATS

This is really a mental metaphor of directing our attention in one direction at a time. With each direction we “put on a different hat”. That way we cover all bases a bit like our storytelling. It can be done in a group and each person has a different “hat” thought or everyone shares the same “hat” thought.

Six Thinking Hats is a powerful tool that facilitates productive: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity. It enables each person's unique point of view to be included and considered. (http://www.debonoforschools.com/asp/six_hats.asp)

Here is the framework. Consider how it could apply to a current piece of work?

The Thinking Skills Framework 
http://www.itcpublications.com.au/assets/files/thinking_skills_frame_guide.pdf

The Thinking Skills Framework (TSF) is a tool for teachers to help scaffold student learning with a particular task. This is particularly useful for embedded literacy and numeracy skills within different school subjects. This is particularly relevant to Design challenges which involves the highest order of thinking.

 

The thinking skills framework assists TEACHERS to guide students to identify the skills required to solve the task. It also assists teachers to understand the assessment they have set and if they are assessing the skills they are meaning to assess. Is the teacher assessing the effectiveness of the designs or a literacy skill? In most Home Economics assessment there is a written piece AND a practical piece. How equipped are students for answering the accompanying written? Are they struggling because of the literacy demand and can we scaffold this learning throughout the different grades by providing the appropriate (thinking skill) framework for organising thoughts.

 The Six Thinking hats enable STUDENTS to focus thinking from a different perspective.

Both are helpful little tools for different reasons and teachers will have success having knowledge of both processes.

SO WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IN PRACTICE

If for example,  the design challenge is to conduct a body and wardrobe analysis in order to then design a wardrobe to suit your body shape because research suggests we only wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time….. what skills are required to complete this task? And how does that fit with De Bono.

The Blue hat is the organising thinking and managing the process. It’s often the first step in solving a design brief or assessment piece. Blue hats keep us on track and in group work may need the discipline of the leader.

TSF – I need to analyse my wardrobe. How do I do that? Depending on the year level, teachers may need to provide a framework to help guide that thinking.

Other blue hat thinking – planning for time management of assessment, daily tasks, keep on the main task and not get off task during group work

The White Hat is the facts thinking.

What facts do the students need and do they know how to organise them?

They are facts not opinions or speculation. My waist size is Xcm

This is necessary for research to compare eg sustainability practices in companies

The information may be crucial as well as secondary information

It also includes Information we have, would like to have, need, and sources for obtaining missing information

TSF – Provide formation on how to Create charts, Classify information

Green Hat is creativity thinking – ideas, alternatives, possibilities

Creative thinking would be a regular type of thinking in a textile environment so may stand alone or be part of a design challenge.

Five minute creative thinking activities could be a regular occurrence to encourage a culture of coming up with creative ideas or at the very least a different idea to the current one.

TSF – provides different frameworks to organise these ideas particularly for assessment (mood board designs, technical drawings) 

Yellow Hat thinking is values & benefits thinking of why something will work.

This is important for “ethics” discussions in textile production.

In design, the idea may be great but the execution needs tweaking (go back to green hat thinking). Such discussion is really the make-up of a process journal that would accompany the design and production of a garment in Home Economics.

TSF – Provides different frameworks to organise ideas for discussing the pro’s & con’s

Red Hat is the gut feelings – should last no more than 30 secs and could be described in words.

Examples – sticky notes with one or two words, may happen a few times in the whole process of problem solving eg after each wardrobe design, during production.

In a group, the feelings may be different so another hat may be involved to help resolve a decision.

Black Hat is caution thinking and considers the facts that don’t quite fit the situation or problems that need to be overcome to solve the issue.

Trialling and testing designs is one great way to use this type of thinking. Experimenting with different “techniques” in textile creation also raises problems that need to be considered and understood.

TSF – provides frameworks for collating this information for comparison

Pintrest also has great ideas of how teachers organise their room or have resources to facilitate these types of thinking. Here are some great ideas from pintrest I have pinned to my classroom ideas board.

Ideas include:

·      Organisation of tables

     Visual prompts with rules and routines for different tasks

 Thinking Skills Framework  visual prompts 
with sentence starts for assessment ideas (depending on the year level the support 
would be greater in the younger grades)

       

     

      Visual stimuli and activities to inspire creative thinking. I love this textile wall which would be a great group activity outside the Home Economics room.

 Specifically  identifying the types of thinking and embed it in everyday class life. This is great for developing the concept and helping students link types of thinking with a specific purpose.


Paper and Web 2 tools for engaging the skills eg blogs for sharing opinions or information about a group task

 Organising thoughts and conclusions about content presented in a teenage relevant way!

Individual and group work areas in the classroom

·      

·