Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Task #1

Clara Dziedziczak 18319297

Designing Teaching and Learning – Assessment Task #1

Part A – COMPREHENSION OF FOUNDATION CONCEPTS (1000 WORDS)

Teachers are entrusted with the important task of passing on knowledge and skills to
adolescents throughout their time at school. This essay will explore a variety of foundational
concepts that are a crucial part of the daily work of Australian teachers, including teacher
professionalism, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. There are a number of features in
the Australia education landscape that shape the way in which teachers carry out their
work. Teachers need to be aware of the different complexities that arise from these
features when teaching and incorporate them in their day to day work to maximise student
learning.

The teaching profession is a dynamic environment influenced by a whole range of different

factors including the government and various regulatory bodies. There is a requirement that
as professionals, teachers must meet particular standards to ensure that a high quality
education is provided to all students. The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
[hereafter referred to as The Standards] are a set of comprehensive professional standards
produced by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL]. AITSL are
the national regulatory body that are responsible for directing professional development for
all teachers in Australia (Clarke and Pittaway, 2014). The Standards detail what teachers
should know and what they should be able to do, and are grouped into three fields:
Professional knowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement (AITSL, 2014).
The Standards are all interconnected with one another and teaching practice draws from
parts all of these three fields.

These professional standards ensure that teachers at different stages of their career are
maximising the impact that they have for all students, and play a very important role in
professional development and career progression (AITSL, 2014). The Standards for teachers
are a valuable tool, set out in such a way to be user friendly and comprehensive in its
content (Clarke and Pittaway, 2014). These standards are beneficial in assessing graduate
teachers, ensuring that they are meeting these standards prior to being registered as
teachers, as well as for established teachers and their ongoing professional development
(Nelson, 2013). It is important that teachers continue to learn throughout their careers to
adapt to the ever changing educational climate.

The term “curriculum” can have a variety of different meanings depending on the context.
Within the schooling environment, curriculum can refer to not only what is taught at school,
but also to a set of subjects, the content, what is planned by the school or a set of materials
or resources as well as a variety of other things (Clarke and Pittaway, 2014). The curriculum
is a central part of what schools do, and requires teachers to plan and organise what they

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 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Task #1
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are going to teach and how they are going to do so. There are different parts to the
curriculum and how it is taught; it is not just the syllabus and the content that is taught to
students that teachers need to account for.

In 2012, The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]

implemented The Australian Curriculum (Clarke and Pittaway, 2014). The implementation of
the Australian Curriculum sets expectations for what all students in Australia should be
taught and hopes to bring all states into alignment in terms of educational attainment as
well challenging all students to achieve to a high level (ACARA, 2016). The Australian
Curriculum is beneficial in the way that it sets out what all students should be taught
regardless of where they live and aims to ensure curriculum consistency between the states
and territories (Atweh and Singh, 2011).There are a variety of different views on the
implementation of a national curriculum both positive and negative. Atweh and Singh
(2011) discuss how issues of inequality and student engagement remain unresolved through
the implementation of a national curriculum, which is a continuing challenge for classroom
teachers to try and address.

Pedagogy encompasses many different meanings and perspectives that all relate to the
practice of teaching and learning (Clarke and Pittaway, 2014). It is important that teachers
not only understand and know the content they are teaching, but also how they teach it.
Effective pedagogy includes having a deep understanding of the content being taught, how
to transfer these skills and the needs of the students they are teaching. The New South
Wales Quality Teaching Model provides a framework for pedagogical excellence. It
encompasses 18 different elements in three different aspects: intellectual quality, quality
learning environment and significance. This model is used to support teacher professional
learning and to ensure that teachers are teaching to a high standard. Gore (2007) states
that The NSW Quality Teaching Model “respects and builds on what teachers already know
and do” (pg. 30), it is intended to aid teachers in developing their own knowledge and skills
to challenge and improve their own practice.

Assessment is a way of gathering information about a student’s performance and is a huge

part of what teachers do on a daily basis. Assessment is important in establishing what
students have learnt, motivating students and evaluating a teacher’s effectiveness (Clarke
and Pittaway, 2014). Assessment can take on a variety of different forms and may be
informal or formal depending on what is being evaluated. Assessments allow teachers to
gauge where each of their students are at. The National Assessment Program Literacy and
Numeracy [NAPLAN] has been implemented as a national standardised test to assess how
students across Australia are performing in literacy and numeracy. The effectiveness of
NAPLAN is a widely debated issue. Belcastro and Boon (2012) state that criticisms of
NAPLAN range from teachers trying to teach to the test, de-skilling of teachers, added stress
and anxiety among students and how the results are interpreted.

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 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Task #1
Clara Dziedziczak 18319297

In summary, there are a variety of different concepts that teachers need to address in their
day to day roles. Teaching is a dynamic environment, widely influenced by a multitude of
different factors. There is a need for teachers to be engaging in best practice methods to
effectively teach students to obtain the best outcomes from them. Features of the
education landscape such as The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and the
NSW Quality teaching model are some examples of effective ways of ensuring that teachers
are providing the best teaching to the students they teach.

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 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Task #1
Clara Dziedziczak 18319297
Part B - INTEGRATION AND APPLICATION OF FOUNDATION CONCEPTS (1000 WORDS) –
Gifted and Talented Students

One of the most important aspects of a teacher’s role is to know the students that they are
teaching. Every student will have a variety of different learning needs, and teachers need to
cater for these needs when designing teaching programs. Gifted and talented students
present with unique learning needs that if left unaddressed may have devastating impacts
on their learning and future successes (Fraser-Seeto, 2013). It is important for teachers to
be aware of the diverse needs that different students have, and how they are able to cater
for these needs. This essay will explore the interrelationship between curriculum, pedagogy
and assessment and how these factors of teaching can be differentiated for students of
different abilities, particularly for gifted and talented students.

Every student has a variety of strengths, interests and weaknesses and there is a great
challenge for teachers to cater for all these diverse needs and abilities (Clarke and Pittaway,
2014). Teachers need to be able to identify and value each student’s abilities, interests and
needs so that they can provide an effective environment that fosters learning. Gifted
students are those with intelligence well above the average, higher motivation to achieve in
particular areas and a high degree of creativity (Blaas, 2014; Clarke and Pittaway, 2014).
Teachers can play an important role in developing or hindering the outcomes of gifted and
talented students (Fraser-Seeto, 2013). Blaas (2014) suggests that gifted and talented
students are a “diverse minority group with high intelligence and talent whose needs are
often unrecognised and unmet”. It is important that teachers are aware of the broad range
of characteristics that gifted and talented students can present with to identify those
particular students. It is vital to note that not all gifted and talented students will present
same characteristics as one another and this means they will have a wide range of cognitive
and emotional and social needs (Fraser-Seeto, 2013).

Gifted and talented students have particular learning needs which will influence what the
students are taught, how they learn, how they demonstrate their learning and the learning
environment (Education Services, 2016). These students may require adjustments to be
made to the content they are learning to make it more challenging or varied so that they do
not risk becoming bored or disengaged and that they may further develop their skills (Reid
2011). The social and emotional needs of these gifted and talented students are also a
challenge that teachers need to address. Blaas (2014) believes that a student’s social and
emotional wellbeing has a significant impact on their success in school. Blaas also points out
that due to some of the inherent characteristics of gifted and talented students, they are at
an increased risk of underachievement and social and emotional difficulties (Blaas 2014).
Gifted and talented students are often perfectionists, sensitive and may also experience
isolation from their peers of the same age (Bartley 2014). Teachers need to be aware of

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these social and emotional needs of their students so they can appropriately encourage
them and help them to achieve to their full potential.

Unfortunately, a lot of research has shown devastating effects for those gifted and talented
students whose needs are not adequately addressed. These effects can include
underachievement, dropping out of school, disengagement, boredom and psychological
stress (Blaas, 2014; Fraser-Seeto, 2013). These negative impacts can have a huge impact on
student’s self-efficacy and self-confidence which may impact on their future attitudes
towards learning (Reid, 2011; Blaas, 2014).

To adequately cater for the needs of gifted and talented students, it is firstly important
know the particular needs of each student that has been identified, so that teachers may
differentiate parts of the curriculum. This requires teachers to have both a high level of
understanding and knowledge of their students together with means of identifying gifted
and talented students (Reid, 2011). Standard 1.5 of The Australian Professional Standards
for Teachers, details that teachers are to “differentiate teaching to meet the specific
learning needs of students across the full range of abilities” (AITSL, 2014). This calls teachers
to modify not only the content that is taught, but also the learning environment for students
(Fraser-Seeto, 2013). This presents a challenge for teachers as there is only a limited amount
of time in classrooms and there will be a multitude of different learners in each class. Many
schools have gifted and talented programs, or classes grouped by ability that enable gifted
and talented to be supported in a different environment to a regular classroom (Bartley,
2014).

It is important for teachers as well as pre-service teachers, to be engaging in ongoing

professional development. Standard 6 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
relates to a teachers Professional development to improve practice and apply these skills to
improve student learning (AITSL, 2014; Bartley, 2014). It is crucial that teachers are
responsive to the changing demands of teaching and to work together to collaboratively
improve their practice. Fraser-Seeto (2013) states that “teaching gifted and talented
students requires alternate competencies and pedagogical skills to regular classroom
practice”, these skills are not often taught in pre-service teacher education (pg. 34). Thus
professional development plays a crucial role in improving a teacher’s pedagogy towards
teaching gifted and talented students. As teachers progress through their careers they are
able to share knowledge and skills with their colleagues to improve their practice.
Assessment plays an important role in evaluating student performance and accounting for
what students have learnt. Standard 5 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
outlines the different forms of assessment that can be used to assess student learning
(AITSL, 2014). Teachers need to be aware and employ different forms of assessment to
appropriately gauge the learning of all students, noting that not all students will perform

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 Designing Teaching and Learning Assessment Task #1
Clara Dziedziczak 18319297
well in all types of assessment. Some gifted and talented students may be more proficient in
some areas and less in others.

As educators it is vital that all students have the opportunity to be challenged and be
provided with the support and that they need to succeed. Teachers have the responsibility
to identify the learning needs of different students and devise strategies to cater for all
students abilities (Reid, 2011). This is particularly true for gifted and talented students who
require challenges and differences in the way that they are taught so they do not become
disengaged and fail to perform to their full potential. Teachers need to be able to modify
their teaching to address the full range of student abilities to maximise student learning.

References
Atweh, B., & Singh, P. (2011). The Australian curriculum: Continuing the national
conversation. Australian Journal of Education, 55(3), 189–196.
doi:10.1177/000494411105500302

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA]. (2016). Curriculum. Retrieved
from http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum

Australian Institute forTeaching and School Leadership [AITSL]. (2014). Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-
standards-for-teachers/standards/list

Bartley, V. (2014). Educators’ Attitudes Towards Gifted Students and Their Education in a Regional
Queensland School. TalentEd, 28, 24–31. Retrieved from
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Belcastro, L., & Boon, H. (2012). Student Motivation for NAPLAN Ttests. Australian and International
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Gifted Students. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling,24(02), 243–255.
doi:10.1017/jgc.2014.1

Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh’s Becoming a Teacher (6th ed.). Australia: Pearson
Education Australia.

Education Services. (2016). Student Diversity. Retrieved from

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/studentdiversity/who-are-gifted-and-talented-
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Fraser-Seeto, K. (2013). Pre-service Teacher Training in Gifted and Talented Education: An Australian
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from http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/

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Gore, J. (2007). Improving Pedagogy. In J. Butcher & L. McDonald (Eds.), Making a Difference:
Challenges for Teachers, Teaching and Teacher Education (pp. 15–33). Rotterdam,
Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Nelson, J. (2013). The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Are They the Best
Drivers? Australian Educational Leader, 35(4), 21–23. Retrieved from
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NSW Department of Education and Training, Professional Learning and Leadership Development
Directorate. (2008). Quality Teaching to Support the NSW Professional Teaching Standards.
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ng%20Framework.pdf

Reid, M. (2011). Teaching Implications of Gifted and Talented Learners Within the Mainstream
Classroom. Journal of Student Engagement: Education matters, 1(1), 29–32. Retrieved from
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