Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning

Student ID- 18606762

Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

Tayla Nicholls
18606762
Bin Liner Lesson Plan
Analysis, Revision and
Justification

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

QT Analysis

1 Intellectual quality
1.1 Deep knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 5 of the deep knowledge element requires a sustained focus on specific ideas or concepts
that are highly relevant to the overall topic or KLA. The lesson focuses on key ideas of waste
management and the usage of high-density polyethylene, and the concept of sustainability.
1.2 Deep understanding
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 5 of the deep understanding element requires most students to demonstrate a deep
understanding of content throughout the entirety of the lesson through arguments, reasoning, and
information. Students constantly use arguments, reasoning and information in all activities, such as
the think, pair, shares, cause and effect map, and the creation of the bin liners, and clearly
understanding subject specific terminology such as high-density polyethylene when creating their
arguments.
`1.3 Problematic knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 2 of the problematic knowledge element states that within the lesson, there is some
knowledge that is explored as being of multiple perspectives. Students only explore that some
knowledge is open to multiple perspectives, such as the positives and negatives of plastic bag
consumption, as well as there being multiple perspectives of making bin liners that are not made
out of plastic.
1.4 Higher-order thinking
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 4 of the higher-order thinking element requires most of the students to engage in higher-order
thinking through the manipulation of ideas and information in at least one activity. Students
demonstrate higher-order thinking in at least one major activity, including the modification of the
bin liners through problem solving to reach an appropriate design, and the cause and effect map
which requires the students to combine and synthesise ideas.
1.5 Metalanguage
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 1 of the metalanguage element states that there is no metalanguage present in the lesson.
There is no metalanguage or discussion about the language used throughout the lesson and as a
result, this element needs improvement.
1.6 Substantive communication
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 4 of the substantive communication element requires teacher and student interactions for at
least half of the lesson. Substantive communication took place for most of the lesson in activities
such as: students presenting their bin liners to the class, students providing their own examples of
effects of plastic bags, students discussing the work in pairs as they fill out the worksheets, and the
teacher conversing with pairs of students at various stages in their pair activities.
Quality learning environment
2.1 Explicit quality criteria
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 1 of the explicit quality criteria element states that there is no explicit quality criteria
presented to students, only procedural and technical criteria. In the lesson, no explicit quality criteria
is discussed to the students and this needs to be improved by providing students with success criteria
at the beginning of the lesson.

2.2 Engagement
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 4 of the engagement element requires the majority of the lesson to be engaging for most of
the students. Most of the students, besides a few, appear engaged through looking and listening to

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

the teacher without disruption, as well as the completion of work and many students having their
hands up to answer questions, particularly during the effects brainstorm.
2.3 High expectations
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 4 of the high expectations element requires most students to be encouraged to take learning
risks and engage in challenging work throughout most of the lesson. The students engage in
challenging work when they are required to modify the bin liners and brainstorm effects of plastic
bag usage.
2.4 Social support
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 3 of the social support element states that there is a neutral level of social support and this is
mostly directed at students who are most engaged. The lesson does not show the teacher providing
positive support to students at the back of the classroom who appear reluctant; rather, the support
is directed to the students who are highly engaged by the teacher saying “thank you” and “well
done”.
2.5 Students’ self-regulation
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 5 of the students’ self-regulation element requires all students to show autonomy and that
they can regulate their behaviour. The teacher did not have to discipline students because students
showed autonomy and regulated their own behaviour throughout the entire lesson.
2.6 Student direction
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 2 of the student direction element states that student direction is low and there is minimal
student control over an aspect of the lesson. There is improvement needed as apart from the
modification of the bin liners where students could choose how they wanted to change the design,
all aspects of the lesson were chosen by the teacher and there was no negotiation among the teacher
and students regarding the learning activities.
3 Significance
3.1 Background knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 5 of the background knowledge element requires the lesson to incorporate students’
background knowledge and a connection to out-of-school knowledge. The lesson is about waste
management, a part of students’ everyday lives, and during the lesson, the teacher asks students to
write down reasons why Australia uses so many plastic bags and their effects on the environment.
3.2 Cultural knowledge
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 1 of cultural knowledge states that there is no recognition of other cultures other than the
dominant culture. There is improvement needed as there was only acknowledgement of waste
management and plastic bag usage specifically in Australia, whereas students could be looking at
global waste management strategies and countries that have banned single-use plastics.
3.3 Knowledge integration
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – Comments:
5 Level 3 of the knowledge integration element states that in the lesson, there is a minimum of one
connection between topics/subject areas. In the lesson there is a connection between the topics of
sustainability and climate change.

3.4 Inclusivity
1–2–3–4– Comments:
5 Level 2 of the inclusivity element states that there is exclusion of some students in the lesson apart
from inclusion in one or two activities. The lesson requires improvement as there are several
students at the back of the classroom that do not interact in class discussions and appear to be
excluded and off-task apart from the bin liner modification activity.
3.5 Connectedness

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

1–2–3–4– Comments:
5 Level 4 of the connectedness element requires the lesson to make connections between classroom
and out-of-classroom knowledge that highlights significance and create personal meaning,
including an attempt to interact with audiences inside and outside of school. There are connections
made between high-density polyethylene and plastic bag usage in students’ everyday lives,
particularly during the true/false activity and cause and effect activity, and there is an effort to
interact with audiences outside of school through the modified bin liner product that could be
marketed to communities as an alternative to plastic bag bin liners.
3.6 Narrative
1–2–3–4– Comments:
5 Level 1 of the narrative element states that there is no narrative used in the lesson, or that the
narratives used are irrelevant from the lesson. There has been no narrative used at all in the lesson
and improvement is needed by exposing students to narrative, for example, narrative regarding the
effect of plastic bags or climate change.

Identifying Areas for Improvement

Identify the four NSW QT model elements you are targeting for improvement.

QT model
1) Metalanguage 2) Explicit Quality Criteria
3) Cultural Knowledge 4) Narrative

Lesson Plan – Bin Liners

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

Syllabus: Science Stage: Stage 4 Topic: Earth and Space

Outcomes Assessment Students learn about Students learn to

SC4-13ES Explains how Informal formative ES3 Scientific knowledge Classify a range of the
advances in scientific assessment. influences the choices Earth’s resources as
understanding of people make in regard to renewable or non-
processes that occur the use and management renewable.
within and on the Earth of the Earth’s resources.
influence the choices Investigate some
people make about strategies used by people
resource use and to conserve and manage
management. non-renewable resources,
e.g. recycling and the
alternative use of natural
and made resources.

Note: Not all activities may be captured by the video. Assume they were covered by the teacher.

Time Teaching and Learning Actions

5 min Lesson Preliminaries/Administration
 Settle students into the classroom.
 Have the students sitting at group tables.
 Mark the roll.

10 mins Direct Instruction

 Welcome students and remind them of the topic.
 Provide students with learning intentions and success criteria for this lesson (simplified
from the above outcomes and students learn about and to) explaining what they are
going to be learning and how they are going to successfully demonstrate this learning.
Allow students to ask any questions they have regarding the success criteria.
o Learning intentions:
 Students learn to: identify the differences between renewable and non-
renewable resources, investigate waste-management and sustainability
strategies
 Students learn about: how people make choices in relation to renewable
and non-renewable resources based on scientific knowledge.
o Success criteria:
 successfully create a paper bin-liner by modifying an existing design to
make a bin liner that is either stronger, bigger, more reliable, sustainable,
creative, and similar in benefit to plastic bags.
 Introduce students to high density polyethylene as a non-renewable resource used to
make plastic bags. Provide students with a brief definition, its chemical properties, its
acronym (HDPE) and the common symbol used (recycling arrows with the number 2 and
HDPE inside). Answer any questions students have regarding HDPE. Also provide a
definition for non-renewable resources and state a few examples (e.g. fossil fuels).

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

 Key ideas for this lesson are cause and effect with questions being “why do we use so
many plastic bags in Australia?” and “what is the effect on the environment?”
 Another key idea is solutions with questions being “what have governments done to
solve problems caused by plastic bags?” and “what can citizens do to solve problems
caused by plastic bags?”
 Give overview of activity:
 Designing renewable alternatives to plastic bags using newspapers. Teacher will
show students a design and they will improve that design.
 Give overview of thinking tools to be used:
 Think-pair-share
 Kahoot quiz
 Cause-effect map
 Pros-Cons-Questions
 Inform students that they will also be watching a short YouTube mockumentary on plastic
bags and at the end of the lesson, they will also be research other countries’ waste
management strategies.
10 mins Think-Pair-Share Activity
 Give students true/false statements worksheet with questions like “the average plastic
bag is used for only 5 minutes but can take up to 1,000 years to break down in the
environment.”
 Students have 2 minutes to individually answer the questions (think).
 Students then have 1 minute to discuss their responses with the student sitting next to
them (pair).
 Teacher will then lead class discussion based on worksheets for 5 minutes (share).
5 mins Kahoot Activity
 Have students participate in an already prepared Kahoot quiz using their devices to test
their knowledge about plastic bags with true/false statements.
10 mins Cause-Effect Mapping Activity/ Bubbl.us Mind Map
 Give students cause-effect map worksheets.
 Students have 2 minutes to think of as many reasons for why we use so many plastic
bags in Australia.
 Go around the class to check student understanding. Highlight the link between the
causes identified and the production of high-density polyethylene bags.
 Students have 2 minutes to list as many sub-effects of the production and use of plastic
bags. Circulate to assist students.
 Teacher creates a bubbl.us mind map and notes down the environmental effects
identified by students in a class discussion. Students can be given a print-out of this in
the next lesson or can be provided the link for future reference.
 Teacher leads brief class discussion to summarise the environmental effects identified by
the students.
5 mins YouTube Video and Discussion- The Majestic Plastic Bag
 Teacher to play The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary YouTube video to students.
(4 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgh9h2ePYw
 Teacher leads a brief class discussion where students will discuss what effects of plastic
bag usage are shown in the video and how the journey of the plastic bag in the video
demonstrates the harmful effect of plastic bags on the environment.

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

5 mins Direct Instruction

 Teacher to show students how to construct a biodegradable bin liner by folding 4 sheets
of newspaper. The bin liner will fit into the teacher’s waste-paper basket.
5 mins Pros-Cons Activity
 Teacher invites students to highlight the pros and cons of the biodegradable bin liners.
15 mins Student-Centred Activity
 Students to identify ways to improve the bin liners using the MAS sheet by discussing in
groups. Teacher to circulate and ensure students are all providing ideas.
 Students to work in pairs groups to refine the newspaper bin liners. Circulate around the
room to assist students.
 Students demonstrate their improved designs to the teacher, using the teacher’s waste
paper basket as a test.
 Teacher to encourage peer support during demonstrations. Peers to peer-mark students
based on the success criteria given at the beginning of the lesson.
 Students to work in pairs or individually and use their devices to research waste
management strategies implemented by other countries. E.g. the banning of single-use
plastics.
 Summarise and close the lesson.
 Exit slip: On the way out of the classroom, students are to identify one global waste
management strategy that they found.

How am I measuring the outcomes of this lesson?

Learning Outcome Method of measurement and recording

SC4-13ES Informal questioning of student understanding as the lesson
progresses.

Justification

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

The analysis of the bin-liner lesson in relation to the NSW Quality Teaching (QT) model

identified metalanguage, explicit quality criteria, cultural knowledge, and narrative as the

elements requiring improvement, all coded at a level 1. Metalanguage was added into the

lesson by conducting a “mini-lesson” on the terms high density polyethylene and non-

renewable resources. The explicit quality criteria element was addressed by giving students

learning intentions and success criteria. The cultural knowledge element was modified in the

lesson by getting students to research other countries’ waste management strategies. Lastly,

the narrative element was improved by getting students to watch and discuss a YouTube

mockumentary on plastic bags. Additional modifications were made to enhance the quality of

the learning and reflect knowledge of best practice, including information communication

technology usage, and group work.

The metalanguage element was improved in the lesson by including a “mini-lesson” on the

terms high density polyethylene and non-renewable resource. As a result, this element could

be re-coded at a level 3 because there is now “some use of metalanguage” (NSW Department

of Education and Training, 2006, p.57) at the beginning of the lesson as there is a “mini-

lesson” on language. However, the element could still be improved so that metalanguage is

addressed throughout various points of the lesson. Although, this is difficult due to time

constraints.

To address the improvement needed in the explicit quality criteria element, learning

intentions and success criteria were added to the beginning of the lesson, with students using

these criteria to peer-assess the bin liners. The modifications could change the coding to a

level 4, because the lesson now has “detailed criteria regarding the quality of work” (NSW

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

Department of Education and Training, 2006, p.58), and students “examining the quality of

their work in relation to these criteria.” (pg. 58). Incorporating explicit quality criteria is also

evidence of best practice, as learning intentions and success criteria are “important features of

[assessment for learning]” (Crichton & McDaid, 2016, p. 193), and are said by students to be

useful in helping them prepare for exams (Crichton & McDaid, 2016, p. 197). In addition,

success criteria promote “greater learner autonomy” (Crichton & McDaid, 2016, p. 193),

which also would improve the students’ self-regulation element of the QT model.

The cultural knowledge element was improved in the lesson plan by having students research

other countries’ waste management strategies. However, depending on the individual

research produced by students, the coding would most likely only progress to a level 2 or 3

because there is only some cultural knowledge. In the modification of this element, the use of

ICT was also added. Although this is not a requirement of the QT model, it could very much

be a subject of review as ICT increases student motivation and engagement, as well as

“facilitates differentiation and individualization in education” (Heemskerk, Brink, Volman, &

Dam, 2005, p.1). However, as argued by Heemskerk et al. (2005), there is little evidence to

suggest “that ICT improves learning and learning results” (pg. 1). Nevertheless, incorporating

ICT in the classroom is a general capability of the Australian national curriculum that all

teachers are required to demonstrate.

The narrative element was improved in the lesson by having students watch a YouTube

mockumentary on plastic bags. A YouTube video was selected for this modification to again

incorporate the ICT general capability. In addition, ICT, particularly visual aids “greatly

enhance the learning experience (NCET, as cited in Kauts & Gupta, 2013, p. 49) as they can

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

much better explore difficult topics. Furthermore, research has found that “the video lesson

has been found to be more effective than printed lesson” (Muchal, as cited in Kauts & Gupta,

2013, p. 49).However, this activity would only most likely change the coding of the element

to a level 2, as narrative would only be used in the lesson in this one instance, and it is still

loosely connected.

ICT usage was further incorporated into the lesson through the Kahoot quiz which replaced

the true/false worksheet, as well as the bubbl.us mind map which replaced the class

discussion. This was done to encourage more engagement, as well as to cover the ICT

general capability. In addition, group work was used as it is a primary factor in constructivist

teaching, it was necessary to have the students work in groups to encourage a constructivist

teaching environment (Kim, 2005). Furthermore, group work enables students to work within

the Zone of Proximal development, a zone in which students can learn new information and

skills that they would be able to on their own (Wass & Golding, 2014). Overall, there was a

sound effort in the modifications, which aimed to address all four improvement areas coded

at a level 1. However, it is important to note that the QT model does not “say that absolutely

every lesson needs to be 'high' on every dimension.” (Ladwig, 2005, pg. 80), Therefore,

although the elements still need improvement, the coding of all were standard of a typical

lesson.

References

Page 10 of 12
 Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

Crichton, H., & McDaid, A. (2016) Learning intentions and success criteria: Learners' and teachers'

views, The curriculum journal, 27 (2), 190-203. doi: 10.1080/09585176.2015.1103278

Heemskerk, I., Brink, A., Volman, M., & Dam, G. T. (2005). Inclusiveness and ICT in education: A

focus on gender, ethnicity and social class. Journal of computer assisted learning, 21(1), 1-

16. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2005.00106.x

Kauts, A., & Gupta, S. (2013). Efficacy of ICT as a transactional pedagogical strategy in teaching of

science at secondary stage. Educational quest, 4(1), 49-56. Retrieved from https://search-

proquest-com.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/

Kim, J. S. (2005). The effects of a constructivist teaching approach on student academic

achievement, self-concept, and learning strategies. Asia pacific education review, 6(1), 7-19.

doi: https://doi-org.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/10.1007/BF03024963

Ladwig, J. G. (2005). Monitoring the quality of pedagogy. Leading and managing, 11(2), 70-83.

Retrieved from https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/search.

NSW Department of Education and Training. (2006). Quality teaching in NSW public schools: A

classroom practice guide [PDF file]. Retrieved from

https://app.education.nsw.gov.au/quality-teaching-

rounds/Assets/Classroom_Practice_Guide_ogogVUqQeB.pdf

Wass, R., & Golding, C. (2014). Sharpening a tool for teaching: The zone of proximal development.

Teaching in Higher Education, 19(6), 671-684. doi: 10.1080/13562517.2014.901958

Learning Portfolio

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Unit- Designing Teaching and Learning
Student ID- 18606762
Tutor- Kelly Parry
Tutorial- Tues 12pm

Link: http://tnicholls.weebly.com/

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