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Assessment Notification and Cover Sheet

Stage 6 Year 12 : Modern History Notification of Assessment

Topic: Power and Authority in the Date: Term 3, Weight:
Modern World 1919-1946 Week 10 25%
Take home assignment task: Historical Investigation and Source Analysis

“The terrible thing is that Hitler's enemies know him better than anybody, and the press –
which is of course wholly in Jewish hands – has defamed and ridiculed the man. An old
trick: first a deathly silence, then scorn, then all-out war – and then annexation. (There are
Jewish firms that manufacture swastikas” ― David Irving

‘’I don't think there was any overall Reich policy to kill the Jews. If there was, they would have
been killed and there would not be now so many millions of survivors. And believe me, I am glad
for every survivor that there was’’ – David Irving

Task descriptor:
For this task you are to imagine you have been employed by the, ‘International
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), an international government body
committed to the remembrance, education, research and awareness of the Holocaust.
The role of the IHRA is to combat and negate all forms of Holocaust Denial. You are
required to contribute to a digital archive which addresses the denial by focusing on
the historical evidence which uphold the nature of the Nazi regime, prominent
individuals in the Nazi state, the methods of control (the final solution) and the
impact of the regime on a variety of social roles in society.

You are required to research ‘David Irving’ as this will support your understanding
and background knowledge on why IHRA has a significant role in historical
narratives. You must briefly make reference to David Irving and his role in Holocaust
Denial.

 You are to research, investigate and select a minimum of 7 sources, both

primary and secondary to provide evidence for the nature of the Nazi Regime
 You must extensively annotate these sources and emphasise on why you have
selected them to refute Holocaust denial
 Make reference to the quotes by Irving and support your claims thoroughly
 Remember your role in the IHRA and think about what perspective you will
take on your research (empathetic, historical, a family member of a survivor
etc)
 Provide brief information on your role and Hitler’s rise in Nazi Germany
 Submit a 400 word personal response to Irving’s Claims
 Attach a bibliography acknowledging sources

You are to choose from these three options to conduct this assessment:

Choose the one which you feel most confident in and allows you to demonstrate
your knowledge, ability and creativity.
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Option A: Google Site

 Create a Google site
 Customise headings to address the aspects of the Nazi regime which this
assignment requires
 Include pictures, text, sources etc .
Submission details: Submit your reflection with a direct URL to your teacher on
the submission date

Option B: Podcast
 You are to utilise a recording device or app to create a series of podcasts
 Your podcasts must be a minimum of 10 minutes
 Make reference to both primary and secondary sources through discussion
Submission details: Submit your reflection with a USB containing all labelled
podcasts on the submission day

Option C: Essay
 Complete the required task in essay form of 1500 words
 Do not forget your role in the IHRA
Submission details: Submit your reflection with your essay on submission date
Submission Instructions
o Comply with the submission details relevant to your choice
o Submit on the date specified by your teacher
o Penalty for non-attendance unless a medical certificate is provided
o 10% penalty will be imposed for every day that the assessment is
submitted late
o PLAGARISM is a form of academic misconduct and will result in a mark
of 0

Outcomes assessed:
 Accounts for the nature of continuity and change in the modern world MH12-1
 Proposes arguments about the varying causes and effects of events and
developments MH12-2
 Evaluates the role of historical features, individuals, groups and ideas in
shaping the past MH12-3
 Analyses the different perspectives of individuals and groups in their
historical context MH12-4
 Assesses the significance of historical features, people, ideas, movements,
events and developments in the modern world MH12-5
 Analyses and interprets different types of sources for evidence to support an
historical account or argument MH12-6
 Discusses and evaluates differing interpretations and representations of the
past MH12-7
 Plans and conducts historical investigations and presents reasoned
conclusions, using relevant evidence from a range of sources MH12-9
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 Communicates historical understanding, using historical knowledge, concepts

and terms, in appropriate and well-structured forms MH 12-9

Student confirmation
By submitting my assessment task for marking, I acknowledge the following:
1. The work I have submitted is my own and is original, I have utilised sources
and information all which have been acknowledged in my bibliography.
2. In the case that I have plagiarised and the work is evidently not my own, I will
receive the penalty for plagiarism.
3. I will retain a copy of this assignment if the original is lost or stolen.
4. I have completed this assessment to the best of my ability.

Name: _________________________________ Date ___/___/___ Signature: _____________________

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Assignment tips and tricks

o This assignment is asking you to think about the facts, knowledge and sources
we have and know of that disprove David Irving’s holocaust denial claims

o We unquestionably know that the holocaust occurred and we know this through
survival stories, primary sources, secondary sources and remaining evidence of
the ‘final solution’

Syllabus content
o Think about the political context during the interwar period which enabled the
dictator Hitler to rise to power

o The consolidation of the Nazi power from 1933-1934

o The nature of the Nazi ideology

o Important individuals in the Nazi state

o Evidence of the various methods used by the Nazi regime (propaganda, cult of
personality, terror etc. )

o The short and long term effects of the Nazi regime (men, women, youth, Jews)
and the eye witness accounts of survivors

o Evidence of opposition and resistance

Analysing sources
1. Your job is to select sources which capture an aspect of the Holocaust which you
are using to disprove Irving’s claim
Example: Using an image of the gas cans utilised to eliminate all Jews will enable
you to discuss the methods utilised and support your argument that a genocide
did occur

2. Question the reliability and validity of the source. Where was this source found?
Is it an original source or a replica? Is it an artist impression?

3. What do you see in the source? Who is in it or what is the object? Why is this
source important and what does it demonstrate?

4. Where was the source found? If there are citizens in an image, where are they
standing?

5. How might this source support your historical argument?

6. What type of source is it? What might the source be about? What could be the
message of the source?
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Creating a Google Site

https://sites.google.com/new

1. Create a google account and log in to the site

2. On the bottom right of the new project page, there is a plus button
which you must click on to create a new website

OR

3. Begin from Google Drive, click on NEW, and then click Google Sites

4. To change your page header, click on the text box and alter the text as
needed. The blue circles on the text box are used to adjust the width of the
text box

5. To add text click on the TEXT button in the top right corner or double
click anywhere on the canvas

6. To add images you can either drag an image from your desktop
straight to the canvas or drag an image from google onto the canvas

7. You need to adjust the sharing permissions on the site from private
to public so you are able to add any documents, websites, videos etc

8. You can also add Google docs this way

9. You must then publish your website

10. Click on the publish button in the top left and generate a unique URL

11. Keep track of this URL as this is what you will share with your
teacher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w05NIgHNzWs
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Assignment 2: Stage 6 school-based assessment task

Evaluate the importance of assessment and approaches to feedback and assessment

design that will inform your practice in your teaching area
The flawed and complex high stakes testing system, the ‘Higher School Certificate’ (HSC)
is an Australian educational rites of passage which provides students with an Australian
tertiary admission rank (ATAR). However, the scrutiny of this system reveals that it is
not one which prioritises learning and student-wellbeing as it is funded and enthused
by an industry within the educational system, Board of Studies. It does not authentically
capture the aptitude and understanding of student learning as it produces significant
levels of student anxiety and stress as there are both incentives and long-term effects at
stake. The HSC overlooks the systems of inequality which exist within it which influence
the ATAR of students such as the socio-economic homogenous grouping of educators
and resource accessibility. The reliability, validity and impact of the HSC high stakes
testing system necessities the need for evaluation and assessment as it will inform and
shape the history teaching practice.

The HSC is highly esteemed by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) as they
assert that it, ‘’caters to students with a diverse range of abilities, backgrounds and
goals’’ , although it is a form of standardised testing through its newly introduced
‘minimum standards’ (NESA,2018, p.1). The minimum standard introduced in 2018 and
to be implemented in 2020 requires learners to partake in a series of online tests for
numeracy ,literacy and reading which will enable them to achieve a HSC and ATAR. The
NSW minister for education, Mr Stokes, asserts that there will be ‘’no new tests’’ and
‘’there have always been tests in schools’’, however, this alludes to the privation of
empathetic understanding and emotional intelligence which continues to impact the
wellbeing of learners within the education system (NESA, 2018, p.1). The ‘minimum
standard’ online examination and the series of other exams which students are
required to partake in are the core of the problem as they establish ‘’competitive
benchmarks’’ for students to achieve or they are otherwise limited by their educational
opportunities (Smith & Sinclair, 2000, p.67). Student performance is determined by a
range of contextual factors, therefore, the results and outcome on any given day cannot
capture their true abilities. The prevailing misconception is that testing is the concern,
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however, it is the forms and conditions which students are assessed under which
impact student-outcomes, teacher wellbeing and student wellness (Smith & Sinclair,
2000). The introduction of minimum standards is another form of withholding tertiary
and career opportunities from students experiencing immense pressures.

Academic success and achievement is evidently dependent on the personal motivation

of the learner as it is a driving force in excelling or achieving a particular goal (Smith &
Sinclair, 2000). Smith & Sinclair state ,‘’ a student undertaking HSC, for example, will
engage in activities associated with the HSC to the extent of their personal motivation to
do so ‘’, however ,students cannot be personally motivated as the opportunity to make
choices for their own learning are limited (p.68). The HSC requires students to
undertake 10 units which is equivalent to five or more subjects in which they choose
from a pre-specified list that the school has made available. The HSC therefore operates
and symbolises a ‘disciplinary technology’ as it ,‘’functions as a training and coercive
technique of power’’ through hierarchical observation, control, limitations, judgement
and examination (Rossler, 2002,p.93). This is evident with the history teaching area as
students are under surveillance for two years during their school assessment tasks in
which they must then undertake a formal examination which filters those who are
unsuccessful in exam conditions, and rewards those who have the ability to memorise
and regurgitate information. The system privileges those that have the ability to
persevere through a system which pre-determines their learning choices and interests,
and is void of autonomy (Rossler, 2002). Providing learners with the choice to explore
their interests, decide on subjects and be provided the opportunity to study them in-
depth, can influence the outcomes of high stake testing and the HSC. It will also provide
students the opportunity to demonstrate their strengths, skills and knowledge
(McGraw, 2005).

The HSC ‘disciplinary technology’ is a paradigm for an increase in the number of

students who will experience stress and anxiety due to the pressures to perform in key
subjects which have no significant relevance to their lives or career goals. This pressure
can be from external factors such as family, school or internally due to the fear of not
successfully succeeding in a high take exam which their future depends on (Smith &
Sinclair, 2000). This in-turn enables , ‘’negative emotions and thoughts, and physical
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symptoms’’ which ,‘’can act as a demotivator for a student studying for the HSC’’ as they
can intercede students personal goals and their academic performance on the day of
exams (Smith & Sinclair, 2000). The HSC is not an accurate and reliable measure of
student strengths, understanding and knowledge as assessing students through
competitive performances, results in negative cognitions which can have debilitative
effects and hinder career opportunities (Obrien & Wright, 2007). High stake exams are
a ‘performance goal orientation’ as students emphasise on their performance outcomes
and results in comparison to their peers. Performance goals are often associated with,
‘’fear of failure, low expectancies of competence and poor performance’’ (Smith &
Sinclair, 2000, p. 68). The HSC negates the value and process of learning, academic self-
confidence and teacher pupil relations which educators strive to embed within their
students throughout their schooling life. It is a hierarchical system which ‘filters’ the fit
and disadvantages those who need alternative assessments to express their
understanding or conditions to succeed.

High-stakes testing has evidently jeopardised the learning and educational experiences
of students which not only impacts their self-esteem, but the development of skills and
literacies which will allow them to fuse into the modern world. The HSC and high-stakes
testing furthermore impacts the pedagogy of teachers as it encourages, ‘’methods of
teaching that promote shallow and superficial learning rather than deep conceptual
understanding and the kinds of complex knowledge and skills needed to succeed’’
(Polesel, Rice, & Dulfer, 2013, p.642). Teachers also experience the internal and
external pressures experienced by their students as they are required to transmit
content effectively and hastily to ensure students are prepared for their exams and they
have fulfilled all syllabus outcomes (McGraw, 2005). This impacts their instructional
approaches, assessment design and feedback processes as Polesel et al., (2013)
proclaims that teachers have retrieved to ‘teacher-centred’ approaches with minimal
creativity and they are not able to link content beyond the school. This de-skilling of
teachers transforms teachers into, ‘’technicians obliged to deliver a prescribed and
narrow product into which they have had little input’’, and diminishes teacher
professionalism as they teach to the test (Polesel et al., 2013, p.643).
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Teachers experience immense pressures to ‘perform’ and fear that their students
outcomes will become a reflection of their teaching practice although the students
themselves experience exam anxieties (Smith & Sinclair, 2000). The HSC also reveals a
complex socio-economic dimension as the distribution of teachers into specific
locations will also influence the learning and HSC exam outcomes for students.
Learners within a high SES area generally ensured quality experienced educators who
have access to a range of resources and support within the school and community
(Smith & Sinclair, 2000). The culture which exists within schools and is created by
teachers can also increase the stress levels which students experience as a former
teacher recounts her experience of this and states ‘’in creating a culture of excellence
and pushing students towards best possible HSC results, were we creating
unnecessarily high stress levels in the way we approached assessments and exam
preparation’’ (Obrien & Wright, 2007, p.34). NESA cannot measure the HSC culture,
pressures and support within every individual school, therefore, there is no real
measure in assessing the inequities or advantages that exist within every school which
in turn effect student results. Therefore, the HSC is an invalid and prejudicial system
which cannot truly capture the essence of a student’s learning and a teachers efforts due
to the complexities and stress tenors that exist within it.

As demonstrated, it is necessary for NESA to reform educational high-stakes testing,

standardised testing and the HSC to improve outcomes for both teachers and students.
When students undertake examinations while experiencing negative cognitions and
mental states, they are not able to perform to their best ability or demonstrate their
thorough understanding. This defeats the purpose of assessment and privileges
students who preserve through an unequal and unauthentic system. Students need to
be provided the opportunity to demonstrate their learning in a way which is relevant to
them, specifically within high-stakes testing as these examinations have the ability to
withhold educational opportunities and limit their future possibilities. Education and
learning is the most powerful asset for any child who will enter the modern world,
however testing focuses on the product instead of the process of learning which defeats
educational value.
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References
McGraw, Kelli. (2005). HSC English in the Media: The Reporting of Conventions

and Controversies. English in Australia, (143), 27-35. <https://search-

informit-com-

au.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=003819166321096;res=IELAPA

> ISSN: 0155-2147

NSW Education Standards Authority. (2018). About the HSC. Retrieved from

http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/about-

HSC

O’brien, T., & Wright, K. (2007). Helping students with HSC stress and distress.

Australian Educational Leader, 29(2), 32-35. Retrieved from <https://search-

informit-com-

au.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=751378695936985;res=IELHS>

ISSN: 1832-8245

Polesel, J., Rice, S., & Dulfer, N. (2013). The impact of high-stakes testing on

curriculum and pedagogy: A teacher perspective from Australia. Journal of

Education Policy, 29(5), 1-18.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2013.865082

Rosser, G (2002). Examining HSC questions and answers. Change: Transformations

in Education, 5(2), 91-109. Retrieved from

https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/4485/1/Vol5No2Article7.

pdf

Smith, L., & Sinclair, E. (2000). Transforming the HSC : Affective

implications. Change : Transformations in Education, 3(2), 67-79. Retrieved

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from https://search-informit-com-

au.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/fullText;dn=107015;res=AEIPT