How to begin assignment 2
Step 1: Choose a curriculum area within which to develop a unit of work
You may develop a unit from scratch, or redesign an existing unit. The unit should be an extended inquiry over about 5-10 weeks.
I assume that many of you will choose a unit that you have taught or are planning to teach. However, if you’re not currently in a teaching context, or you need inspiration, check out the range of inquiry units available on the web. Scootle is a database of curriculum materials which include full and partial inquiry units. Also, many cultural heritage institutions (such as museums) and non-government organisations (such as environmental groups) also develop inquiry curricula for teachers. Here are some examples:
- ‘Talk about rights‘ Year 6 English/History curriculum, developed by a consortium of English teachers associations in Australia with Education Services Australia. Other units are available via the home page
- Digital Classroom from the National Library of Australia which include collections of lessons that could be amalgamated to form a unit of work
- ‘Discovering my backyard‘ – geographical fieldwork research years 7-8
- Here are a range of history units from the History Teachers Association of Australia
- Great Barrier Reef year 6-7 integrated inquiry – QLD Studies Authority
Higher education and VET: Your unit of work may be a semester long inquiry unit or individual assessment item that requires extensive information seeking/data gathering.
Step 2: Write overview
The Overview post (approx 350 words) should set the scene and background for the unit. Include the following information:
- reason for choosing the topic/curriculum area (if you are redesigning an existing unit, explain the reason and give some background)
- context of the unit (year level, where it fits in terms of the rest of the curriculum)
- intended learning outcomes (in your own words, do not reproduce Australian Curriculum content descriptors)
- duration of unit
You should be enough information to help other teachers who wish to teach your unit to understand the context.
Here is an example of a unit overview.
