DesigningTeachingandLearning

Assessment1
ChrisTierney18593424

Itisrecognisedthateffectiveteachinginvolvesplanning.Whenweplanalessonas
teacherswedecidewhattoteachandhowtoteachit

PartA

Planningforlessonsisacrucialelementtobeingateacher.Itallowstheteachertosetgoalsfor
themselvesaswellasthestudents.Withoutsettingthesegoalsoutinadvance,lessonsmay
seemaimlessandoflittlerelevance.Lessonplansrecognisethesyllabuswhilelearning
standardssetthefoundationsforlessonplansandcangivetheteacheravisualguideasto
howthelessonrelatestothestudentslearningtargets.Lessonplanscanalsoincludeavariety
ofteachingmethodsandstyles.Thesemethodsprovideanideaofhowthestudentsshouldbe
receivinginformationandcanallowfordifferentstagesofdevelopmentandlearning.Thisessay
aimstointerprethowlessonsplansdecidewhattoteachandhowtoteachitinaneffective
mannerinrelationtothekeylearningarea(KLA)ofmusic.

LessonsplansaregreatlyinfluencedbythesyllabusoftheKLA.Thesyllabussetsoutthe
learningoutcomesforstudentsandincludestheknowledge,understanding,skills,valuesand
attitudesrequiredtosucceedintheirschoolandpostschoollife.IntheKLAofmusicforyears
710,thestandardsandexpectationsaresetoutforteacherstofollowandtomakesure
studentsarelearningatasimilarspeedandreachingthesamelevelofknowledgeandskills.

Lessonplansareeffectiveifusedproperly.Theyshouldbehighlightingthesignificanceof
practicalreflectionasintegraltolessonplanning,meaningthatplanningalessonshouldbe
usedtorefamiliarisetheteacherwithcontent,teachingmethods,relevancetosyllabusand
rationalebehindtheteachingandsubjectmatter.However,therehasbeenastudywhich
indicatedthatlessonplansthathavebeenusedaspartoftraditionalteachingstrategiesare
simplisticandareoflittlerelevancetotheclassroom(Simwa&Modiba,2015,p27).Withproper
useandselfreflectiononcontentandsyllabus,lessonplansshouldbebeneficialtoboth
studentsandteachers.

Studentslearnatdifferentspeedsandhaveindividuallearningneedsandexpectations.
Lumpingstudentsintoasinglegroupandteachingstudentstoaparticularstyleisnoteffective.
Havingvariedteachingandlearningstylesallowsstudentstodevelopandunderstandmore
complexconceptswhentheymaybeintheconcreteoperationalstageandmaynotyethave
maturedintotheformaloperationalstageoflearning.

Studentslearningneedsdonotjustendatdevelopmentalstagesbutextendfurther,tocultural
andsocialreasons.Studentsthatmaybestrugglingwithsocialandemotionaldevelopment
mayhaveneedsthatimpacttheirlearningdevelopment.Lessonplansshouldencompassa

diverserangeofrelatableandrelevantcontentforstudentswhichallowsthesestudentsto
reachthelearninganddevelopmentalleveloftheirpeers.

Lessonplanningisnottheonlywaytoprovideadirectedandindividualisticstyleoflearningto
eachstudent.Streamedclassesalsohelpstudentswithdifferentiallearningstylestoaideach
otherlearnaswellasmakingplanningforlessonseasierforteachers.Thismeansthatmore
focuscanbepaidtoaselectareaoflearningdevelopmentthatsomestudentsmaybe
strugglingwith.However,itcanalsodemotivatestudentsandcreateinequalitiesbetween
students.InrelationtotheKLAofMusic,seniorsecondaryMusicstudentsareseparatedinto
Music1andMusic2subjectswhichmaycreateadiscrepancybetweenstudentsandalower
feelingofselfefficacyduetothedifferentlevelsoflearningandabilities.Amajorityof
classroomsareheterogenousclassrooms.Heterogenousclassroomscanbeharderfor
teacherstoplanforbutrequiresteacherstoprovidedifferentpointsofentryforstudents,aswell
astargetedandeffectivesupportforallstudentsinordertobuildstudentsselfanalysisandself
assessmentskills(Marsh,Clarke&Pittaway,2014,p136144).

Previousassessmentdatacaninfluencehowlessonplanscancomeabout.Theresultsfrom
previousassessmentsmaytelltheteacherthatstudentsareexcellinginoneareawhilstlacking
knowledgeinanother.Itcanrefocusateacherononeparticularareathatsomestudentsare
strugglingwith.Thisdatacanalsogiveaninsightintohowdifferentstudentsareunderstanding
differentconceptsandmayalsorevealwhichstudentsareyettomoveintotheformal
operationalstageoflearning.

Previousassessmentdatamustbeusedcorrectly,however,andthatalsoinvolvesdatabeing
usedinselfreflectionforteachers.Thiscaninclude:Howhavetheteachingstaffcontributedto
existingstudentoutcomes?And,whatdotheyneedtolearntopromotetheseoutcomes?
Selfreflectionlikethisisimportantbecause,inthepast,therehasbeenatendencyforteachers
tousethisinformationtolabelandcategorisestudentsandtonotdisseminatetheinformation
anduseittoguideanddirecttheirteaching(Timperley,2009).

TheAustralianProfessionalStandardsforTeachers(previouslyNationalProfessional
Standards)establishsevenguidelinesforhowdifferentlevelsofteachersshouldbe
demonstrating,implementingandadvancingtheirskillsandknowledge.Usingalessonplan
helpsteacherstoacknowledgethesestandardsandhowtousethemtotheiradvantagewithin
theclassroomandasaprofessionaldevelopmenttool.

Havingprofessionalstandardsasatooltoimprovelessonsandlessonplansmeansthatthere
isaguaranteethatteacherswillbemaintainingconsistencydespitethedifferencesinsubject
andcontentmatter.Theprofessionalstandardsforteachingarespecificallymentionedinthe
syllabusforMusicforyears710:
TeacherswillbeabletousestandardsinMusicasa
referencepointforplanningteachingandlearningprograms.
Thesyllabusalsoreferencesthat
thesestandardshelpstudentsandteacherssetandreachtargets,monitorachievementsand

makechangestostrategiesandprogramstoimproveandsupporttheprogressofindividual
students(BoardofStudies2003p56).

Lessonplansareaneffectivemethodologyforteachersbecauseithelpsillustratehowtoteach,
whattoteachandwhytheyareteachingthecontent.Therehasbeenatendencyforteachersto
uselessonplansasitisatraditionalmethodofrecommittingcontenttomemory
,
butlesson
plansshouldbeusedwiththeintentionofrecognisingstudentsneeds,puttingintopracticethe
correctionofholesinstudentsknowledgethroughpreviousassessmentdata
,
andillustrating
therelevanceofcoursecontentforstudents.

PartB
:

Thechosenlessonplanistitled
Whatisthevalueofpopularmusic?.
Thislessonplanisaimed
atthekeylearningareas(KLAs)ofMusicandEnglish.Thisessaywillhighlighttheapproachto
theKLAofMusic.Thelessonplanoutlineshowstudentsidentifyvaluesandbeliefswithin
popularmusicandhowtheycomparethesebeliefstotheirown.Itoutlinestheactivities
studentswillbeinvolvedin,thequestionsstudentsshouldbeaskingofthemselves,thetarget
audience,thevaluesstudentsshouldbefocusedon,andthematerialsrequiredforthelesson.

Inregardstorelevancetosyllabus,thislessonplandoesnotoutlineanyinformationthat
reflectsdirectlybacktothesyllabusforthiscohortofstudents,whichisoutlinedasEarly
Adolescence(1215years)orstages4and5.

Thislessonplandoesincludeseveraldifferentindirectlinksthatarerelevanttosyllabus,asit
demonstrateshowstudentstakechargeoftheirownlearningbydisseminatingandinterpreting
informationprovidedtothemtoformnewideasaboutbeliefsandvalues.Itisinclusiveof
differentlearningtypesthroughauralandvisuallearningstyles,whichalsoencompasses
projectsandpresentations,asstudentswriteinformationonthesheetsandpresenttheir
learnedinformationbacktotheclass.Thelessonplanalsoinvolvesselfassessmentand
peerassessmentthroughdiscussionanddirectfeedbackfrompeersandanendoflesson
groupperformancechart,whichallowsstudentstoreflectasagroupandasanindividual.
Theseaspectsofthesyllabusarenotimmediatelyapparentinthelessonplan,whichmaymake
teachersuncertainabouttherelevanceofthislessonplan.Itwouldbenefitteachersandthe
creatorofthislessonplantohavealistofspecificlinkstothesyllabusandhowthisplanis
relevanttostudents.

Inregardstostudentslearningneedsthislessonplanencompassesavarietyoflearningstyles
anddifferentwaysstudentsdisseminateinformationandillustratetheirlearnedknowledge.The
lessonplaninvolvesusingauralinformation,thesongorCD,whichprovidessomeinsightin
regardstotheartistsbeliefsaboutcultureandsociety.Inturn,thisallowsstudentstowrite
downthatinformation,discussitbetweenthemselvesandpresentitbacktotheclass.Italso
allowsstudentstodemonstratethedifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweenthevaluesheldbythe
artistandthestudents.

Thislessonplandoesnottakeintoaccountpreviousassessmentdatafromstudents.Itdoes,
however,challengethestudentspersonalideologiesandbeliefs,whichmaybecrucialtofuture
assessmentdata.Itwillbeusefultoseeastudentsbeliefsbeforeandafterthislesson,toseeif
manyhavechangedtheirperspective.

Theaspectofprofessionalstandardsforteachersisnotbroughtdirectlyintothislessonplanbut
hasindirectlinkswhichmaybeofusetoteachers.Thislessonplanprovidessomeinformation
inregardstoknowingstudentsandhowtheylearn,asitusesculturallyrelevantmaterialby
allowingstudentstobringintheirownmusic.Itcontainsasmallamountfromthestandardof

knowingthecontentandhowtoteachitasthelessonplanincludescontentselectionand
organisationbutdoesnotincludeareassuchasinformationandcommunicationtechnology.

Theteacherwouldberesponsibleforprovidingaculturallyappropriateresponsebystudentsif
theychosetobringinmusicthatisrelatedtoAboriginalandTorresStraitIslandercultures.In
thisregardthelessonplandoesnotsucceed
,
becauseeventhoughthemainideabehindthis
lessonistoshareandcommunicateideasaboutvaluesandbeliefs,itdoesnotcontainany
allowancesforAboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderstudentsormusicoftheirculture.

Thislessonplandoessucceedintheareaofprofessionalpracticeasitcontainsanduses
resources,throughthevalueswheelandselfassessmentsheet.Theplanalsousesteaching
strategiesinvariousways,suchasjigsawlearning,andestablisheschallenginglearninggoals.
Thesupportofcreativeandsafelearningenvironmentsisaclearaspectofthislessonplan.The
activitiessupportstudentparticipation,manageclassroomactivitiesthroughgroupworkand
discussion,andasthislessonisnotaveryhighriskexercise,studentsareprotectedandtheir
safetyismaintained.

Studentsarealsoencouragedtoselfassessthroughtheuseofagroupperformancerecord
sheet,whichhighlightstheprofessionalstandardofassessing,providingfeedbackandreporting
onstudentlearning.Itallowsteacherstointerpretstudentdatainthegroupperformancerecord
sheetandinthevalueswheel,andforteacherstomakeconsistentandcomparablejudgements
basedonthetheirknowledgeaswellasthestudentsunderstandingoftheirowndevelopment.

Asthislessonplanisdirectedatstudents,ithasminimalconnectiontoparentsorcarers.
Becauseofthis,thestandardofengagingprofessionallywithcolleagues,parents/carersandthe
communityisnolongerrelevantforthislesson.Thislessonplandoesincludesomeaspectsof
professionalengagementasitidentifiesandplansforprofessionallearningneeds.Italso
includesengagementwithprofessionallearningandimprovespracticesthroughself
assessmentofstudentswhichmayrevealinformationabouttheteacherandareasthatthey
mayneedtoimprovein.Notalllessonsneedtoengageeverysingleprofessionalteaching
standardbutthislessoncouldinvolveadealmorethanitalreadydoes.

Overallthislessonplanisnotaswellroundedasitcouldbe,andisunclearaboutthelessons
relationshiptodifferentareas,includingtheprofessionalstandardsforteachersandthe
syllabus.Itdoeshavegoodpoints,includingtheuseofselfdirectedlearningandself
assessment,aswellastheuseofculturallyandsociallyrelevantmaterialbyallowingstudents
tousetheirownmusic.Toimprovethislesson,ateachercouldaddsomemoreculturally
diversematerialtotheclass,suchascontemporaryAboriginalorTorresStraitIslandermusic.
Theteachercouldalsoaddasecondparttothislesson,whichactsasamethodofchecking
previousassessmentdatabyholdingaclassseveralweekslatertoseeifstudentsideasabout
valuesandtheirchoicesinpopularmusichavechanged.

References

PartA

BoardofStudiesTeachingandEducationalStandardsNSW.(2016).
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/

Boudett,K.P.,Murnane,R.J.,&Moody,L.(2005).
Teachingeducatorshowtousestudent
assessmentdatatoimproveinstruction
.PhiDeltaKappan,86(9),700.

Devlin,M.Kift,S.Nelson,K.Smith,L.McKay,J.(2012)
EffectiveTeachingandsupportof
studentsfromlowsocioeconomicstatusbackground:Practicaladviceforteachingstaff.
Office
forLearningandTeaching.DepartmentofIndustry,Innovation,Science,ResearchandTertiary
Education
http://www.lowses.edu.au/assets/Practical%20Advice%20for%20Teaching%20Staff.pdf

Knoblach,N.(2007)
MystudentslearndifferentlyNowWhat?TeachingStrategiesfordiverse
learners.
ACESFallTeahingSymposium
https://www.ydae.purdue.edu/lct/Learning_Strategies_for_Diverse_Learners.pdf

Louden,W.(August2000)
Standardsforstandards:thedevelopmentofAustralianprofessional
standardsforteaching
.AustralianJournalofEducationv.44n.2p.118134

Marsh,C.,Clarke,M.&Pittaway,S.(2014).Marsh'sbecomingateacher.FrenchsForest,
N.S.W:PearsonAustralia.

(2003).
Musicyears710,stage4and5syllabus.
Sydney:BoardofStudiesNSW.
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_sc/pdf_doc/music_710_syllabus.pdf

(2000).
Music1,stage6syllabus.
Sydney:BoardofStudiesNSW.
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/music1st6sylfrom2010.pdf

PurposeoftheStandards
.AustralianInstituteforTeachingandSchoolLeadership.(2016).
http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australianprofessionalstandardsforteachers/standards/development/p
urposeofthestandards

Ramsden,P.,&Ramsden,P.(2003).LearningtoTeachinHigherEducation.Florence:Taylor
andFrancis.
http://sutlib2.sut.ac.th/sut_contents/H112461.pdf

Simwa,K.,&Modiba,M.(2015).InterrogatingtheLessonPlaninaPreserviceMethods
Course:EvidencefromaUniversityinKenya.AJTE,40(40).
http://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2127&context=ajte

Standards
.AustralianInstituteforTeachingandSchoolLeadership.(2016).Aitsl.edu.au.
http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australianprofessionalstandardsforteachers/standards/list

Timperley,H.(2009,July).
Usingassessmentdataforimprovingteachingpractice.
From
2009ACERResearchConferenceseries(p.7).
http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=research_conference

PartB
ValuesEducationforAustralianSchooling:Whatisthevalueofpopularmusic?
(2007)
AustralianGovernmentDepartmentofEducation,EmploymentandWorkplaceRelations.
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/Currsec_Value_of_popular_music.pdf
(from)
http://www.curriculum.edu.au/values/val_lesson_plans_and_activities_early_adolescence,1782
4.html