STF+GP1

This workshop material is adapted from On the Cutting Edge, a professional development program for current and future geoscience faculty.   Teaching a course involves making choices about what you will ask your students to do and why. External factors such as context of the course, student demography, and support structure are significant and should influence the choices that you will make as you design your course. Consider the external factors that influence a course and explain why these factors are important to consider before you begin to set realistic goals for the students in your course. **Start by choosing a course or a portion of a course to work on.**   Answer the questions below. In addition to the facts, comment both on the **challenges to designing your course posed by each factor** and on the **opportunities presented by each factor that you could take advantage of in designing your course**.  Does your course serve as a prerequisite for a subsequent course or does it prepare students for a exam? If so, what? No  Challenges:  Opportunities:
 * Part 1.1 What are the course contexts and constraints **
 * Task 1.1a: How will your course work? **

Does your course have prerequisites? If so, what are they? - **Prior knowledge of Year Three concepts** <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: **Children have to have a prior knowledge of classification and characteristics which will determine classification. Their ability in using new technologies and applications. Previous techers technology skills.** <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: **School based scope and sequence (curiculum).**

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">How big is your course, and what kinds of rooms are available for you to teach in? <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: **We have our own rooms to work in.** **Also we have the time to make sure that we finish teaching units of work, or modify the uni tot suit the level of the children**
 * One Term (10 weeks)**

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Does your course have a lab and/or on-line component, and do you teach it? **Yes - (LEAD and other learning sites, working with software)** <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: Infrastructure (network), Children's computer skills and previous teachers passion and understanding.

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: We have children full time and so are able to take them to the lab ourselves and make sure learning is relevant, classrooms also have tablets and desktops in them. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">What are your options for frequency and duration of class/lab meeting times?

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: Having to share the lab time - Two Labs:7 classes <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: Mini labs based in the classroom. Unlimited time to work on unit. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Answer the questions below. In addition to the facts, comment both on the **challenges to designing your course posed by each factor** and on the **opportunities presented by each factor that you could take advantage of in designing your course**. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Are your students gifted & talented, middle-of-the-road, or learning support? Yes <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: Wide range of learning abilities - 9 ASD, 12 Learning support and also middle of road and some above average. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:Abiltiy to be abe to have students on an IEP (Individual Eduction Plan) and support in the classroom in terms of aides and learning support staff. We can set up our classrooms to accomodate a differentiated learning programme.
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Task 1.1b: Who are your students, and what do they need? **

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">In what way might your students use what they have learned in your course in the future?

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: Going onto the next year and not being given the opportunities to continue to develop the skills they have learnt. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: Develop the IT programme within the school through a scope and sequence and also PD for staff.

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">What is the demography of students in your course in terms of age, race, gender, and ethnicity? P-6 children, mixed gender, a range of different backgrounds <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: English as a second language. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">What percentage of students in your course have high-speed computer access outside the at home? <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> 99% have high speed at home <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: Online infomration for children to access and continue their learning at home. Being able to log into their LEAD account and share learning with parents and consolidating new knowledge. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Answer the questions below. In addition to the facts, comment both on the **challenges to designing your course posed by each factor** and on the **opportunities presented by each factor that you could take advantage of in designing your course**.
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Task 1.1c: What is the support structure for your course? **

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Are you the default computer troubleshooter, or do students and staff have other support people to turn to if they run into difficulty with a computer problem related to your course? For issues of infrastructure teachrs email help desk. Support and troubleshooting they come to us.

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: Not having enough time to make sure that everybody is kept happy. Tech support can sometimes take a day to fix problem. 2 ICT techs for 3 campuses and a range of different staff. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities:

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Does your school have writing, quantitative literacy, or oral communications skills centres that can provide supplemental help/instruction for students? No <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: We are responsible for our student learning at each year level and are their main teacher.