STF+GP4

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? **Course Prerequisite for Senior Biology** Challenges: **Ensure students develop sound knowledge base for senior biology** Opportunities: **Different teaching strategies to be employed** 
 * 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? **No**  Challenges: **Wide variety of base 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'">Opportunities: **to utilise the existing knowledge base of students to determine the direction of the course.**

<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? **8 weeks** <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: **Room allocation** <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: **Creative teaching and use of technology**

<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** <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: **Sourcing resources**

<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 are your options for frequency and duration of class/lab meeting times? **Flexibilty is the key**

<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: <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? **Year9 students diverse learning styles and stages of development** <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: **Differentiating the curriculum** <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: **looking at teaching from different perspectives**
 * <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: <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:
 * To be prepared for the Senior Biology, understanding classification systems, and order.**

<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? <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> **Mostly European, caucasian, equal blend male /female 13-14 years.** <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:

<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'"> **All students have wireless access at school** <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: <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? **I am the default plus backup with IT co ordinator** <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: **maintain strong wireless connectivity**. <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? **Small amount of teacher aid time in class for support.**

<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: