STF+GP2

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: Keeping students engaged in the learning process. Students see the value in learning.  Opportunities: Exploring and creating learning opportunities that are varied. We have no boundaries, hindered only by the teachers imagination.
 * 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 prerequisites required. However study skills would benefit the student. <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: Varied learning abilities, social understandings, we are a school that has feeder schools - students coming in from other schools in the area. <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: No one is excluded. This unit allows the teacher to shape the students with the abilities and skills the students will need.

<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: 9 weeks, split over a break in the middle of the course. Different rooms with different lessons. Library lab, laptop trolleys (laptops & tablets), computer room, traditional rooms no media, rooms with technology. <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: Students can be gathering information over the holidays. Great opportunities to use different types of technologies, forces the teacher to be creative.

<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. 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: Varying internet access, varying access to technology.

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Opportunities: Be creative in the teaching strategies. More computer access than any other course. Rich multimedia as part of the on-line component where students can be interactive.

<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? 100 minutes each lesson, 5 lessons in two weeks, 4 of which are in computer rooms

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: Making the most of those lessons especially if they are technology related. Providing intentional learning experiences. <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: Extended time with the students. Worth the effort to get the technology. <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? All three, but predominantly middle of the road. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Challenges: One-fifth gifted and talented, two-fifths middle-of-the-road, two-fifths learning support. <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"> Opportunities: Peer coaching is effective.
 * <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: Other teacher's access to technology <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: Be able to go into specialised subject for skills to be used.

<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'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: Age: 11 or 12 year olds, Race: split between predominantly white, with Torres Strait, Fiji, South Sea, Aboriginal children. Gender: mixed. Ethnicity: teaching culturally appropriate, avoiding stereotypes. Maltese and Italian children born in Australia. <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: Allows for a diverse range of understandings.

<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'"> <span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: 97% have computers at home <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: Provide feedback to parents via the Portal. <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?

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: Yes we do have support people, however the challenge is getting access to the support people. <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: There are teachers available who have the skills to help the not-so-skilled teachers

<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?

<span style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Challenges: No, unless learning support has ascertained the students <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: Learning support staff work well with the students who are challenged, and peer support.