Level 5
In the Victorian Essential Learning Standards Level 5 is broadly associated with Years 7 and 8 of schooling.
Early adolescents develop a stronger individual sense of identity and begin to consider increasingly complex ideas. Their interest in learning becomes more dependent on what they see as important or consistent with personal goals. They participate in a variety of physical activities, ‘combine motor skills, strategic thinking and tactical knowledge to improve individual and team performance’ (Health and Physical Education: Movement and physical activity) and understand the effects of risk taking.
Key characteristics of students at this level include:
- developing self-efficacy skills to maintain confidence and a positive attitude
- developing an individual sense of identity
- having an awareness of universal ethics and morality, culture and nationhood
- shifting from the concrete to the conceptual
- discriminating in terms of value, quality and worth
- developing an awareness of formal methods of inquiry.
The onset of adolescence heralds the shift from the concrete to the conceptual, from what is known and certain, to what is hoped for and what is possible. At Level 5 students begin their journey into the world of universal ideas where they learn about the processes of discovery and the implications for change. They move from reflecting on local and real world experiences to considering increasingly complex and abstract concepts and ideas. They successfully ‘complete activities focusing on problem solving and decision making which involve an increasing number of variables and solutions’ (Thinking Processes: Reasoning, processing and inquiry).
Students are subjected to more competitive standards and institutionalised forms of management. Motivation is increasingly extrinsic, dependent on content that is perceived as valuable, is consistent with personal goals, or is otherwise perceived as important. Students ‘complete competing short, extended and group tasks within set time frames, prioritising their available time’ (Personal Learning: Managing personal learning), identifying the ‘big’ questions and engaging in extended processes involving complex thinking.
They creatively construct and use critical analysis to deconstruct ideas, concepts, events and objects as part of learning projects. They make judgments, differentiate between the quality of information and data, and recognise strengths and weaknesses in arguments. They work with design briefs to generate products which solve problems in real contexts seeking to ‘understand and logically sequence major stages of production’ (Design, Creativity and Technology: Investigating and designing).
Students also work individually and collaboratively to plan, design, improvise, interpret and present arts works for particular audiences and purposes, selecting and applying ‘skills, techniques, processes, media, materials, equipment and technologies across a range of arts forms’ (The Arts: Creating and making). In this sense, they are developing creative and critical thinking abilities and applying them to the expansion of their knowledge and skills.
They begin to comprehend that there may be more than one answer to a question, and in some instances, that there is no answer, for the world is full of complexity and contradiction. They design experiments, form conclusions and communicate data. Previously recognised patterns become theories, laws, principles and models.
Self-efficacy skills are fundamental to effective learning at Level 5. With the executive centres of the brain still maturing, students build positive habitual behaviours that encourage them to employ a range of strategies such as predicting outcomes, planning ahead, noting difficulties and failure to comprehend, and activating relevant knowledge. While they are active learners, young people in this stage of development require direction and support with many tasks in terms of eliciting the meaning and significance of content, planning of the processes involved in achieving a learning outcome, and assistance with elaboration and reflection on completion.
They increasingly come to view themselves in relation to groups and systems including demonstrating ‘respect for the individuality of others and empathise with others in local, national and global contexts’ (Interpersonal Development: Building social relationships). Ethics and morality are extended into universal values that inform friendship, culture and nationhood. They start to ‘identify and question the features and values of Australia’s political and legal systems’ (Civics and Citizenship: Civic knowledge and understanding).
Theories, laws, principles and models add meaning to social and physical environments, both local and universal. Students use these formal frameworks to build understanding by collecting, exploring, analysing, predicting, estimating and concluding. They use technology as a tool for displaying information, constructing spreadsheets, manipulating information, filing, storing and researching. They ‘interpret complex information and evaluate the effectiveness of its presentation’ (Communication: Listening, viewing and responding) while evaluating ‘the merits of contemporary communication tools, taking into account their security, ease of use, speed of communication and impact on individuals’ (Information and Communications Technology: ICT for communicating).
Students become aware of language as an adaptable medium with formal traditions and boundless possibilities. They become aware of a range of texts that vary according to their purpose, reading and viewing ‘imaginative, informative and persuasive texts that explore ideas and information related to some challenging topics, themes and issues’ (English: Reading). The meaning of text is explored as a thinking-and-learning tool, where language is discussed as a representation of thought that is used to build complex ideas and assist with the organisation of ideas. Language is also explored as an aesthetic form that may evoke emotion and inspiration. In the context of Languages Other Than English (LOTE), students reflect on the relationship between the speakers of the language by ‘using appropriate language and levels of respect in different circumstances’ (Languages Other Than English: Intercultural knowledge and language awareness).
Students’ growing mathematical knowledge and understanding sees them working with a range of standard mathematical models in practical situations and making predictions ‘using interpolation (working with what is already known) and extrapolation (working beyond what is already known)’ (Mathematics: Working mathematically).
Students’ knowledge of science expands to include abstract concepts, theories, principles and models and their application to particular situations. They ‘identify, analyse and ask their own questions in relation to scientific ideas or issues of interest’ (Science: Science at work). Students’ focus on inquiry extends as they ‘collect geographical information from electronic and print media and analyse, evaluate and present it using a range of forms’ (The Humanities – Geography: Geospatial skills), and ‘evaluate historical sources for meaning, point of view, values and attitudes, and identify some of the strengths and limitations of historical documents’ (The Humanities – History: Historical reasoning and interpretation).
Students develop a more sophisticated understanding of the nature of scarcity, opportunity cost and resource allocation and make ‘informed economic and consumer decisions, demonstrating the development of personal financial literacy’ (The Humanities – Economics: Economic knowledge and understanding).
