Using the Standards
The standards should form the basis of curriculum planning and assessment at both the whole school and classroom level.
Whole school level
Schools can determine the approach to curriculum planning that best suits their needs. Students should be provided the opportunity to learn, practice and be assessed on every element of the standard for each domain for the duration of a VELS level (usually two years). The creation of a whole school curriculum plan can assist in allocating and documenting which classes and/or subjects will cover these domains and at what stage in the program.
Further information including case studies, templates and resources can be found in Whole school curriculum planning in the School Implementation section or in Curriculum planning on the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development website.
Classroom level
Teachers usually plan their semester or year long programs to cover the domains and standards allocated in the whole school curriculum plan. Planning should include reading the standards for the domain/s and level/s allocated. It is also adivisable to read the standards at the level above and below the target level. This can assist in modifying programs to cater for different student's needs as well as providing a context for what the students have already covered and will cover in the future.
When planning units of work or individual lesson plans, teachers should target only a few elements of a standard at a time. The explicit teaching of an element of a standard helps students to develop their skills or understanding in this area. Repeated coverage of that element will also help students to achieve success in demonstrating their knowledge and skills.
Explicit teaching of an element of a standard requires the element to be unpacked. This can be done individually or in teams. Unpacking involves identifying how a student could show achievement, what types of assessment tasks would enable students to show achievement, any prior knowledge or skills that students would require, and identifying a range of contexts in which this element could be taught.
Support materials:
- Sample units provide examples of how units of work can be based on selected elements of the standard
- Assessment maps show samples of student work with annotations on how they address selected elements of the standard
- Concepts and skills charts unpack the standards at each level for selected domains.
