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Design, Teaching and Learning- Assessment 1: Essay on the foundation of

Teaching and Learning.

The foundation of teaching and learning is a conceptual framework that aims to holistically

embody the key scopes for the foundation of teaching and learning. Notions such as teacher

professionalism, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment all contribute to the necessary daily

routine work of teachers. These ideas combine to influence and improve the capabilities and

knowledge of a teacher as a professional. Having a clear understanding of the curriculum is

an integral part of being a teacher as a professional. Integrating Curriculum and pedagogy to

accommodate the learning capabilities of special needs students such as the Indigenous

students, is vital to provide and promote a quality learning environment.

Profession comprises of ethical standards followed by individuals who are disciplined in

processing knowledge and skills for research, education and training at a higher level. The

individuals should also be prepared to apply such skills in the interest of others. A teacher's

working condition is widely misunderstood. There is a belief that teaching must be an easy

job since the working hours are shorter and holidays are lengthened (Connell, 2013). Most do

not know that there is a lot of preparation done after working hours so that all materials are

prepared for the next school day. The capacity to provide these experiences for students

requires a foundation of knowledge and skills so that their learning environment in enriched.

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) provides the framework for the

teacher professionalism, professional practice, knowledge and engagement required by the

teachers to lead a quality teaching and professional development (AITSL, 2014). Teachers

share a responsibility to help prepare the young people of our society to lead a successful life.

Students often look up to their teacher for a source of inspiration when they start to make

choices about further studies and work. It is vital that a teacher should present themselves to
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be more dependable and consistent with the students whilst maintaining an integrity of

professionalism.

There has always been a discussion on the issue of what the students should actually learn at

school. The Australian curriculum provides teachers with a clear outline for the

understanding of what needs to be covered in school from year one to year ten. The

curriculum provides the content that all students should be taught, achievement standards that

students should meet and clear understanding of what should be covered in each subject for

every year level (Department of Education and Training, 2016). The curriculum has only

been in the works in recent years and finally progressed towards putting forward a national

curriculum so that all Australian students receive fair and quality learning (Department of

Education, 2014). States and territories are responsible for implementing the Australian

curriculum in their schools. The Australian curriculum can be altered from state to state,

depending on the educational needs of the students. It is also based on the professional

knowledge of the teachers, the cultural background of the students and available resources

(ACARA, 2014). This strand of development has always needed more of the what to teach

and the ability to be able to focus on the individual learner (Egan, 1978). What to include and

what to exclude from a curriculum can be problematic. It can lead to overcrowding the

students with too much information or underwhelm them with not much to go on (Clark,

2006). The teacher must use their professional practice to incorporate the curriculum into

their classes, whilst catering for individual students. The Australian Professional Standards

(APST) provides the guidelines for the easy integration and the Assessment component will

provide the teacher with the knowledge of where the individual students are in terms of their

learning abilities.
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Assessments have always contributed to further a students' learning ability. An evaluation of

student achievement is a required part of the Australian curriculum. The results can help

improve the learning environment for students and provide the teachers with a

comprehensive knowledge of where the students are at in terms of understanding the content

(Boud, 1995). Assessment always lead to learning. The starting point of this, however, is

what do the students learn from assessments. Assessments are done with the goal of

determining where students need to improve and where the teachers need to focus more on

(Kirylo, 2014). The only Nationalized test conducted in Australia is the NAPLAN (National

Assessment Program- Literacy and Numeracy), which is assessed for students in years five,

seven and nine. The NAPLAN provides data that can be used to compare the quality of

education and learning at a global scale. The data is also collected for each individual student

to see their own grade against the national average (Belsito, 2016). The HSC (Higher School

Certificate) is conducted in NSW but similar tests are conducted across all states with

different names. This is to test the culmination of a students' past studies resulting in their

capabilities to be employed or to further their education. The teaching practice can be altered

to cater for students preparing for the nationalized test (NAPLAN) and this is an issue that

can be molded in the pedagogical practice of a teacher.

Classrooms differentiate from one another based on their teacher and their teaching styles.

The core of the teaching profession is pedagogy. It is important assessing the quality of

teaching and tasks set out to guide and support the students (NSW Department of Education

and Training, 2003). The Quality teaching model puts focus on intellectual quality, quality

learning environment and significance to provide the basic framework to an effective

pedagogical practice. The Pedagogy of teacher education is built on the need to help students

with their content. The essence of being a teacher is primarily built on the skills and ability to
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be able to teach the content whilst maintaining the value and meaningful nature behind it

(AITSL, 2008). An efficient pedagogy includes classroom instruction, interaction, tasks and

assignments. These features are important in the preparation of a teacher as they set out a

regulation on methods of teaching (Grossman, 2009). Pedagogy is described as a process

rather than a planned practice, Munns (2007) further explains that schools, through their

curriculum, pedagogy and assessments, shape the student's learning environment. This

outline can assist in determining the capabilities of students of all background in the

classroom, i.e. Indigenous students. NSW Quality Learning Model describes Pedagogy as a

tool that provides self-reflection to the teachers and can be used as a model to improve

practices in schools (Department of Education and Training, 2003).

The Australian government has always supported the educational needs of Indigenous

Students and it has held a status on delivering high-quality education (Lewthwaite, 2015).

Giving consideration to the cultural backgrounds of students will help address the educational

needs of those students. For a number of years, there have been several cases of

underachievement among the indigenous community, especially in the Northern Territory

(Ford, 2012).

A recent research project conducted by the Indigenous Education Team at the Australian

Council for Educational Research (ACER), identified that culturally responsive teaching

practices allowed for improvements in the academic performance of indigenous students

(Krakouer, 2016). It is an accepted fact that the indigenous students have distinctive histories,

varied languages and cultural practices that play a significant role in their classroom

engagement. Krakouer (2016) suggests that a teacher should always be culturally aware

because their experience and beliefs will be challenged when they try to impart their
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knowledge to the class about a specific topic. Teachers must be aware of indigenous students

that live in the urban area and ones who live regionally. Each individual students' needs vary

from their indigenous peers. As per her personal experience, being an aboriginal woman

herself, Krakouer (2016), states that her teachers were aware of her cultural background but

also did not make her feel any different from her peers because of her background.

The current education system has undoubtedly been influenced by the growing western world

and its values (Krakouer, 2015). When a teacher is culturally responsive, the students feel

acknowledged and respected. This is explained as the most important factor in designing

curriculum, pedagogy and assessment that caters for indigenous students (Krakouer, 2015).

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) clearly underlines that one of the

key elements in improving quality education is professional engagement with the students

(Board of Studies Teaching and Educational Standards, 2017). The Aboriginal Perspectives

Across the Curriculum (APAC) is a project that aims to deepen the understanding of the

aboriginal customs and cultures (Department of Education, 2015). Teaching such a

curriculum will help to broaden the minds of the students in appreciating the importance of

social justice, reconciliation and equality. This was developed for teachers so that they are

able to use a large variety of resources to help improve the learning and performance abilities

of Aboriginal students (Department of Education, 2015).

Aboriginal people have always been denied access to the same educational opportunities

afforded to non-indigenous people prior to the 1960's (Burridge, Whalan & Vaughan, 2012).

When the teacher is aware of the indigenous background of the student, they are inclined to

prepare effective and efficient practices for their classroom. This means that lesson plans can

be taught accordingly and the classroom will run much smoother. "Learning only happens
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when student stress levels are low and when affect is positive" (Mullin & Oliver, 2010).

Improving education within indigenous students can only occur when there are reconciliation

and experience each other's perceptions. Enriching all students with the culture and

background of Australia can impart real acknowledgement by the rest of the cohort (Shipp,

2013). Engaging with Aboriginal people through websites and galleries can further your

knowledge on Aboriginal history. No one can say that they do not know about Aboriginal

culture because they haven't met an Aboriginal before. Teachers are life-long learners and

active citizens of the society. Research should come naturally and this makes their jobs easier

in the classroom.

In conclusion, the acknowledgement and recognition of the indigenous students at schools are

vital in creating an effective learning environment for suitable for them as well as the others.

The knowledge of the history of our country and its people is important to teach to non-

indigenous people, and the starting point for that is in the classroom. As mentioned before,

any student will be uncomfortable when they feel as if they are different from anyone else.

This will impact heavily on their learning capabilities. As teachers, it is a responsibility that

falls upon us to appreciate all cultures and treat every student equally. It can be argued that

Indigenous students do not need extra care in classrooms just based on their culture, however,

there needs to be an understanding that equality cannot be reached if equity is not shown to

people who need it.

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References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2014). Implementation of the

Australian Curriculum. Retrieved from

http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/overview/implementation-of-the-australian-

curriculum

Belsito, C. (2016). The importance of teacher quality and quality teaching on academic

performance, Journal of Student Engagement: Education Matters, 6(1), 28-38. Retrieved

from http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1044&context=jseem

Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards. (2017). Australian Professional

Standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/publications-

policies-resources/publications/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/

Boud, D. (1995). Assessment and learning: contradictory or complementary? In Assessment

for Learning in Higher Education (35-48.). London: Kogan

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Publishers.

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true
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Connell, R. (2013). Education, Change and Society. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Department of Education. (2015). Aboriginal Education. Retrieved from

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/aboriginaleducation/apac/detcms/navigation/apac/

Egan, K. (1978). What is Curriculum? Curriculum Inquiry, 8(1), 65-72. Doi:

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Ford, M. (2012). Achievement gaps in Australia: what NAPLAN reveals about education

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Grossman, P. (2009). Research on Pedagogical Approaches in Teacher Education. In

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Kanu, Y. (2006). Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives into the School Curriculum. Canada:

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Krakouer, J. (2016). Meeting the needs of Indigenous students, ACER. Retrieved from

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Mullin, K., & Oliver, R. (2010). A second language/dialect acquisition perspective on the

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