Ethan Sais

DESIGNING, TEACHING AND LEARNING ASSESSMENT TASK 1

Introduction

Teaching is a profession that faces many challenges. There are four foundation concepts that are

integral to the daily work of teachers. These four areas; Professionalism, Curriculum, Pedagogy and

Assessment are highly regulated and fundamental to creating classrooms and practices that are

equitable and effective. We will look at each of these concepts and how they inform teacher practice.

Furthermore, we will also gaze beyond how these concepts inform teacher practice and look at how

they are applicable and relevant to the inequity experienced by indigenous students. Because the

policies and practices pervaded through these concepts even though initially introduced to remedy

inequity experienced by Indigenous people, tend to reinforce it.

Teaching as a Profession

It is easy to see the contention surrounding the notion of teaching as a profession, considering

the common generalizations of teaching. These include teacher workloads and working hours and the

misconceptions people form based on their own experiences as students. Even so it is evidently clear

that teaching is a profession. Connell suggests that teaching is shaped by the curriculum which is shaped

by and reflects both social and political forces (Connell, 2013). Teachers are a highly skilled,

knowledgeable and disciplined group of individuals who possess highly specialized knowledge not only

in their key learning area (KLA) but also including that of pedagogy (Connell, 2013) qualified by

undertaking research and university level study (Professional Standards council, n.d.) in order to provide

all students with the equal opportunity to access the same educational experiences and life

opportunities (Australian Education Act, 2013). All teachers in Australia are regulated by the Australian

Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) who reinforce the Australian Professional Standards

for Teaching (APST) that all teachers must perform to in order to be successful and effective educators.

These include seven standards that cover three domains of teaching, these are “professional knowledge,

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professional practice and professional engagement” (AITSL, APST, n.d.). The NSW Education Standards

Authority (NESA) use these standards to determine the level of accreditation that teachers must reach

throughout their careers in order to safeguard the quality of teachers. So that teachers are kept up date

and continually developing their skills and improving student achievement to their highest ability. while

fostering a teaching culture that is “collaborative, reflective and evidence based” (NESA, Guide to

Accreditation, 2017).

Curriculum

The curriculum is often a highly politicized and contentious subject matter. This is namely due to

the social, cultural, religious, ethical and political views surrounding the education of children. This is

extremely important as this is the main mode of how children experience and operate within society

and the world at large (Egan, 1978). Hence why there has been so much contention regarding the

content and subjectivity of the Australian curriculum. The Australian curriculum finds its roots in the

Melbourne Declaration of Educational Goals for Young Australians (MCEETYA, 2008). This document sets

out to improve the educational outcomes of all Australian students as to foster greater outcomes for the

economic and social aspirations of the nation. The Melbourne Declaration has informed the

development of the Australian Curriculum through goals to “develop successful learners, confident and

creative individuals, and active and informed citizens” (MCEETYA, 2008, p.13). This has been

implemented through the use of “general Capabilities” (Australian curriculum, General Capabilities, n.d.)

that set out the knowledge, skills, dispositions, and behaviors required to operate and live in our

contemporary globalised society. The Australian Curriculum also draws from the notion of “Cross

curriculum priorities” (CCP) (Australian curriculum, Cross Curriculum Priorities, n.d.) which require

Australian teachers to incorporate perspectives on issues that are at face value crucial to further

developing and improving our society. These include: “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and

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Cultures, Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia and…. Sustainability” (Australian curriculum,

Learning Across the Curriculum, n.d.). However, it is clear that these priorities are predominantly

political and social in nature and serve to foster greater economic and social justice outcomes for future

generations. Power over the implementation of the curriculum still remains with the state governments,

this allows for states to incorporate key areas that are important to the development of their local

communities within their syllabuses. An example of this in NSW is the expansion upon the general

capabilities and CCP’s of the Australian curriculum to include a further three areas of significance that

teachers must weave into daily activities these include a focus on: “Civics and citizenship, Difference and

diversity, and Work and enterprise” (NESA, Learning Across the Curriculum, n.d.).

Pedagogy

Pedagogy refers to the practices and knowledge that teachers have in relation to how teachers

teach. As Gore (2007) suggests teachers need more than just a broad set of standards to become

stronger and more effective teachers. Even though the Australian Professional standards for teachers

provides teachers with a framework for ensuring that teachers “Know students and how they learn”,

“Know the content and how to teach it” and “Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning”

(AITSL, APST, n.d.). They further suggest that teachers require better appraisal process that provides

them with useful feedback and opportunities to better their practice through coaching and training

(AITSL, Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework [ATPDF], 2012). Thus teachers

need to know the expectations placed upon them and receive feedback and support for improving their

teaching practices to meet these expectations (AITSL, ATPDF, 2012). It is clearly evident that the Quality

teaching (QT) framework provides teachers with clear guidelines to reflect upon and assess the

effectiveness of their teaching practices. Gore argues that the QT model has its origin in Newman’s work

on “Authentic Pedagogy” (cited in Gore, 2007, p.16). The QT framework provides teachers with two

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resources to assess and improve their practices and classroom activities, these include models and

resources that allow teachers to engage in a useful reflection and dialogue to refine their approaches

(Gore, 2007). The QT model assesses three key areas of classroom practice that are imperative to

effectively engaging students. These are split into three key areas; “Intellectual Quality, Quality Learning

Environment, and significance” (Gore, 2012, p.17) on a scale of one to five to determine the strengths

and weaknesses of their teaching practices. This is particularly important in how teachers apply

differentiated learning so that students are challenged enough to reach their optimal level of

engagement (Gore, 2007)

Assessment

Assessment refers to the collection and evaluation of evidence that demonstrates a student’s

level of learning (BOSTES, Advice on Assessment, 2012). Providing teachers with clarification on a

student’s level of understanding of the content taught. NESA state that Assessment is also a form of

providing students with feedback so that they can reflect upon and improve their learning (BOSTES,

Advice on Assessment, 2012). Assessment is an constant process that occurs at all times in the

classroom (BOSTES, Advice on Assessment, 2012). NESA highlight that there are various forms of

assessment. These include “formative assessment” (BOSTES, Advice on Assessment, 2012, p.3), which

allows teachers to gage how students are engaging with the work set for them and apply differentiated

and more effective activities and practices if needed. The use of “summative assessment” (BOSTES,

Advice on Assessment, 2012, p.3) is often useful in providing statistical data for gaging the progression

and understanding of students. The most well-known of these being the National Assessment Program –

Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). As NESA suggests assessment should be “inclusive and accessible to

all students” (BOSTES, Advice on Assessment, 2012, p.1). However, it is evident that the notion of

standardized testing has proved problematic for many students due to their diversity and how it is

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framed within the Australian school system. Ford (2013) argues that there is a vast achievement gap

between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. She analyses this through the use of Critical race

theory, which suggests that these tests are unfairly geared towards students from the dominant culture.

In this case it is clear that the NAPLAN draws from an assumed cultural and lingual knowledge.

Analysis – Indigenous students

The reframing of the education system has been centered around meeting national economic

needs within an ever increasing globalized community and the need to be more competitive (Lingard,

Creagh and Vass, 2012). Ian Hardy (2013) argues that there has been an increasing centralization of

education in the past decade at the hands of a national curriculum, national assessment program, and

the introduction of teacher professional standards. It is not hard to see that Indigenous students are

clearly disadvantaged not only by the current political discourses and policies but also by the current

hierarchy of the education system. This is evidenced by the inequity of the current curriculum, which is

in and of itself heavily Anglo-Centric, and in turn has huge impacts on the assessment tasks and content

that these students are required to complete. This inequity when it comes to assessment tasks is

predominately centered around the culturally hegemonic NAPLAN. Here it is clear that both curriculum

and assessment highlight ideas and knowledge that are important to the dominant “white Australian

culture” (Boon and Lewthwaite, 2016, p.454) but also the fact that they require an assumed knowledge

held only by the dominant culture. John Hattie has discovered the principal underpinning of student

achievement centers around teacher practice and pedagogy (2009, cited in Boon and Lewthwaite,

2016). This is relevant as pedagogies and practices that value aspects of culture important to indigenous

students are often excluded in favor of other culturally dominant models (Boon and Lewthwaite, 2016).

The achievement gap between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students is staggering.

There is clearly a need for more “culturally responsive pedagogies” and practices (Boon and Lewthwaite,

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2016, p.468). Boon and Lewthwaite (2009) state that Indigenous students are on average two and a half

years behind non-indigenous students. In reaction to this extreme inequity the Council of Australian

Governments (COAG) agreed on many policies that reduce the disadvantage experienced by indigenous

students. These include many a greater focus on the community, cultural knowledge and the

experiences of indigenous students (Boon and Lewthwaite, 2016). AITSL have identified the need of

Indigenous students to be catered to within the education system. This is evidenced by the APST

standard 1.4 which stipulates the requirement that all teachers know and implement strategies that are

relevant and culturally responsive for Indigenous students (AITSL, APST, n.d.). Boon and Lewthwaite

draw predominantly from the Vygotskian notion of “meaning making” (2016, p.455) in order to ensure

greater relevance and outcomes for Indigenous students.

Hardy (2013) argues that there are various forces which have dictated the trends towards the

current curriculum and the use of standardized testing. Hardy identifies Sætnan, Lomell and Hammers

binary of “Centripetal” and “Centrifugal” (2011, cited in Hardy, 2013, p.67) forces to demonstrate the

conflicted nature of education as a spectrum of practices that range between a focus on local contextual

knowledge and customs, and the development of standardization. This conflict is evidenced by the ASPT

standard 2.3, which requires teachers to ensure the use of the Australian curriculum, assessment and

reporting programs to design lessons (AITSL, APST, n.d.). Hardy (2013) states that the general use of

national standardized assessments like the NAPLAN are predominantly composed as confirmation of

student learning and provide broad and overarching themes of data rather than data that can be more

useful in the classroom. This is because NAPLAN does not accurately reflect the Indigenous student’s

abilities or literacy capabilities, as their experiences with the English language are framed by and

therefore differs to the expectations of the dominant culture. It is clear that the impact of the NAPLAN

on indigenous students is immense. Freeman (2013) argues that this is particularly relevant to their

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results and the emphasis placed upon developing and improving their achievement. Freeman states that

ESL students take 3 to 5 years to learn basic oral proficiency and 4 to 7 years to accomplish academic

proficiency in English (2013). Simpson and Wigglesworth argue that the NAPLAN test is about assessing

a first language learner’s expertise of integral parts of their first language. That these cannot accurately

or fairly assess an ESL students’ knowledge, understanding or level of development with English

(Simpson & Wigglesworth, 2009 cited in Freeman, 2013).

Lingard, Creagh and Vass (2012) discuss the misrecognition of Indigenous issues and

perspectives that have historically saturated Australian school policy. This is relevant to understanding

their notion of “education debt” (Lingard et. al., 2012, p.326), which demonstrates the binary between

the achievement of indigenous and non-indigenous students. This highlights the misrecognition of the

indigenous schooling achievement gap as other broader schooling issues like socio-economic, political

and cultural issues are often not recognized (Lingard et. al., 2012). This is addressed by the APST

standard 2.4, which ensures that teachers foster understanding of Indigenous issues and perspectives in

order to promote reconciliation within our communities (AITSL, APST, n.d.). Furthermore, they suggest

that the use of the NAPLAN reinforces the “student-as-problem” notions of education policy, producing

negative assumptions about student expectations based on assumptions regarding their race. Ford

(2013) uses critical race theory to underpin the inequity that indigenous students experience in the

education system. Ford (2013) highlights the notion of “locked-in inequality” (Gillborn, 2008, cited in

Ford, 2013, p.83) that suggests Indigenous students are imprisoned by ineffective education practices

and understandings that are predominantly in place to benefit the members of the dominant white

culture. Further entrenching other economic and social disadvantage throughout their lives. It is evident

that the current curriculum and NAPLAN tests are forms of locked-in inequality as they predominantly

assert knowledge and pedagogies valued by white dominant culture. Ford argues that this is a form of

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“epistemological racism” (2013, p.84) as a result of the disregard inherent within the hegemonic content

covered by both the Australian curriculum and NAPLAN and its place in limiting resources, opportunities

and funding.

Conclusion

It is evident that the implications of these foundation concepts not only inform teacher practices

in the broader sense but also demonstrate how this informs teaching practices and understanding of

indigenous inequities and issues. It is therefore, evident that as a future teacher I must find a way to

cater to all the varying interests of my students as well as meet the sometime contrasting ideologies set

before me. The APST sets out the standards that I as a professional must meet to be equitable for all

students even when these standards differ in nature to the national curriculum, pedagogical and

Assessment programs that set out to meet not only educational needs on the basis of benefitting society

but also and in many ways set out to meet economic and political needs. Therefore, demonstrating the

political and constantly changing nature of the education system and teaching as a profession.

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