Australian Curriculum History - Term Paper Example

Critical evaluation of unit plan Name Institution 1. Introduction History entails a detailed study of past chronological accounts of events, practices and ideas relating to peoples in a given setup. Proper knowledge and understanding of the history of a group of people is essential in helping individuals understand their past to enable them develop individual and collective identities (National Curriculum Board, 2009a). A good understanding of history will provide individuals with the knowledge and skills to identify and distinguish the beliefs and practices associated with their people, which may be preserved, and the practices that have been overtaken by events and are subject to changes. History enables individuals to take control of the present will focusing on the future. Several developments have been recorded in and around Australia, which calls for attention in the design of teaching history in the learning institutions. The Melbourne Declaration identifies key global changes that require adjustments in the education system in Australia. Global integration and international mobility, increased necessity of knowledge economy, need for environmental awareness, need for knowledge and skills in information and communication technology, and the social, cultural and religious diversity of the peoples of Australia all call for unformed historical understanding (Barr et al, 2008). An important objective for teaching history in schools is ‘to foster the capacity to respond these influences in an intelligent and informed manner so that full potential for enriching experience is realized (National Curriculum Board, 2009a, p.12). To achieve this objective, there is need for development of an appropriate curriculum for teaching history in schools. This paper provides a critical evaluation of a unit plan designed for teaching history in year 4 in view of the requirements of standard history curriculum. 2. Evaluation of the plan 2.1. How well the unit plan meets the intent of Australian Curriculum: History The National Curriculum Board has the responsibility of developing a world-class curriculum that identifies key learning areas in history from Kindergarten to year 12 of study (National Curriculum Board, 2009b, p.4).Teaching history in Australian school has certain key objectives. Firstly, it enables the students to have a good knowledge and understanding of their past in order to appreciate their cultural values and practices as well as practices of other people around (National Curriculum Board, 2009a, p.5). History helps students understand their present situation in order to help in planning for the future. Various nations in Asia-Pacific region such as India and China have grown to become influential in the world’s economy (Barr et al, 2008). It is necessary for Australia to follow similar paths for development, which requires a study of history of these nations. Now, the inquiry question for this unit is “What was the nature and consequence of contact of the Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples and early traders, explorers, and settlers?” The unit coverage falls within the requirements of curriculum history for years 3-6. During these years of study, students need to focus on history within Australia and beyond with an understanding of the periods before, during and after the contact between the indigenous people and the Europeans. They are required to understand the influence of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander on the contemporary Australian society (National Curriculum Board, 2009a, p.8). Thus, the unit plan becomes appropriate in helping students understand their past to explain the present. The other aim of the Australian history curriculum is to enable students to critically evaluate the different sources of historical accounts that are available (National Curriculum Board, 2009a). Students are required to compare different historical analyses and the evidences provided in order to make appropriate judgments. Thus, teaching history in schools helps to develop active and informed democratic citizens (National Curriculum Board, 2009a, p.5). The unit plan provided recognizes the necessity of using different sources of information for appropriate historical understanding. The students are presented with various learning materials. It is designed that the librarians will teach the students how to find information in the study texts. Then students will also seek for further information using the internet. This is in line with Melbourne Declaration on use of ICT in teaching (Barr et al, 2008, p.5). However, location of information from different sources is different from evaluation of the relevance of these sources. At this level of learning, the students have not developed proper skills to carry out independent evaluation of sources to establish proper evidence. This process should be incorporated in the learning process. Similarly, students at this level of study are not in a position to search for meaningful information, which will provide good evidence, from the internet. They should be guided in the use of internet. The curriculum is also intended to improve the skills of historical inquiry in the students. Historical inquiry involves ‘asking queries regarding the ancient, and utilizing skills related with analyzing, construing and assessing sources of proof to cultivate knowledgeable and invulnerable answers’ (National Curriculum Board, 2009a, p.5). Proper historical inquiry requires the students to seek for factual knowledge on key issues such the order of occurrences of events under study, the geographical locations in which the events occurred, the involved institutions, as well the material circumstances that surrounded such events (National Curriculum Board, 2009a). Now, this intent of the curriculum is considered averagely in the unit plan. The plan requires the students to imagine themselves in the places of the explorers or Aboriginals and attempt to understand the former’s experiences through asking questions about their lives. Teachers help the students in formulating or modifying these questions. The teacher notes the questions that may be answered and those that will require explanation at later stages of learning. The students are then required to look for the replies to these queries in the study books. 2.2. How well the unit addresses aspects of the curriculum Effective curriculum on history should enable students to develop historical knowledge, historical understanding and skills. A good historical knowledge will be shown by the tools that the educators and the learners use in exploring the events, practices and beliefs that occurred in the past (National Curriculum Board, 2009a, p.6). A study may focus on aspects such colonialism, the ways of life of a group of people, political upheavals, or religious practices. The unit plan covers the everyday lives and the upheavals that were witnessed during the interaction of the Aboriginals and the explorers and how the interactions helped in shaping the present society. Historical skills are developed through historical inquiry, which involves the examination primary as well as secondary foundations of evidence (National Curriculum Board, 2009a, p.7). The development of various historical skills is considered in the plan. This includes the identification of different points of view, the use of different historical terms, and having the learners brainstorm the past life by asking various questions. The educators are also required to apply different communication methods including modern technology in their teaching process. Historical understanding goes beyond mere acquisition of historical knowledge to a position where the students are able to learn from the past (National Curriculum Board, 2009a). There are different components of historical understanding that have been addressed in the unit plan. One such component is historical significance- the identification of historical facts or concepts that should be documented, investigated and taught in learning institutions (National Curriculum Board, 2009a, p.6). The content covers significant events that contributed to the current situations in Australia. These events need to be investigated thoroughly and disseminated to the existing and subsequent generations through incorporation into the school curricula. The plan considers other components of historical understanding such as historical perspectives, evidence, as well as continuity and change. It covers a sequence of events in order of the occurrences to enable students evaluate changes that have been registered over the years. The plan requires that at the end of year 4, the students should be in a position to explain the life changes that occurred in the past and what caused these changes, and give an account of the past aspects that have remained unchanged to date. The students are required to understand the significance of these events in bringing about change. The unit plan touches on different general capabilities and cross-curriculum perspectives that are required of history curriculum. General capabilities included in the plan are skills and understanding such as mathematical ability, literateness, competence in information and communication technology, critical and ingenious thinking, as well as intercultural comprehension. The Melbourne Declaration recommends development of such skills in young Australians (Barr et al, 2008, p.5). The plan also involves an understanding of the indigenous people of Australia, their sustainability and the relationship between Australia and the Asia-Pacific countries. The plan considers the deficiency in the content of year 3 of study, which did not provide a proper coverage of the contacts of the aboriginals with other people. It provides bridging to these related concepts. It also provides for a link between the concepts and contents covered in the units and the other areas of learning as required by the Australian curriculum. The Australian Curriculum in English requires the learners give a comparison between the language features in the older texts and the features in the modern texts. This is a study of the development of language, which in itself is history. 2.3. To what degree the unit enables inquiry pedagogy to be implemented Inquiry involves attempts to understand the past through analysis, evaluation and interpretation of the different forms of historical evidences. Various inquiry processes can be applied to learn about the past. The unit plan entails the use of materials such as dictionary, historical maps, pictures (such as sea cucumber), video clips, as well as oral narratives. The unit sets achievement standards that enable teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of the inquiry processes that have been used. In the learning process, the students are required to sequence the events covered in the order of their occurrences. The teaching process includes the use of written materials, physical and visual evidences, or oral narratives. The students are then required to seek for answers to their inquiry questions from the different sources of information. To evaluate the students’ understanding of the concepts, and thus the effectiveness of the inquiry process, students are required to develop and present texts using key historical terms they have learned. The above inquiry pedagogy conforms largely to the requirements of the Australian Curriculum in History. At this level of study, the curriculum requires teaching methods that enable students to develop curiosity about various historical discoveries. This can be achieved through the use of different sources of information including stories, oral narratives, and historical maps as well as real and virtual artifacts (National Curriculum Board, 2009a, p.8). Thus, the unit will enable effective implementation of the inquiry pedagogy. 2.4. How useful the resources will be for historical inquiry The unit involves use of different resources for historical inquiry, as required in the curriculum. However, the relevance of all the resources to be used is not guaranteed. The use of materials such as dictionary and historical may be reliable since such texts are often developed with reference to other relevant sources. This also applies to the historical or geographical maps that are used to show past patterns such as settlement and the environmental features. Now, the use of oral narratives may not be very accurate as some intended meaning of the story might have changed over the years. The narrator should be in a position to help the students interpret the story, which enables him to provide his own interpretation. The meaning of the story thus becomes subjective rather than objective. Similarly, the interpretation of symbolic artifacts and pictures may follow the relative understanding of the senior guiding students. 3. Conclusion The study of history is important as it enables students know about the former to comprehend the current and plan for the future. Proper learning of history necessitates a good curriculum that allows students improve historical acquaintance, understanding, and skills through effective teaching methods and use of suitable resources. The unit plan meets much of the requirements of Australian Curriculum: History. Nonetheless, adjustment needs to be made on aspects such as the resources to be used in the learning process. References Barr, A et al. (2008). Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. A declaration made by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs on December 2008. http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf National Curriculum Board. (2009a). Shape of the Australian Curriculum: History. Common Wealth of Australia 2009. http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Australian_Curriculum_-_History.pdf National Curriculum Board. (2009b). Framing paper Consultation Report: History. Common Wealth of Australia 2009. http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/Consultation_report_-_history.pdf Read More