July 9

1.1 Bloom’s Taxonomy Table

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy in the Curriculum Area of Ecosystems

Objective Question Resources/Web 2.0 tool
Knowledge What is an ecosystem?

National Geographic encyclopaedic entry.

Dictionary – print or online or basic textbook, eg. Wordnik, Visuword, specialist glossary, …

Knowledge Define an ecosystem and list the varieties that are found in South Australia.

Word it Out

Word document with SA regions downloadable at Landscape SA website.

Comprehension List the different parts of the ecosystem and explain what they do. Popplet
Comprehension Compare a marine ecosystem with one from another area of our state.

The Rock Pool for information about marine ecosystems and environments in SA.

Venn Diagram app.

Application Using a diagram, show how the water cycle operates in an ecosystem.

A video at ABC Education about the Water Cycle.

Diagramming tool such as Creately, Draw.IO or Gliffy.

Application Demonstrate what happens when humans interfere with the water cycle. Sway OR Slides
Analysis Contrast the natural water cycle with that used by our community. Venn Diagram OR Compare & Contrast Map if writing an analysis.
Analysis Examine an ecosystem that has been damaged by human interference. Avoided how? Educational information about the Murray River at murrayriver.com.au/education/.
Synthesis Identify an unspoilt ecosystem and design a way of preserving it. Information about Australian National Parks here.
Synthesis How would preserving our local ecosystems enhance our environment? ?
Evaluation Is it reasonable that people pollute our waterways? Defend your answer.

A video example of water pollution at ABC Education.

Persuasion Map.

Evaluation Assess the impact of pollution in our local waterways. Information/lessons about the importance of water quality from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

I found it difficult to resource or suggest a Web 2.0 tool for the Synthesis questions. I wonder why this might be. You could use any number of digital tools to present a design for the preservation of an unspoilt ecosystem. This choice might come down to personal preference. And the second question requires the answerer to make some complex cause and effect connections between ecosystems and the environment.

Even from Year 1 in the Australian Curriculum, students are asked to ‘Reflect on learning to propose how to care for places and sites that are important or significant’. Here, they are already beginning to work at that higher level of Bloom’s. It would be very simple and structured, though. Once you start moving beyond the application of ideas, you’d definitely be looking at older grade levels for these particular questions.

May 23

ETL402 Assessment Item 2: Part B – Reflection

My early blog and discussion posts in ETL402 demonstrated a superficial understanding of how children’s literature could be used in classrooms and the school library. I made some vague suggestions for how my favourite picture book for older readers, Hello Lighthouse, could connect to geography or history (Murphy, 2020, March 15). I linked two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander books to the Australian Curriculum (Murphy, 2020, March 22), and analysed the postmodern devices used in Shaun Tan’s Rules of Summer (Murphy, 2020, March 15).

But I never truly grasped the potential of this literature until I revisited a reading from Module One about the enormous body of research behind the power of stories.

We rely on stories like we rely on air, water, sleep, and food.” (Haven, 2007, p. 4)

I began to explore the earlier chapters of Haven’s book (2007), and after my initial confusion when putting together the first assessment (Murphy, 2020, March 31), started to see the broader benefits of children’s literature, above and beyond the improvement of reading and writing skills. Literary learning, for me, became all about harnessing the incredible potential of all types of stories to hit every part of the curriculum. It became about learning with and through books, learning about ourselves and others, about our emotions, and making sense of our world (Haven, 2007; Ross Johnston, 2017, p. 80).

In my current role as Library SSO, I am learning to apply my growing knowledge of children’s literature from Module Two and Three. For example, I made two successful book recommendations (Murphy, 2020, May 14) using what I know about children’s developmental stages and finding ‘goodness-of-fit’ (Travers & Travers, 2008). On a third noteworthy occasion, I took on McGill-Franzen and Ward’s advice (2018, p. 154), recommending a series fiction title to a middle-primary teacher for her class novel (Murphy, 2020, March 28). We ended up choosing The Magic Finger instead, something her class had never seen before. Since then, a number of her students have come to the library asking me where they can find the Roald Dahl books! This certainly demonstrates that providing exposure to a rich variety of literature is important (McDonald, 2013, p. 8). Choosing from series fiction, or the individual works of a popular author, is only scratching the surface!

I moved into Module Six questioning how we could put literary learning into practice in a more structured and accessible way, unlike my vague suggestions early in the subject. Literature Circles caught my attention as they featured as a research method in many of the articles about graphic novels I had been reading in my other topic, EER500 Introduction to Educational Research. I chose to explore Literature Circles in depth and wrote a discussion post that built the foundation for my work in the third section of Part A of this assessment, Literature Circles in History (Murphy, 2020, May 14).

Moving forward, with literary knowledge and skills under my belt, I feel confident enough to encourage teachers to use children’s literature more often in classrooms, and justify why it is important. I am excited by the prospect of children’s literature in the digital environment, and the incredible potential of book apps, transmedia storytelling, and multimodal learning experiences. Most of all, I am simply looking forward to reading more kids’ books.

Bibliography (APA 7th)

Blackall, S. (2018). Hello lighthouse. Hachette Australia

Dahl, R. (2016). The magic finger. Penguin Random House

Tan, S. (2013). Rules of summer. Hachette Australia

References (APA 7th)

Haven, K. F. (2007). Story proof: The science behind the startling power of story. Greenwood Publishing Group.

McDonald, L. (2013). A literature companion for teachers. Primary English Teaching Association.

McGill-Franzen, A., & Ward, N. (2018). To develop proficiency and engagement, give series books to novice readers. In D. Wooten, B. Cullinan, L. Liang & R. Allington (Eds.). Children’s literature in the reading program: Engaging young readers in the 21st century, (5th ed., pp. 153-168). Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central.

Ross Johnston, R. (2017). Australian literature for young people. Oxford University Press.

Travers, B. E., & Travers, J. F. (2008). Children’s literature: A developmental perspective. John Wiley & Sons.

March 28

Knowledge of Multicultural Literature

To what degree does your knowledge of multicultural literature enable you to support your teachers in implementing the essential knowledge, understandings and skills for this priority area?

With Australians looking more frequently to their closest neighbours strategically, politically and culturally, a greater understanding of the region is important moving forward. As such, Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia has been established as a Cross-curriculum Priority in the Australian Curriculum (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2010 to present-a). The General Capability of Intercultural Understanding is closely linked to this priority because students are required to develop an understanding and respect for other cultures (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2010 to present-b).

Off the top of my head, I don’t think I have a great knowledge in this area. My multicultural reading experiences are very limited as I tend to focus my reading through a more local lens.

I know that we have a range of multicultural texts in the library at school, particularly in the picture book section. On my last pass through its contents, I saw a range of books with depictions of Asian cultures on front covers, and many of those books have passed through the circulation desk.

This is definitely an area I would need to work on to support my teachers!

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2010 to present-a). Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia. In Australian curriculum: F-10 curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/cross-curriculum-priorities/asia-and-australia-s-engagement-with-asia/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2010 to present-b). Intercultural understanding. In Australian curriculum: F-10 curriculum. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/intercultural-understanding/

April 30

Music Search

Use the Smartcopying website search to search for copyright issues related to ‘music’. Select two references of interest and review them for relevance to your situation.

Reference 1

Smartcopying. (n.d.). “Frank Hardcase”: An animation about music piracy for primary/secondary students. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/educational-resources/copyright-teaching-resources/-frank-hardcase-an-animation-about-music-piracy-for-primary-secondary-students

This educational YouTube video was developed as part of an initiative by Crime Stoppers Australia. Frank Hardcase is an animated television host who interviews two guest speakers about music piracy and its impact on artists. Aimed at students aged 9-15, which is perfect for my role as a primary school educator, the video is lighthearted but touches on important issues, such as the far-reaching consequences of illegal downloading. It would be great for use as a discussion springboard and it can link to the Australian Curriculum through the General Capabilities of Ethical Understanding (ACARA, n.d.a) and ICT Capability (ACARA, n.d.b). It could also be used as an example for students creating their own anti-piracy materials in media arts, as suggested by the text above the embedded video.

Reference 2

Smartcopying. (n.d.). Music and sound recordings. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/information-sheets/schools/copyright-in-the-digital-teaching-environment-a-manual-for-schools/music-and-sound-recordings

This information sheet provides schools with everything they need to know about lawful use of music and sound in an educational setting. The page begins with an outline of the three music licenses that regulate the use of music and sound in schools – APRA Licence, for public performance and communication of musical works, AMCOS Licence, for photocopying of sheet music, and AMCOS/ARIA/APRA Licence, for reproduction and communication of musical works and sound recordings by educational institutions. Most of the information on this page is relevant to the latter. The information sheet goes on to outline which schools are covered by the licence, what the schools can do under the licence, what the licence does not cover, and relevant exceptions.

Music is used regularly in schools. As a TRT, I use music to play games, such as Freeze, and in the gym while playing sports. I have also attached popular music tracks to videos created on iMovie and played songs to teach music elements such as rhythm and time signatures. Admittedly, I haven’t properly checked the copyright usage terms prior to this brief investigation. The Smartcopying information sheets are an important and informative resource that I can now use into the future.

References

ACARA. (n.d.a). Ethical understanding. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/ethical-understanding/

ACARA. (n.d.b). Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability. Retrieved from https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/information-and-communication-technology-ict-capability/