Australian Curriculum Humanities and Cross Curriculum Priorities

1. Giles Bartram
Nuriootpa High School
giles.bartram510@schools.sa.edu.au

2. Overview
 Our context
 HASS and it’s place in the timetable
 Focus on Year 8
 General Capabilities
 Cross-Curriculum Priorities
 Resources/ideas/exemplars

3. Our context
 Nuriootpa High School has approximately 850 students
 We are a country High School but close enough to Adelaide for
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excursions
History has been offered as an elective from Year 9 onwards and
is one of our most popular subjects
We trialled Australian Curriculum: History in 2010 and 2011
We have a number of History specialists.
S&E has often taught by non-specialists, History and Geography
will be taught by some ‘non-experts’
I am in my sixth year as S&E Co-ordinator (the first two as
Acting Co-ordinator)
Year 8 S&E have been split into separate semesters of History and
Geography this year (last year we only had History). Next year
we plan to teach the new HASS subjects during these lessons.

4. The timetabling dilemma at Yr 8
14%
More than Maths,
English and
Science
8%
Is not ½ of 12 so
are these one
semester subjects
or not?

5. Solutions?

6. The Final Product at Yr 8
Some considerations
• Phase 1 subjects clearly require more time to teach properly
• Staffing must be manageable
• Local priorities must be included

7. How do we make it all fit?
 Think big.
 What are the guiding principles of the Australian
Curriculum?
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
Melbourne Declaration
General Capabilities
Cross Curriculum Perspectives
 What are the key inquiry questions in each subject?
 Assess against the standard not the content. Plan your course
so that you can assess student’s knowledge and
understanding rather than so you can cover all the content.
(Understanding by Design)

8. Key inquiry questions
History
How did societies change from the end of the ancient period to the beginning
of the modern age?
What key beliefs and values emerged and how did they influence societies?
What were the causes and effects of contact between societies in this period?
Which significant people, groups and ideas from this period have influenced
the world today?
Civics and Citizenship
What are the freedoms and responsibilities of citizens in Australia’s
democracy?
How are laws made and applied in Australia?
What different perspectives are there about national identity?

9. Key inquiry questions
Geography
How do environmental and human processes affect the characteristics of
places and environments?
How do the interconnections between places, people and environments
affect the lives of people?
What are the consequences of changes to places and environments and how
can these changes be managed?
Economics and Business
Why are markets needed, and why are governments involved?
Why do consumers and businesses have both rights and responsibilities?
What may affect the ways people work now and in the future?
How do different businesses respond to opportunities in the market?

10. Scope and Sequence is your friend

11. 3D Structure
3 Cross-curriculum
Priorities
Sustainability
Asia and Australia’s
Links with Asia
11 Learning areas
7 General
Capabilities
Technologies
Health and Physical Education
Languages
The Arts
Civics and Citizenship
Economics, Business
Geography
History
Science
Mathematics
English
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Histories and Cultures
Many cells will not include
material from all 3
dimensions
Source: ACARA

12. Cross-Curriculum Priority 1
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/CrossCurriculumPriorities/Aboriginaland-Torres-Strait-Islander-histories-and-cultures.

13. Children of the Gurindji
Sara Storer, ‘Children of the Gurindji’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEVpUGjoicw

14. Organising Ideas

15. DECD Policy
Curriculum, Pedagogy, Assessment and
Reporting Policy for Reception–Year 10
This policy is available at
http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/teachingandlearning/pages/Yearsr10/curric/

16. Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander perspectives
Is this important?
Your school might not have many Indigenous students but
 We have a social responsibility and a moral obligation
to help promote awareness of Indigenous
perspectives in an inclusive and sensitive manner
 Indigenous students often suffer from low self-esteem
“As a nation Australia values the central role of education in building a democratic,
equitable and just society— a society that is prosperous, cohesive and culturally
diverse, and that values Australia’s Indigenous cultures as a key part of the nation’s
history, present and future.”
Melbourne Declaration

17. Has ACARA done enough?
“93% of the references to the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander histories and cultures perspective are in
the History curriculum” Professor Peter Buckskin, Dean: Indigenous Scholarship,
Engagement, and Research, University of South Australia
Is this a problem?
• Is the focus too narrow? What aspects of
Indigenous Culture have been ignored?
• Is this marginalisation? Do we really have a crosscurriculum priority here?

18. Some missing content?
Issues
Location
Total
Citizenship Rights
Yr6
2
Mabo
Yr3, Yr10
2
Reconciliation
Yr3, Yr 10
2
Land Rights
Human Rights
0
Yr 10
Social Justice
1
0
Employment
Yr8
1
Aboriginal Rights
Yr6, Yr10
5
Civil Rights
Yr 10
4
Self Determination
Stolen Generation
0
Yr6, Yr9, Yr10
Deaths in Custody
Aboriginal activism
4
0
Yr6, Yr10
4
Source:
Kevin Lowe
Newcastle University

19. Some missing depth?
Cognitive Requirements of the Content
K-2
3-4
5-6
7-8
9-10
Total
Remembering
15
13
5
13
2
48
Understanding
5
9
5
7
2
29
Applying
0
8
0
2
0
10
Analysing
1
5
2
4
6
18
Evaluating
0
0
0
4
0
4
Creating
0
0
0
3
0
3
Total
22
35
12
33
10
112
Source:
Kevin Lowe
Newcastle University

20. Where do we start looking for
solutions?
http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/Illustrations/Details/IOP00136

21. NSW Board of Studies
http://ab-ed.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au

22. Some other links
Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in
schools
http://deta.qld.gov.au/indigenous/pdfs/eatsips_2011.pdf
Reconciliation Australia
http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/latest/aboriginal-perspectivesin-schools-q-a
Framework for Embedding Koorie Cultures, Histories and
Perspectives in Victorian Schools
http://vaeai.org.au/_uploads/rsfil/000234_caba.pdf

23. Cross-Curriculum Priority 2
Asia? But which Asia?
What kind of Asian are you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWynJkN5HbQ

25. ‘Engagement with Asia’ might
mean more than just ‘Asia’
“Global integration and international mobility
have increased in the past decade. As a
consequence, new and exciting opportunities for
Australians are emerging. This heightens the need
to nurture an appreciation of and respect for
social, cultural and religious diversity, and a sense
of global citizenship.”
Ref: The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young
Australians, 2008, p. 4.

27. Asia-relevant capabilities
To face the 21st Century (“the Asian
Century”) students will need:
adaptability, flexibility, resilience,
creative and design thinking and the
confidence and readiness to interact
with Asia
Knowledge and understanding
of the countries of Asia and its
peoples
- Geography
- History
- Media
- Everyday living
- Arts
- Literature
- Values and beliefs
- Language proficiency

28. Links within the Australian Curriculum
Australia Asia Engagement
• Asia and its diversity
• Achievements and contributions
of the peoples of Asia
• Asia-Australia engagement
Other General capabilities:
• Critical and creative thinking
• ICT capability
• Personal and social capability
• Ethical understanding
How the Australian Curriculum supports
Asia-relevant capabilities
Intercultural Understanding
Assists young people to become
responsible local and global
citizens, equipped through their
education for living and working
together in an interconnected
world.

29. Asia-Education Foundation
http://www.asiaeducation.edu.au

30. Cross-Curriculum Priority 3
Polar Bear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CiaVZ2oLzg

31. Sustainability isn’t just ‘Environmental
Studies’
Sustainable patterns of living meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Actions to improve sustainability are both individual and collective
endeavours shared across local and global communities. They necessitate a
renewed and balanced approach to the way humans interact with each
other and the environment.
Education for sustainability develops the knowledge, skills, values and
world views necessary for people to act in ways that contribute to more
sustainable patterns of living. It enables individuals and communities to
reflect on ways of interpreting and engaging with the world. Sustainability
education is futures-oriented, focusing on protecting environments and
creating a more ecologically and socially just world through informed
action. Actions that support more sustainable patterns of living require
consideration of environmental, social, cultural and economic systems and
their interdependence.
http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/crosscurriculumpriorities/sustainability

32. NRM
Education
http://nrmeducation.net.au/

33. Education for Sustainability
http://www.educationforsustainability.com.au/

34. Global Education Conference
http://www.globaleducationconference.com/

35. Out of Eden Walk
A Walk Through Time
Paul Salopek’s Out of Eden
world walk is an exercise in
slow journalism. Moving at
the slow beat of his
footsteps, Paul is engaging
with the major stories of our
time—from climate change
to technological innovation,
from mass migration to
cultural survival—by
walking alongside the
people who inhabit them
every day. As he traverses
the globe from Africa to
South America, he is
revealing the texture of the
lives of people he
encounters: the nomads,
villagers, traders, farmers,
and fishermen who never
make the news.
http://outofedenwalk.nationalgeographic.com/

36. What’s Next?
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Aboriginal Languages Framework
Work Samples
Primary perspectives project
Assessment statement
Humanities statement
General capabilities view of the curriculum
Cross-curriculum mapping
Monitoring of the Australian curriculum
Senior secondary
With acknowledgement to
Dr P Lambert ACARA

37. For further information
 Contact me
 giles.bartram510@schools.sa.edu.au
 Twitter @BartramGiles
 Download this presentation
 http://www.slideshare.net/GBartram