EDU40011 AT 1

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Swinburne University of Technology *

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40011

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Arts Humanities

Date

Jun 8, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by CommodoreRoseGoat21

EDU40011 Teaching the Humanities. Assignment 1: Case Study. Group Members: Salina Pradhan, Belinda Henderson and Emily Williams. Teaching the Humanities EDU40011 Assignment 1A: Case Study Names: Salina Pradhan # 103777404 Belinda Henderson #103569821 Emily Williams # 104027993 Due Date: 12 th December 2022 ELA – Peita Rees Word Count: 2194 1

EDU40011 Teaching the Humanities. Assignment 1: Case Study. Group Members: Salina Pradhan, Belinda Henderson and Emily Williams. This case study highlights how the primary school teacher Rita, presents herself in a school setting and an overview of her preferential curriculum areas. Embedded within will be a further insight into the essentialness of Humanities within contemporary schooling. A critique of single-subject and cross-disciplinary teaching approaches is provided, including examples. Questions will be posed in the conclusion, prompting extensive research into heightening the teaching of Humanities across the school. 1. Context Rita has been a teacher for seven years and has taught students from Foundation through to Year 6. She teaches a year 5/6 composite class at a public primary school in the Northern Suburbs of Melbourne. Rita is in her late 20s and was born in South America. Her family migrated to Australia when she was four. She has a one-year- old daughter with her husband, an Indigenous Australian. Teaching Humanities is Rita's passion, and she enjoys the flexibility the Victorian Humanities Curriculum offers, which encompasses the subject areas of Civics and Citizenship, History, Economics and Business, and Geography (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority [VCAA], n.d.a). She enjoys teaching History and has a sound knowledge of Geography and Economics. Civics and Citizenships also draw upon her interest and competencies in teaching this area. Her ethos is 'Lifelong Learning,' which she models to her students, showing them that she regularly keeps up with current issues and events through research and reading. She has noticed over her teaching career that teaching History can be boring and likes to bring it alive by telling stories (Swinburne Online & Simon, 2019). She uses guest speakers, 2

EDU40011 Teaching the Humanities. Assignment 1: Case Study. Group Members: Salina Pradhan, Belinda Henderson and Emily Williams. virtual tours and excursions, and artefacts (Swinburne Online & Karina, 2019) and has a great working relationship with local community groups. The year 5/6 composite class comprises 22 students (10 boys & 12 girls) with a total school population of 282. The school has a budget for the Humanities that enables resources to be purchased to support the children's learning. Three students in the class display challenging behaviour, have learning difficulties, and are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Through her years of experience, Rita has observed that hands-on resources are reliable for engaging ASD students and reducing challenging behaviours as it develops their social and emotional capabilities (Hands on Learning, n.d.). The student cohort is from working-class families with various abilities and diverse needs. Rita observes that her students are keenly interested in local and global news and events. She is aware of the importance of connecting the Humanities with the real world of her students. She frequently gets frustrated when she cannot spend more time on a topic due to time constraints. The school takes a cross-curriculum approach to Humanities but occasionally undertakes single-subject lessons where needed. The three 5/6 teachers meet weekly to discuss learning plans, resources, and teaching practices. Rita sees these meetings as invaluable as each teacher brings their perspectives and knowledge, which supports her growth in teaching the Humanities. 2. Why are the Humanities important in contemporary schooling? As one of the Australian Curriculum's learning areas, the Humanities involves the study of subjects like History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, and Economics and Business (Australian Curriculum, Assessment, and Reporting Authority 3

EDU40011 Teaching the Humanities. Assignment 1: Case Study. Group Members: Salina Pradhan, Belinda Henderson and Emily Williams. [ACARA], 2018a). These humanities subjects enable students to learn about past historic events, climate and surrounding environment, monetary value, democratic values, equality, inclusion, freedom, respect, and responsibility. The study of Humanities also enables students to inquire, promote critical thinking and problem- solving skills, communicate productively, make appropriate decisions and be adaptable to changes (ACARA, 2018a). With the study of the Humanities, students can stay well informed about the world they live in, as it addresses critical issues like personal, social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental (Gilbert & Hoepper, 2016). The Humanities introduce students to a new sphere of knowledge and provides them with new perspectives, which is helpful to them later in life. When studying humanities, students get opportunities to discover the past, find where they are in the world using maps, understand how they are consumers, and participate in a democratic society. Students learn to explore, question, investigate and draw conclusions about significant events and places, making connections between their lives and others (Village School, n.d.). It plays a vital role in enhancing student’s desires to learn about the world around them and makes them able to actively work for their future, understand their belonging in a diverse and ever-changing society, and contribute locally, nationally, and globally in a positive manner (ACARA, 2018b). It arms the students with skills, abilities, and attitudes to deal with different life challenges and contribute productively (ACARA, 2018b). By studying Humanities, children can explore their own and others' beliefs and values, developing their personal and social learning and creating empathetic citizens (Gilbert et al., 2020). One example of learning can be the students exploring the Stolen Generation, and the long-lasting effects still felt today through a multi- 4

EDU40011 Teaching the Humanities. Assignment 1: Case Study. Group Members: Salina Pradhan, Belinda Henderson and Emily Williams. discipline approach. This approach would explore the event (History), where it occurred (Geography), and the role politics and society have played in the treatment of Indigenous Australians (Civics & Citizenship). Communication and collaboration are both vital and necessary to ensure that Humanities can be a curriculum area that is adequately delivered to students (Grigg & Hughes, 2019). The Humanities unit is invaluable for teachers as it enables crucial planning, observations, and discussions about how learning can be achieved through a team environment. When teachers collaborate, they build their knowledge and perspectives of the Humanities from others (Swinburne Online & Simon, 2019). 3. Critique a single-subject approach to teaching the Humanities providing examples. Taking a single-subject approach gives students clarity about what they are learning within the lesson; each subject area has its concepts, knowledge, and skills that assist students learning (Nayler, 2014). Some subject areas within the Humanities curriculum may receive more focus and allocated time at the expense of other subject areas (Hoepper, 2014). Humanities is an amalgamation of disciplines inclusive of History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, Economics, and Business. The listed disciplines require specialised content knowledge and ways of thinking to understand what is required to teach the units (Hoepper, 2014). For students to become competent in understanding relevant learning disciplines, teachers must ensure they deliver learning specific to a single discipline area beforehand (Venville et al., 2009). The issues surrounding an already congested curriculum are frequently communicated between teaching staff within the school sector. Teachers must 5

EDU40011 Teaching the Humanities. Assignment 1: Case Study. Group Members: Salina Pradhan, Belinda Henderson and Emily Williams. present what they are required to teach, how much to teach of a single subject, designate a teaching time frame, and ensure they interlink core subject areas into their pedagogical practices. Therefore, teaching using single-subject approach creates difficulties for teachers and educators alike, as there is often little to no time left for teaching the compulsory curriculum, let alone specialist or elective subject areas. While learning through a single-subject approach promotes a deeper level of learning for students, Venville, Rennie, and Wallace (2009) clarify that such an approach must thoroughly consider relevant real-world implications. Our ideal teacher Rita uses the single-subject approach by teaching a lesson on Civics and Citizenship, specifically on politics. Rita acknowledges that many of her students are invested in local and global news and matters. Similarly, to Simon, in case study 1 (Swinburne Online & Simon, 2019), Rita can dedicate two lessons for her 5/6 composite grade, exploring different political systems. Understanding that politics is often a dry subject for students, Rita can use this as an opportunity to take students on an excursion to Melbourne’s Parliament House. After the excursion, the second lesson is centred around how citizens choose their government figures and the extent of students’ current understanding and subject knowledge. The benefit of Rita teaching her lesson in such a way encourages her students to develop a more in- depth understanding of real-world events, roles and responsibilities in governments, and the features involved within the Australian electoral process (VCAA, n.d.b). 4. Critique cross-disciplinary approaches and issues in teaching the Humanities providing examples. 6

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