Curriculum Through Literacy: Materials Design

Introduction This report focuses on why digital instructional materials should be integrated into learning programs in the modern classroom. It discusses a selection of published resources, which target a Year Five teaching context (Australian Curriculum). The materials are described and evaluated as to how they could form part of an engaging learning experience. Suggestions are made as to how they could be improved or tailored to ensure they are challenging and rewarding.

Digital learning material in the classroom Pedagogies that integrate information and communication technologies can engage students in ways not previously possible, enhance achievement, create new learning possibilities and extend interaction with local and global communities (MCEETYA, 2005, p.1) As part of the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) (2009) Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, Australian Education Ministers have committed to enhancing teaching and learning by supporting the development of teaching approaches that are relevant and engaging to students. This includes incorporating new technology and multimodal approaches into the teaching program to ensure students continue to be motivated learners. According to Posnick-Goodwin (2010), the term Generation Z describes the current generation of students, who are digitally literate, having grown up with digital technology. They use technology automatically to connect socially, to find information and to connect to the outside world. They multitask, have shorter attention spans and expect instant feedback, perhaps at the expense of deeper thinking and analysis. It is necessary for teachers to keep up with technological developments in order to connect with students and to be able to weave familiar technology into the curriculum and design learning programs that are engaging and relevant. At the same time, teachers need to be able to guide students to focus their attention, to become media literate and improve their verbal communication skills. They also need to be able to link new learning with students prior knowledge and experience. The use of technology can also help teachers design programs to suit the multiple intelligences of students, and be effective for visual, auditory or kinesthetic learners (Posnick-Goodwin, 2010).

GIBSON Melissa

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Carrington (2009) argues that classrooms should be structured as a learning community and integrate both digital and text literacies (multimodal texts) to help students develop the skills they need to become expert learners. Maier, (2009) also recommends teachers acknowledge and use the expertise of the new generation of multi-literate students. Educationally sound digital learning materials that target current and future needs of students should be used to ensure learners are empowered, engaged and motivated in their learning. Digital instructional materials are important learning tools for the new generation of students, who now expect digital technologies to be incorporated into their learning. However to be effective, material must be carefully selected for relevance to learning context and desired learning outcomes. It should be evaluated as to its appropriateness for context; its quality, style, clarity, accuracy, level, pacing; and its interest to learners and used appropriately. Materials may need to be adapted and extended with teacher-made elements and authentic materials to suit the learners context (Richards, 2001). Created material is often decontextualized, and can be difficult to tailor to a local setting and/or curriculum. It is often specific to a learning stage so doesnt cater for diverse students, so additional material must be sourced to ensure the learning needs of a diverse classroom are met.

Assessing digital learning material Richards (2001) suggests trying out instructional material projects before they are published to determine whether they fulfill their aims, and whether they have any problems or faults. Some suggested questions that can be used to evaluate material include: Are the materials comprehensible and the instructions clear? Do they contain any editorial or content errors? Is the pacing of the materials appropriate? Do the materials do what they are supposed to do? Do they address (targeted) learners needs? Is there sufficient quantity of practice material? Are the materials sufficiently well designed, interesting and engaging?

In addition, immediate, encouraging feedback given by an activity or resource can increase learner motivation and help the student understand when they have done something incorrectly (Nokelainen, 2006). The points above form a useful framework for evaluation of published interactive materials.

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Teaching context The digital resources discussed in this report have been chosen for a Year five class of 22 students in a Melbourne Bayside suburb. All students are of a higher socio-economic demographic and most children speak English as a first language. One girl in the class has a Thai background and has picked up English well since arriving in Australia three years ago. The school caters for individual differences with a range of programs and support including Individual Learning Improvement Plans, Early Years Literacy and Numeracy Programs, Reading Recovery, Mathematics Intervention, Language Support and an accelerated learning program for higher achieving, motivated students. There is a high expectation of success for students, by both parents and teachers. Because of the wide range of levels and differentiated needs in the class, allowance needs to be made for children who need extra help and explanations, and for others who may need extension activities. According to Piagets developmental theory, this group of students is at the concrete operational stage of cognitive development, therefore the use of concrete materials and visual aids is an effective teaching/learning strategy. Some of the students are moving into formal operational stage, and developing the capacity for deductive logic and more abstract ways of reasoning (Marsh, 2009). Lev Vygotsky developed the theory of a socially formed mind and that childrens learning occurs with their ZPD zone of proximal development (Marsh, 2009). Scaffolding, reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning are important teaching and learning techniques and appropriate in this context.

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Topic: Space The topic of Space has been chosen to facilitate cross-curricular learning and to serve as an interesting focus for the unit of work. The topic can be carried across a range of subjects and into authentic real-life activities. The published digital materials discussed below have been chosen for their high quality presentation, and suitability to meet the expectations and needs of the student cohort. They are good examples of discovery learning and are clearly linked to a range of areas and outcomes within the Year 5 Australian Curriculum (AC). They are scaffolded in their structure so are appropriate for differentiated needs of students. They have a multimodal approach (linguistic and visual and some use audio) and are student-centred, interactive and engaging. A variety of learning experiences are offered, at varying degrees of difficulty. The activities would form part of a unit of work. The Year 5 AC guidelines, published, teacher-created and authentic materials would be used to frame and extend the program.

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Published instructional materials recommendation 1

The Le@rning Federation L1128 Earth rotation: sky watch The Le@rning Federation L5779 Eclipses

Curriculum connections Science Earth and space sciences The Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star (the sun) (ACSSU078) Maths Number and place value Identify and describe factors and multiples of whole numbers and use them to solve problems (ACMNA098) Use estimation and rounding to check the reasonableness of answers to calculations (ACMNA099)

Description of instructional materials These materials are part of a series of interactive animations sourced from The Learning Federation collection and target students in Year 5 and above. They are an easily adaptable, useful resource to introduce and explore the changing position of the Sun, Moon and stars in the sky to the rotation of the Earth and eclipses. The series extends to meteors, auroras, comets, and stars and galaxies. These interactives would be introduced to the class as a group, utilising the classroom interactive whiteboard to facilitate discussion and clarification of more complex areas by the teacher before students attempt some of the activities independently or in cooperative mixed ability groups.

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Evaluation This resource is creatively presented and informative. The learning materials comprise sets of interactive modelling, simulation and visualization animations many of the models can be manipulated to help students explore and learn about a range of astronomical features and phenomena. They link well into the Year 5 Science curriculum. The design, graphics and pacing are excellent, and the materials are engaging and at an appropriate level (ZPD) for students at this level to understand. Interactive quizzes are provided to focus learning and provide instant feedback to learners. This unit of work involves concrete engagement experiencing and exploring earth rotation through digital materials. Through this exploration children can better conceptualise the way the earth moves, and its relationship to the sun, including learning correct terminology. The processes of analysis and application will be applied as the lessons move into related authentic activities in the real world (Kalantzis, 2005). Some lower level learners may struggle with some of the more advanced concepts so it would be useful to provide some alternative resources that break some of the ideas down further. It would also improve the activity if there were an audio option to cater for different learning styles and to help with comprehension.

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Published instructional materials recommendation 2 The Le@rning Federation L8155 Whats the problem: planets: level 1 The Le@rning Federation L8158 Whats the problem: planets: level 2 The Le@rning Federation L8161 What's the problem: planets: level 3

Curriculum connections (Australian Curriculum Year 5) Maths Number and place value Identify and describe factors and multiples of whole numbers and use them to solve problems (ACMNA098) Use estimation and rounding to check the reasonableness of answers to calculations (ACMNA101) Use efficient mental and written strategies and apply appropriate digital technologies to solve problems (ACMNA291) Maths Using units of measurement Choose appropriate units of measurement for length, area, volume, capacity and mass (ACMMG108) Science Earth and space sciences The Earth is part of a system of planets orbiting around a star (the sun) (ACSSU078) Science Planning and conducting With guidance, plan appropriate investigation methods to answer questions or solve problems (ACSIS086) Literacy Interpreting, analysing, evaluating Navigate and read texts for specific purposes applying appropriate text processing strategies (ACELY1702) Use comprehension strategies to analyse information, integrating and linking ideas from a variety of print and digital sources (ACELY1703)

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Description of instructional materials These materials comprise a series of worded mathematical problems about planets (choice of Earth and Moon or solar system.). They are presented as a game show in which the student participates. Each set progressively increases in difficulty, from questions aimed at Year 4 to those targeting Year 6 level. Students have to comprehend and interpret the questions, then choose the correct steps in the process to solve the problem. They are an example of so-called faultless learning, the learning is based on the fact that mistakes are corrected immediately and one cannot progress to the next part in the material before this is done (Nokelainen, 2006). Scaffolded support is given to students as they engage in the problem solving process. If students get stuck they can refer to a set of steps, accessed via a button at any time. Panel members make suggestions.

Evaluation This resource is well designed and cleverly structured. The activities are communicated well and are aligned to the target cohorts ZPD. They are cross-curricular, combining mathematical problems with the science topic (facts about space) and literacy (comprehension, problem solving, new terminology). There are levels to suit a wide range of learners, and the activities link well into the Year 5 curriculum. It is very interactive, and scaffolded to ensure students dont guess the answer, but move through appropriate calculations and mathematical procedures to solve the problem. Helpful prompts are given if the student chooses an incorrect answer. Addition, division, multiplication, subtraction and problem solving are covered. Audio support is optional, catering to different learning styles and to help with comprehension of the questions. Feedback is encouraging and positive. Lower-achieving and ESL students may have trouble even with the Year 4 resource. It would be ideal to have a more basic version of this interactive available to allow a wider range of learners to participate in the learning experiences.

Conclusion To be effective in a modern fast paced digital age teachers need to develop innovative pedagogies, explore digital instructional materials and integrate them into learning programs. A relevant and interactive, inclusive learning environment will engage and motivate students, improving their learning. Incorporating carefully chosen, high quality digital instructional materials caters to the different learning styles of the new generation of diverse, multi-literate students. The materials discussed in this report are examples of well designed digital instructional materials that can be used to enhance the learning experience.

GIBSON Melissa

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Reflections In researching this assignment, it became clear that digital learning materials are being developed and published at an incredible rate. There is now a huge range of material available for use by students, teachers and parents, yet there is only a selection that are relevant, useful, interesting, well designed and relate to specific curriculum outcomes. Others are great resources that can be used in context and tailored or extended to meet specific needs. It is very time-consuming finding and adapting appropriate materials but once found they form an integral part of the learning process. The Le@rning Federation site is a fantastic resource to use as a starting point but it is necessary to continually and carefully research the many online resources and build up a library of good content providers. It has been very interesting to study traditional and emerging pedagogies in relation to using digital technologies. However, a limiter is that the computers and ICT systems in many schools, including the ones I have spent placements at, are out of date, poorly maintained and the internet access inconsistent. There is very little technical support available. I found it nearly impossible to incorporate digital content into lessons even the electronic whiteboards were not working properly in many cases. Broader use of ICT in classrooms needs to be supported by appropriate funding to keep systems operable and current. The controversial BYOD (bring your own device) program might be the only realistic way to go in the future. As I have a background in creating digital learning materials at CSIRO I am looking forward to working with students in a well maintained ICT-rich environment where appropriate technology and digital resources are used imaginatively to create new and engaging learning opportunities.

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References
ACARA Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2012). Australian Curriculum online. Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ Carrington, V., & Robinson, M. (2009). Digital literacies: social learning and classroom practices. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications. Education Services Australia Limited (2012). The Le@rning Federation. Retrieved from http://econtent.thelearningfederation.edu.au/ec/p/home Kalantzis, M. and Cope, B. (2005). Pedagogy (Chapter 5). In Kalantzis, M and Cope, B. in Learning by Design (pp.6988). Melbourne, Vic. Victorian Schools Innovation Commission in association with Common Ground Publishing Pty Ltd. Retrieved from http://ereadings.cdu.edu.au/view/cdu:20825 Maier, C.D. (2009). Promoting and implementing environmental literacy: A multimodal discourse analysis. The International Journal of Learning, 16(2): 509-520. Marsh, C. J. (2009). Key concepts for understanding curriculum (4th ed.). London ; New York: Routledge. MCEETYA (2005). Pedagogy Strategy: Learning in an Online World. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.edu.au/mceetya. MCEETYA (2009). Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. Retrieved from http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/mceecdya/melbourne_declaration,25979.html Nokelainen, P. (2006). An empirical assessment of pedagogical usability criteria for digital learning material with elementary school students. Educational Technology & Society, 9 (2), 178-197. Posnick-Goodwin, S. (2010). Meet generation Z. California Educator, 14(5), 8-15. Richards, J (2001). The role and design of instructional materials (Chapter 8). Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from: http://ereadings.cdu.edu.au/view/cdu:19038

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