Use of the
syllabus…
"A
number of staff also commented on how much they learnt and how
wonderful it was to have the knowledge and experience in the
school." Helen
Duncan – Wantirna College 2005
"Thanks
to you and your team for another fantastic day of interactive
activities. The kids wrote volumes of information afterwards based
on what they had learnt" Michael
McLean–
Fllinders Christian Community College 2008
"Well
done!
What
a great morning!!" Robyn
Renner – Wantirna College 2002
We make great efforts
to keep our programs consistent with the school and departmental
guidelines, and with SOSE and VELS requirements.
Particularly the Level 5 and 6 standards of Historical Knowledge
and Understanding; and Historical Reasoning and Interpretation. (We
are also designing new topics in preparation for the National
Curriculum, especially in relation to the new areas discussed for
years 9 and 10.)
But we like to go
beyond this, to the motivation behind the
sylabus...
To quote from the VELS
guidelines:
"The study of history
encompasses the broad sweep of human history from ancient times to
today. It develops
in students an understanding of cultures, ideas and values...
considers the way societies have changed and also the significant
continuities which exist..."
All of our
presentations go beyond the 'what happened', to investigate the
'what effect does this have on you and on your understanding of
modern society'!
We attend, and present,
HTAV sessions; take regular input from practicing teachers; and try
to keep up with the latest research on a range of diverse topics
from demographics to climate research which may affect our
interpretations.
However
the key element of our approach always remains to extend the
curriculum and school requirements by placing the experience of
historical elements within an ongoing narrative of historical
developments.
No
topic is approached as a simplistic and out of context ‘this is
what they did’. Instead we constantly ask students to give us
a good reason why these things happened!
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