Alternative+Learning+Experiences

** Original Learning Experience Sequence **
The following table of Original Learning Experiences is provided within the unit outline for teachers to follow. Pictures of God – matched biblical references || Bible research activity - match the content with the bible reference || storyboard and information || Internet Research and Powerpoint storyboard development || Creation and Covenant – handouts and overheads || Notes from Handout || Areas to study for exam ||  ||
 * **Original Learning Experiences** || **Type of Activity** ||
 * Images of God – pictorial identification of how God is found in each picture and one that appeals to students and why || Internet search ||
 * Retrieval sheet – simile, metaphor
 * Images of God growing – SOR type activity ||  ||
 * Some images of God in Hebrew Scripture || Bible research - Q&A ||
 * Stories – myths of creation and covenant. Genesis vs Babylonian || Bible Research ||
 * Biblical questionnaire || General Knoweldge pretest of content ||
 * OHT – what is the bible and how is it developed and written || Notes from handout ||
 * Old testament books handout and OHT’s || Notes from Handout ||
 * Stages in formation of the bible overhead || Notes from Handout ||
 * Ways of reading the scriptureTwo approaches || Notes from Handout ||
 * Homer’s Guide to bible
 * Religious truths in Genesis – creation and decreation || Notes from Handout ||
 * Journey through biblical historyCovenant – OHT
 * Pacts with people in Genesis || Notes from Handout ||
 * God and people of Israel || Notes from Handout ||
 * Exploration of Hebrew scriptures || Notes from Handout ||
 * Covenant handout || Notes from Handout ||
 * Religion quiz

** Reflection about the unit: **
Because of the timing and nature of the unit, it was difficult to be able to meet all of the objectives of the Year 10 Religious Education Program unit. Notable points are: This unit was last taught in Term Four, 2010. Whilst the spread of gradings from the summative assessment of this unit were acceptable, and reflected an expected range of results throughout the students, there was a perception and reflection by the teachers that the students did not really engage personally with the content. Our students are generally motivated and organised in their preparations for exams and therefore tend to do well. This has an effect of some teachers not seeing the obvious need to adjust content or pedagogy in order to improve behaviour, understanding and engagement in the classroom as these are not perceived as a problem.
 * This unit is now taught in the last term of Year 10.
 * Class notes and handouts are available to the students via a shared OneNote file on the student server.
 * Year 10 students leave earlier than other junior secondary years, and reporting requirements impact further to restrict the time available.
 * The unit was designed to be taught in any term, therefore amply provides for 10 weeks of coverage with some degree of personal choice for the teacher of the class for pace and activities.
 * The unit was written with the intent that ICLT should be used but the experience and knowledge of TPACK was not available at the writing of the unit.
 * Modifications for students with specific learning needs have historically focussed on content modification.
 * All Year 10 Religious Education classes sit the same exam simultaneously.

The original BCE unit writers have provided a variety of activities from bible/internet research to creating the storyboard for a future Simpsons episode. Upon reflection, the majority of the pedagogy used deals with the presentation of content - from the teacher to the students, and then from the students back to the teacher. There is little scope for a constructivist approach and little scope for the students to engage with personal reflection when dealing with the content. Activities, such as collecting images of your perceptions of God or illustrating the words of the prayer, "Our Father", on the faces of cubes, tend to use far more classroom time in activity than in engagement with the ideas.


 * Whilst the handouts are easy to engage with and the students are very compliant in the lessons, there was no direct use of reflective journals used in this unit. By introducing Blogger.com to the students, I hoped to increase their inventory of ICLT skills, introduce a reflective practice into the unit and to transform the available activities into more personally engaging ones. **

**To do this, I needed to revise the sequencing of the activities so that they became more logical for the reflection process of the students - ie rather than just adding the activity into the unit, the unit needed adjusting so that the ICLT could work with the pedagogy and content to make the lessons more effective.** **Instead of the unit focus being about the content of the text (ie covenant, creation, decreation, recreation) the change in sequence and use of blog allowed me to focus more on the use of textual features and audience of both the biblical texts and the student blogs.** **In order to effectively evaluate the success of this action, it was decided that, for this year, my class would engage with the altered activities, one other class would attempt minor modifications (not discussed in this report) and two other classes would remain as the "control" for the study. Results would be discussed at a department level and whole school level to inform TPACK considerations later this year.**
 * Also, this would seem to more effectively deals with the stated outcomes of the unit: **
 * **Outcome: S6.1** ||
 * //Students engage with a broad range of textual features to critically reflect on messages in scriptural texts.// ||
 * **Outcome: S6.2** ||
 * //Students examine the effectiveness of different forms and technologies for the communication of scriptural texts in contemporary contexts.// ||

**Revised Learning Experience Sequence**
Read through the various accounts Retell fairy story activity to demonstrate accuracy of recount. || Blog before the lesson exposition: I think the Bible was written... (when, how, by whom, using what process etc) || Students found comparing "fairy stories" a powerful proof of the textual validity of verbal tradition. || Textual features to focus on: repetition, vocabulary, symbolism, metaphor, simile, allegory, covenant, worship, voice and imagery. ||  || add a comment about how your understanding of the purpose of "Day 15" may have changed. || To give the students practice at reviewing blog entries and reflecting on their understanding. || Choose one advertisement and show how it uses themes from the Bible to explain its message. ||  ||
 * **Topic Heading** || **Relevant Unit Handouts or Stimulus**
 * =Handout** || **Blog Stimulus Question** || **Implementation notes for future refinement.** ||
 * Introduction to Blogger/ account set up etc ||  || For your first posting, describe yourself without using any specifically identifiable facts (eg, name, age, gender, location, school or any identifiable activies that could jeopardise personal safety.) || Students really understood the safety discussion about internet identity and produced some very insightful descriptions. ||
 * Personal perception inventory ||  || My Images of God - When I think of God, I think of.... || Very good opportunity to discuss blog entry length, expectations - e.g. setout, pucntuation, spelling and the use of important words like "stewardship" in preparation for senior writing. ||
 * Bible Literature - Creation || #Story of Creation.
 * Bible Literature - Creation || #Story of Creation.
 * 1) Creation and Covenant || What do I understand from the text provided in the Bible? - Add to this a short visual summary. || some students used PAINT while others used Google Images to select appropriate pictures. - very efficient. ||
 * Biblical text origin || #How did the bible come to be? -&
 * 1) Where did the Bible come From?Handouts
 * Language used in the bible || #Language used in the bible.
 * 1) The Story of Creation (days 8 - 14) || As a blog entry, what do you think will happen on "Day 15"? || This blog entry allows them to begin to discover ideas related to "recreation" following "decreation" ||
 * Language feature and themes found in the Bible || #Language features found in the Bible.
 * 1) Simile and Metaphor
 * 2) Ways of Reading the Scripture || Students select a particular textual feature and present a "Glogster" equally featuring examples used in the Bible and from other sources. This link is to be placed as a blog entry.
 * || #Covenant
 * 1) Creation and Covenant
 * 2) Covenant between God and People of Israel
 * 3) Creation, Decreation and Recreation || How are the ideas of Covenant and the themes of Creation, Decreation and Recreation used in the Bible? How does this affect your understanding of the structure and purpose of the Bible? ||  ||
 * || Contemporary use of the themes of Creation, Decreation and Recreation || Revisit your blog entry about "Day 15" and further develop the theme of "recreation".
 * Contemporary use of Biblical Themes || Review glogster pages and then analyse contemporary stories, advertisements and music for textual features. Alternate this with Biblical passages for identification of textual features || How are the Old Testament writers similar to writers today?
 * Homer's Guide to The Bible || Powerpoint activity: Homer's guide to the Bible. ||  ||   ||
 * || Revision of Content for Exam ||  ||   ||
 * Assessment || Written Exam ||  ||   ||
 * Final week of Classes || Sum-up activities. || ** Culminating Metacognitive Activity **Review all of your blog entries and, using analogy, describe the change that has happened in your personal understanding of the writing of the biblical texts. You may choose to use ideas of "development", "journey", "growth", "bloom", "explosion" or other themes as you so choose. You may also employ any of the textual features studied in this unit. || Note that some students may not assume that any format of audio - visual presentation is acceptable. ||
 * The benefit of this approach has been to make the students more reflective and for them to see a connectedness between each of the content sheets. With the use of the blogs, students seem to be more inclined to be more careful and thoughtful with their responses to the stimulus - particularly students in the lower half of the class academically. **
 * The benefit of this approach has been to make the students more reflective and for them to see a connectedness between each of the content sheets. With the use of the blogs, students seem to be more inclined to be more careful and thoughtful with their responses to the stimulus - particularly students in the lower half of the class academically. **
 * The benefit of this approach has been to make the students more reflective and for them to see a connectedness between each of the content sheets. With the use of the blogs, students seem to be more inclined to be more careful and thoughtful with their responses to the stimulus - particularly students in the lower half of the class academically. **
 * The benefit of this approach has been to make the students more reflective and for them to see a connectedness between each of the content sheets. With the use of the blogs, students seem to be more inclined to be more careful and thoughtful with their responses to the stimulus - particularly students in the lower half of the class academically. **