Geography course - cooperation during the refinement phase
The Curriculum Council has acknowledged the valuable input professional associations have made throughout the refinement process for the new Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) courses.
The Geographical Association of Western Australia (GAWA), in particular, has made a significant contribution to the refinement of the new Geography course.
Geography curriculum officer, Alan Atkinson, said the review process provided an opportunity for the Curriculum Council to re-establish a cooperative and consultative relationship with GAWA.
(left to right) Leeming Senior High School students Brad Ellis and Kristin De Souza with Geography teacher Mike Fazio.
"Once the course review process was announced, we had a lot of contact from Geography teachers who expressed their dissatisfaction with various aspects of the course and the implementation process," Mr Atkinson said.
"GAWA made a number of strong representations on behalf of teachers. By concentrating our liaison with the professional association, we were able to deal with several critical issues, directly and promptly," he said.
"Council has provided GAWA with the opportunity to comment on drafts and exchange ideas on an ongoing basis.
"We also offered GAWA the opportunity to nominate members to participate in working groups throughout the refinement process.
"One of the issues GAWA feels strongly about is the perceived overlap of two of the four course outcomes. The recommendation for four outcomes to be replaced by three is being considered by the Curriculum Council.
"After feedback is sought from senior teachers from the sector/systems, the recommendations will be forwarded to the course's Assessment Review and Moderation (ARM) panel and the Senior Secondary Education Committee (SSEC).
"Throughout the refinement process, GAWA has provided quick and valuable feedback on draft sections of the course document."
Mr Atkinson said the WA branch of the Australian Association for Environmental Education (AAEE) had also provided feedback during the refinement process.
He said it was encouraging that two professional bodies had made a positive contribution towards refining and improving the new course.
GAWA president, Mike Fazio, said his association had taken an active role in the refinement process because it needed to know details of the course in order to inform its members and deliver professional development.
"The expertise we have brought to the refinement process has been experienced geography teachers who thoroughly know - and are committed to - the subject," Mr Fazio said.
"We're committed to the development of a challenging course that is suitable for our students and which meets the requirements of a good education," he said.
"It is fair to say that early problems with the course could have been avoided if we had been involved in its development up front."
Curriculum Council course accreditation and review team manager, John Newman, said the input from GAWA was highly valued.
"There is a role for subject associations to work in cooperation with the Curriculum Council once courses are implemented," he said.
"Another example of a cooperative association is the South West English Teachers Association (SWETA). The association has shared its English research work and student samples based on work it has done on the exam format. This has proved most helpful," Mr Newman said.
