Implementing the Victorian Curriculum F–10
The following information outlines curriculum area advice to schools to support remote learning and continuity for students in
F–10 Ethical Capability. This advice should be read in conjunction with broader advice provided to schools regarding the Victorian Curriculum F–10 on the
VCAA and
Victorian Curriculum F–10 websites.
Delivering F–10 Ethical Capability remotely and flexibly
Keep in mind
- Schools can review and adapt their teaching and learning program for Ethical Capability to enable the curriculum to be delivered at home via remote learning. This review and adaptation should take into account any linked learning areas.
- Teachers are best placed to make teaching and learning decisions and assessment modifications that are appropriate to their own circumstances. Teachers need to take into account their access to remote learning tools (such as online learning platforms) and the strengths and limitations of their student cohort.
- A modified teaching and learning program should include learning activities that enable students to demonstrate aspects of the relevant achievement standards in Ethical Capability.
- The Ethical Capability curriculum focuses on key concepts, ideas and challenges in managing ethical decision making and action, including ethical dilemmas and broader contested ethical issues. This advice focuses on Ethical Capability in the context of investigating ethical issues.
Ideas and connections
- If originally planned methods for curriculum delivery require adaptation – noting that the Ethical Capability curriculum largely involves the learning of new knowledge and its application to a variety of learning area contexts, and that common key pedagogies are research and discussion – and remote learning conditions limit discussion time, schools and teachers could consider discussing the most contested topics only, unpacking the content descriptions explicitly beforehand, and providing templates to help students identify and analyse the ethical issue both independently and in groups.
- Teachers should consider child safety in relation to using social media and online forums as resources, for example, by providing a selected sample of comments for student analysis rather than allowing unsupervised research.
- Teachers could support and prepare students to produce high quality and rich investigations through providing feedback on shorter learning activities and/or using student 'exit tickets' to consolidate new knowledge before the main investigation.
- Teachers typically draw on depersonalised school contexts for learning activities (for example, mocking up a dilemma involving a schoolyard conflict as a basis for discussing how to use an ethical principle as a basis for action) and teachers should continue to use depersonalised contexts rather than setting activities that might result in students contributing examples of ethical dilemmas experienced at home.
- Depending on the achievement standard students are progressing towards, the learning area context and the resources available at home, students could monitor the media to identify and analyse ethical issues related to restricted activities and stay-at-home conditions; construct and be given fictional scenarios and dialogue; and/or participate in chats and work collaboratively on a selected issue.
- For ideas for teaching and learning activities for Ethical Capability, see
Ideas for remote and flexible learning.
Useful resources
In addition to
VCAA resources, teachers may consider:
For tips on how to identify when an issue is an ethical issue, see the VCAA's
Teaching ethical issues and concepts in the Victorian Curriculum F–10 – Planning tools.
Assessment and achievement standards
- Schools may consider reviewing the sequence and balance of learning activities and assessment tasks aligned to the relevant Ethical Capability achievement standards to account for how often and in what form teacher feedback will be given.
- Schools should assess student learning, including investigations of ethical issues, against the relevant aspects of the achievement standards in the Victorian Curriculum F–10.
- Teachers can select and use a variety of assessment types to provide timely feedback to students and to monitor learning progress. Schools can review the range of assessment tasks to achieve a balance between short inquiry-based activities that focus student attention on particular skills and understanding and more open-ended, rich assessment tasks that can be completed over a period of time at home.
- On the resumption of face-to-face learning, schools will need to undertake a variety of assessments to determine students' actual progression of learning, considering the original teaching and learning program and making the necessary adjustments to this program as required.
For more information
Monica Bini, Ethical Capability Curriculum Manager
Phone (03) 90321693 or email the Ethical Capability Curriculum Manager