Unit 3: Sample approach to developing an assessment task
Guide to choosing areas for investigation of clean energy
- List the key knowledge and key skills. The
VCE Systems Engineering Study Design provides details of the key knowledge and key skills related to Unit 3 Outcome 2 and the Area of Study, Clean energy technologies, on page 25.
- For Unit 3, Outcome 2, students must complete any one or combination of the following: a short-written report in the form of a media analysis or a case study or based on structured questions; a multimedia/simulation presentation or report; or an oral presentation (see page 26 of study design). In this example, students will complete a written report (based on structured questions that the teacher will develop).
- Identify the key knowledge and key skills that you are looking for in a student response and design the criteria and a marking scheme.
- The performance descriptors for each outcome identify the key knowledge and key skills that need to be identified in a student response.
- Identify the nature and sequence of teaching and learning activities. In this example, students are required to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy sources, and analyse and evaluate the technology used to harness, generate and store non-renewable and renewable energy. Students are provided with technical information about clean energy technologies, calculation of energy consumption and efficiency, and recommendations about hypothetical clean energy systems to a fictitious client. Information could be gathered from the
‘Clean Energy Australia Report’ on the Clean Energy Council’s website
The following provides advice on selecting a topic for this written report and a suggested framework for the investigative process and presentation of the written report. This report can be submitted electronically as a blog (such as Global2), wiki (such as Wikispaces, MediaWiki, DokuWiki, or WikkaWiki ) or website (such as Wix), or in hard copy.
Guide to choosing a topic
Students are to select a clean energy technologies topic that is current and enables them to investigate the impacts on the environment, society, governments and business. Students could also look into the global impacts of current energy-related thinking and relate it back to Australia.
Topics must be related to clean energy technologies, such as the generation of energy through wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, biofuels or distributed generation. Students must be able to research questions related to one or more of the following areas associated with clean energy technologies:
- storage systems, such as battery technology, supercapacitors and distribution systems
- environmental impacts
- social impacts
- local and global energy trends
- comparison of effectiveness in a variety of scenarios.
Students should also use the technical information about the selected clean energy technology, calculation of energy consumption and efficiency, and make recommendations to a fictitious client. The structured questions developed by the teacher should enable students to discuss advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy sources, and analyse and evaluate one technology used to harness, generate and store non-renewable and renewable energy.
The topics researched and presented should relate to current issues and debates raised by the use of clean energy technologies and address the key knowledge for Unit 3, Area of Study 2.
Teachers need to use the Authentication form from VASS if the task goes over two or more lessons.