Planning

Accreditation period Units 1-4: 2025-2029

Introduction

The VCE Theatre Studies Study Design 2025 Support materials provide teaching and learning advice for Units 1 to 4 and assessment advice for school-based assessment in Units 3 and 4. The program developed and delivered to students must be in accordance with the VCE Theatre Studies Study Design 2025.

Developing a program

The VCE Theatre Studies Study Design 2025 outlines the nature and sequence of learning and teaching necessary for students to demonstrate achievement of the outcomes for a unit. The areas of study describe the specific knowledge and skills required to demonstrate a specific outcome. Teachers are required to develop a program for their students that meet the requirements of the study design including: areas of study, outcome statements, key knowledge and key skills.

Employability skills

The VCE Theatre Studies Study Design provides students with the opportunity to engage in a range of learning activities. In addition to demonstrating their understanding and mastery of the content and skills specific to the study, students may also develop employability skills through their learning activities.

The nationally agreed employability skills* are: Communication; Planning and organising; Teamwork; Problem solving; Self-management; Initiative and enterprise; Technology; and Learning.

The table links those facets that may be understood and applied in a school or non-employment related setting, to the types of assessment commonly undertaken within the VCE study.

*The employability skills are derived from the Employability Skills Framework *(Employability Skills for the Future, 2002)*, developed by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Business Council of Australia, and published by the (former) Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training.
Assessment task	Employability skills selected facets
Script Interpretation and Performance Development	Communication: Listening and understanding Speaking clearly and directly Negotiating responsively Reading independently Empathising Persuading effectively Establishing and using networks Being assertive Sharing information Teamwork: Working with people of different ages genders, races, religions or political persuasions Working as an individual and as a member of a team Knowing how to define a role as part of the team Applying team work to a range of situations e.g. futures planning, crisis problem solving Identifying the strengths of the members Coaching, mentoring and giving feedback Problem Solving: Developing creative, innovative solutions Developing practical solutions Showing independence and initiative in identifying problems and solving them Solving problems in teams Applying a range of strategies to problem solving Applying problem solving strategies across a range of areas Testing assumptions taking the context of data and circumstances into account Initiative and enterprise: Adapting to new situations Developing a strategic, creative, long term vision Being creative Identifying opportunities not obvious to others Translating ideas into action Generating a range of options Initiating innovative solutions Planning and organising: Managing time and priorities, setting time lines, co-ordinating tasks for self and with others Being resourceful Taking initiative and making decisions Adapting resource allocations to cope with contingencies Establishing clear project goals and deliverables Allocating people and other resources to tasks Planning the use of resources including time management Participates in continuous improvement and planning processes Developing a vision and a proactive plan to accompany it Predicting - weighing up risk, evaluate alternatives and apply evaluation criteria Collecting, analysing and organising information Self-management: Having a personal vision and goals Evaluating and monitoring own performance Having knowledge and confidence in own ideas and visions Articulating own ideas and visions Taking responsibility Learning: Managing own learning Applying learning to 'technical' issues (e.g. learning about products) and 'people' issues (e.g. interpersonal and cultural aspects of work) Having enthusiasm for ongoing learning Being open to new ideas and techniques Being prepared to invest time and effort in learning new skills Acknowledging the need to learn in order to accommodate change Technology: Having a range of basic IT skills Applying IT as a management tool Using IT to organise data Being willing to learn new IT skills
Oral Presentation	Communication: Listening and understanding Reading independently Sharing information Persuading effectively Self-management: Having a personal vision and goals Evaluating and monitoring own performance Having knowledge and confidence in own ideas and visions Articulating own ideas and visions Planning and organising: Collecting, analysing and organising information
Written responses (essay, report and/or responses to structured questions)	Communication: Collecting, analysing and organising information Persuading effectively Sharing information Initiative and enterprise: Being creative Self-management: Having a personal vision and goals Articulating own ideas and visions