The approach taken by VCAA divides psychology into areas of study under Units 1, 2, 3 and 4, with learning outcomes under each area of study. The learning outcomes are accompanied by a set of key knowledge that students are expected to master by the conclusion of the unit. The key knowledge is specific and hence provides teachers with an adequate idea of what can be incorporated in their teaching practice and provide students with clear learning objectives. The curriculum provides both students and teachers a definitive sense of direction and assists the process of creating short-term and long-term goals for learning.
The VCE Psychology Study Design is the only available curriculum for studying psychology in Victoria. We will critically analyse ‘Area of Study 1: How does the brain function,’ as it is the most relevant topic to our curriculum resource. Whilst inspecting the key knowledge requirements, it demonstrates that VCE students must have a comprehensive understanding of the brain functions. We modified this curriculum so that it is more applicable to a year ten standard. This allows room for teachers to scaffold students and build on previous knowledge.
We strongly appreciate the VCE curriculum as the document outlines the rationale and aims of the overall subject and provides concise learning objectives. Also, the curriculum provides a comprehensive guide for teachers to construct their lessons in a creative manner. It allows the freedom for teachers to use various pedagogical practices to implement in the classroom.
We noticed that in psychology, there is ample room to implement inquiry based learning. Inquiry based learning is learning predominately from the use of questioning. Our brains are complex and all individuals have very different brains structurally and functionally. We all have different backgrounds and stories to share so everyone’s mindset, knowledge and interpretations of the world is very subjective. Questioning it allows student to gain new perspectives of one another and understanding other student’s ways of knowing.
Building upon previous knowledge is highly possible through the study of psychology. Psychology is a broad theoretical subject that promotes cross-curricular studies. It integrates general science, genetics, biology and statistics. This is beneficial in the sense that it demonstrates to students the commonalities and interrelation of two distinctively different subjects and consolidates that understanding of the content further (Savage, 2011). On the other hand, as our curriculum centres on the biological side of psychology, it is important for teachers to be aware of students with a biological background because the pace of their learning will be much more enhanced than those without any biological background.
The provision of precise knowledge essential for students to understand may be limiting in that it may be treated by learners and educators as a ‘checklist’ of items to remember. It is possible for teachers and students to fall into the trap of following the curriculum rigidly. For example, teachers may inadvertently disregard classroom material that is not on the study design and as a consequence students may deem such material as unimportant and trivial. This attitude to learning is detrimental in future learning experiences. Teachers should foster positive learning habits and perspectives in students such as by being stimulating role models. Caution should be exercised in this approach and in how the key knowledge as phrased.
The required assessment tasks are explicitly printed after each learning outcome. We believe such assessments are beneficial for student learning as they demonstrate an effective amount of precision. It is not too confined and not too vague at the same time. The tasks allow for teacher flexibility to adapt accordingly to meet the needs of individual students. A number of assessment medium are listed to direct and lend a hand to teachers and give teachers the opportunity to choose activities for themselves or allow students to choose. Teachers should aim to get to know their students and work their teaching practice to suit their students. There is also the chance for students to pick their own task. This has the potential to instill in students a sense of empowerment and make them feel valued as individuals who know themselves well enough and are mature enough to make their own decisions.
The possible assessment tasks to choose from are highly varied in nature. They cater for learners of all styles - visual, auditory and kinesthetic. It is beneficial for students that the curriculum allows for diversity and takes individual differences into account. Many medium involve the use of digital technologies which students are likely to welcome and find engaging. They would be familiar with modern technology since we live in a society which is becoming increasingly dependent on electronic devices. Some tasks also enable students to build on creativity and innovation, vital skills for 21st century learners. Other tasks call on students to investigate and inquire concepts. These are advantageous to student learning in that they promote lifelong skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, questioning, analysis, evaluation and reflection.
What is unfortunate is that reflecting on this curriculum, we are aware that some schools do not offer psychology apart from at VCE level. The schools that offer VCE psychology at year nine or ten level has potentially an unfair advantage because they have the foundational knowledge of psychology and only need to be scaffolded for VCE which is a competitive year for all students.
For our curriculum resource, we have modified our activities to adapt to the level of learning for year 10 students, by reducing the depth of the learning content. This provides students with the opportunity to learn the basic concepts presented in the VCAA curriculum. We have taken this approach to ease students’ transition into units 1-4 of psychology, should they decide to continue their study of psychology.
Our activities were specifically designed to target an aspect of Outcome 1 of the VCAA curriculum. Outcome 1 - On completion of this unit the student should be able to describe how understanding of brain structure and function has changed over time, explain how different areas of the brain coordinate different functions and explain how...brain damage can change psychological functioning (VCAA, 2015)
Our learning tasks have been centred upon content related to the lobes of the cerebral cortex. This is directly linked to outcome 1, where students learn the general roles of the brain and how the cerebral cortex controls body functions, as they complete the learning tasks designed for each lobe. We have also chosen to focus on ‘Unit 1 key knowledge - Role of the brain in mental processes and behaviour’ (VCAA, 2015).
According to VCAA (2015), it is within this section, that educators are required to address the following issues, as part of the curriculum: • The role of the cerebral cortex in the processing of complex sensory information, the initiation of voluntary movements, language, symbolic thinking and the regulation of emotion, including localisation of function’ • The impact of injury to the cerebral cortex on a person’s biological, psychological and social functioning
Within every lobe of the brain, our content and engaging activities were designed to cover the aforementioned key knowledge of the VCAA curriculum. We have provided simplified content that investigates not only the functions, but also the consequences of potential damage to specific locations of the brain.
We also aimed to target cross-study specifications, more accurately, the ‘communicate and explain scientific ideas’ aspect of the curriculum (VCAA, 2015). Cross-study specifications refer to the foundational skills required throughout the four units of psychology and also across all areas of study. We emphasised upon the two key science skills within the VCAA (2015) curriculum: • Identify and explain formal psychological terminology about investigations and concepts • Use clear, coherent and concise expression Communicating and articulating scientific ideas is essential for learning as students can demonstrate their level of understanding and educators can gage their students’ current knowledge. Psychological terminology can be complex and it is crucial that students can communicate this information accurately. In VCE, all students are striving towards excellent subject scores that reflect their hard work and dedication to learning. Lacking the ability to communicate scientific ideas can affect their marks, this can occur during assessment which includes written examinations or oral presentations in class. Even though their individual understanding may be consolidated, without communicating their ideas effectively, it can affect how their learning is assessed.