Stage 6 Agriculture syllabus support workshop David Randall Richmond High School on behalf of Technology Unit Curricu

1. Stage 6 Agriculture syllabus support workshop David Randall Richmond High School on behalf of Technology Unit Curriculum K-12 Directorate

2. Aims of the workshop • become familiar with the amended Stage 6 Agriculture syllabus • develop effective programming using a range of planning tools • utilise teaching strategies to improve student learning outcomes • become familiar with the Board of Studies marking guidelines for Stage 6 Agriculture.

3. Housekeeping matters • Venue • Sign on sheets • Workshop materials • Agenda • Evaluations

4. Institute of Teachers standards 1.2.1 Apply and use knowledge of the content/discipline(s) through effective, content-rich, teaching activities and programs relevant to the stage. 2.2.3 Apply practical and theoretical knowledge and understanding of the different approaches to learning to enhance student outcomes. 6.2.4 Work productively and openly with colleagues in reviewing teaching strategies and refining professional knowledge and practice.

5. MYPL@DET

7. Introductions • Name • Where you are from – school/system. • Area of agricultural interest.

8. Session 1 Overview of changes to the syllabus, examination specifications and assessment guidelines

9. Why did the syllabus change? • A discussion paper was developed by the Board of Studies in August 2008. • The paper considered concerns raised with the Board about HSC student stress and workload, as well as some different practices between HSC exams and assessments in different courses. • In Agriculture these proposed changes included: • changes to exam specifications including the introduction of objective response questions • removal of the optional research project from the course • changes in assessment guidelines

10. Discussion paper • Agriculture teachers around the state responded to the discussion paper, and there was also meeting at the Board with the NSWAAT and Board of Studies senior management. • The main points discussed were: • inability of the 1999 syllabus to support objective response (multiple choice) questions • desire of some agriculture teachers to retain the optional research project • problems interpreting the 1999 syllabus • the mark balance between electives and research. • An agreement was made to update the syllabus to allow the new exam specifications to be implemented.

11. Amendment, revision or re-write? • NSWAAT was asked to nominate a writing team to amend the syllabus. • The writing team’s aims were: • make a clear distinction between the content in the Preliminary and HSC • provide guidance to the depth of study in each dot point • use a format closer to that of other subjects • provide electives which projected the subject into the 21st century. • allow the new exam specifications to be implemented • Remove overlap

12. Syllabus changes Change in format

13. Change in weightings in the HSC course Removal of the optional research project created an imbalance between the core and elective. The weightings in the HSC course have been altered to strengthen the core and increase the depth of study in ONE elective. Core 80% Plant/Animal production 60% Farm product study 20% Elective 20%

14. Detail in learn to dot points • More detail on the required depth of study. Use of the terms including and such as. • Including means to study all of the items listed. • describe chemical characteristics of a soil including soil pH, ion exchange capacity, soil carbon and nutrient status • Such as gives an indication of the types of items you could study, these are a guide only, and you are free to investigate other items. • discuss one ethical issue relevant to an animal production system such as mulesing, live export, battery egg production, use of farrowing crates

15. Use of verbs to indicate the required depth of learning • Verbs from the Board of Studies’ key words glossary are used to indicate the depth of study required. These key words may also be used to frame questions from the dot points in the HSC, for example: • identify the factors that limit fertility of farm animals including genetics, environment, pests and diseases, management and nutrition • outline the role of objective measurement and heritability on the breeding programs of farms, using at least one specific industry program as an example • describe the relationship between the ruminant and rumen microbes • explain how plant breeding is used to develop new plant varieties to improve product quality, yield and environmental adaptation • evaluate an IPM program, naming the target organism and the plant host

16. Clearer distinction between the depth of study required in the Preliminary and HSC courses • The writing team attempted to identify processes and basic biological functions in the Preliminary course, and study the manipulation of these through management in the HSC course. • Some examples of these distinctions are: • Reproduction • Nutrition • Pest management • Soil and resources • Plant v’s crop growth • Experimental design and statistics

18. Minor changes to outcomes • P3.1, P5.1 and H4.1 have been modified to strengthen the breadth and depth of the outcomes. • P3.1 explainsdescribes the role of decision-making in the management and marketing of agricultural products in response to consumer and market requirements • P5.1 investigatesidentifies the role of associated technologies and technological innovation in producing and marketing agricultural products • H4.1 justifies and applies appropriate experimental techniques, technologies, research methods and data presentation and analysis in relation to agricultural problems and situations

19. Depth in the HSC core has been strengthened by moving some dot points from the old electives. • With the reduction of the electives from 30% to 20%, some content was moved from the old electives to the core. • An example of this is: • outline the effects of plant hormones including auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene and abscisic acid

20. Removal of the optional research project In the 2008 discussion papers the role of externally produced work was investigated. The research project has declined in popularity, and now has very few candidates at the HSC attempting it.

21. New electives • Agri-food, Fibre and Fuel Technologies • Climate Challenge • Farming for the 21st Century • The electives were developed so they are an extension of the core syllabus. • They indicate three areas of future directions in Australian agriculture. • Only one elective to be studied. • Clear distinction between core and elective content. • Elective studied at greater depth up from 15% to 20%.

22. HSC exam specifications The examination will consist of a written paper worth 100 marks. Time allowed: 3 hours plus 5 minutes reading time. The paper will consist of two sections. Section I – Core (80 marks) This section will consist of two parts. Across this section there will be approximately 50 marks based on the Plant/Animal production core and 30 marks based on the Farm product study core.

23. Part A (20 marks) There will be objective response questions to the value of 20 marks. Part B (60 marks) There will be approximately seven short-answer questions. Questions may contain parts. There will be approximately fifteen items in total. At least three items will be worth from 6 to 8 marks. Section II – Electives (20 marks) There will be two questions for each of the three electives. Candidates will be required to answer both questions on the elective they have studied. The first question on each elective will be worth 8 marks and may contain parts. The second question on each elective will be an extended response worth 12 marks with an expected length of response of around three and a half pages of an examination writing booklet (approximately 500 words).

24. Summary of changes • 20 marks from objective response (multiple choice) questions. • 60 marks from questions like the current questions 1 to 5. These will be in approximately 7 questions which may be made up of parts. • At least 3 items of high mark value which may be questions which ask students to asses, justify or evaluate (6 to 8 marks each). • Only 1 extended response question in the paper contained in the elective. • No internal choice in the core of the paper. This is consistent with other HSC exam changes and is best practice in educational measurement.

25. Assessment guidelines • There are changes in the assessment guidelines • The main points to note are: • To “focus’ assessment on the main concepts and skills of the course by basing the assessment components on manageable groupings of outcomes and objectives. • 3 to 5 tasks are sufficient for students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in relation to course outcomes.

27. What might an assessment program look like?

28. Unit planning • Agriculture as a school subject has some unique challenges when developing a course plan. These constraints need to be addressed in the early planning stages, for example: • Seasonal issues with regard to cropping. • Livestock seasonal issues, for example lambing time. • Availability of animals. • Access to venues such as study farms or agricultural processing plants. • Involvement in shows. • Students on work placement for VET courses. • School constraints such as exam periods and reporting due dates.

29. Activity 1a: Unit planning Work in small groups to identify the seasonal, agricultural, school and assessment constraints which will effect how you plan units of work. Note these in the table on pages 6-7, Participant workbook. To complete this planning phase, mark out when you would do sections of the course.

31. Activity 1b: Electronic content allocation tool (ECAT) The Electronic content allocation tool (ECAT) is an Excel spreadsheet which allows the user to allocate content across the course and check that syllabus content is covered fully and evenly across a course plan, program or unit of work. The purpose of this activity is to: • explore the features, functions and applications of ECAT • practice using the tool on a unit of work.

32. These tools are on your USB. There is one for the Preliminary course and one for the HSC course. ECAT is also available for the Stage 5 Agricultural Technology syllabus and for Technology (Mandatory) on the Curriculum Support web site: http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/technology/7_10/technology/prog_tool_template/index.htm http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/secondary/technology/7_10/agriculture/prog_tool_template/index.htm

33. How to use ECAT • Turn to Plant production unit of work, pages 8–11 Resource booklet. • In groups of 2–3, analyse the unit of work using the ECAT on your USB thumbdrive. Instructions and screen shots are found on pages 6–7, Resource booklet.

34. How to use ECAT • Using the HSC ECAT • Choose one elective. • Put a ‘y’ in all the fields of the elective for the first 2 sections, ‘innovations, ethics and current processes’ and also ‘managing processes in agricultural systems’.

35. How to use ECAT • Choose the tab which contains the elective. • Work with others in your group to input teaching strategies in the ‘notes’ section. • Don’t forget to ‘save as’ to retain your work.

36. Morning tea

37. Session 2 Teaching strategies

38. Analyse a research study • In each elective students have to analyse a research study. This requirement is the same as in the previous syllabus. This has generated some challenges: • Sourcing suitable research studies. • Difficulty for students to understand the technical language in the research paper. • The following activity is one way of tackling the problems students have in understanding the technical language in research papers.

39. Activity 2A: Unpacking technical information • The purpose of this activity is to: • become familiar with a teaching strategy that can assist students to comprehend and use complex technical information • enhance knowledge of experimental design. • TheReciprocal teaching strategy assists students to construct meaning from text as well as a means of monitoring their reading to ensure they understood what they read. It consists of four stages: • Predict • Clarify • Question • Summarise.

40. Producing a summary of a research paper Each group can report a summary of their work. When your class has finished looking at a research paper using the reciprocal teaching strategy, a summary of the paper in their own words can be produced. A pro forma for a student summary is on pages 12-13 Resource booklet.

41. Designing a ration • The purpose of this activity is to: • design and explain a ration to meet the nutritional requirements of a selected animal for a particular stage of production. • In this activity you will use a simple spreadsheet application to formulate rations for two different animals. • Dairy cow • Meat or layer chicken • From your USB, open the spreadsheet. • Follow the instructions pages 14-15, Participant workbook. • To make an interesting competition, all use a 600 kg cow producing 25 litres per day. Try to produce the least cost diet.

42. Chicken diet Open the spreadsheet Each group could use a different diet specification.

43. Practical work It is intended that students engage in and reflect upon practical experience relevant to all aspects of the physical, chemical, biological, economic and social sciences embodied within Agriculture Stage 6. Some of this experience will be in the laboratory, some in small plot work and some on commercial farms or other components of the industry. In all cases, students should use these practical experiences to develop design, practical, management, observation, recording, interpretation and communication skills. Practical experiences may also be used to achieve coverage of the content statements not specifically related to skills. The practical experiences should occupy a minimum of 30 per cent of allocated course time. NSW Board of Studies (2009) Agriculture Stage 6 Syllabus, p. 5.

44. Activity 2c: Practical work • The purpose of this activity is to: • become familiar with the practical work requirements of the syllabus • identify mandatory practical activities in the syllabus • identify dot points which are best covered by practical work and field trials • be able to calculate statistical information from practical work and field trials.

45. Activity 2c: Practical work • Open a copy of the syllabus from the resources on your USB. • Identify the ‘mandatory’ practical activities. • Identify dot points which lend themselves to practical activities. • What are the requirements for experimental design and analysis? Which practical activities are best suited for you to use to fulfil this? • Discuss these with your group and then complete the grid on pages 17-18, Participant workbook. • Each group can report back with one practical activity which is new to them, or with an activity which fulfils a learn to statement.

46. Measuring significance • One area of change in this syllabus is the addition of the concept of measuring significance in experimental data. • There is no one method mandated, and you can use any measure, the aim is for students to understand ‘significantly different’. • Some ways to measure significance are: • Using calculators to evaluate standard error (the method is outlined in Dynamic Agriculture 3). • Calculating mean, SD and standard error using a simple spreadsheet . • Using the statistical package in Excel to measure Chi square, Student’s t or analysis of variance.

47. Activity 2d: Calculating mean, standard deviation and a simple test of significance • The purpose of this activity is to: • use two different methods, the Windows 7 calculator and a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, to calculate a measure of significance (standard error), and interpret the data from a trial.

48. Calculator method There is a calculator in Windows 7 (the DER laptops). You can find it using the ‘start’ button. Then type ‘calculator’ in the search window. Use the Internal parasite trial data, pages 21-22, Participant workbook and calculate mean, standard deviation and standard error.

49. Excel spreadsheet To allow you to do these calculations more easily there is an Excel spreadsheet on your resource thumb drive. Open the Excel spreadsheet. Use the data Maize silage trial, page 24, Participant workbook in the spreadsheet to calculate standard error.

50. Lunch