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Over the last four years, there have been very significant changes to the educational requirements and demands placed upon young people at all levels (but especially in the high school years) as they prepare for a productive life as citizens of the 21st century.
Recent changes to the accreditation of non-state schools make it necessary to supplement many curricula with materials from the Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) syllabus documents. For this reason, the Groves Christian College curriculum across all Key Learning Areas is QSA outcomes-based while continuing to be self-paced, clear to follow, embedded with Christian values and Biblical principles, and suited to the home learning situation.
Groves Christian College staff has mapped the QSA syllabus Key Learning Areas and strands to Groves’ Curriculum materials. The curriculum programs and curriculum have been put together by Groves staff to meet QSA learning outcomes in a cohesive manner. Groves has committed resources and teachers to mapping individual QSA Learning Outcomes to its curriculum materials.
Teachers have reflected upon KLA strands that are not covered adequately by specific curricula materials, and specific supplementary courses and units are being offered. By using a variety of curriculum materials that are now available and written specifically for the home-based learning situation, students are exposed to the key learning outcomes expected for all students in Queensland.
New materials increasingly available better meet both learning needs and QSA outcomes.
Key Learning Areas (KLAs)
Groves Christian College provides programs that cover the Key Learning Areas of:
· Christian Studies/ Christian Living & Bible memorisation
· English
· Mathematics
· Science
· Studies of Society and the Environment (SOSE)
· The Arts
· Technology
· Health and Physical Education
· LOTE (Languages Other Than English)
These programs are developed via a suite of resource materials aligned to the syllabus materials and elaborations of learning experiences provided by the QSA; appropriate ACE materials; Learning Language Arts Through Literature English programmes; the MathUSee program; Abeka Science materials and a variety of other quality materials, including multi-media resources.
English
Groves Christian College English program aims to involve students in using language for a range of personal and social purposes. Units of work include real life activities that involve opportunities for students to think, speak, listen, write and read in natural contexts that simulate real life situations.
Underlying the program is the recognition of the importance of establishing a supportive learning environment where tutors supported by Groves teaching staff are able to guide students’ learning through scaffolding and monitoring their language development. Students undertake project and portfolio work, practice a variety of written genre and undertake a wide reading program as well as completing programs which emphasise vocabulary and word building. Programs of work utilise the Learning Language Arts Through Literature, ACE materials and our own developing units to ensure alignment with the learning outcomes of the QSA English syllabus.
Mathematics
Our Mathematics program utilises the MathUSee, ACE and our own derived units to ensure coverage of QSA Outcomes. The QSA learning outcomes for Mathematics are identified and mapped against the MathUSee curriculum. Clearly, this curriculum meets a majority of QSA learning outcomes. Where this curriculum does not cover core-learning outcomes, supplementary materials are made available through units developed by teachers or by using appropriate commercial products.
Groves is also working with the developers of MathUSee to write specific maths units where required including a Senior Maths A and B programme to meet our Day School and Distance Education and QSA requirements. Using the Day School’s approved work program in Maths, Year 11 may commence OP eligible Maths B in 2006.
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Science
The Science strands covered by Groves Christian College Distance Education map and correspond to QSA strands and outcomes syllabus:
· Science and Society
· Earth and Beyond
· Energy and Change
· Life and Living
· Natural and Processed Materials
Students undertake practical Science activities supervised by parents. Comprehensive instructions are included in materials supplied to parents, including workplace health and safety guidelines. Students are also linked to the Queensland Science Teachers Website where they are directed towards typical science experiments to assist them in their scientific investigations and understanding. Where experiments require the use of hazardous chemicals or dangerous procedures, mini schools will be conducted at Kingston under the close supervision of experienced staff.
Social Studies and the Environment (SOSE)
A wide variety of learning experiences are included in the Groves SOSE syllabus. Students study, their immediate society and communities and how these have changed over time and with the development of new technologies. They also study World History and World Geography, the History of individual Australian States and Australian History based on the outcome requirements of the Queensland syllabus. Project work, portfolios and item sampling are playing a greater role within our programs and components of assessment in SOSE.
The Arts
Groves Christian College offers the Art strands from the alternatives available in the more widely based Arts KLA. Students may use an Internet based program that gives parents and student’s lesson plans for process style Art activities that develop essential skills within a variety of media. Project work around aspects of Technique, Artists Style and Art History supplement this program to bring alignment with the QSA syllabus.
Assessment is portfolio based with students documenting their process, showing records of developments and samples or copies of completed products.
Technology
Groves Christian College offers the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strand of the Technology KLA to meet many of the requirements of the QSA syllabus. The ICT program is an activity and skills based program that utilises portfolio-based assessment. Parents, with the support of college staff and criterion guides, evaluate individual work items and ICT Portfolios are submitted to teaching staff at the end of each term for moderation and recording of Unit Credits. The program is based around the Day School ICT Scheme (Appendix 2) that outlines development bands and skill levels for year levels P-10, with students in Year 11 and 12 moving on to Certificate 2 or 3 ICT Courses or other industry recognised ICT courses.
Health and Physical Education
The learning outcomes of this Key Learning Area are organised into three strands: Promoting the Health of Individuals and Communities; Developing Concepts and Skills for Physical Activity; and Enhancing Personal Development.
The emphasis at Groves Christian College is on two of these three strands:
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Strand
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Topics
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Promoting the Health of Individuals and Communities Life Style
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Actions to promote health, now and in the future
A healthy diet
Managing risk
The effects of social and physical environments on health
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Enhancing Personal Development
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Personal and interpersonal skills needed to function in a range of groups and settings
Strategies to promote positive relationships;
Knowledge and understandings necessary to enhance growth and development.
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For most College families the life education skills that are addressed within QSA syllabus Health Outcomes are addressed in daily living. Within the positive Christian family environment ideas that “Promote the Health of Individuals and Communities” are discussed and covered on a daily basis. Behavioral standards and social protocols are not just a list of rules, they are part of living a Christian life, developing Christ-like qualities. Several studies have reflected this, finding children learn better social skills from being with their parents than with their peers. Some studies show that Home Schooled students have higher standards of behaviour and a greater ability to communicate and relate to a wide range of age groups and situations outside the classroom environment.
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When looking at “Enhancing Personal Development,” students who are educated within a loving family environment and understand that they are a special creation of an awesome powerful loving God will have a very positive self-concept. Activities for developing a positive self-concept are a part of daily life taking place within real life contexts.
The Health strand of Health and Physical Education is delivered using a variety of materials taken from QSA materials, ACE resources and the Abeka Curriculum materials. Families also employ a range of Biblically-based study materials that address issues of:
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caring for yourself and others
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building positive family values and relationships
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God’s exciting plan and purpose for our lives
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Christian living
Students are also involved in electives that provide regular contact with peers to develop peer social relationship skills within positive and constructive situations.
Developing Concepts and Skills for Physical Activity
This area is a challenge for some families. We tend to find:
Parents who see the benefit of, or enjoy physical activity have children who are involved in numerous sporting electives - many attaining high levels of achievement.
Or, parents who are not interested in sports themselves often have students who miss out on exploring and developing a wide range of sport specific motor skills, participation and sadly, in some cases basic fitness activity.
To address this the College is developing online units for all years to cover Physical Education components. These units will be activities based and assessment will be criterion-referenced. The philosophy within these programs will be around participation, having fun and increasing experience. By 2006 the College expects that all students who are not actively involved in sports training and development in their local areas will participate in the program.
LOTE
The College offers the following languages: French, Japanese, Spanish, German and Maori. Students can also opt to take other languages on request.
LOTE Programs are independent, self-paced, outcomes-based, clear to follow and suited to the home learning situation. The programs are of a high quality and have been proven successful in offering LOTE acquisition for P-12 students. There is also continuity across year levels and students have a wide range of languages to choose from. Language packages utilise multimedia technologies that ensure students are listening and speaking, reading and writing to practice and acquire their phrases and vocabulary. Our current challenge is to find ways in which we can make these packages more affordable to our families.
Pre Compulsory Programme
Historically Pre School families have utilised the ACE materials. The material called “ABCs with Ace and Christie” covers almost all QSA requirements for Pre Compulsory education. In 2006 our teacher in charge of Pre Compulsory, Year 1 and 2 Distance Education pupils will be working with our web developers to provide an online Pre School or Preparatory Year program.
This project, which stems from QSA Early Years Curriculum Guidelines, will give parents clear instructions for:
* Establishing flexible learning environments
* Creating contexts for learning and development
* Exploring what children learn
* Exploring decision-making processes
Activities will facilitate essential developments within the following learning areas:
* Communicating
* Creating and designing
* Investigating and understanding environments
* Sense of self and others
* Social living and learning
Criterion and Item bank test sheets along with portfolios will support educators in collecting information about the knowledge, skills, and understandings children have and to use this information as they plan programs to meet the needs of each child.
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