• Assignment 1: Two lesson plans on human rights, and a rationale Due: 17thApril Length: 1500 words Weighting: 45% What is the point of doing this assignment? The aim of this assignment is to engage you in an experience where: i. you design lessons on a specific human right for two different stage levels – showing that you can teach the same concepts at different levels of understanding ii. you develop skills in argument, critical analysis, and defending your position. Please note - if you did HSIE I in 2014, this is NOT the same assignment that you did in HSIE I. Yes, the topic is on Human Rights again (cause they are really, really important), but the process is very different here. • Last time in HSIE i, you did a Human rights lesson for one class, and gave a rationale for why it was an important to learn about that Human Right. • This time, you will do 2 lessons, each one for a different Stage Level - e.g. you write a lesson on Children's Rights for Stage 1 students, then you write a lesson on Children's Rights for Stage 2 students. • Then you will give a rationale explaining why you did each lesson differently, and how those differences cater to the learning needs and abilities of students at that Stage level. • The idea is for you to show us how you can teach the same concept to students of different ages, and adapt your teaching to suit. What do I need to do? 7. Choose a human rights topic, and two stage levels that are adjacent (next to each other) (e.g. ES1 & S1 or S1 & S2, or S2 & S3). 8. Plan a developmentally appropriate lesson that will teach your students about that human rights topic. 9. Write a rationale that explains and defends the teaching choices you have made in your lessons. Where is the list of Human Rights I can choose from? Choose one (1) of these topics (click on the links for more info): Children's Rights Free Speech Refugee Rights Terrorism The "Youth for Human Rights" page has excellent short intro videos for each human right: http://www.youthforhumanrights.org/what-are-human-rights/videos/born-free-and-equal.html In what format should I present the two lessons? There are 4 choices. Any one is fine 1. the BosTES lesson planner - click here Advantages: This is what classroom teachers are currently using. Pre-populated with all the syllabus outcomes. Outputs a slick-looking program as a word document. You need a "Scootle" login to access the BoSTES Program Builder. Anyone with a ".edu.au" email suffix can get one. Go to : https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/preregister.action 2. 2nd year Lesson Plan template.doc I HAVE ATTACHED THIS TEMPLATE (#2) 3. 3rd year transitional daybook template.doc 4. 4th year daybook template.doc It does not matter which one you choose, just pick the best fit for you. Marking Criteria • Evidence of wide reading - relevant, quality sources with differing perspectives • Depth of knowledge of curriculum documents and their influences • Quality of logic and structure of analysis • Arguments are supported with strong evidence Presentation criteria (These do not increase your grade, but you can be penalised for their poor execution.) • Quality of presentation and evidence of overall care • Accuracy and consistency of referencing • Correct spelling, punctuation and grammar NSW K-6 HSIE Syllabus can be found here - http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/go/hsie National Curriculum can be found here - http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ Having trouble finding a suitable outcome to support your lesson idea in the History or Geography curriculum? You are not alone. Remember, we are in the middle of a transition period. So feel free to see if there is an outcome in the old HSIE K-6 syllabus that works better: k6_hsie_syllabus_2006.pdf What is Assignment 1 about? Assign 1 asks you to design two Human Rights lessons - one for younger children, and one for older children. The idea is that you are able to show how you can teach the same human right to children of different ages, engaging them in a meaningful learning experience that is correctly aimed, or 'pitched' at their needs. You then write a small rationale to explain and defend the strategies you used for each age group. What do I need to do in this Assignment? Step 1: Choose one of the Human Rights problems listed above Step 2: Choose one of these combinations of adjacent stage levels from the NSW HSIE syllabus: ES1 & S1 OR S1 & S2 OR S2 & S3 Step 3: Plan a developmentally appropriate lesson that will teach your younger students about the Human Right you have chosen. ***PLEASE NOTE: The lesson needs to be a "stand-alone" lesson. It is not parasitic (dependent) on lessons that have gone before, or come after for it to make sense. Step 4: Plan another suitable lesson that will teach your older students about that same Human Rights problem (approx 500 words for each lesson - use the 3rd year transitional daybook template, one for each lesson). Step 5: Write a rationale that explains and defends the teaching choices you have made in the lessons ( 500 words for the rationale). Q: What do I need to write about in the Rationale section? A: I have chosen to do children's rights, and I have chosen Stage 1 and Stage 2 as my two different ages. The things I get the Stage 1 students to do on Children's rights will be different to the things I get the Stage 2 students to do. In my rationale, I will explain how those things are suited to their respective Stage levels, citing some sources to back up my teaching decisions. For example, I would not teach my Kindy students about Children's rights by making them do the 40 hour Famine. They are too young for that, and the experience would distress them such that they would not be focussed on learning. On the other hand, a carefully planned lesson on child hunger might be just the ticket for my Year 4 students. I could explain to them the purpose and background of the 40 hour Famine, and seek the appropriate Principal and Parental consent. We would discuss how people felt during the experience. I might give them some little dictaphones so that they could quickly record their thoughts and feelings as they were participating, then the whole class could listen to them later. In other words, what is completely unsuitable for a Stage 1 student might be a fantastic learning experience for a Stage 2 student. Got it? :) Q: Can I write the rationale in first person? A: Of course. The tone of the rationale should be from one teaching professional to another. You can write in the first person and still write rigorously. Q: But there are already heaps of lesson plans out there on human rights - why would I want to write original ones myself? A: Seriously? Why do a home-cooked meal when you can buy Macca's? Why write your own song instead of listening to Brittany Spears? Why put plastic flowers in a vase when you can go out and pick fresh ones? Another answer might be this: there are thousands of packaged human rights lessons on the interwebs. Some are fantastic. Some are abysmal. And the best way to get the skill to tell the different between the two is for you to bolt together your own, and see if it works. Assignment 1 Assessment Rubric Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction Evidence of wide readings, relevant, quality sources with differing perspectives Minimal citation of sources. Some key standard readings from HSIE shell not included. Citation of standard HSIE shell readings. 1-2 other familiar policy or curriculum sources. Standard HSIE readings, 2-3 other common policy/curriculum support docs, 1-2 other NGO papers or journal articles. Standard HSIE readings and policy/curriculum docs. 3-4 other NGO or journal papers. Standard HSIE readings, policy /curric docs, 4-5 NGO and journal papers. Depth of knowledge of the curriculum documents and their influences Inadequate understanding of the HSIE syllabus. Misalignment of Outcome with Stage level, or Content strand. A solid understanding of the HSIE K-6 syllabus, and the background to the Human Rights issue. Correct Outcome, indicators aligned, some mention of Values & Attitudes. Use of K-6 support document or other curric docs. A strong understanding of the HSIE K-6 syllabus, and the Human Rights issue, including current developments. Ability to effectively align the issue with outcomes with lesson content. Effectively incorporates other curric or NGO policy into lesson. A nuanced understanding of the HSIE K-6 syllabus, and the Human Rights issue and its contemporary state. Strong ability to integrate outcomes and policy/curric docs into lesson design. Lesson activities clearly draw from curric docs. A highly advanced understanding of the HSIE K-6 syllabus, and the history and currency of the Human Rights issue. Remarkable ability to incorporate and satisfy multiple policy docs (syllabus, support docs, NGO policies) within the one lesson. Quality of logic and structure of analysis The lesson is not developmentally appropriate for the given Stage level. No discernible structure (intro, body, conclusion). Lesson is appropriate, and has a discernible structure. Insightful application of other key theories to lesson design. The lesson has an innovative structure. Excellent application of theory to lesson design. Structure clearly linked to developmental theory. Motivating, authentic lesson activities. Outstanding synthesis and application of theory to lesson design. Elegant lesson structure. Arguments are supported with strong evidence The rationale has not defended the importance of the human rights topic, nor the teaching decisions of the lesson. Minimal or no connection of lesson design or topic choice with other perspectives or theories Mounts a clear and satisfactory argument to defend topic choice and lesson design, drawing upon key points from cited sources Mounts a strong argument to defend topic choice and lesson design, systematically drawing upon sources, leading to a logical conclusion. Compelling argument synthesises and applies theories to defend the topic choice and lesson design in a systematic way. Refers to research findings, mentions and disarms opposing views. Outstanding argument displays nuanced understanding of complexities involved in the topic choice and lesson design. Robust defence which makes use of research findings. Understands opposing positions and their shortcomings. UNIVERSITY NAME Student’s name Student’s ID MANAGING PEOPLE Essay plan Essay question In their article ‘Teams without Teamwork?’ van den Broek, Callaghan and Thompson (2004) discuss how the organization of call centre work into teams does not necessarily mean there will be teamwork. To what extent does this pose a problem for people management, and what are the key issues in maximizing the benefits of teams and teamwork for both employees and the organization? Paragraph1 Paragraph2 Paragraph3 Topic sentence Individualized work Topic sentence Largely routine work Topic sentence Technological and Managerial regulation Example Majority of call centre setups especially the advanced ones have teams whose individuals perform certain work. In a bank’s call centre setup for example certain agents among the entire workforce could be dealing with those customers with problems with their account balance, each of the agent deals with his/her client right from the start to the end. The agents reads the client’s actual balance as at the time of inquiry, why is the balance that way and if the balance indeed has a problem the agent initiates corrective procedures to correct the anomaly. Source: (Mallon and Kearney) Example Call centre operations are largely repetitive and follows certain already established procedures. In an example of a Banks call centre setup when a client calls to inquire if a certain cheque has been paid first the officer/agent is required to first confirm the identity of the caller by asking name and other relevant personal information for identification. After confirming the identity of the client the agent will proceed to check the said cheque through the cheque number or date or amount as long as the outcome is conclusive. Source: (van den Broek, Callaghan and Thompson) Example Latest and advanced call centres have sophisticated ICT solutions that direct the clients when they call the call centre for assistance. The ICT solutions usually insists on self service where you press certain keys and the client sort him/herself out even though the client really wanted to speak to the agent either because he/she need a certain explanation on why the problem happen and what he/she can do to avoid the same in future. Source: (Townsend) Explanation From our example above it’s clear that the agent in question is solving the client’s problem without collaboration or input of his/her colleagues at the centre. Thus although the centre is organized into a team, say a team that handles balance queries, the individual members of the ‘teams’ do not work together to handle clients challenges rather they work on their own until the customer is satisfied or calls back again and probably gets a new agent on the line. This poses a problem to people management in a way that when a single agent handles a problem wholesomely, chances of making erroneous judgement are high. And this does not mean that the agent is incompetent but rather it’s a question of checks and balances. The key issue here in maximizing the benefits of team work to the employee and the organization to ensure that customer handling is distributed well without causing any inconvenience to the client, say one agent can receive the complain and document all the necessary information and another agent follows through to rectify the problem and inform the client about the steps taken with reason(s). Explanation In this case what the agent is required to do is only follow certain procedure for a given problem and nothing outside the documented manual. This shows lack of teamwork although the call centre is setup to work in a team. The agents rarely consult each other because the manual is clear on what to be done. There will be no individual or teams input on the way a certain issue should be handled even when from the tone of the client the agents feels it is necessary for something different to be done in order to accommodate the client and promote clients loyalty to the company. This is a challenge in people management because not all the challenges fall within the manual and it’s challenging to document every other possible outcome in problem solving. There is need for room for deliberations where teamwork comes in handy. The key issue in maximizing the benefits of teamwork to all parties is to allow a window for consultations among the agents in order to deliver proper service to the client and boost his/her performance as well as helping the company attract and retain clients. Explanation With the technological advancement, the teams in the call centre setup gradually continue to minimize teamwork as the ICT solutions take over. The agents may be reduced to only overseeing the technology and ensuring it is performing as expected. The role of teamwork is replaced with technology and managerial regulations. Thus the agents will have little to do in terms of affecting the outcome of certain complaints lodged by the clients. In terms of people management the ICT solution and managerial regulations again falls short of promoting teamwork within the teams in the call centre. The process of resolving client’s problem is premeditated and the teams at the centre have little influence over the outcome. Link In summary, the call centre setup the client handling should be more of a collaborative work rather than Individualized work where one agent handles the entire process of a client handling. In our next topic we are going to look at how routine work affects teamwork. Link It’s imperative that the call centre agent have a chance to deliberate on how a certain issue can be handled given the circumstances under which a certain problem arose. It’s challenging for script to envisage all the scenarios that are likely to come up. In our next topic we shall look on effects of technological and managerial regulations on teamwork. Link As much as the ICT solutions lessen the work to be done, it doesn’t encourage sharing of notes and deliberations among the agents in a call centre set up. The agent’s major work revolves around overseeing the technological advancement and implementing managerial regulations. References Mallon, M. and T. Kearney. "Team Development At Fisher And Paykel: The Introduction Of 'Everyday Workplace Teams'". Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 39.1 (2001): 93-106. Web. Marks, Abigail and James Richards. "Developing Ideas And Concepts In Teamwork Research: Where Do We Go From Here?". Employee Relations 34.3 (2012): 228-234. Web. Ryan, Shaun. "When Is A Team A Team? “Teamworking” And The Reorganisation Of Work In Commercial Cleaning". Employee Relations 34.3 (2012): 255-270. Web. Townsend, Keith. "Who Has Control In Teams Without Teamworking?". Economic and Industrial Democracy 28.4 (2007): 622-649. Web. van den Broek, Diane, George Callaghan, and Paul Thompson. "Teams Without Teamwork? Explaining The Call Centre Paradox". Economic and Industrial Democracy 25.2 (2004): 197-218. Web.