<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">Hi, holiday-haters</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">On Sunday I gave an ITA revision session at Trinity College to about 100 students on behalf of <i><a href="https://engageeducation.org.au/">Engage Education</a></i>.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">At one point I asked how many of them had a basic grasp of what normalisation was.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">I heard silence. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">I saw 200 scared eyes.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">Anyone who <i>thought</i> they knew the answer was terrified that I might ask them to explain what normalisation was.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">I then asked how many of them knew what normalisation was <i>for</i>.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">I heard a dog bark miles away in Lygon Street. It might have been a corgi. It might have had a limp. I think I heard it cough a little.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">Meanwhile, the students in the room were silent and frozen.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">I stared into 200 panicking eyes.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">One hundred rabbits in the spotlight pleading: I'M NOT HERE.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">I did my best to explain <b>normalisation forms</b>, but I'd recommend that whatever time <b>you</b> have left with your ITA darlings, you might want to go over normalisation - from start to finish.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">And <b>ethical dilemmas</b>. They will never <i>really</i> understand that topic at their age - as previous examiners' reports testify - but you can try.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">And you might want to go through basic <b>classic confusions</b>, e.g.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">- efficiency, effectiveness</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">- validation, testing, evaluation.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">And techniques for planning and tackling the <b>8 or 10 mark question</b> mini-essay would be wise.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">And of course, most kids traditionally know little about relevant <b>legislation</b>.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">These are just suggestions. </div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">Examiners say that kids make the same mistakes in <b>every</b> ITA exam.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">Check the examiners' reports (which are summarised in the <a href="http://vceit.com">vceit.com</a> post mortems) to see where kids usually go wrong.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">Good luck</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small">Mark</div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><i><br></i></div><div><span style="font-size:12.6667px"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small;display:inline"></div></span><font face="trebuchet ms, sans-serif">“Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it yet.”</font></div><div><font face="trebuchet ms, sans-serif">—L. M. Montgomery, <i><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;font-size:small;display:inline"></div>Anne of Green Gables</i></font></div><div><br></div><div>Mark Kelly</div><div><br></div><div><img src="https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B4DRNqu3Y8sZNy1KTlhHdGVINWc&revid=0B4DRNqu3Y8sZclhYdUpxelZmcmx3amRrYjM1d01mdlJ5WURNPQ"><br></div><div><br></div><div><a href="mailto:mark@vceit.com" target="_blank">mark@vceit.com</a></div><div><a href="http://vceit.com" target="_blank">http://vceit.com</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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