[Year 12 IT Apps] itapps RIP

[Zach Alexakos]

Unfortunately I won¹t be teaching ITApps next year or a Year 11 class either
due to extraneous circumstances, however I would like to point out the
following issues:

Having taught at private schools and governments schools the ITApps course
is clearly better suited to students with higher literacy standards.  As the
course is primarily theoretical, with the examination determining the
overall study score result, students from higher socio-economic backgrounds
are clearly at an advantage by being able to grasp the meaning of the
language used in the course earlier and quickly.  This was especially true
of girls in IPM as it used to be, who in general achieved higher results due
to their higher literacy standards compared to boys.

Students from disadvantaged backgrounds and those from non-English speaking
backgrounds struggle with the course content.  It is important to note that
in my experience, (and studies support this view) that there is a direct
correlation between student achievement and parent education levels.  In
addition many of these students also struggle with the practical component
of the course in being unable to understand complex instructions, in
particular regarding software packages such as DBMS.  The question here is
³As a society do we want to discriminate a student¹s educational achievement
based on the educational attainment of their parents?²  It would seem that
the answer in contemporary education circles is yes.

I have one student in my ITApps class this year I am hoping will achieve 40
for a Study Score.  The rest are well below the average.   A more
ŒTechnical¹ ITApps course would suit these Œunderperforming¹ students better
as their analytical literacy skills are required less than their Œknowledge¹
based fact skills.  VCE course designers would argue that that is why we
have VET IT and related technical courses at TAFEs.  However I would argue
that this is a highly contentious point worthy of extended debate, not the
least given that our VCE curriculum is driven by the ŒSandstone¹
universities.  My point here is that there is no reason why a more
Œtechnical¹ IT VCE course would be less challenging than the current design.

Why don¹t all public schools offer a purely VET Years 11 and 12?  For the
majority of public schools the staff level of expertise is at VCE level, for
most subject areas.  VCE classes of 1 or 2 students is not possible.   This
would endanger a school¹s ability to offer a VCE curriculum and bring into
question the Œmodus operandi¹ of a school. It is one of the reasons why
public school teachers end up with students in their VCE classes who are
unable to cope with the VCE course content in ITApps and related classes.

regards, 
Zach Alexakos  











On 1/11/10 10:45 AM, "Mark KELLY" <kel at mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au> wrote:

> Next year I have the first SD class running in 3 years (12 kids), and ITA with
> 12 year twelves and about 10 year elevens doing it as enhancement.
> 
> (The admin originally wanted me to run a combined yr 11 + ITA class.  I  said
> no.)
> 
> So next year, no year 11 IT.
> 
> This year I had 19 in ITA (17 year twelves & 2 year elevens) and 22 in year
> 11.  It chops and changes every year.  No idea why.
> 
> 


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