[Year 12 SofDev] Review of the year and the new study design

Thu Nov 17 15:35:51 AEDT 2016

Dear Chris

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. This was always going to be an interesting
year. Next year will be much better.

This year definitely reinforced the fact that students need to be more
organised. They need to plan and know where their SAT is going and how they
are going to get there. They also need to know how to write and this was
the concern for me. There was much more written content for this style of
assessment than even the CATs in the 90s. I am going to break down the
descriptors in each criterion similar to the way I go through exam
questions next year. Things such as, what is a strategy? How do you develop
a strategy? Give examples, etc. The trick for improving their performance
is to get students to plan or map out their task over this coming summer
against the criteria and then get them to justify this to you early next
year. Ask them to have diagrams, mock-ups, samples of code, etc.

Students did struggle initially with the difference between SAC-type tasks
and the SAT-type, particularly with managing their work between
observations and submissions. In SACs in the past the students new to go
home each night and get thinking for the next class. In SATs some of them
were completing work at the last minute. This was never going to help them.
I'm thinking of two weeks between submissions and at least two observations
for each one on the authentication record.

I had some problems early on with students not submitting by the time I
wanted the tasks on the day due. After a few criterion I then emailed them
and their parents the night before each deadline. No problems with
submission from that point on.

Also I found marking criterion by criterion was great for feedback to
students. I just had to find a quiet day in each fortnight and then go
through them all. Allowed early intervention with the slacker and
struggling to cope students.

Regards

Phil Feain.

On Thu, Nov 17, 2016 at 1:26 PM, Chris MCDONALD <MCDONALD.Chris at bssc.edu.au>
wrote:

> Hi all
>
>
>
> Just sitting down to have a serious look at the year and improve my course.
>
> A sort out  and rewrite of things that did not go as well as I thought.
>
> Keep the good stuff and rewrite the rest.
>
> Thanks to the active members on the list. You have made my life easy or
> rather easier.
>
>
>
> My major concern is the nature of the SAT with a large class of students.
>
> This will be the main food for thought before we start next year.
>
>
>
> Basically : The quality of the problem and the client determines the
> overall performance on the SAT.
>
> Students who are able to generate good problems based on approachable
> clients have an extreme advantage over students who lack the confidence or
> initial knowledge to find a client.
>
> The less able student will often generate an unworkable problem or
> simplify make up a client ( as I found out too late to do much about it)
>
> From this starting point the student is prevented from scoring highly on
> most of the 8 criteria.
>
> So on reflection I will be looking at
>
>
>
> 1.       Develop the awareness of what is required in the SAT before the
> new school year. Step up next week
>
> 2.       Develop clear expectations as to what is required in a quality
> problem (Searching Sorting etc.)
>
> 3.       Development of practice scenarios in the creation of a suitable
> SAT topic.
>
> 4.       Refusing students to progress further with unsuitable topics.
>
>
>
>
>
> regards
>
>
>
>
> *Chris McDonald **VET ( Information Digital Media and Technology) Teacher*
>
> *Software Development Teacher*
>
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>
>
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>
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-- 
Phil Feain

*Head of eLearning*
*Head of Information Technology*
*St. Kevin's College*

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