Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091

HSC GEOGRAPGHY ASSESSMENT TASK NOITIFICATION

Course: Geography Issue date: 24th of April Topic: Urban Places

Due Dates:
Task: Senior Geography 15000 Weighting: 30%
 Final Report: 8th of May
words written report & a 300  Report: 20%
 Reflection Journal: 15 th
words Reflection Journal  Journal: 10%
of May
Task rationale: Students apply their geographical investigation of urban dynamics world cities, while
comparing it with Sydney in a report format and self-evaluate their learning through a reflection
journal.

Outcomes:
H1 explains the changing nature, spatial patterns and interaction of ecosystems, urban places and
economic activity
H3 analyses contemporary urban dynamics and applies them in specific contexts
H8 plans geographical inquiries to analyse and synthesise information from a variety of sources
H9 evaluates geographical information and sources for usefulness, validity and reliability
H10 applies maps, graphs and statistics, photographs and fieldwork to analyse and integrate data in
geographical contexts
H12 explains geographical patterns, processes and future trends through appropriate case studies and
illustrative examples
H13 communicates complex geographical information, ideas and issues effectively, using appropriate
written and/or oral, cartographic and graphic forms.
Instructions:

Question: Examine the role of the world cities and the operation of these cities within global networks.
Must include at least 3 developed cities and compare the social and economic importance to Sydney.

Report:
1. Answer the question above in a report form (follow the structured format template provided).
2. Research three developed cities you want to discuss about, along with Sydney.
3. Discuss the social and economic importance of all four cities through a comparative manner.

Journal:
4. Complete the reflection in your own words (you may use ‘I’).
5. Include personal experience when conducting the research, such as what you learnt and the
challenges you discover.

Format:
 Use appropriate academic writing
 Font size 12
 Present work in a professional manner
 Must have at least 5 academic references
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Report: Marking Criteria

 Successfully demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of urban

dynamics of the world cities
 Successfully applied geographical inquiry and research, including tools and skills
 Successfully analyse geographical information, ideas and issues in appropriate
15 - 20 forms
 Successfully presents work professionally, with clear academic writing, appropriate
spelling and grammar, relevant references and within the word limit.
 Illustrates a well-rounded knowledge and understanding of urban dynamics of the
world cities
 Ability to use most geographical inquiry and research, including tools and skills
10 - 15  Explains geographical information, ideas and issues in appropriate forms
 Display work professionally, with minor spelling and grammar and a good range of
references.
 Present a sound knowledge and understanding of urban dynamics of the world cities
 Recognises geographical inquiry and research, including tools and skills
5 - 10  Identify geographical information, ideas and issues in appropriate forms
 Adequate presentation of work, using appropriate vocabulary with few references
 Show some knowledge and understanding of urban dynamics of the world cities
0-5  Drawing some geographical inquiry and research, including tools and skills
 Describes geographical information, ideas and issues in appropriate forms
 Poorly presented

Total: _______

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Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091

Reflection Journal: Marking Criteria

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Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091

Report (scaffold layout)

The Senior Geography 1500 words written report. You will need to hand in your reflection
journal entry, as well as an analysis of your results.

Your report should have the following format:

 Cover page
 Table of contents
 Executive summary
 Background information
 Research findings and analysis
 Conclusions
 Reference list

What you should include in each section:

1. Cover page
 Title page with your name, your topic and your subject.
 One page

2. Table of contents
 One page
 Page numbers

3. Executive summary
 250 words
 State your research question or subject in the introduction. You need to tell the
readers what the paper is about, and why it matters, in the introduction. Explain
how and where the study was carried out and define any pertinent terms that the
audience needs to know. Outline the structure of the report as well.

4. Background information
 300 -400 words
 Secondary (statistics, reports, and other published material)

5. Research findings and analysis

 600 words
 Depending on your research, you may need to graph data or analyse statistics.
Evaluate what the data means in terms of your research cities. Look for
relationships, patterns, and trends between the issues and ideas you explored.
 Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence. The first sentence of each paragraph
should state what the paragraph is about. The subsequent sentences should explain
the topic in more detail and provide evidence. In this way, you move from general
to specific information.
Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091
 Include relevant materials such as graphs, charts, or images that help explain your
research. If so, include them in the appendices and label them clearly. Don’t
forget to discuss the materials in the text as well to explain their significance.
Maps or photographs of the area may if it is necessary to your explanation or
research.

6. Conclusions
 150-200 words
 What are the general statements you identified about your research?
 End with a strong conclusion. Restate the question or subject, then summarise
your findings and discuss impacts or ramifications of your research.
 Use your conclusion to connect all the information you provided.

7. Reference list
 Cite the research sources you used as directed. Don’t forget to include in-text
citations as well.
Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091

Reflection Journal (scaffold template)

The essay should be formatted as follows:

Reflection Essay Title

By: Your Name

I learned that …

I learned this when …

This learning matters …

In light of this learning …

 Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091

Evaluate the importance of assessment and approaches to feedback and assessment design
that will inform your practice in your teaching area.

It is essential to assess the importance of assessment and approaches towards assessment design and

feedbacks when implementing one during your practices. While assessments are originally designed

to gather data on the student’s strength and weakness of their learning process. Nevertheless, it is

vital to understand how to ensure the student’s learning in order to design/select an appropriate type

of assessments that best measure what you want the students to achieve. It is the teacher’s

responsibility to identify the invisible barriers from the assessment task and how to further improve

those struggles. Thus, the use of assessment varied across the educational institutions, but it is

fundamental to state that it is much more than just grading.

Formative, summative and assessment for learning’ (AFL) are academic terms that are extensively

used in educational discourse across the world. According to Scriven (1967), who first proposed a

clear distinction between summative and formative roles (Harlen & James, 1997). Summative

would be the evaluation of student overall performance, customarily at the end of the year, while

formative is including formal and informal assessments conducted throughout the learning process

to improve student attainments. The ways in which these terms are interpreted and manifest in the

educational institutions and practices often varied and misunderstood. Based on the ambiguity in the

definitions, this would then lead to a distortion of understanding and practices when assessing

students’ learning. Thus, teachers must re-evaluate their understanding on the importance of

assessments, aiming to move away from the traditional way of testing and towards a more

innovative approach that is relevant and useful for the students every day.

Based on Bloom (1969, 48) philosophy, the purpose of formative evaluation involves providing

feedback and improve correctives throughout the teaching-learning process (Bennett, 2011). There

have been concerns on the need to assess students’ academic performances through examination,
 Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091
which is why students’ performance on a test became the intended indicators rather than real and

sustained learning (Klenowski, 2009). The notion of assessing where the learners are at in their

learning, where they need to go and how to rapidly improve had been misinterpreted by institutions,

consequently pushing teachers to assess their students constantly. The frequent use of diagnostic

testing to assess the levels of students’ academic performance in order to fix their failings and scales

their learning to the next level had become very problematic. This also reinforces the issue where

teachers are designing their formative assessment tasks to accommodate for the final summative

assessment, in other words, teachers are teaching to tests and training students to be great test takers

(Klenowski, 2009). However, there is a tension between teachers teaching practices compared with

the consideration of interests and demands from various stakeholders when designing and

implementing assessments. There is a strong influence of cultural, social and political content that

heavily impacts teachers’ practices and designing/ selecting the kind of formative assessments.

Using the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) as an example,

NAPLAN is a form of standardised testing. The results of NAPLAN are not actually used to

improve students’ understanding and learning. But it contributes towards a ranking system where

results are made public on the ‘My School’ website to add pressure on schools. According to

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), it is acknowledged that

NAPLAN only require one aspect of a school assessment procedures and does replace or effect with

the school’s original assessments schedule. However, there are unintended consequences when

implementing NAPLAN by the high-skates accountability, it has heavily impacted schools, teachers

and families (Harris et al, 2013). As the schools have to ensure students are practising, which is why

teachers will replace weeks’ worth of content in order to prepare students for the NAPLAN. Not to

mentions the levels of stress it places on families at home, creating internal family conflicts through

resentment and disappointments. This is adding unnecessary anxieties towards the student’s

wellbeing, especially during their adolescent development (Arnett, 2014). NAPLAN aims to help
 Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091
students becomes proficient learners in order to effectively function and participating in society, but

it seems to have an opposite effect instead.

In addition, “AFL describes the ways in which, in our everyday practice, we observe children’s

learning, strive to understand it, and then put out understanding to good use” (Drummond, cited in

Marshall & Drummond, 2006, p. 134). This statement explores the idea of teacher’s observation in

the classroom in order to effectively examine the way their students learn. There have been cases

where teachers use video recording during lessons to further reflect upon their teaching and

understanding how their students respond to certain approaches, for instance using the teacher of

the year, 2018, Eddie Woo. This use of self-reflection as a teacher reinforces the standards of ‘know

the students and how they learn’ and ‘assess, provide feedback and report on student learning’

(Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), 2017). It is believed that the

quality of interaction or the teacher-student relationship is the heart of pedagogy when assessing

students’ learning. Additionally, having staff projects or workshops when selecting or adjusting

formative assessments is considered highly valuable, as this allows teachers the opportunity to share

and discuss their concerns while receiving first-hand feedbacks and experience (William, Lee,

Harrison & Black, 2004).

There must an approach towards independent learning that establishes and extend the link between

assessment and progression simultaneously. The term authentic assessment refers to AFL that

channels real-life skills and scenarios, where it requires students to demonstrate their knowledge

and skills in a meaningful way. There is a need in implementing the appropriate type of formative

assessments tasks that include authentic tasks of real-life contexts that encourage students’ active

involvement in questioning, reflection, peer feedback and self-evaluation (Klenowski, 2009). When

employing AFL there is no ‘one size fit all’ prescribed model for an effective approach, it is the

teacher responsibility to know how their students learn and implement an authentic formative

assessment task to further challenge the student’s understanding. Implementing explicit skills that
 Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091
meet the standard requirements from the educational institutions, while adding life skills that

implicitly preparing the students for the future. Ensuring the use of the assessment is also crucial

through applying different approaches and methods when providing conservative feedbacks. As

students will not voluntarily apply those feedbacks unless the teachers implement ways to for

students to adopt those feedbacks into their learning.

Referring to the HSC Geography Assessment Task above, it is designed in a way that targets the

syllabus outcomes and the literacy and numeracy focus requirements. This task will enhance

student’s critical and analytical thinking, this can be seen when they are formulating and organising

their thoughts process in a sophisticated manner of a report. Another focus of this designed task

aims to help students build on their problem-solving skills either its geography or other KLAs.

Students will be able to use appropriate geographical methods applicable to use in the workforce, in

terms of investigating, researching, examining, reading statistics and graphs, visual analysis and

critical evaluation. It also incorporates an additional component of a self-reflection task through a

journal entry as a form of independent learning, allowing students to reassess their mistakes as time

allows individuals, in general, to reflect on their learning. It also focuses on building the students

autonomy as they must re-evaluate their own learning. In order to strengthen this designed

assessment task, it is beneficial to have another component of peer-assessment included later down

the track as an informal mandatory task. This will help students evaluate each other’s work for

feedbacks and learning off one another. It includes the benefits of developing social and emotional

intelligence through adopting pro-social behaviours among peers. Students will learn how to

provide positive constructive criticisms, which is a highly skilful aspect to have in their daily life,

particularly the work sector.

In essence, it is imperative for teachers to understand the role in which assessment plays in the

process of teaching and learning. Implementing the appropriate types of assessments task will

promote engagement, motivation and dedication which all results to positive academic
 Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091
performance. It is crucial that teachers understand that formative assessment is not a test but rather a

process of students’ learning through providing constructive feedback to adjust ongoing teaching

and learning to improve students’ achievement.

Tran Tuong Vi Nguyen Assignment 2 102091
References
AITSL. (2017). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate Teachers.
Retrieved from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards
Arnett, J. (2014). Adolescence and emerging adulthood (Fifth edition, Pearson new
international ed.).
Bennett, R. E. (2011). Formative assessment: A critical review. Assessment in Education:
Principles, Policy & Practice, 18(1), 5-25.
Gore, J. M. (2007). Improving pedagogy: Challenges of moving teachers toward higher
levels of Quality Teaching. Making a difference: Challenges for teachers, teaching
and teacher education, 15-33.
Harlen, W., & James, M. (1997). Assessment and learning: differences and relationships
between formative and summative assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles,
Policy & Practice, 4(3), 365-379.
Harris, P., Chinnappan, M., Castleton, G., Carter, J., De Courcy, M., & Barnett, J. (2013).
Impact and consequence of Australia's National Assessment Program-Literacy and
Numeracy (NAPLAN)-using research evidence to inform improvement. TESOL in
Context, 23(2), 30.
Klenowski, V. (2009). Assessment for learning revisited: An Asia-Pacific perspective.
Marshall, B., & Jane Drummond, M. (2006). How teachers engage with assessment for
learning: Lessons from the classroom. Research papers in education, 21(2), 133-149.
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2014). Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-
professional- standards-for-teachers/standards/list
Wiliam, D., Lee, C., Harrison, C., & Black, P. (2004). Teachers developing assessment for
learning: Impact on student achievement. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy
& Practice, 11(1), 49-65.