STUDIES OF ASIA CONTEMPORARY ISSUES & VALUES
Masters Students
Negotiated Study
Graduate Certificate Students
Option 1: Preparation of a teaching unit or professional development presentation; or Unsupervised Graded
Option 2: Critique of resources
2500 words
Assignment 2-Masters students
Negotiated Study
INTRODUCTION
This assignment provides you with the opportunity to pursue a further area of interest relevant to societies and cultures of contemporary Asia. To the extent possible, there should be a reflective/analytical dimension to the study and/or a research or research related component. The study should be approximately 2500 words in total.
SCOPE OF ASSESSMENT
The focus of your assignment may be on the knowledge area, the pedagogical/curriculum area, or some combination of the two. For example, you may like to examine a different issue from the one you chose for assignment 1. On the other hand, you may wish to pursue and entirely different track, such as:
• Undertaking a cross-cultural comparison of two Asian countries in the contemporary period
• Investigating the ways in which particular Asian societies/cultures are depicted by international media
• Developing a class/school wide program for the inclusion of contemporary issues and values relating to Asia
• Tracking student knowledge/attitudinal change as a result of their studies of contemporary issues and values relating to Asia; and so on
Please note that these are examples only – your final choice of focus for the study should be negotiated with the Course Coordinator
Assignment 2-Graduate Certificate students
Option 1: Preparation of a teaching unit/professional development presentation
Introduction
This assessment provides an opportunity to develop either a comprehensive unit of work for inclusion in a SOSEl Humanities teaching and learning program, or a substantial professional development presentation aimed at providing insights into incorporating selected aspects of Asian societies and cultures into SOSEl Humanities curriculum in the primary or secondary school context. The written documentation should be about 2500 words in total (not including appendices).
For purposes of this assessment, ‘unit’ may be interpreted flexibly to cover the range from a sequence of a few lessons to a program for up to about 4 weeks. Longer ‘units’ should be avoided, as it may be difficult to keep the focus tight. A professional development ‘presentation’ should involve a session or sessions aimed at colleagues within your own school or workplace, or across a number of schools, such as an Access Asia network or teacher association. Whether the ‘unit’ or the ‘presentation’ is chosen, the focus should be on an aspect, issue, episode, etc related to those covered in the course and set in the contemporary period.
Process
Select an aspect, issue, episode, theme, etc relating to an Asian society or region and develop a unit of work for your classroom. Research, develop and document the unit, utilising the headings provided below.
Or Select an aspect, issue, episode, theme, etc relating to an Asian society or region and develop a presentation for a professional development program.
Utilise the headings provided below to inform/guide the construction of your presentation.
• Title of Unit by Presentation
• School level related to
• Rationale for selecting/including this topic
• School Context/Professional Development Context
• Curriculum Context
~ Studies of Asia Curriculum
• Relevance to Studies of Asia: A Statement for Australian Schools, especially the section ‘Some Emphases across the Curriculum’ (pp 17- 19.) and/or National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia in Australian Schools.
~ Society and Environmental Hum amities Curriculum
• Key Learning Area/Strand Organiser(s) and relationship to Society
• Learning Outcomes
• Teaching and Learning Sequence and Activities
• Assessment Criteria and Activities
• Resources (teacher/presenter/student/participant)
• Evaluation – if you are able to trial this unit/presentation within the assessment period, attach some student work samples or participant evaluation sheets, together with a brief analysis of the effectiveness of the unit/presentation. Alternatively, if you are unable to trial the unit/presentation during the period, document a colleague’s response to your unit or provide a reflective self-evaluation of the anticipated successes/challenges in teaching the unit/delivering the presentation
• Appendices – you may wish to also provide examples of student worksheets, information handouts you prepared, and so on to give further insights into how your unit or presentation operated in practice.
Note: If this option is selected for EDUC9883: Contemporary Issues & Values, the unit or presentation must relate to the contemporary period.
Option 2: Critique of resources
Introduction
This assessment involves subjecting selected resources to critical scrutiny as to their usefulness in incorporating studies of Asia in Society and Environmental Humanities curriculum in the primary or secondary school context. The critique should be approximately 2500 words in total.
Scope of Assessment
For purposes of this assessment, a resource may be interpreted to mean any print, audio or visual materials of use to teachers and/or students in the teaching and learning process. You are required to select TWO resources and write an incisive review of each resource that would provide teachers with the necessary understanding to make an informed decision about the use and value of the resource for their teaching.
Process
1. Choose TWO resources which you consider particularly appropriate for including studies of Asia in SOSElHumanities teaching and learning programs.
2. Produce a two-part critique of each resource (see below). You must complete BOTH parts for EACH resource. The overall critique for each resource should be approximately 1250 words in total.
Part A:
In prose form, provide the following information:
~ author, title and publisher
~ a comprehensive description of the content and presentation of the resource
~ the relevance of the resource to particular student groups, the SOSE/humanities curriculum and Studies of Asia: A Statement for Australian Schools or National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia in Australian Schools.
~ 2 – 3 examples of the different ways in which the resource could be used in the teaching and learning process.
Part B:
Analyse the resource in relation to the concepts of ‘Asia literacy’ and/or ‘critical literacy’ Clearly identify what you see as the strengths and weaknesses of the resource and justify your views. You may find it useful to refer to the checklist provided below.
• Does the resource suggest various views of Asia?
• Does it show the diversity across and within Asian countries?
• Does it provide insights into the nature and characteristics of contemporary Asian societies?
• Does it show the countries of Asia as dynamic rather than static?
• Does it identify the contributions which Asian peoples and cultures have made?
• What kinds of photos or cartoons of Asia and Asian people does it show? Does it challenge/enforce stereotypical images?
• Does it show the binary oppositions between Australians and people from the
Asian region, or does it focus on the similarities and common grounds?
• Does it show Asian views and perspectives on issues?
• Does it inform understanding of links between Australia and the Asian region?
• Are eurocentric frameworks, perspectives and priorities used to interpret events/issues/developments?
Note: If this option is selected, the resources must relate to the contemporary period.
Assignment Writing Support
Preparation of a teaching unit/professional development presentation
• Curriculum Context
~ Studies of Asia Curriculum:- Relevance to Statement for Engaging Young
Australians with Asia (or Studies of Asia: A Statement for Australian Schools)
~ English Curriculum:- Relationship to English curriculum framework and Asia Scope and Sequence for English
Note: For the Curriculum Context section it is insufficient to merely list indicators, statements etc drawn from curriculum documents – you need to demonstrate how those indicators and statements are met through your unit or presentation
Establishing relevance:
Title of Unit: Engaging Young Australians with Asia through Literature: Japan
Alternative 1
This unit is designed to address all five learning emphases identified in the National
Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Australia in Australian Schools:
– Understand ‘Asia’
– Develop informed attitudes and values
– Know about contemporary and traditional Asia
– Connect Australia and Asia
– Communicate
Assignment 2 (Graduate Cerlificate students) choose one of the following:
Option 1: Teaching unit or professional development activity
Child Labor in Asia
Indonesia: Perspectives of a near Australian Neighbour
Vietnamese Immigration to Australia
Images of Asia
Festivals & Celebrations of Malaysia
Discovering Laos
Asia & the Sydney Olympics
Country Study – India .
Forest Fires of South East Asia
An Introduction to the economic, strategic, & cultural importance of SE
Asia & links to Australia
Perceptions of Asia
Three Gorges Dam
Option 2: Critique of resources
Fiesta book series
Critique of Snapshots of Asia and Looking at Asia
Winds of Change videos
Thailand – Looking (ItAsia and Passage to Vietnam
Critique of Passage to Vietnam and Onion Tears
Critique of Snapshots of Asia and Country Insights – India
Critique of China and Korea
Assignment 2 (Masters students)
Negotiated Study
Aust. Govt. policies and Aust. Relations with Asia
China’s One Child Policy and its impact today
Falun Gong – friend or foe
Human trafficking in Asia- focus on Cambodia
Timor-Leste and the aftermath of independence
Vietnamese migration to Australia
Environmental and economic issues in the Asia-Pacific region
Globalisation – fact of life inAsia
How Japan is depicted by international media
Conflict in Southern Thailand
NS: Politics and Islam in Malaysia and Indonesia
Cross-cultural comparison in contemporary Malaysia and Singapore
The Spratly Islands – unrest in the South China Sea
Forest Fires ofSE Asia
Are carbon credits the answer to global change
The Three Faces of China
Contemporary female political leaders of Asia
Palm oil in SE Asia – economic miracle or environmental disaster?
.Reviewing the application of Shari’a law in Indonesia
Impact of terrorist attacks on Bali tourism and economy
How China is meeting the increased demand for usable water