The development
of a curriculum unit based on the in-country experience is a main
feature of the eighteen month TICFA program. Whilst many teachers
have very specific research topics to be explored in-country,
often participants find that their in-country experiences lead
to a change or greater clarification of the curriculum focus.
Prior to departing
on the 1997-98 Laos/Thailand study tour, Samantha Ellis
of Dundas Public School, NSW, decided to leave the topic of the
post-tour development of her curriculum unit fairly open. "I
had some general topics on which I wished to collect some information
and I found this was much easier than some other teachers on the
trip who had very specific ideas. Therefore, my curriculum needs
were sassily met on the trip."
Whilst on tour, Samantha
found that her direct experiences led her to focus her research
on customs and cultures in Laos. She collected artefacts and information
that she felt would be valuable when designing her unit but found,
"the most valuable resource was the photographs I took and
seeing the custom and cultures first hand. While I kept a diary
of what I did, what I saw and how I felt, when I look at my photographs
it stimulates me to remember so many other images and interesting
facts that I couldn't have possibly captured in writing".
Samantha incorporated her photographs as the key resource in her
K-6 teaching sequence, 'What are the similarities and differences
between Laos and Australia?'
Following her return
from Laos/Thailand, Samantha received funding to develop the K-6
unit to be incorporated into the school's curriculum. After developing
the unit, she in-serviced the staff on the contents and available
support resources and provided a 'introduction to Laos' lesson
in each classroom in which parents were also invited to participate.
In doing so, Samantha moved the impact of the in-country experience
from simply her own classroom to the entire school community.
Teachers at her local Access Asia Network were also introduced
to Samantha's in-country experiences and unit on Laos.
The unit is comprised
of 8 modules to be introduced to students over an 8 week period.
Modules include: Location and History of Laos, The People, Food
and Clothing, Housing, Buildings and Celebrations. The unit is
supported with teacher background information, outcomes, generalisations,
learning sequence activities, assessment activities, black line
masters and a comprehensive list of resources and references.
Karen Pick,
St Joseph's School, SA, participated in the 1997-98 study tour
to Laos and Thailand.
After returning from
the study tour, Karen was involved in a number of dissemination
and support activities within her local school community. She
in-serviced staff and provided them assistance in the introduction
of the studies of Asia within their school curriculum. Karen found
that her improved understanding and first-hand experience of Laos
and Thailand allowed her to enrich her primary classes and provide
better learning experiences for her students.
Karen also developed
a unit based on her tour experiences and information gained whilst
in Laos.
"Initially in
formulating my curriculum ideas, I ha it in the back of my mind
that I'd like to be able to focus on children' experiences of
celebrations and special occasions. I soon came to realise that
contact time with children may not be sufficient to develop the
unit, so I centred my attention on aspects of culture tat would
be interesting and strongly comparable to our own. In looking
at that in mind what would capture their interest and imagination
of the students in my school. The best opportunities come during
the time I had available in workshops with the Lao teachers when
they were able to take me into their cultural environment and
enrich my understanding by enabling me to get specific answers
to my questions."
"As we were involved
in making Big Books about their culture to teach children, the
material I collected at this time was most valuable in the formation
of my curriculum units e.g. being taken to meet Hmong village
people and writing a Big Book about their clothing."
Karen devised a 2-3
week primary unit based on the Hmong People of Laos and their
Embroidery to be integrated across a number of Key Learning Areas
including SOSE, English and the Arts.
