Victorian Essential Learning Standards Overview

8/14/2019 Victorian Essential Learning Standards Overview

1/23


2/23

Overview


3/23


4/23

ForewordAll young Victorians need a high quality education that equip

range o knowledge, skills and personal qualities to conden

lie in a complex, inormation-rich and constantly changing w

In releasing the Blueprint or Government Schools in Novem

or Education and Training, Lynne Kosky MP, asked the Victo

Assessment Authority (VCAA) to develop a new ramework o

Victorian schools that would both reinorce standards and pr

school level.

The Victorian Essential Learning Standards, the VCAAs respons

provides the ramework or schools to deliver teaching and lesupport students to develop capacities to condently manag

relationships with others, make sense o the world in which t

participate in that world.

The Standards are based on the best practice in Victorian scho

international research and widespread consultation with scho

proessional associations and community groups. They repres

collaborative achievement by all sectors o the Victorian educa

During the consultation phase in 2004 the VCAA received ov

which strongly endorsed the proposed direction or curriculu

continued throughout the development process, with hundr

academics and other educators involved as writers or critical

drat papers as members o reerence groups. The VCAA also

Department o Education and Trainings Oce o Learning an

Education Commission o Victoria and the independent secto

the Standards.

The VCAA Board particularly acknowledges the commitment

reorm by its P10 Curriculum and Assessment Committee a

Working Party.


5/23


6/23

Victorian Essent

Overview

IntroductionThe Victorian Essential Learning Standardsprovide a new

organising the curriculum in schools. They give parent

condence that rigorous standards have been set or s

Victoria. At the same time they recognise the responsib

and teachers to devise the best programs or their stud

standards.

The Standards identiy what is important or students tstages o their schooling, set standards or those achiev

clear basis or reporting to parents and or planning pr

This curriculum approach directly addresses:

the economic and social changes associated with th

global, knowledge-based world and their implicatio

the growing evidence base about how people learn

teaching that works.

Schools have a key role to play in developing skilled, f

creative young people. To date, however, we have bee

curriculum to the broad demands that society places o

has led to pressure to include ever more content witho

priorities. Our curriculum has not provided sucient s

ways to the notion o developing learners who can appbeyond the classroom to new and dierent situations.

Essential learning


7/23

Victorian Essential Learning Standards: Overview

Second, the Standards clariy the core elements o eac

students need to acquire i they are to succeed in urth

lie.

The traditional discipline strand is balanced in the Stan

broader interdisciplinary capacities (the domains o Co

Creativity and Technology, Inormation and CommuniThinking Processes), and linked to physical, personal a

(the domains o Health and Physical Education, Interpe

Personal Learning and Civics and Citizenship), with all

equally necessary. Together, the three strands provide

develop deep understanding an ability to take their l

new and dierent circumstances.

Priorities at different stagesThe Standards have been developed in response to the

evidence on how people learn and the developmental

young people experience at school. This research reco

learning is a continuum rom Prep through to Year 10,

students develop at dierent rates, they broadly progr

o learning rom:

Prep to Year 4 (laying the oundations), where the c

developing the undamental knowledge, skills and b

and numeracy and basic physical and social capacit

uture learning; to

Years 5 to 8 (building breadth and depth), where st

the oundations, their literacy and numeracy becomand important discipline-based and interdisciplinary

progressively introduced; to

Years 9 and 10 (developing pathways), which const

post-compulsory years and where students begin to


8/23

Victorian Essent

O particular importance as ar as the Standards are co

which students progress rom being novice to more ex

move through school. Research suggests the developm

eatures and meaningul patterns o inormation; acqu

knowledge that is organised in ways which refect a de

the subject matter; applying the knowledge in ways ap

rather than merely exercising ones memory; retrieving

knowledge with a degree o automaticity; and approac

fexible ways.

That is why the Interdisciplinary and Physical, Personal

strands are intertwined with the commonly accepted c

(disciplines) which are central to any curriculum rame

not replace the core disciplines. The disciplines are rela

in a new and integrated manner.

By combining all three strands in a common ramewor

implementation by schools, the Essential Learning Stan

comprehensive curriculum response to the challenges

knowledge economy, consistent with research ndings

At Levels 1 and 2 the ocus is largely on oundational li

skills and the development o physical, personal and so

It is not until Level 3 that students are expected to ach

disciplines such as Science and the Humanities. At Lev

appropriate that students be supported and expected

o knowledge and skills in each o the three interrelate

the Standards.

At Level 6 the Standards are designed to enable schooprograms which include: each o the ve broad discipl

on developing the ull range o interdisciplinary and ph

social knowledge, skills and behaviours; and the capac

pursue pathway-related studies which meet their need

programs available in Years 11 and 12


9/23


Building the futureThe Victorian Essential Learning Standardspropose that

develop a set o knowledge, skills and behaviours whic

or success in a world which is complex, rapidly chang

and communications technology, demanding high-ord

understanding and increasingly global in its outlook an

in that world, all students need to develop the capacit

manage themselves as individuals and in relation to

understand the world in which they live; and

act eectively in that world.

Students will need to create a uture which:

Is sustainable developing an understanding o the in

social, economic and environmental systems and how

Is innovative developing the skills to solve new prob

dierent approaches to create unique solutions.

Builds strong communities by building common pu

and by promoting mutual responsibility and trust in a

community.

Each o these purposes is embedded within the three c

Victorian Essential Learning Standards, and incorporated

For example, environmental sustainability will not only

range o interdisciplinary domains but will also be emb

discipline areas as Science, Geography and Economics

develop students' physical, personal and social capacit

building is likely to be a core component o the Civics

Interpersonal Development domains.


10/23

Victorian Essent

Pursuit of excellence seeking to accomplish someth

admirable individually and collectively, and perorming

Engagement and effort acknowledging that studen

actor in achievement and that i students work hard a

improve

Respect for evidence seeking understanding and tru

inquiry and the application o evidence to test and que

Openness of mind being willing to consider a range

consider dierent ways in which evidence is perceived

reached.

Using the StandardsIn many ways this approach is not new. Many schools

valuable work in building students knowledge, skills a

areas identied in the Standards. For example, many s

to build good social and interpersonal skills in their stu

promote a thinking-oriented curriculum and much o w

strands is already part o the Curriculum and Standard

which the existing school curriculum is based.

What is new, however, is that Victoria now has a set o

that all three strands, and their domains, are addressed

teaching programs and in their assessment and report

The Standards have not been designed as an organisat

to develop timetables or school structures. They are dewhole school curriculum planning. School teams will d

essential learning standards. For some this may be thro

ocused on a particular standard and or others it will b

o work which address a number o standards at the sa

i th St d d ll ill b th d l


11/23


Years Prep to 4 Years 5 to 8Laying the foundations Building breadth and depth De

across the stages o learning

VICTORIAN ESSENTIAL LEARNING STANDA WHOLE SCHOOL CURRICULUM PLANNING FRAMEW

Three interwoven purposesTo equip students with capacities to:

manage themselves and their relations with ounderstand the world andact effectively in that world

to prepare them or success in education, work a

This is achieved through the three core, interrelated strands o

Physical, Personal and Social LearningKnowledge, skills and behaviours in

Health and Physical Education; Personal Le

Development; Civics and Citizenship

Discipline-based LearningKnowledge, skills and behaviours in

The Arts; English and Languages Other Th

Humanities; Mathematics; Science

Interdisciplinary LearningKnowledge, skills and behaviours in

Communication; Design, Creativity and Te

and Communications Technology; Thinkin


12/23

Victorian Essent

StructureWithin each strand o learning, the essential knowledg

are organised into domainswith urther divisions into d

are written or each dimension. The relationship betwe

and dimensions is shown in Table 1.

Strand Domain Dimension

Physical, Personaland Social Learning

Health and Physical Education Movement and physical activHealth knowledge and prom

Interpersonal Development Building social relationships

Working in teams

Personal Learning The individual learner

Managing personal learning

Civics and Citizenship Civic knowledge and underst

Community engagement

Discipline-based

Learning

The Arts Creating and making

Exploring and responding

English Reading

Writing

Speaking and listening

Languages Other Than English Communicating in a languag

Intercultural knowledge and

Economics Economic knowledge and unEconomic reasoning and inte

The Humanities Geography Geographical knowledge and

Geospatial skills

History Historical knowledge and un

Historical reasoning and inte

Mathematics Number

Space

Measurement, chance and d

Structure

Working mathematically

Science Science knowledge and unde

Science at work


13/23


The domains in each o the three strands comprise two

Learning ocus statements; and

Standards.

Learning focus statements

Learning ocus statements are provided at each level o

outline the learning that students need to ocus on i t

the domain and achieve the standards at the levels wh

main, they suggest appropriate learning experiences ra

syllabus or prescribing specic teaching methods. Teac

these statements to develop relevant teaching and lea

In some disciplinary domains however, such as Historycontent is specied to ensure coverage o subject matt

urther learning in the domain and/or part o what the

young people to learn (or example the study o Austra

such issues as the history o indigenous peoples and th

settlement and Federation in Australia).

StandardsStandards dene what students should know and be a

levels o schooling and are written or one or more dim

domain. They are, in eect, outcomesagainst which st

be assessed and reported on and provide valuable ino

progress which can orm the basis o urther teaching

By clearly speciying the standards appropriate at eachequivalent to Prep and Years 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, the Sta

picture o the sequence o development a student sho

in the three strands. The standards enable teachers, pa

only to determine the knowledge and skills a student c

but also what that student needs to know and be able


14/23

Victorian Essent

Relationship between the learning focus stastandards

Learning ocus statements are provided or each doma

are broadly associated with two years o learning and t

speciy the knowledge and skills students should be aim

the end o those two year periods, where it is essentialappropriate or standards to apply. For example, stude

economics knowledge and skills in the early years o sc

to spend within their means, but it is not developmen

speciy standards until Level 4 when more sophisticate

concepts and capacities are involved.

While Table 2 below outlines a general expectation o

achieve the various standards, students will develop at

students in Year 5, or example, may still be working to

standards at Level 3 while others need to be introduce

skills covered by the learning ocus statement at Level

Prep

Year 1Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

Year

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10


15/23


Table 3 provides a summary o the levels in each doma

standards against which student achievement will be a

Standards are introduced where they are central to ut

and where research suggests they are developmentally

Levels with standards for assessment and reportinLevel 1 Level 2 Level 3 Lev

Physical,

Personaland

SocialLearning Health and Physical Education * *

Interpersonal Development

Personal Learning

Civics and Citizenship

Discipline-ba

sed

Learning

The Arts * *

English

The Humanities

Economics

Geography

History

Languages Other Than English

Mathematics

Science

Interdisciplinary

Learning

Communication

Design, Creativity and Technology

ICT

Thinking Processes


16/23

Victorian Essent

This does not suggest that students should not or cann

concepts rom particular domains beore standards ap

or Geography in the early years (Levels 1 and 2) where

standards or assessment and reporting. The purpose o

statements at these levels is to give advice about learn

assist students to work towards the achievement o the

when they apply.

Using the Economics example provided on page 9, the

rom Level 4 means there is no ormal requirement or

and report on Economics until the end o Year 6. How

ocus statements at Levels 1 to 3 provide advice about

experiencesor schools including basic ideas about Eco

For example, at Level 2 Students begin to understand

used to make products which meet local peoples needs a

in other places introduces a concept o economics in

appropriate way, without requiring a particular standa

stage.

In Languages Other Than English (LOTE) standards are

assessment and reporting at Level 4. While it is clear th

benet rom the study o another language when they

the early years, it is acknowledged that some schools c

eect o their resources by introducing LOTE programs

with appropriate time allocations. In recognition o the

language learning, the LOTE domain includes progress

provide a typical sequence o second language develo

4. Regardless o the level at which the study o a LOTE

will need to develop the knowledge and skills describe

measures beore they attempt the learning associated standards. These progression measures also assist thos

LOTE programs prior to Years 5 and 6 to assess and re

student achievement.


17/23


The English as a Second Language Companion to the Vic

Standardswas published in December 2005 and provi

assessing student achievement and developing eectiv

the many students in Victorian schools who are learnin

language.

In the domains other than English, ESL learners usuallytheir understanding using English. It is thereore impor

o progress in these domains are made in the context o

development as a learner o English. The ESL Compani

such development.

For more inormation on the ESL Companion to the VEL

http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/esl/esl.html

Students with disabilitiesThe Standards are designed or all Victorian students. T

school curriculum planning document or the develop

programs or students with disabilities. These program

at the school level in conjunction with program suppoprograms should be tailored to individual circumstance

achievement will be decided at the local level. All such

should be designed within the curriculum described in

Standards.

The Victorian Essential Learning Standards Students wi

provide a ramework or teachers to develop programs

disabilities that are consistent with the VELS by linking structure o the VELS to individual program developme

students with special needs.

For more inormation on the Guidelines visit:

http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/disability.html


18/23

Victorian Essent

A major dierence between the documents is that the

no longer the main organising eature or the curriculu

personal and social along with interdisciplinary learnin

explicit, in acknowledgment o the work that schools a

they place, on developing these areas.

The Victorian Essential Learning Standardsreplace the CEducation and the Catholic Education Commission o V

schools about reporting against the VELS.

National BenchmarksNational Literacy Benchmarks are used or reporting ac

aspects o literacy reading, writing and spelling at Y

National Numeracy Benchmarks are used or reporting

aspects o numeracy Number sense, Spatial sense

data sense at each o Years 3, 5 and .

For purposes o comparison and ease o reporting, the

numeracy benchmarks have been embedded in the St

and Mathematics domains. However, these benchmararticulate nationally agreed minimum acceptable stand

are set at a challenginglevel. This means, or example,

is an expectation that students in Year will be workin

the standards at Level 5, the National Benchmarks or

Level 4.

Implementing the StandardsFundamental to the Essential Learning Standards is the

the three strands to develop deep understanding in lea

transerred to new and dierent circumstances.


19/23


Schools may opt to use an integrated approach wh

disciplines and other relevant domains are combine

through key questions or themes. A number o scho

constructing curriculum programs around such hig

investigation o the human genome project and its

draw on a number o disciplines (English, Science, H

range o physical, personal and social and interdiscirole o the school as a whole is to ensure ull covera

appropriate to the level involved.

Schools may, choose to incorporate the interdiscipl

personal and social strands o the Standards into ex

subjects and broaden their ocus in this way. For ex

dierent subjects within an existing curriculum can

the extent to which other domains are addressed aand learning programs (or example, Thinking Proc

Learning, etc. within English, or History, etc.) and t

extend this so the ull range o relevant standards c

leadership o the principal, the school as a whole w

appropriate coverage o the Standards across the re

levels, and that areas o shortall are addressed.

Schools may seek to combine all three strands in thprojects that students are to complete. Students in

particular can benet rom extended projects which

and apply knowledge and skills across many, interre

example, students may participate in a comprehens

based project involving signicant investigation and

interviewing, report writing and presentation o res

each example listed above, the school must ensure

experiences throughout the year will enable them tstandards which apply to the level in which they are

There is, however, no single approach. Schools have re

control over, the educational program they develop to

achieve the standards


20/23

Victorian Essent

AssessmentThe VCAA and Department o Education and Training

o assessment principles2 which have been published o

Learning Standardsand Student Learning websites. Ap

the structure o the Essential Learning Standards will re

planning.

Assessment should refect the integrated nature o the

Standards. Rather than treating every standard as disc

integrated approach to assessing perormance. This no

ecient approach to student assessment that avoids u

o assessment tasks and subsequent reports, but also m

students actually learn.

The ollowing example helps illustrate the point.

A common assignment in many secondary humanities

to write a letter to a public ocial about an issue o co

and/or the class. More specically, the student might b

Write a letter to a public ocial about an issu

Make sure that your letter clearly states your o

provides well thought-out reasons or your vi

Use the common conventions o ormal letter

The same assignment could, however, be structured so

task in its own right, where the student is required to:

Select a public issue o concern to you.

Read about this issue rom a minimum o ou

support your viewpoint and two o which op

Then identiy a public ocial who has some d

authority in relation to this issue and write a l

which: clearly states your position; provides e

survey data, reports, etc.) to support your vie


21/23


22/23

End Notes

1 Bransford, John D, Brown, Ann L and Cocking, Rodney R (eds) Brain, Mind, Experience and School, National Academy Press, W

2 Victorian Essential Learning Standards website:http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/assessprinciples.html3

Blueprint for Government Schools website:http://www.education.vic.gov.au

The development of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards iGovernments education reform agenda. The Department of EduGovernment with policy and planning advice for the delivery of

For more information on the Blueprint for Government Schools

Education initiatives visit:http://www.education.vic.gov.au

Websites

Department of Educationwww.education.vic.gov.au

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authoritywww.vcaa.vic.edu.au

Victorian Essential Learning Standardshttp://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au

Validation of the Victorian Essential LStandards


23/23

Documents

Victorian Essential Learning Standards Overview