Cooperatively designed units of work that integrate learning through contexts which involve children investigating various questions about our world. The word ‘excellence’ by definition, indicates that the units are dynamic, ever changing in nature, constantly seeking to meet new heights and the specific needs and interests of each new student audience.

Real life or life like classroom investigations in which students behave, feel, think and communicate in ways appropriate to the specific situation. Students are actively engaged in conceptualised, authentic language use, and process applications that can be reproduced outside the school. The students are continually required to take into account the purpose, place, subject matter, people and the channel of communication necessary to complete the tasks associated with the contextual issues.

The key learning areas of SOSE, SCIENCE and HPE are recognised as the 3 areas used to create the social investigations or contexts that provide the learning platform through which all KLA contribute meaningfully.

Each integrated unit within the Framework has been developed from the conceptual core of one particular STRAND from one of the key learning areas of SOSE, SCIENCE and HPE.

In developing our curriculum in such a manner, we recognise the need to keep the integrity of the STRAND intact by keeping the majority of the CLOs of that STRAND together in the one conceptual learning investigation.

Integrity of the Strand Level Statement

Chancellor State School recognises that each Strand Level has an overall concept, which is articulated via the STRAND LEVEL STATEMENT. This statement is further exemplified by the Individual CLOs that underpin it.

Chancellor’s STRAND CENTRED UNIT DEVELOPMENT works to keep the integrity of the STRAND intact by ensuring that the majority of the CLOs of that STRAND LEVEL are used in a unit’s development.

In an example case, a STRAND may be used as the core for context building and 3 or 4 out of the 5 CLOs that underpin it are seen as being able to meaningfully contribute to the context. In this case the integrity of the overall STRAND LEVEL STATEMENT has been kept intact since the majority of the CLOs of the level contribute to the one learning context.

This ensures that the concepts of a STRAND are integrated via learning contexts not ‘dis-integrated’ by spreading the CLOs of the STRAND over a number of units.

Considerable planning and effort has been used in our endeavour to ensure that all CLOs from all LEVELS, of all KLA, receive curriculum coverage. Although a very small number of CLOs, at present, do not receive direct curriculum coverage, our STRAND CENTRED approach to unit development ensures the integrity of the overall concepts that underpin each of the STRAND LEVEL STATEMENTS.

Each year level consists of 4 or 5 class teachers who negotiate how they will work together to implement the schedule of year level units.

Teachers are encouraged to work collaboratively in the planning for, review of, and the implementation of, each unit of work.

In many cases, these IMPLEMENTING TEACHER TEAMS (normally 2 or 3 teachers) also choose to share the responsibility of teaching separate components of the unit.

The benefits for operating in collaboration are many and varied. It is recognised as a means of collegial support, student support and shared pedagogical practice.

When planning, emphasis is placed on:

• Respecting and valuing the individuality, identity, cultural, linguistic, economic, geographical and social circumstances of each student;
• Acknowledging and building upon the prior learning and experiences of students;
• Actively engaging students, where possible in aspects of the planning and assessment;
• Acknowledging and catering for the varying interests, abilities, preferred learning styles and rates of development of students.