Section B: Teaching to an Exam Question 1: Section A (ii) Identify and explain two reasons given in the document that

t a colonist might have used to justify the treatment of Aborigines. This question specifically addresses the historical issues in Area of Study 1 for Unit 3: In the last decades of the eighteenth century, the British perceived Australia as a new land to be utilised for their needs. New colonies such as Port Phillip developed, based not on the stain of convictism, but on principles of free enterprise and initiative, offering immigrants opportunities for new beginnings. Basing the establishment of colonies in Australia on the concept of terra nullius, the British denied the right of ownership of the indigenous people to the land that had been their home for over 40,000 years. For the Aborigines the impact of colonization was devastating. Disease, competition over land and natural resources, cultural misunderstanding and frontier violence, all placed increasing strains on traditional lifestyles, livelihoods and cultures. The best possible way to start a topic such as this would be to gauge students prior knowledge. What about the European settlement of Australia do they know? They can possibly draw from familial knowledge did they have someone in their family who came to Australia during this time period. The teacher can present a short lecture to introduce the topic formally, using the ICT tools such as PowerPoint or even using video excerpts. Using the prescribed textbook, students will be put into groups so they can read one particular section that is related to the topic.

Once they have read these topics, the teacher will handout a series of basic questions, that they will be required to talk about and answer. These questions can be: What did the new settlers wish to accomplish? What was the best way to acquire land? What conflicts did they face because of the land issues? How did relations between the colonists and the Aborigines decline due to this issue? Once these questions have been answered, the teacher can lead the class into a discussion regarding the issue of land rights and the treatment of Aborigines. This will inform the teachers coming teaching strategies. This exercise will get students used to what they need to do in their exams, especially for questions such as the featured question from section A, which is a response to a given document. Therefore, students can use the skills they have gained from the previous exercise mentioned during their lessons. Students will learn in accordance with the key knowledge outlined in the study design, where they are required to understand the reasons and motivations that inspired the migration to Port Phillip. By examining the issues between the colonists and indigenous people, students will understand the decline of the Aboriginal communities in the area because of the European settlement. To answer this type of question successfully, students will need to apply their historical knowledge and concepts from the period when analyzing the document. This addresses the key skill analyse and evaluate written and visual historical evidence. As practice the teacher can regularly provide students with written evidence such as documents and images that depict the issues they have learnt about. The teacher can then guide students, by discussing the questions in class: Depending on the document, it should be examined together as a class.

Pick out the elements that strike as important immediately; if it is a document, highlight the parts that immediately make a reference to some of the key knowledge that has been covered.

Then read the question; examine what the question is asking. In this instance the question is asking the student to (i) Identify two reasons that may have been used by colonists to justify their mistreatment of the Aborigines and (ii) explain these reasons.

The first step would be to go back to the document and pick out as many clues that are obvious in his dealings with his less civilized brother; we take the country from the blacks, because we can put it to better uses than they would do.

Now it is important to explain each reason that the colonists believed Aborigines to be less civilized than them and that they needed the land that according to their lack of knowledge about the Aboriginal practice of living off the land, was not being used.

As a better preparation the teacher can also use the previous years exams and assessment report. In this instance the assessment report provides a third reason Aboriginals looked helplessly on. However, this is not a somewhat ambiguous clue and some students will miss this.

Students should also observe that since this is a 4 mark question, and it asks to provide two examples, which is worth 2 marks each. They need to make sure they elaborate their point enough that it covers the written space they are given, while not repeating their points.

Question 2: Section B (b) Discuss the extent to which Indigenous Australians were excluded in the new nation. This question directly relates to Area of Study 2 for Unit 3, some of the points that are related to this question are: The achievement of nationhood in 1901 fuelled new visions for like in Australia.

Crucial tools for making Australia a safer and kinder place of opportunity Old Age Pension, maternity benefits, industrial arbitration and the living wage as well as new Education.

Throughout the 1890s, Australians debated who could and who couldnt belong to this new society. The concentration was on forming a white Australia, which lead to the exclusion of Indigenous Australians from citizenship as well as expelling non Europeans from the nation.

For this particular topic, the textbook will need to be used since there is a lot of legislation and constitutional information that students need to know about. Therefore, as a class it would be beneficial to go through the information, but instead of lecturing the students, teachers can each student read one section, then try and explain what they have understood to the rest of the class. While this is happening, the teacher is noting down the key points being made on the board, for the students to take note of. The teacher can provide students with constitutional documents, articles and other documents, provided both in the book and from other sources to students. Working with the class, students can highlight the key legislations, benefits and duties outlined for citizens. They will also then learn about those who were not included within the new nation who would receive these benefits. Students can be encouraged to create a timeline, which shows the important events and legislative developments during this time. Students will study this topic in accordance with the key knowledge outlined in the study guide, specifically the process of inclusion and exclusion, which formed a nation of Australian citizens up to 1914, and the benefits and responsibilities of citizens that belonged to this new nation.

Students will also learn the skill of how to apply their historical knowledge that they have learnt, especially what they have learnt about the different benefits of pension, maternity allowance and other constitutional legislations that can be applied to their answer. As practice this question will be answered by using the entire class: First the question will be read out loud by one student, and then the teacher will ask someone else to explain what the question actually means. Now the class can brainstorm the different benefits and duties that were awarded to the citizens of the new nation. Students should be prompted to provide links to actual constitutional references of different acts and sections that should then be listed on the board Sections 51 and 127. Now the class can be asked to explain these sections and what it means for the Indigenous Australians. How will it impact their community? Students should be given an idea that since this is a 6 mark question, they should have at least two examples, with an explanation provided. As a guide, students should be able to fill the entire space provided to them in the exam paper to use to elaborate their point. However they need to keep in mind not to repeat their points just to fill up space. Students will also look at the assessment report as a reference once they have answered the question themselves. It mentions specifically in the report that the more successful answers mentioned that it was not the intention of the Federation to exclude the Aboriginals because it was thought that they would die out and therefore it was felt unnecessary to include them. The report states that students need to add as much detail about the exclusion as they can. Question 3: Section C (a) Australians responded to World War I with a mixture of pride and uncertainty. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

This question directly relates to Area of Study 1 in Unit 4: The experience of World War I consolidated Australians pride in themselves as many saw the new nation blooded on the battlefield. The emergence of the ANZAC legend brought ideas of Australian identity into sharper focus, but this also strengthened loyalty to the British Empire. The war also opened up deep divisions in Australia, culminating in the bitter debates over conscription in 1916 and 1917. To introduce this topic, the students are to be shown a video on the Australian involvement in WWI and the ANZACs. This can garner an interest for the topic in students and also covers most of the aspects that need to be studied by the students. While the students watch, they will have to complete a worksheet, which has been created by the teacher. The worksheet contains questions like: Why was it important for Australia to enter WWI so soon after the Federation? What is ANZAC? Why has it become a legend? What were the effects of the war on Australian society?

To successfully answer a question such as the selected one, it is important for students to be prepared as it involves higher order thinking. Answering this type of question incorporates the last stage of Blooms Taxonomy (1971), which is to create. A way to get students ready to answer this type of question: Set up the class in a way that there are four desks in the center, each with a sheet with questions on it. Table 1 has the most basic questions about the topic; questions that incorporate the first stage of Blooms taxonomy Remember. Table 2 has the questions that require a higher level, where students are required to demonstrate their understanding of the topic. Table 3, a level higher

where students show that they can apply their knowledge to answer some of these questions. Table 4 is the highest level, where students will have to analyse the document/ statement/ quotation, then evaluate it and create a written essay. Students can now move around the room, read the questions and start at the level they are most comfortable with. If they wish to systematically move from table 1 4 they can and if the teacher observes a student who may not be ready for the level they are attempting, they can be steered to answer the questions from the previous level first. Once the exercise is completed over a couple of lessons and homework, the assessment report should be referred to as a way to gauge the answer as being successfully answered. Specifically to this selected question, the report states that students had to agree or disagree with the aspects of the question, where they had to define what this pride concept was. They would have to talk about the ANZAC spirit in this context and how it applies to or does not apply to the pride. They also had to consider issues of conscription and the high casualty rate that lent to the uncertainty of the new nation. Section C: Reflection The entire exercise of back tracking is beneficial proved to be rather interesting an experience. I already had an idea of the questions that I wanted to answer, therefore I had completed the first step; I had even looked at the assessment report and was rather impressed that my answers matched what was required to have the most successful answer possible. However then came the frustrating part. I found it difficult to know where to start my report. I made sure to questions that I had already discussed with the class I had taught during my first placement. That way I already knew how I had taught the students. In fact I have displayed some of the strategies that I used during my placement. Fortunately we had completed Unit 3 a week before, along with the SAC that needed to be completed. Therefore I had about four lessons to work with students on how to

answer exam questions. We discussed questions from each section, brainstormed the answers together as a class and then wrote the answers. I also used the assessment report to write up answers for them to peer assess their answers during class. Therefore I decided to use my personal experience and apply it to this report. I already knew that students were happy with the way they answered the questions, since I had received feedback from them and also my mentor who had observed this. I had the fortunate experience to tutor some of the same students and we use the same method to work toward the exam questions. It was also a beneficial experience, once I understood what I needed to do to start off, because it highlights some of the aspects of the unit that can very easily be skipped by both student and teacher, due to time constraints or other factors. This way, the teacher is aware of what the students are required to do during their exam, therefore they can tailor their teaching strategies, time weighting to a particular topic and assessments accordingly. According to Williams (2003), there is a much higher emphasis on recollection of topics, rather than understanding and actual learning of concepts. Therefore it is important that even while teaching to an exam, specifically to a selected question, we do not lose sight of the importance of understanding the concepts and knowledge as well as the skills that are required to answer the questions. There is no benefit if the student memorises everything, but when confronted with a question on the exam that they are unable to understand, that memory store of data is useless. It is therefore important to equip students with the skills to understand exam questions, break it up and know what the question is asking the student to do.

References Bloom B, Krathowhl D, Masia B. (1971). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: the classification of educational goals; handbook, Cognitive Domanin Vol. 1. McKay Publishing. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (2010). History: Victorian Certificate of Education Study Design. Retrieved 6 November 2011 from http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/studies/history/history-sd.pdf Williams, B. R (2003). Higher Order Thinking Skills: Challenging All Students to Achieve. Corwin Press. California.

Appendix 1. VCE History: Australian History Written Examination 2010 2. VCE History Assessment Report 2010: Australian History