CURRICULUM STUDIES
CUS3701
Assignment 02 and 03
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This tutorial letter contains feedback on Assignment 02 and 03
,Dear Student
This tutorial letter contains feedback on Assignment 02 and Assignment 03.
The assignments we received from students were generally of a very high standard. It was
clear that you went to a lot of trouble in completing the assignments. Thank you for that.
FEEDBACK ON ASSIGNMENT 02
All the questions were compulsory. We trust that you enjoyed completing this assignment.
QUESTION 1
If a curriculum developer wants to prepare learners for instance for the 21st century, what
should be the knowledge and skills to be included, in particular for the diverse South African
context? These skills are listed under 1.2.5 in your text book. Please provide an
EXAMPLE after each of these competencies in your own words. [10]
MEMORANDUM
Skills to consider that would prepare learners more holistically and might assist teachers in the
implementation of the curriculum, include the following (these examples are mine, students
should give own examples. Abilities are not examples it merely defines the topic).
1. Sense-making: determine deeper meaning, eg. relate concepts to everyday experiences
and reality.
2. Social Intelligence: ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to sense and
stimulate reactions and desired interactions eg. working in groups on tasks or do role play.
3. Novel and adaptive thinking: proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions and
responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based, eg. Practical scientific tasks that can
be done by using own experiences to prove a point.
4. Cross-cultural competency, eg. doing a task where they do research on a culture other
than their own to ensure that uses/traditions within the culture are understood.
5. Computational thinking: ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts and
to understand data-based reasoning, eg. using a questionnaire to accumulate data on
food preferences and then plot it on a graph in food groups.
6. New media literacy: ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media
forms, and to leverage these media for persuasive communication, eg. using e-mails to
exchange ideas on tasks to be done in a group/online learning.
7. Transdisciplinary: literacy in and ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines,
eg. to be able to write a report/essay on research done in several subjects by applying the
basic language rules of writing essay – introduction, body, conclusion.
8. Design mind-set: ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired
outcomes, eg. designing a new recipe to bake a bread/make use of mind maps.
9. Cognitive load management: ability to discriminate and filter information for importance,
and to understand how to maximize cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and
techniques, eg. creating a study plan for some subject/time management skills.
10. Virtual collaboration: ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate
presence as a member of a virtual team, eg. work on a life-orientation task with learners
from other schools using, social media such as Facebook and Skype.
2
, CUS3701/101/2020
QUESTION 2
It is of utmost importance to give clear instructions regarding what is expected in
assessment. Learners will not be able to complete a task successfully if they do not
understand the question. Identify ten factors of effective questioning. [10]
MEMORANDUM
Contextualised action words
Learners should understand what is expected of them. So, when teachers set a task, it
should be in writing and it should be clear how the task will be assessed. The best way
of doing this is to include the main assessment criteria and indicators in the instructions
for the task. More detailed performance indicators can go into the marking
criteria/memorandum/rubric.
The teacher must fit the action word in the task to the context. For instance, to list
known items requires recalling facts (knowledge), but to list a sequence of events
requires the learner to choose, collect, and conduct a basic classification of information,
and is therefore rated as application.
Clear and accessible language
Most South African learners are assessed in a language that is not their mother tongue.
When learners’ home language is not English, it is very important to phrase assessment
tasks clearly and in language that is easy to understand. Writing questions in
complicated English is unfair and discriminates against second-language speakers.
Learners might well know the answer, but if they do not understand the question, they
are not afforded the chance to demonstrate their knowledge.
Here are some tips for writing simply and accessibly:
• Keep sentences short, and use vocabulary and terminology at the level of the
learners. Compare the following two questions:
– For a vehicle moving in a straight line, which physical quantities could be
determined by finding the gradient (slope) of its velocity-versus-time graph at a
specific point on the graph?
– A car moves along a straight road. Plot the velocity-versus-time graph for the
motion. Which quantity do we get from the slope of the graph at a specified time?
• Use active rather than passive voice. For example, “add sugar to the cup of tea” is
better than “sugar must be added to the cup of tea”.
• Avoid words with many syllables. For example, “use the formula” is better than
“utilise the formula”.
• When using pronouns, it must be clear what they refer to. For example, who are
“they” and “them” in the following sentence? “When teachers explain things, they
often forget that they should ask them diagnostic questions first.”
• Encourage learners to answer in the ways that they feel most comfortable. For
example, let learners use words in languages other than English (code-switching)
if that is how they can best express an idea, or allow several different ways of
answering, such as giving a definition by using words or a labelled diagram.
Comprehensive instructions
It is of utmost importance to give clear instructions regarding what is required/expected
in a task. Learners will not be able to complete a task successfully if they do not
understand the question or the instructions.
Keep the following in mind when writing instructions:
• Use clear language according to the level/grade of the learner.
• Use action words to describe what activities are part of the task.
• Link instructions to the set outcomes and the assessment criteria in order to make
sure that what is expected is what is assessed.
• Re-read tasks after setting them to make sure that no steps are left out. (ANY 10
RELEVANT FACTS) (10)
3
CUS3701
Assignment 02 and 03
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This tutorial letter contains feedback on Assignment 02 and 03
,Dear Student
This tutorial letter contains feedback on Assignment 02 and Assignment 03.
The assignments we received from students were generally of a very high standard. It was
clear that you went to a lot of trouble in completing the assignments. Thank you for that.
FEEDBACK ON ASSIGNMENT 02
All the questions were compulsory. We trust that you enjoyed completing this assignment.
QUESTION 1
If a curriculum developer wants to prepare learners for instance for the 21st century, what
should be the knowledge and skills to be included, in particular for the diverse South African
context? These skills are listed under 1.2.5 in your text book. Please provide an
EXAMPLE after each of these competencies in your own words. [10]
MEMORANDUM
Skills to consider that would prepare learners more holistically and might assist teachers in the
implementation of the curriculum, include the following (these examples are mine, students
should give own examples. Abilities are not examples it merely defines the topic).
1. Sense-making: determine deeper meaning, eg. relate concepts to everyday experiences
and reality.
2. Social Intelligence: ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to sense and
stimulate reactions and desired interactions eg. working in groups on tasks or do role play.
3. Novel and adaptive thinking: proficiency at thinking and coming up with solutions and
responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based, eg. Practical scientific tasks that can
be done by using own experiences to prove a point.
4. Cross-cultural competency, eg. doing a task where they do research on a culture other
than their own to ensure that uses/traditions within the culture are understood.
5. Computational thinking: ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract concepts and
to understand data-based reasoning, eg. using a questionnaire to accumulate data on
food preferences and then plot it on a graph in food groups.
6. New media literacy: ability to critically assess and develop content that uses new media
forms, and to leverage these media for persuasive communication, eg. using e-mails to
exchange ideas on tasks to be done in a group/online learning.
7. Transdisciplinary: literacy in and ability to understand concepts across multiple disciplines,
eg. to be able to write a report/essay on research done in several subjects by applying the
basic language rules of writing essay – introduction, body, conclusion.
8. Design mind-set: ability to represent and develop tasks and work processes for desired
outcomes, eg. designing a new recipe to bake a bread/make use of mind maps.
9. Cognitive load management: ability to discriminate and filter information for importance,
and to understand how to maximize cognitive functioning using a variety of tools and
techniques, eg. creating a study plan for some subject/time management skills.
10. Virtual collaboration: ability to work productively, drive engagement, and demonstrate
presence as a member of a virtual team, eg. work on a life-orientation task with learners
from other schools using, social media such as Facebook and Skype.
2
, CUS3701/101/2020
QUESTION 2
It is of utmost importance to give clear instructions regarding what is expected in
assessment. Learners will not be able to complete a task successfully if they do not
understand the question. Identify ten factors of effective questioning. [10]
MEMORANDUM
Contextualised action words
Learners should understand what is expected of them. So, when teachers set a task, it
should be in writing and it should be clear how the task will be assessed. The best way
of doing this is to include the main assessment criteria and indicators in the instructions
for the task. More detailed performance indicators can go into the marking
criteria/memorandum/rubric.
The teacher must fit the action word in the task to the context. For instance, to list
known items requires recalling facts (knowledge), but to list a sequence of events
requires the learner to choose, collect, and conduct a basic classification of information,
and is therefore rated as application.
Clear and accessible language
Most South African learners are assessed in a language that is not their mother tongue.
When learners’ home language is not English, it is very important to phrase assessment
tasks clearly and in language that is easy to understand. Writing questions in
complicated English is unfair and discriminates against second-language speakers.
Learners might well know the answer, but if they do not understand the question, they
are not afforded the chance to demonstrate their knowledge.
Here are some tips for writing simply and accessibly:
• Keep sentences short, and use vocabulary and terminology at the level of the
learners. Compare the following two questions:
– For a vehicle moving in a straight line, which physical quantities could be
determined by finding the gradient (slope) of its velocity-versus-time graph at a
specific point on the graph?
– A car moves along a straight road. Plot the velocity-versus-time graph for the
motion. Which quantity do we get from the slope of the graph at a specified time?
• Use active rather than passive voice. For example, “add sugar to the cup of tea” is
better than “sugar must be added to the cup of tea”.
• Avoid words with many syllables. For example, “use the formula” is better than
“utilise the formula”.
• When using pronouns, it must be clear what they refer to. For example, who are
“they” and “them” in the following sentence? “When teachers explain things, they
often forget that they should ask them diagnostic questions first.”
• Encourage learners to answer in the ways that they feel most comfortable. For
example, let learners use words in languages other than English (code-switching)
if that is how they can best express an idea, or allow several different ways of
answering, such as giving a definition by using words or a labelled diagram.
Comprehensive instructions
It is of utmost importance to give clear instructions regarding what is required/expected
in a task. Learners will not be able to complete a task successfully if they do not
understand the question or the instructions.
Keep the following in mind when writing instructions:
• Use clear language according to the level/grade of the learner.
• Use action words to describe what activities are part of the task.
• Link instructions to the set outcomes and the assessment criteria in order to make
sure that what is expected is what is assessed.
• Re-read tasks after setting them to make sure that no steps are left out. (ANY 10
RELEVANT FACTS) (10)
3
