Assessment 2 details
Weighting: 65%
Due: oral presentation - weeks 9-13, date to be negotiated ; written summary - Sunday, 10 November 2019, 11:00 PM
Length: oral presentation - 20 minutes ; written summary - 500 words maximum
Task: Compare and contrastan aspect(or aspects)ofeducationalsystemsin any two countries.Present your findings in both an oral presentation and a written summary.
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Part 1: Oral presentation
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Timing
The presentation must not exceed 20 minutes in total. Allow 2-5 minutes for audience interaction (ie questions from you and to you). If you like, you may include up to 2 minutes of video.
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Task
Compare and contrastan aspect(or aspects)ofeducationalsystemsin any two countries.
- Examples ofaspectsof educational systemsinclude: curricula, teaching methods, family expectations, funding levels,student achievement, gender equity, pedagogical style, teacher career satisfaction, school calendar, teacher salaries,use of ICLT, policy, government investment in education,textbooks, the level and variation in learning achievement in mathematics/science/literacy, enrollment and dropout rates, budgetary statistics,trends over time, the progress of educational reforms, a problem, an issue, an exemplary program, the degree of involvement of parents, student wellbeing...the possibilities are endless.
-Examples ofeducational systemsinclude: primary or secondaryschooling or pre-schooling or adult / vocational education, or workplace training / learning, or human resource development.
-It is fine to choose Australia and/or your home country for comparison if you wish. Alternatively you are welcome to choose any countries in the world. it is fine to focus on one region of a country, but you would need to compare regions from two different countries (not two regions within the same country).
Use a comparative analysis framework.
- Examples offrameworksinclude:Policy (eghow is education funded?);Structural (eghow is the education system structured?);Curriculum (egwhat is taught?);Methodology (eghow is it taught?);Societal (eghow important is education and what are itspurposes?);Public vs private (egis privatisation of education an issue?);Classroom level (egaccess, equity, class size, gender, resourcing);Teacher education (egqualifications, expectations, standards);Build or test complex models of educational systems; Examine relationships between variables(eg links between school achievement and curricula, teaching methods, family background, funding levels); Measure trends over time; Chart the progress of educational reforms; Focus on a particular problem, issue, program or case study
Provide details of any similarities and differences between the two systems,and how these have been measured or determined.
Offerkey contextual factors(such as cultural, social, historical, political and economic factors)that account for thedifferences you identify.
Highlight tensionsand challenges within each of the two systems and offer comparative analysis.
Identifypossible future challenges and recommend future directions for the systemsthat you have selected in these two countries.
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Suggested structure
The structure below is only a suggestion. It is just intended to give you some ideas; you do not need to follow it exactly. You should structure your presentation to suit your topic.Whichever way you structure it, yourpresentationshould move quickly from description ontoanalysisand evaluation.Mere descriptionshould not be the focus for long.
1. Introduce your question/topic and why you are interested in it.
2. Introduce your focus aspect, educational system, countries and why you have chosen them.
3. Introduce your framework for analysis and why you have chosen it. In other words, outlinehow(not what) you will compare.
4. Broadly (and briefly) describe and compare the educational systems within the chosen countries.
5. Describe the focus aspect in each country.
6. Identify key differences within the focus aspect in the two countries.
7. Analyse how contextual factors (such as cultural, social, historical, political and economic factors) account for the differences identified.
8. Identify tensions and challenges (related to the focus aspect) within each of the two systems.
9. Offer comparative analysis of the tensions and challenges identified.
10. Predict future tensions and challenges(related to the focus aspect) within each of the two systems.
11. Offer recommendations (with justification) for future directions / strategies.
12. Questions
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Questions
Make your presentation interactive and engaging through the use of questions.You must allow 2-5 minutes for questions.
You mustaskat least onequestion of your audience(or more than one if you wish). You should respond in some way to their answers. Think about which point in your presentation will be the best time to pose your question(s).
You must alsoanswerquestions. Receive at least two questions from your audience. You will most likely ask for questions at end of your presentation.
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Graph
You must include at least one graph presenting relative statistics.Your graph should include:
- Title
- Clearly labelled axes (including units)
- Source (i.e. reference)
You can create graphs using Excel.
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Video
You can include video(s) to enrich your presentation. This is optional. Maximum total time for video is 2 minutes. The time taken by any videos is included in your 20 minutes.
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References
Draw on as wide a range of reading sources as possible, and demonstrate both in your presentation and in thereferences that you have located and used them. Statistics, quotations and ideas from your sources should all be acknowledged by references. Include in-text and end-of-text referencing in your slides and speech in exactly the same way you would in a written assignment.
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Presentation
Speak to us rather than reading at us. You may have some notes but try to rely on these as little as possible. Students communicate best when they speak rather than reading.
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Assessment
You will be assessed on the quality of your communication and presentation skillsas well as the quality of your content (description, analysis, evaluation). But you are not being assessed on your level of English. English production errors will not be penalised unless the meaning is obscured (in other words, you won't lose marks for English mistakes if your meaning remains clear).See the Assignment 2 feedback form above for assessment details.
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Part 2: Written summary
Summarise the findings of your research (max. 500 words).Address the points listed above in Part 1, summarising what you presented orally. The written component isnotexpected to present any new information. It should present less detail than the oral presentation and summarise main points only.
Include a full reference list. List all the sources consulted in your research, even if they are not referenced within your written summary.
The word limit doesnotinclude references, tables, graphs, footnotes or appendices.