CUS3701 Assignment 2. 2023
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? Please provide an example after each of
these competencies.
Sense-making : Being able to listen, observe, feel and emphasize.
Social intelligence - Ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to
sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions.
Novel and adaptive thinking - Proficiency at thinking and coming up with
solutions and responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based.
Cross-cultural competency - Able to understand, communicate, and effectively
interact with people across cultures.
Computational thinking - Ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract
concepts and to understand data-based reasoning.
New media literacy - Being able to effectively access, organize, analyze,
evaluate, and create messages in a variety of forms.
Transdisciplinarity - Being a risk taker and thinking outside the box.
Design mindset - Thinking logically and accepting human behaviour the way it
is.
Cognitive load management - Example being able to use effective
instructional strategies.
Virtual collaboration - Being able to establish effective work communications
and work processes with individuals on.
Question 2
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.
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? Please provide an example after each of
these competencies.
Sense-making : Being able to listen, observe, feel and emphasize.
Social intelligence - Ability to connect to others in a deep and direct way, to
sense and stimulate reactions and desired interactions.
Novel and adaptive thinking - Proficiency at thinking and coming up with
solutions and responses beyond that which is rote or rule-based.
Cross-cultural competency - Able to understand, communicate, and effectively
interact with people across cultures.
Computational thinking - Ability to translate vast amounts of data into abstract
concepts and to understand data-based reasoning.
New media literacy - Being able to effectively access, organize, analyze,
evaluate, and create messages in a variety of forms.
Transdisciplinarity - Being a risk taker and thinking outside the box.
Design mindset - Thinking logically and accepting human behaviour the way it
is.
Cognitive load management - Example being able to use effective
instructional strategies.
Virtual collaboration - Being able to establish effective work communications
and work processes with individuals on.
Question 2
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.
