The terms ‘curriculum’, ‘pedagogy’, ‘assessment’ and ‘reporting’ are often heard. Each of these terms has been interpreted in different ways and, throughout the history of formal education, one or another has been often at the forefront of educational thinking and practice. We consider that these four areas are inextricably interwoven and changes in policy or practice in one area influence each of the others. This chapter introduces some of the literature, research and practice to help develop an understanding of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting. We will discuss the interrelationship and alignment of these four areas, enabling reflection on how changes in each of these areas at a national, system or school level impact the day-to-day work of teachers.

Commercially run grade examinations and competitive music festivals, which tested learners’ attainment, were central to the consolidation of violin culture across Britain. Chapter 3 analyzes the string exams operated by three institutions, each of which targeted different socioeconomic groups. Bringing the College of Violinists – the first exam board to offer elementary string exams and the only one to guarantee string players would be assessed by specialists– into dialog with the more often discussed ABRSM and Society of Arts, the discussion evaluates exam requirements, candidate numbers, and success rates. At root, exams were tools for motivating students and supporting and shaping learning. Regional competition festivals offered additional opportunities for more advanced pupils’ performance to be assessed (in a public hall, as opposed to a private exam room) and, along with the exam boards, they contributed to the informal standardization of core repertoire. The chapter also surveys instructional materials, some of which were responses to the exam culture, and weighs students’ experiences of learning.

Assessment is a fundamental part of the design process of teaching and learning. Educators knowing and understanding their own beliefs and values about the professional work they do in assessment is crucial to learner success and progress. Being able and willing to write quality assessment tasks, to collect the evidence of student learning and to moderate this evidence with colleagues are all part of the science and art of being a professional in education. Assessment enables the educator to understand what students have learnt and determine what they will learn next. It allows educators to set goals for improvement, design the learning program in collaboration with learners beginning with the end in mind, and monitor progress. Educators are continually assessing and this chapter endeavours to make sense of this important professional skill, which impacts on teaching and learning. To illustrate these ideas and skills in relation to Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS), examples from the Australian Curriculum: HASS will be used.

It was decided that the content of the curriculum is the knowledge, skills and concepts. Moreover, it can be strongly argued that the concepts are fundamental to the successful application of the knowledge and skills. This chapter explores the concepts within the HASS learning area and why they are so important for quality learning; that is, what is the role of the concepts in developing learners’ critical and creative thinking in the subject disciplines of History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business? These Humanities subjects are known as the sub-strands of the knowledge and understanding strand in the Australian Curriculum: HASS (v.9.0). Regardless of the nomenclature of the disciples in question, if we intend to develop higher-order critical and creative thinking in the HASS learning environment, it is fundamental that learners understand HASS concepts.

If we approach Arts education as we might approach literacy, we would aim to develop Arts literacy in students. We would teach students the tools of language, ways of constructing meaning, vocabulary, structures, forms, genres and shaping cultural and social contexts. In literacy we allow children freedom to gain confidence and experiment with creative writing, but we also intervene when necessary to correct, guide and teach them explicit skills and knowledge. If we apply this approach to the Arts, rather than stand back and ‘let the child be free’, we can focus on developing proficiency in knowledge and skills as well as fostering creativity and imagination right from the start. As with any other Learning Area, child engagement and achievement in the Arts are determined by exposure to ongoing, sequential learning experiences. This chapter suggests ways in which teachers can achieve this in a way that is respectful of the needs and interests of the child.

This chapter will explore the fundamentals of drama, both as a skill and as a methodology for teaching other curricular requirements. It also offers practical activities and assessment practices, as well as theoretical underpinnings and methods to further develop teaching methodologies beyond this text. You will have the confidence and knowledge to engage learners of all ages and abilities to explore their own ideas through dramatic performance and to evaluate the performance of others. The key to drama is not only the development of skills, but also the ability to apply processes and value these processes as equal to the end product of a drama activity. The application of drama in literacy, numeracy and other areas of learning will be embedded throughout. A great deal of the focus on drama in the classroom in Australia is from a western perspective.

Distance learning has grown in popularity since the beginning of the century, and the affordances of the rapid development of online audiovisual and mobile technologies have made it easier to learn languages at a distance. This chapter defines the concept of distance language learning as learning that is designed to take place when teachers and learners are not together in the same physical space and learning is mostly mediated through technology. It focuses on distance learning that both students and teachers have chosen as their method of delivery, as opposed to an imposition in response to an emergency situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The chapter presents a brief history of the evolution of distance language learning, exploring current and past tools, methods, and beliefs in the teaching and assessment of languages in a distance learning context. It also outlines the characteristics of successful distance learners and teachers, as well as some of the challenges they face. It concludes by arguing that the rapid improvement in speech recognition and translation software is likely to transform distance language learning in the near future.

It is very important that teaching and learning activities and assessment are designed to cater for the needs of schools and pupils. Chapter 8 looks at the connection between learning and assessment and includes approaches and strategies for both formative and summative assessment. How to plan for and manage assessment of learners’ progress is examined in detail with practical advice on how to do this in a structured way. How to use assessment for learning within a framework of formative assessment is detailed, including self-assessment and peer-assessment techniques with practical examples for use in class. The development of metacognitive strategies in learners is explored and advice is given on how to promote and develop this in learners in stages. The importance of giving regular feedback to pupils on their learning is also emphasised. Techniques and suggestions in this chapter can be adapted for different classes and year groups.

Assessment is a key aspect of teaching and fundamental to student and teacher learning. As a teacher, you will use syllabuses, Australian Curriculum content and the local cultural knowledge that is valued in your community to develop tasks and provide classroom experiences that foster quality learning. You will need to understand that there are a range of assessment types, with different purposes and tools available that you can use to assess student learning and progress. As you grow in your career, you will continue to develop the skills and knowledge required to activate a collaborative classroom culture that promotes student ownership of learning and enables students to foster each other’s learning through classroom assessment. You will work in partnerships with students, colleagues and parents/caregivers to curate authentic evidence of learning. In this chapter, we examine forms of assessment, the most effective types of feedback and how teachers use assessment data in teaching, planning and reporting practices.

Teacher quality – what teachers do, how they teach and the way they present information – impacts student learning. Effective teaching and learning is a complex human endeavour and there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. In your journey as a pre-service teacher, you will aim to learn as much as you can from your university coursework, professional experiences, lecturers and tutors, and the school teachers that supervise you, as well as drawing on your background knowledge and experience. In this way, you will be prepared with a range of pedagogical approaches, strategies, frameworks and theories that will support you to implement effective teaching and learning, and be the best teacher you can be. Australia’s vastness and diverse population mean future classrooms will host students with varying backgrounds, interests, learning preferences and social, cultural and linguistic needs. Igniting learning in your classroom will require you to know your students and how they learn, plan engaging teaching and learning experiences, monitor their progress, and assess their learning to inform future teaching and learning programs.