At the end of the 2008 Preliminary Extension course, we asked students to describe and reflect on their experiences. The students highlighted a number of issues:

The central text

‘The Odyssey’ is a long book. Too many students didn’t read it. It needs to be made a more central part of the course, with assessment designed in part to make sure students know it well. In 2009 we’re planning a viva voce assessment, where students will be asked to discuss the text with their teachers.

The journals

For the most successful students in 2008, the journal writing was central to their success. Other students had only a hazy idea of what was required, and left it too late. In 2009 we’re planning to have sessions on journal writing in class, and to make the journals a more central focus throughout the three terms. 30% of the course mark will be based on the journals.
You might like to have a look at some of the excellent journals that were done by last year's Extension students

Assessments

In 2008 we put most of the assessments in Term 3; we did this because we thought that it would take some time for students to master the difficult course material. However this gave some students the message that they could begin in a laid-back way. It also put a lot of pressure on students in Term 3. In 2009 we’re planning to spread the assessments more evenly across the three terms.

Creative work

A significant number of students understood some of the challenging concepts at a deeper level as a result of their own creative work, when they attempted to apply their knowledge and understanding in an original piece of work. We would like to extend the amount of creative work in the course. In 2009, in addition to the original appropriation in Term 3, there will be an assessment item requiring students to create a digital narrative of their experience of the Term 1 course work.

Independent research work

Like the creative work, there were a number of students who engaged most strongly with the course work only when they did the independent research project on a text of their own choosing in Term 3. Choosing a text at the beginning of Term 3 is too late. In 2009, we need to encourage all students to begin their search for a text as early as possible.

Teacher rotations and the issue of postmodernism

There is an issue about when and how theoretical theories are best introduced. We want some of the postmodern ideas to deepen students’ engagement with significant texts; on the other hand, we don’t want an overly theoretical approach to limit student appreciation. In 2008 we introduced some theoretical ideas in Term 1, and then the teachers and some past students presented a series of lecture sessions on postmodernism and related issues. In 2009 we’re planning to begin Term 1 looking at some of the big questions behind the course, and to have teacher/student rotation lectures in Term 2.


On the following pages of this wiki, you’ll see the Program, the Assessment Schedule, and a list of the texts to be used in each term.
SCS
24/10/08