Year 12 Modern History

Topic: Core Study: Date issued: Due Date: Weight: 25%

Power and Authority Term 4 Week 4 Term 4 Week 8
in the Modern Total Marks: /25
World 1919–1946
Rationale: This task will examine student’s ability to examine the role various features,
individuals and groups had in shaping the past. Their ability to propose arguments about
the causes of effects and events these groups had and how well they can communicate
their understanding in different mediums.

Assessment instructions: For this assessment task students will need to provide a written
report as well as an oral presentation. The written report will be completed at home and
handed in the same day as the oral presentation. It will be between 800-1000 words and
answer the question “How did Hitler and the Nazi party rise to and consolidate power in
the years preceding World War 2?”. The oral presentation will address “The impact the
Nazi regime had on life in Germany”, lasting between 2-3 minutes.

Assessment duration: This assessment task will be submitted/presented in the double

period tutorial in week 9.
Written assessment task – 800-1000 words.
Oral Presentation – 2-3 minutes.
Outcomes Assessed:
 MH12-2 proposes arguments about the varying causes and effects of events and
developments
 MH12-3 evaluates the role of historical features, individuals, groups and ideas in
shaping the past
 MH12-4 analyses the different perspectives of individuals and groups in their historical
context
 MH12-9 communicates historical understanding, using historical knowledge, concepts
and terms, in appropriate and well-structured forms

Marking Criteria

Rubric Grade
- Extensive demonstration of relevant historical knowledge relating to 21-25
the rise of Hitler and The Nazi Party and the consolidation of power in
the years before World War 2.
- Presents a cohesive, logical, sophisticated and well-structured
response drawing on an insightful identification of relevant key
features.
- Thoroughly supports argument with a range of detailed and relevant
historical information, making use of appropriate terms and concepts.
- Outstanding communication and a knowledgeable presentation of
facts and perspectives which is well structured.
 - Detailed demonstration of relevant historical knowledge relating to 16-20
the rise of Hitler and The Nazi Party and the consolidation of power in
the years before World War 2.
- Presents a cohesive, logical and well-structured response drawing on a
clear identification of relevant key features.
- Supports argument with detailed and relevant historical information
whilst making use of appropriate terms and concepts.
- Detailed communication and presentation of facts and perspectives
which is well-structured.
- Sound demonstration of relevant historical knowledge relating to the 11-15
rise of Hitler and The Nazi Party and the consolidation of power in the
years before World War 2.
- Presents a cohesive and structured response drawing on an
identification of relevant key features.
- Supports argument with relevant and accurate historical information
whilst making use of some terms and concepts.
-Sound communication and presentation of facts and perspectives
which is structured.
- Basic demonstration of relevant historical knowledge relating to the 6-10
rise of Hitler and The Nazi Party and the consolidation of power in the
years before World War 2.
- Presents a response drawing on a basic level of understanding of
relevant key features.
- Some use of historical information with attempts at making use of
terms and concepts.
- Basic communication and presentation of results and perspectives.
- Limited demonstration of relevant historical knowledge relating to the 1-5
rise of Hitler and The Nazi Party and the consolidation of power in the
years before World War 2.
- Presents a limited response drawing on few descriptors and features.
- Limited support of historical information.
- Limited communication and presentation of information and
perspectives which is poorly structured.

Sample Scaffolds
Written Response Scaffold
Written response should follow the same basic framework for essay
writing.

Introduction – A brief introduction on the topic, highlighting what points

you will address throughout your essay. (100-150w)

Body – Body paragraphs where you detail and support your argument
with historical knowledge and facts. Each paragraph should address no
more than 1 point with relevant information to support your argument.
(700-800w)

Conclusion – A brief paragraph concluding the final stance your

argument is trying to make, trying together any points you’ve made
throughout your body paragraphs. (100-150w)

Oral Presentation Scaffold

Oral presentation can be loosely structured similar to an essay.

Introduction – An introduction of the topic and what areas you are going
to address throughout your speech. (15-30 seconds)

Body – Where you will detail the topics you are addressing throughout
the speech and how the relate to the question. Thoughts should be
succinctly presented and flow from one point to another. (1:30-2
minutes)

Conclusion – A summating time where you address how the topics you
have presented relate to the question and how they are relevant within
the context of the question. (15-30 seconds).
NSW schools are taking more responsibility for their own performance, are subject to
closer public scrutiny and are finding new ways of improving student outcomes in a
world of ever- more demanding standards (Smith, 2005, p. 42). Evaluate the
importance of assessment and approaches to feedback and assessment design that
will inform your practice in your teaching area. (1000-1500 words).

Assessment design and approaches to feedback are necessary topics to consider and
examine when educating students. A successful implementation of assessment can
be the difference between students who are motivated and feel rewarded by
schooling and students who struggle to cope with the negative connotations
associated with assessments (Butt, 2010). Strongly connected to the assessment
process is the approach to feedback. The learning experience can be enhanced
through utilizing numerous feedback tools which students find accessible (Andrews,
Brown, & Mesher, 2018). Quality assessment design can also heavily influence the
participation of students and positively effect their work ethic. Hamilton &
Richardson (2007) show how assessment design needs to integrate appropriate skills
and concepts taught and if done correctly, students are more likely to engage with
the work and not plagiarize. Considering these ideas and the effects assessment and
feedback can have on student education, I will use this knowledge of how to
effectively incorporate assessment into education to inform my teaching pedagogy.

The importance of assessment throughout a student’s education is vital. It is

important to recognise the impact that assessment outcomes have on a student’s
continuing education, it can shape their motivation and how they engage with
education throughout their life (Butt, 2010). Therefore, as teachers, we need to
acknowledge the significance of assessment and appropriately use it within our
pedagogy. The use of various forms of assessment, such as summative or formative,
is also an invaluable tool for teachers. Crisan (2017) shows how the use of formative
assessment is undervalued and underestimated, stating that if used appropriately, it
can be a reliable instrument to improve the learning of students. This is a relevant
issue to consider as an improper use of formative assessment could be
determinantal to a student’s learning. Inaccurately analysing the needs of our
students can lead to numerous shortcomings in the lessons we plan for them.
Incorporating this information into my teaching practice will inform the strategies I
use when considering assessment. Further evaluating the importance of assessment,
recognising the demotivating influence it can have on students is also necessary.
Butt (2010) highlights how, as teachers, our classroom assessments cannot remain
stagnant, but instead we must constantly re-visit our judgement on students’
abilities and performance so that we appropriately engage them with content. This
further shows us how assessment is useful and important within the classroom and
the use of effective assessment can play a large role in positively influencing a
student’s education. Understanding the role that assessment plays is important, as it
will inform my teaching practices and pedagogical style whilst also appropriately
implementing assessment and using it as a tool to increase the learning of my
students.

Coupled with the importance of assessment, is the need for appropriate feedback.
Feedback can be delivered in numerous ways and positively or negatively affect a
student’s learning. Consequently, we need to approach feedback in a way that is
most effective for each class or student, not using the same form of feedback for
every student. Andrews, Brown & Mesher (2018) highlight characteristics of an
effective teaching practice, including, designing formal feedback to improve learning,
designing opportunities for informal feedback and positively delivering feedback.
Using a range of feedback techniques can increase the benefit it can play within the
classroom. Approaching feedback as a tool that can be used to increase learning of a
student is a useful way for teachers to implement feedback within their pedagogy.
However, it is also relevant to recognise that feedback has been identified as a
trigger for discouragement for students in their education (Altmiller, Szymanski,
Walker, & Deal, 2018). With this in mind it is necessary to appropriately deliver
feedback in a way that students will respond well too. Creating positive relationships
with students can enhance the deliverance of feedback and engagement process
throughout education (Andrews, Brown, & Mesher, 2018). This is useful for teachers
to recognise as implementing this into their teaching pedagogy can positively
influence the learning of many students. Furthermore, effectively giving constructive
feedback to students can cause significant growth in a student’s learning, even
leading to a level of belonging within your class (Thayer, Cook, Fiat, Barlett-Chase, &
Kember, 2018). Approaching feedback as way to increase the education of students
can be an effective tool for a teacher. Using this to inform my teaching practices I
will appropriately implement and deliver feedback to my students.

Suitably designing assessments that meet the needs of students is also necessary to
consider in education. The assessment needs to be designed and mapped
accordingly to the knowledge and generic capability of the students whilst also
paying attention to level and depth of learning of these students (Hamilton &
Richardson, 2007). Catering for the needs of your students and in particular what
they have engaged with prior to the assessment should inform the designing process
of the assessment. It is necessary to create the assessments based off the topic
content taught to students and design it in a way that students are able to interact
with and engage with appropriately. Writing lesson and unit plans work hand in hand
when designing assessments as they both rely on each other to be effective.
Additionally, it is beneficial to implement various types of assessments for students
to complete instead of numerous formal heavy weighted exams. ‘Low stake’
assessments, which are used day to day, can be more supportive to the process of
teaching and learning and are able to create a stronger educational setting for the
students (Butt, 2010). Designing and implementing these ‘low stakes’ assessment
can be beneficial to our teaching practice and positively influence the education of
our students. Furthermore, ‘low stake’ assessments give students the opportunity to
continually improve their performance, whereas ‘high stakes’ assessment have a
longer lasting significance for a student’s educational journey (Butt, 2010). These are
vital things to consider when designing effective assessments for our students and
should inform our decisions in our teaching practice.

The role of assessment within the schooling sector is an important one and plays a
significant part in the education of students. As educators in the field, continually
adapting our practices and using new data to inform our teaching strategies is
paramount to our teaching careers. If we appropriately use and place assessment at
the centre of our teaching practice, letting inform our lesson planning, our teaching
methods and our pedagogy, it can yield significant benefits students and be a useful
way to inform our teaching practice (Butt, 2010). Knowing the role and significance
that assessment plays in the learning journey of a student, the way I design, provide
feedback and value assessment will be influenced by the necessity and positive
effect it can have for students.

References

Altmiller, G., Szymanski, K. V., Walker, D., & Deal, B. (2018). Constructive

Feedback Teaching Strategy: A Multisite Study of Its Effectiveness. Nursing

Education Perspectives. Vol. 39, Iss. 5,, 291-296.

Andrews, M., Brown, R., & Mesher, L. (2018). Engaging Students with Assessment

and Feedback: Improving Assessment for Learning with Students as Partners.

Practitioner Research in Higher Education Vol. 11, Iss. 1, 32-46.

Butt, G. (2010). Making assessment matter. London: Continuuum International Pub

Group.

Crisan, A. (2017). Case study on the importance of formative assessment in

stimulating student motivation for learning and increasing the efficiency of the

educational process. . Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology; Vol.

8, Iss. 1, 20-25.

Hamilton, M., & Richardson, J. (2007). An Academic Integrity Approach to Learning

and Assessment Design. Journal of Learning Design Vol. 2, Iss. 1, 37-51.

Thayer, A., Cook, C., Fiat, A., Barlett-Chase, M., & Kember, J. (2018). Wise

Feedback as a Timely Intervention for At-Risk Students Transitioning Into

High School. School Psychology Review. Vol. 47, Iss. 3,, 275-290.