What's new - July 2006
Welcome to the fifth ‘What’s new’ of the Values Education website for 2006.
Values Education Teaching and Learning Activities
Am I an Australian? Can we use mobiles at school? KLA-based lesson plans for primary and secondary students with a values focus are now available from the website. Each lesson includes teaching and learning strategies with introductory activities to engage students, guided inquiry and culminating activities.
Co-curricular activities include ideas, information and suggestions about how schools are implementing the National Framework for Values Education in Australian Schools outside the formal classroom context. Written by school-based practitioners of values education, they contain practical activities for teachers to use or adapt in their communities.
Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 2
All schools were invited to take part in the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 2. Applications closed 9 June 2006 and a short-list has been selected. When the selection process is complete all applicants will be notified and the list of successful clusters will be published on this website. Over 180 clusters of schools, consisting of nearly 1,000 schools, submitted applications.
Values Education Email News Alert
If you wish to receive an occasional email alert to notify you of Values Education for Australian Schooling news, please follow the link below and complete the subscription details.
http://lists2.curriculum.edu.au/m/mailman/listinfo/values-education-news-alert
Events
9 August 2006, International Day of Indigenous Peoples http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/indigenouspeoples
12 August 2006, International Youth Day: Tackling Poverty Together http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/iyouthday.htm
1–30 September 2006, National Biodiversity Month http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/month.html
04-10 September 2006, Landcare Week http://landcareaustralia.com.au/index.asp
7 September 2006, National Threatened Species Day http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/ts-day/index.html
17 September 2006, Australian Citizenship Day http://www.citizenship.gov.au/news/announcements/citday.htm
21 September 2006, International Day of Peace http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org
See individual States and Territories links below for workshops and seminars within your State or Territory.
National
The National Values Education Forum Report 2006 is now available for downloading from the website.
States and Territories
In New South Wales Catholic schools have a new website page for the application for funding and reporting of values education school forums.
In South Australia a conference, The Values Journey – The Core of Quality Teaching, was held in Adelaide on 30 June 2006. More twilight seminars are coming up, at which schools that have already facilitated forums will share their processes; schools from the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 1 will also contribute.
In Victoria 320 schools have now applied for grants for school forums. Another professional development session is coming up in the Southern Region in August.
In Western Australia Clara Deans is the new Values Education Project Officer.
Good Practice Schools
Case Studies: Good Practice Schools
Schools involved in the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 1 have generated many useful ideas, tools and other examples of best practice. The following paper by Lina Scalfino, leader of the Modbury School R–7 cluster, has been added to the case studies:
- Engagement with Values: A Lens for Whole School Change by Lina Scalfino
Good Practice Schools – Stage 1
More schools in the Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 1 have incorporated information about their values programmes into their websites.
Values for Australian Schooling newsletter
The latest edition of the Values for Australian Schooling Newsletter (volume 4) has been distributed to all schools and is also available for downloading from the website.
Resources
Values for Australian Schooling Kit
The Values for Australian Schooling Kit was delivered to schools in June. The print materials from the kit may be downloaded from the Values for Australian Schooling Kit page on this website. Additional copies of the kit are available at cost from Curriculum Corporation.
Teaching and Learning
KLA-based lesson plans for primary and secondary students with a values focus are now available for downloading from the website.
Co-curricular activities containing practical ideas for teachers to use or adapt in their communities are also available for downloading.
Professional Learning
Two new resources have been added to the Professional Learning page:
- The Assessment for Learning Project provides professional advice and activity related to formative assessment.
- Exploring the links between Values Education and Historical Inquiry poses a set of guiding questions that outline a number of ways that values can be incorporated into historical inquiry and the ways historical inquiry can inform values education.
Articles
Four new articles have been included:
- Add values to build an ethos, Neil Hawkes, TES, 11 February 2005
- Reflecting on the vocabulary of relationships, Julie Duckworth and Bridget Knight, TES, 11 February 2005
- Love Thy Neighbours: Racial Tolerance among Young Australians by Professor Trang Thomas AM and Dr Rivka Witenberg, RMIT University – A report for the Australian Multicultural Foundation, 2004
- Engagement with Values: A Lens for Whole School Change, Lina Scalfino, 2005
Reviews
Two new books for values education have been added to the list:
- Black Ants and Buddhists: Thinking critically and teaching differently in the primary grades by Mary Cowhey (Stenhouse)
- A Quiet Revolution: Encouraging positive values in our children by Frances Farrer (Century)
Links
New web links for values education resources include: Assessment for Learning, KidsMatter, Peer Support Foundation, The National College for School Leadership.