Quest for a connected curriculum: English, digital technologies and 'the forests of silence'

Purposeful, connected curriculum In an issues paper prepared for the Queensland Studies Authority, Nayler (2014) outlines the need for a purposeful, connected curriculum that answers the concerns of over-crowding and is student-focussed and problem-based, allowing for inquiry and deep thinking. Nayler defines this curriculum as 'one that draws on two or three curriculum areas of the Australian Curriculum for significant teaching and learning within a unit of study' (p. 11). Nayler advises that planning for a connected curriculum is successful when teachers use a powerful overall question to drive the teaching unit. In order to avoid 'trivial integration' (p. 19) and to ensure the integrity of each curricular area, a clear focus on each of the contributing curricular areas must be maintained. Nayler recommends that formative and summative assessment data is gathered and related to the valued features of the contributing curricular areas and that reporting is conducted about the learning of each curricular area. Australian Curricula: English and Digital Technologies The overall question for this English and Digital Technologies connected curriculum unit of work is: How do characters interpret and respond to the unfolding events and setting of Emily Rodda's (2000) novel, The forests of silence? Two key content descriptions from the Australian Curriculum: English (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2016b) guide the teaching and learning: the first from the Literature strand and the second from the Literacy strand: * Recognise that ideas in literary texts can be conveyed from different viewpoints, which can lead to different kinds of interpretations and responses (ACELT1610) * Use a range of software including word processing programs with fluency to construct, edit and publish written text, and select, edit and place visual, print and audio elements (ACELY1707) The Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies (ACARA, 2016a) allows students to connect knowledge from other learning areas to the digital environment, providing further opportunities for critical and creative thinking and to enhance and deepen learning. A key content description for this unit of work is: * Implement digital solutions as simple visual programs involving branching, iteration (repetition), and user input (ACTDIP020) SAMR Model The SAMR Model, introduced in 2006 by Ruben Puentedura, guides classroom technology practice at Fitzgerald State School and ensures that all students are actively engaged and able to participate in the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technology (ACARA, 2016a). The SAMR Model is also a useful tool for creative response and text innovation. It describes four levels of technology integration that increase in complexity and effect: * Substitution, where technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change; * Augmentation, where technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement; * Modification, where technology allows for significant task redesign; * Redefinition, where technology allows for the creation of previously inconceivable new tasks. (State of Queensland Department of Education and Training (Qld DET), 2013). Coding and robotics While the Year 5 students engaged with the class novel during English lessons, they were being introduced to the language of coding as a component of the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies (ACARA, 2016a). Students used the free Scratch (Lifelong Kindergarten Group, 2016) programming interface to explore syntax, the correct formatting of code. They firstly created a stage, or backdrop, in this case a digital map of Deltora, a fictitious land in Emily Rodda's (2000) novel, The forests of silence. They drew their own characters, chose characters supplied by the Scratch program or used paint. …