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This slideshow was part of a workshop for VCE Environmental Science teachers at the Victorian Association of Environmental Educators in November, 2013.
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VCE Environmental
ScienceTeachers PD November
2013Britt Gow
Agenda9.00am Welcome & housekeeping - Sarah
9.15am Resources – Teacher’s handbook Launch
9.30am Introductions – on the Padlet Walll
10.00am Exploring Units 1 to 4 - Study design
10.30am Morning tea
11.00am Continue exploring Units 1 to 4 - Outcomes
12.00pm Developing a schedule and SACs for Units 1 & 3
1.00pm Lunch
1.30pm Exam , laboratory experiments, fieldwork and excursions
2.55pm Reflections & Farewell
An update from VAEEUSB resources
Trial exams and support for 2014 - VCE ES Conference - Preparing for Unit 2 & 4 - Revision lecture
Launch of “Issues of Sustainability” Teacher Resource Book
More Resources….VAEE website and teacher’s email
network (freelist)
FUSE Ebookboxes
VCE Environmental Science blog
“Envirostudy” app for mobile devices (IOS and android)
Introductions….Go to the VCE Environmental Science
blog at http://vceenviroscience.edublogs.org
Access the Padlet wall and introduce yourself
Name and school, Units 1/2 or 3/4 or both?
Experience teaching Environmental Science
What do you hope to get out of today?
Exploring Units 1-4Assessment
Case Studies
An overview of the outcomes
Course outline - School Assessed Coursework (where, when, how?)
Assessment
Unit 1 and 2
All school assessed
Unit 3 (25% SACs)
Unit 4 (25% SACs)
End of Year exam worth 50% of final score
Case-studiesIn Units 3 and 4, students apply scientific
principles to selected local contexts in the completion of assessment tasks. It should be noted that, although assessment of School-assessed Coursework will be in the contexts of local selection the end-of-year examination will not draw on specific details of the local contexts.
Unit 3 – AoS 2 - a threatened species
Unit 4 – AosS 1 – a pollutant
Unit 4 – AoS 2 – an environmental project
Unit 1 – The Environment
AOS 1 – Ecological components & interactions
Outcome 1
“On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify and describe the components and natural processes within the environment.”
Unit 1 – The Environment
AOS 2 – Environmental Change
Outcome 2
“On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse one human-induced environmental change and options for remediation.”
Unit 1 – The EnvironmentAOS 3 – Ecosystems
Outcome 3
“On completion of this unit the student should be able explain the flow of energy, nutrient exchange and environmental changes in ecosystems.”
Unit 2 – Monitoring the environment
AOS 1 – Environmental Indicators
Outcome 1
“On completion of this unit the student should be able to explain the nature of environmental indicators for pollution and ecological health of ecosystems.”
Unit 2 – Monitoring the environment
AOS 2 – Using Environmental Indicators
Outcome 2
“On completion of this unit the student should be able to investigate and report on a local example environmental degradation or environmental issue, using an appropriate monitoring program.”
Outcome 3
“On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse the scientific basis and use of for environmental indicators for pollution control and ecological health of ecosystems.”
Unit 1 & 2 Assessment“Where teachers allow students to choose between tasks they must ensure that the tasks they set are of comparable scope and demand.”
Assessment tasks for this unit are:
fieldwork and reports
oral presentations
practical activities and practical reports
reports in multimedia and/or poster format
tests
VCE Environmental Science Unit 3
Area of Study 1 –
Energy & Global Warming
Area of Study 2 –
Diversity in the Biosphere
Area of Study One:Energy and global warming.Concepts and principles of
energy.
Renewable and non-renewable energy resources.
Gases in the atmosphere
Greenhouse effect – natural & enhanced.
Unit 3 - Outcome One“On completion of this unit the student should be able to describe the principles of energy, and relate them to the contribution of one fossil and one non-fossil energy source to the enhanced greenhouse effect.”
Task 1 - A written report of a practical activity (20 marks)
and
Task 2 - A report in annotated poster or multimedia format (30 marks)
Total = 50 marks
Outcome 1 – Term 1
Part A (20 marks)
A collection of practical reports
A write up of one practical report
A ‘test’ based on a number of practical reports
Part B (30 marks)
Annotated poster: comparison of a fossil & non-fossil fuel
*SAME MARKING CRITERIA AS PREVIOUS ASSESSMENT HANDBOOK
Unit 3 - Energy resources
You must be able to compare your non-renewable energy resource with your renewable energy resource:
accessibility and provision to meet energy needs
energy conversions required
efficiency of energy conversions
environmental impact of extraction, conversion, distribution and use on the environment and society
How can both resources meet the energy needs of a town with reference to specific geographic location?
Q2 (c) Describe how the fossil energy source named in part b. is used to meet the need of a specific geographic location, city or region. You should include advantages and disadvantages of this energy source for the particular application. (4 marks)
• Melbourne is the capital city of Victoria with an estimated population of 3 million people (1m).
• Melbourne’s energy needs are very demanding especially during peak loads when energy demands are at their highest. Industry, lighting, heating and transport are the main energy requirements needed for Melbourne. Coal already does supply and cope with both the base and peak loads in Melbourne (1m).
• An advantage associated with coal is that it is accessible, cheap to use and is widely available within Australia (1m)
• A disadvantage associated with coal use is that is produces large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions hence contributing to the enhanced greenhouse effect (1m).
Typical exam question for Unit 3 – Area of Study 1
Q2 (d) Describe how the non-fossil energy source named in part b. is used to meet the need of a specific geographic location, city or region. You should include advantages and disadvantages of this energy source for the particular application. (4 marks)
Toora is located approximately 150km east of Melbourne in Gippsland. (1m) Due to a small population the energy needs of the town are relatively small. The general needs for energy are for heating, lighting, farming and transport. The Toora wind farm currently supplies 6,600 homes with energy so could meet the supply needs of Toora and surrounding Gippsland towns with energy. (1m) Wind farming is associated with many advantages however, the biggest would be the fact no greenhouse gas emissions are produced (1m). One main disadvantage is the fact that wind farming relies on a constant supply of wind and this is not always the case (1m).
Area of Study Two:Diversity in the Biosphere
Biodiversity
Biodiversity management
Unit 3 - Area of Study Two:Diversity in the Biosphere
Types of…
Value of...
Conservation categories….
Assessment of…
Threats to…
Unit 3 – AoS 2 - Outcome 2
“On completion of this unit the student should be able to describe the characteristics of biodiversity, evaluate strategies to reduce the effects of threatening processes on biodiversity, and apply this knowledge to one selected threatened animal.”
Task worth 30 marks:
A report on one selected threatened animal presented in any one or combination of the following:
a written report
an oral report
a multimedia presentation.
Unit 3 – AoS 2 - Outcome 3
“Explain how scientific data is used in the evaluation of biodiversity and is applied to the development of management strategies to ensure biodiversity.”
Task/s worth 20 marks -
Any one or a combination of the following:
a written or oral report
a multimedia presentation
a written response to set questions
a report on data collected from fieldwork or other sources.
Unit 4 AoS 1: Pollution and health
Outcome 1: Describe the characteristics of pollutants, and evaluate management options for reducing the risk of a pollutant affecting the health of the environment and humans.
Task 1: A report on the findings of selected fieldwork and/or practical activities relating to pollutant/s (30 marks)
Task 2: An evaluation of management strategies [of the selected pollutant] based on primary and/or secondary data. (30 marks)
Total = 60 marks
Useful Websites• National Pollutants Inventory -
http://www.npi.gov.au/data/index.html
• Environmental Protection Authority – http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/
• Urban Air Quality – http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/1283.html
• Water Quality - http://www.enviroliteracy.org/subcategory.php/43.html
• Environmental Health - http://www.enviroliteracy.org/subcategory.php/170.html
SACs for Unit 4 - AoS 2: Applied environmental scienceOutcome 2
Use the principles of ecologically sustainable development and environmental management to evaluate environmental science projects, including a focus on one selected environmental science project.
Task 1 (20 marks) - A report or a test and
Task 2 (20 marks) –
A report or an environmental management plan.
Total = 40 marks
Unit 4 - AoS 2 - Outcome 2
Sewerage treatment plant upgrade
Freeway development
Energy efficiency improvements in a factory
Co-generation plant
Mining rehabilitation
Waste minimisation and management
Water treatment plant
Unit 3/4 Possible Timeline…
Term 1 – Unit 3 Area of Study 1 - Energy principles (4 weeks) and Greenhouse Effect (4weeks)- Introduce AoS 2 last week of term
Term 2 – Unit 3 Area of Study 2 - Biodiversity (4 weeks) and management (4 weeks)- Introduce Unit 4 AoS 1 (pollution & health) last 2 weeks of term
• Term 3 – Unit 4 Area of study 1 and 2
- Pollution & health (5 weeks)
- Applied Environmental Science (5 weeks)
• Term 4 – Finish Area of study two/ revision
End of Year Examination
NOTE: Outcome 1 (comparison of a fossil & non-fossil fuel will be examined in regards to specific location) is the only case study that will be directly examined on the end of year exam.
All other outcomes will not refer to the specific SACs completed in class however, students will need to apply their knowledge from these SACs to effectively answer questions.
Unit 3/4 Exam15 mins reading time/ 2 hrs writing
time
Section A – multiple choice
30 multiple choice questions (30 marks)
Section B – Short Answer (90 marks)
6 short answer questions balanced across unit 3/4
1 of these will be about the individual case studies (fossil VS non-fossil fuel)
Contributes 50% of study score
Common student problems
Run out of time ( 1 mark per minute)
Questions that use calculations
‘Evaluate’ – must give a judgement statement and back up with argument/evidence
Monitoring is not a strategy
Course structure
There is no prescribed way to teach the course you could start with AoS 2 Biodiversity!
New end-of-year exam gives more opportunities for integration between the different Areas of Study.
Organise your experiments, field trips and excursions early.
You may like to consider study camps during the school holidays.
Laboratory Experiments
Exothermic and endothermic
Student Power
Energy in candle wax
Insulation investigation
Effects of Sulphur dioxide
Excursions and Field Work
Ecolinc
Melbourne Water, Local Water Authority
Melbourne, Healesville and Werribee Zoos
Royal Botanic Gardens
Toolangi
Mt Rothwell Sanctuary
