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The defence of Darwin: From the 'what?' to the 'so what?' of a cross-curricular resource

Boyle, Alicia, Crerar, Janice M., Smith, Gregory W. and Smith, Sue E. (2013). The defence of Darwin: From the 'what?' to the 'so what?' of a cross-curricular resource. In: The Australian Curriculum Studies Association 2013 Biennial Curriculum Conference, Darwin, NT, 25-27 September 2013.

Document type: Conference Paper
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IRMA ID 84279116xPUB100
Author Boyle, Alicia
Crerar, Janice M.
Smith, Gregory W.
Smith, Sue E.
Title The defence of Darwin: From the 'what?' to the 'so what?' of a cross-curricular resource
Conference Name The Australian Curriculum Studies Association 2013 Biennial Curriculum Conference
Conference Location Darwin, NT
Conference Dates 25-27 September 2013
Conference Publication Title Uncharted territory? Navigating the new Australian Curriculum
Place of Publication Darwin, NT
Publisher The Australian Curriculum Studies Association
Publication Year 2013
HERDC Category E3 - Conference Publication - Extract of paper (internal)
Abstract The project aimed to create an online education resource, mapped to the new Australian Curriculum based on permanent exhibitions and distributed heritage sites of the newly opened Defence of Darwin Experience museum. The museum is
exploratory, technologically and socially interactive and provides ready linkages to the inquiry-based ethos and directives of the Australian Curriculum. Teacher consultations and media discussion raised troubled tensions — time-poor teachers,
a changing and overly-full curriculum in a climate of unease in public discourse that seeks knowledge transfer and bids to defi ne national identity. On both scores inquiry-based learning stands the loser. The resulting resource spans lower and
upper primary and middle years, across History, Art, English, Mathematics, Civics and Science. All of these considered students in any Australian classroom inevitably asking, ‘So what?’ In this century strong economic links between northern Australia and Asia highlight a need to understand the ‘what’ and the ‘so what’ of Darwin’s history. In a country where Aboriginal voices are strengthening, defence is discussed in terms of evacuees and refugees and economic ties are crucial to perceived wellbeing, it is time to bring history alive through experiences so that students can understand the context of our present from the past.
Description for Link Link to conference homepage
URL http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/page532.asp
 
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Created: Thu, 07 Aug 2014, 16:41:32 CST