The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Practical Achievement Task
Thursday Oct 13th 2011
Drumcondra Education Centre
Harry Freeman
harryfreeman@pdst.ie
087-2908528
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Nature of Task
This task requires the student to:
Undertake and complete a significant task of a
practical and /or enterprising nature over an
extended period of 3 months.
It requires the accumulation of tangible evidence of the
achievement
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Purpose of Task
To provide the student with an opportunity to:
• undertake a practical task
• develop skills of goal setting
• develop skills of on-going planning,
reflection and evaluation
• sustain activity in the targeted area
• gain a sense of mastery and achievement
• gain recognition for out-of-school learning
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Scope of Task
The task :
• must be an individual task
• must be specific/well-defined and realistic
• must be independently verifiable
• must involve regular engagement over a period of at least
3 months
• must present a challenge to the student
• must be broadly related to the Leaving Certificate Applied
• may build on existing pursuits
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
The Practical
Achievement should:
• be meaningful for the student
• have educational integrity
• be adequately supervised
• be appropriate to age, ability and interest of student
• be oriented towards achievement
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
The practical achievement might come from
one of the following:
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Community involvement
Enterprise activity
Physical / recreation
Practical skill
Product manufacturing
Provision of a service
Organising an event
Adventure activity
Hobbies/Interests
Other
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Stages of Task
• Planning
• Implementation
• Culmination
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Planning Stage
Selection
The following should be considered:
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interest audit
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background research on minimum of 3 options
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appropriate level of challenge
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safety considerations
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relationship to lca courses
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selection of task from alternatives considered
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time
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resources
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Planning Stage
Action Plan
The plan should consider how the following
will be organised:
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Activities required to achieve the goal
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Setting of time scales and ongoing deadlines
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Identification of potential obstacles
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Contact with verifier
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Plan for recording progress
The above should be included in the initial statement which
should be about 200 words or 2 minutes audio/ video.
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
IMPLEMENTATION
This involves:
- Process
- Outcome/Evidence
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Implementation
The process requires the student to:
• engage with the action plan.
• acknowledge the starting position.
• record involvement with the activity
in the log entries including time,
effort and progress.
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Evidence & Verification
Two separate sources of evidence.
Evidence must show progress/achievement.
1 source of evidence must show achievement.
Both pieces of evidence must be signed by Verifier.
Describe how chosen evidence shows achievement.
Possible Sources of Evidence
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Certificates
Participation records
Video/Audio tapes
Samples of work
Series of photographs etc.
Testimonials/Letters
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
VERIFIER
• must be an adult who has supervised or
monitored the student’s practical
achievement
• must be an adult who is knowledgeable in
the area
• must sign both pieces of evidence of the
student’s achievement
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Culmination
The student prepares a Concluding Statement
which should include:
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description of goals that have been achieved
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evaluation of the challenge
•
self evaluation
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application to future endeavours.
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cross curricular links
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changed perspectives
The concluding statement should be 400 words in length
or
a maximum of 4 minutes in audio/video format
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Assessment
The following 5 items must be presented for
assessment:
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Initial Statement
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Log Book (Minimum 5 entries)
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2 pieces of evidence verifying the achievement
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Concluding statement
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Assessment Criteria
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Ability to select and plan the achievement
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Quality of engagement and evidence of progress
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Ability to reflect on and evaluate the experience
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Quality of integration of learning
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Quality of communicative ability
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Evidence of cross-curricular applications
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Ability to appraise goals on an on-going basis
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Possible Strategies
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Timetabled class periods with whole class group
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Mentoring by teaching team members
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A teacher’s timetable is reduced by one to two
periods
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Back-to-back timetabling (team teaching)
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Teachers who are not anchoring any other tasks
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Students seek out teachers themselves
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013
Teacher/Mentor Role
• Introduce and explain task
• Negotiate and facilitate individual selection
• Motivate/encourage/advise/challenge
• Question/facilitate/monitor
• Give feedback
• Assist in identifying progress
• Support completion of logbook
• Check for 2 pieces of evidence
• Assessment process
The PDST is funded by the Department of Education and Skills
under the National Development Plan, 2007-2013