The 3 Areas of Exploration

Three areas of exploration

While in the old course there were four parts, in the new course there are three ‘areas of exploration’. Importantly, unlike in the old course, none of the assessments are tied to particular areas of exploration. This means that the focus of each area is more conceptually based and allows for a wider variety of readings and activities. While the areas of exploration progress in a logical way – from initial concerns of production, reception and response to a widening look at various contexts, and finally to ‘further exploration’ of works, texts and the connections that students make after a period of study – they can be approached in any order, can be blended or overlapped very usefully, or can be reconstructed using the thread of concepts or guiding conceptual questions. While three areas may not seem to fit easily into the typical school two-year calendar, the organization allows teachers to make decisions about numbers of texts/works to use, how to organize time, and how to best balance assessment needs or the regular interruptions of school life. These areas are also identical across literature, and language and literature, so should make movement of students more practical.