Outdoor and Environmental Studies
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Outdoor and Environmental Studies
Outdoor and Environmental Studies
Rationale
VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies provides students with the skills and knowledge to participate safely and sustainably in a range of outdoor experiences and environments. Through participation in outdoor experiences, students learn to respect and value these landscapes and their living cultural history.
Historically, Indigenous peoples modified outdoor environments on a small scale, but since colonisation Australian outdoor environments have been altered to meet commercial, conservation and recreation needs, as well as to feed an increasing population. Today, outdoor environments remain an important aspect of Australian identity and continue to be used by industry while also being places of adventure, recreation, scientific study, social action and enterprise. Outdoor environments also provide space for connectedness with nature and opportunities to reflect upon the past, live in the present and take action for sustainable futures.
By spending extended periods of time in outdoor environments to support experiential development of theoretical understandings, students learn to assess the health of, and evaluate the importance of, healthy outdoor environments. Students learn to recognise the impact of increasing pressures on these places through direct human use, while observing the indirect damage created by local, national and international practices. Students explore differing values and approaches of user groups; how these groups generate a range of impacts on outdoor environments; pressures and tensions between user groups; and issues concerning the preservation and sustainability of outdoor environments.
Structure
The study is made up of four units.
Unit 1: Connections with outdoor environments
Unit 2: Discovering outdoor environments
Unit 3: Relationships with outdoor environments
Unit 4: Sustainable outdoor environments
Each unit deals with specific content contained in areas of study and is designed to enable students to achieve a set of outcomes for that unit. Each outcome is described in terms of key knowledge and key skills.
Entry
There are no prerequisites for entry to Units 1, 2 and 3. Students must undertake Unit 3 and Unit 4 as a sequence. Units 1–4 are designed to the standard equivalent to the final two years of secondary education. All VCE studies are benchmarked against comparable national and international curricula.
Due to the number of practical experiences this subject has St Augustine's currently offers unit 1-2 as a fast track subject at year 10 and unit 3-4 as a fast track subject at year 11 only.
Unit 1: Exploring outdoor experiences
This unit examines some of the ways in which Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples understand and relate to nature through experiencing outdoor environments. The focus is on individuals and their personal responses to experiencing outdoor environments.
Students are provided with the opportunity to explore the many ways in which nature is understood and perceived. Students develop a clear understanding of the range of motivations for interacting with outdoor environments, the factors that affect an individual’s access to experiencing outdoor environments and how they connect with outdoor environments.
Through outdoor experiences, students develop practical skills and knowledge to help them act sustainably in outdoor environments. Students understand the links between practical experiences and theoretical investigations, gaining insight into a variety of responses to, and relationships with, nature.
Unit 2: Discovering outdoor environments
This unit focuses on the different ways to understand outdoor environments and the impact of humans on outdoor environments.
In this unit students study the effects of natural changes and impacts of land management practices on the sustainability of outdoor environments by examining a number of case studies of specific outdoor environments, including areas where there is evidence of human intervention.
Students develop the practical skills required to minimise the impact of humans on outdoor environments. They comprehend a range of vocational perspectives that inform human use of outdoor environments. Through reflecting upon their experiences of outdoor environments, students make comparisons between outdoor environments, as well as develop theoretical knowledge about natural environments.
Unit 3: Relationships with outdoor environments
The focus of this unit is the ecological, historical and social contexts of relationships between humans and outdoor environments in Australia. Case studies of a range of impacts on outdoor environments are examined in the context of the changing nature of human relationships with outdoor environments in Australia over 60,000 years.
Students consider several factors that influence relationships with outdoor environments. They also examine the dynamic nature of relationships between humans and their environment.
Students are involved in multiple experiences in outdoor environments, including in areas where there is evidence of human interaction. Through these practical experiences, students make comparisons between, and reflect upon, outdoor environments, as well as develop theoretical knowledge and skills about specific outdoor environments.
Students undertake an independent investigation into the changing relationships with, and sustainability of, at least two different visited outdoor environments across both Units 3 and 4, which is assessed in Unit 4, Outcome 3.
Unit 4: Sustainable outdoor relationships
In this unit students explore the sustainable use and management of outdoor environments. They observe and assess the health of outdoor environments and consider the importance of this health for the future of Australian outdoor environments and the Australian population.
Students examine the importance of the sustainability of human relationships with outdoor environments and the urgent need to balance human needs and the needs of outdoor environments. They investigate current acts and conventions as well as management strategies for achieving and maintaining healthy and sustainable Australian outdoor environments in contemporary Australian society.
Students engage in multiple related experiences in outdoor environments, conducting an ongoing investigation into the health of, and care for, these places. They learn and apply the practical skills and knowledge required to sustain healthy outdoor environments and evaluate the strategies and actions they employ. Through these practical experiences, students reflect upon outdoor environments and make comparisons between them by applying theoretical knowledge developed about outdoor environments.
As global citizens, students investigate how individuals and community members take action towards promoting sustainable and healthy outdoor environments and describe possible solutions to threats facing outdoor environments and their sustainability.
Students undertake an independent investigation into the changing relationships with, and sustainability of, at least two different visited outdoor environments across both Units 3 and 4, which is assessed in Unit 4, Outcome 3.
Satisfactory completion
The award of satisfactory completion for a unit is based on the teacher’s decision that the student has demonstrated achievement of the set of outcomes specified for the unit. Demonstration of achievement of outcomes and satisfactory completion of a unit are determined by evidence gained through the assessment of a range of learning activities and tasks. Teachers must develop courses that provide appropriate opportunities for students to demonstrate satisfactory achievement of outcomes. The decision about satisfactory completion of a unit is distinct from the assessment of levels of achievement. Schools will report a student’s result for each unit to the VCAA as S (Satisfactory) or N (Not Satisfactory).
Levels of achievement
Units 1 and 2
Procedures for the assessment of levels of achievement in Units 1 and 2 are a matter for school decision. Assessment of levels of achievement for these units will not be reported to the VCAA. Schools may choose to report levels of achievement using grades, descriptive statements or other indicators.
Units 3 and 4
The VCAA specifies the assessment procedures for students undertaking scored assessment in Units 3 and 4. Designated assessment tasks are provided in the details for each unit in VCE study designs. The student’s level of achievement in Units 3 and 4 will be determined by School-assessed Coursework (SACs) and/or School-assessed Tasks (SATs) as specified in the VCE study designs, and external assessment. The VCAA will report the student’s level of achievement on each assessment component as a grade from A+ to E or UG (ungraded).
Percentage contributions to the study score in VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies are as follows:
Unit 3 School-assessed Coursework: 25 per cent
Unit 4 School-assessed Coursework: 25 per cent
End-of-year examination: 50 per cent.
Camps/Practical Experience
Experiential education is the foundation of VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies. Students are required to connect practical experiences with the theoretical content studied in each unit.
VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies has a strong focus on time spent in outdoor environments and developing human relationships with Country. The cross-study specifications and the associated key knowledge within each unit are intended to be learned ‘about’ and ‘through’ outdoor environments, and most importantly learned ‘in’ different Victorian outdoor environments, both local and afar.
Outdoor experiences allow the development of understandings of outdoor environments from various perspectives. This includes geological and human history over the last 60,000 years, changes to human interactions with the outdoor environment, protocols and management of outdoor environments and strategies to care for, and goals for sustainable use of, outdoor environments.
Outdoor experiences provide opportunities for students to develop the observational knowledge and theoretical application required to satisfactorily complete each outcome and collect primary data needed for School-assessed Coursework tasks.
Possible practical experiences include; multi-day hiking, canoeing, cross-country skiing as well as full day and half day environmental investigation work such as water testing, habitat restoration and Indigenous cultural education.
Equipment:
Textbook :Nelson Outdoor and Environmental Studies VCE unit 1-4 4th Edition, written by Andrew Mannion, Marcia Cross, Philip Hughes & Leigh Park
96-page ruled workbooks x2
Plastic pockets
Binder folder
Highlighters, pens, glue, scissors
Thermals top & Bottom and a warm fleece or woolen jumper for practical experiences.
A warm, compact sleeping bag
Cost:
This subject will also incur an 'Outdoor Education levy' which, is subject to change depending on the camps.
Further information
Pease refer to the study design on the VCAA website (this will be a new study design in 2024) or contact Mrs McIntosh
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