Using this resource with PLAN2

Areas of focus templates are created by the NSW Department of Education to support teachers in explicit teaching of a range of learning areas. Teachers can customise a template based on their observations and assessment of their students' needs by creating Areas of focus. Teachers can use Areas of focus to target teaching and monitor progress in a range of learning areas and contexts.   The department has provided a range of Areas of focus templates that teachers can use to create Areas of focus to support students with developing the literacy and numeracy skills they require to achieve the HSC minimum standard. These templates can be accessed in PLAN2 through the Areas of focus template library.

To access the template library, firstly select the PLAN2 link on the ALAN homepage https://assessments.education.nsw.gov.au/alan/ to open the PLAN2 application. From the menu, select ‘Areas of focus template library’. In the ‘Areas of focus template library' screen:  Find a DoE HSC minimum standard template by selecting 'DoE' from the 'Created by' dropdown field. You can also search for a specific template by typing in a keyword in the search bar. For example, your school may wish to work on operations with percentages in the Year 9 Science class. You could type in ‘percentages’ to locate the HSCminstd: Percentages areas of focus template tile which you would then select from the left pane. This Areas of focus template contains all of the indicators referenced within the HSC minimum standard resource activities for Percentages to ensure easier monitoring of student development in these skills. 

On the Area of focus template details, then click the ‘Use template’ button. This will open the 'create new Area of focus' where you can follow the steps for creating a new Area of focus. The 'Create new area of focus’ screen will load. You will be prompted to select the student/s you want to include in your new area of focus, then any relevant syllabus outcomes and progression indicators included in your selected template will be copied to your new Area of focus. You can further customise your new Area of focus editing the selected syllabus outcomes or progression indicators. Templates should be customised to reflect the needs of the selected students. Remove or add indicators to make the learning focus explicit. 

You will finally be prompted to review and save your new Area of focus for percentages. The description from the HSC minimum standard: Percentages template will be copied over to your new Area of focus. You can edit your Area of focus name and description as needed. 

Once saved, your newly created Area of focus can be found saved against your class and may be used to generate Class observations and linked analysis to support planning for learning and achievement.  When periodically updating observations to your Area of focus, you would locate this via Areas of focus on the menu and select your personalised Area of focus. As this Area of focus can also be accessed by other teachers in your school, teachers from every KLA can contribute their observations to ensure a school-wide approach to support students to meet the minimum standard. 

For general solutions and troubleshooting you can visit the ALAN helpdesk pages at https://literacynumeracysupport.freshdesk.com/support/solutions. 

For more information about the HSC minimum standard, visit the department webpage at HSC minimum standard (nsw.gov.au) or contact our team in the Literacy or Numeracy statewide staffrooms, or at literacy.numeracy@det.nsw.edu.au  

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