PROFESSIONAL TASK

ASSESSMENT 1-SECONDARY CURRICULUM 2B

CONTENT PAGE NUMBER

UNIT OUTLINE 1-3
RESOURCES 4-10
REFLECTION 11-14
REFERENCES 15-18

SUBMITTED BY: OJASVITA HANDA

STUDENT ID: 19617057
TOTAL WORD COUNT:2184
 Unit Outline
(1092 words, excluding template, including appendix)

Unit title: Financial Modelling Course: Mathematics Advanced (Year 12) Number of Weeks: 6
Topic: Modelling Financial Situations
Subtopics The importance of this learning
M1.1, 1.3, 1.4 Understand annuities and use of sequences in borrowing/investing money
(NESA, 2017).

Unit context within Scope and Sequence Syllabus Outcomes

 MA12-2
Term 3  MA12-4
 MA12-9
 MA12-10
Literacy Focus Numeracy Focus ICT Focus Differentiation
 Group discussions, Incorporated into content  GeoGebra Range of activities/real life situations including
presentations  Spreadsheet to model scaffolded and extended tasks
 Understanding key annuities, investments
concepts and loans
 Written and verbal  Online investment
responses calculator
 Videos

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 Wee Syllabus Content Teaching and Learning Strategies Resources
k
1,2 Investments and loans (Lesson 1-3)  Appendix A
financial decisions,  Warm-up task: 5 questions from different topics displayed,  Kahoot
identify annuity, students flexible to interpret, answer from their perspective  NESA K-10 syllabus
technology- recurrence  Students in pairs discuss whether they are smart workers or  Spreadsheet
relation (interest rate, safe workers  Cut outs- match card activity
frequency of contribution  Convert this to mathematical question-who are better,
(NESA, 2017, p.61) smart or safe investors?
 Peers with mentors review stage 5.2 syllabus content,
Compound interest and related concepts, kahoot quiz
 Key terms-match card activity: investment, annuity,
present value, future value, principal and amount on one
set of cards and their meaning on other cards. Match the
term with its meaning
 Further explanation of concepts through questions
 Students form and solve practical questions-discussion in
groups (can refer book)
(Lesson 4, 5)
 ICT project- Appendix A
Future value-annuity (Lesson 6, 7) Calculator:
(NESA, 2017, p.61)  Students in mixed ability groups explore different https://www.nerdwallet.com/banking/calcul
investment options for future value of annuity and make ator/compound-interest-calculator
investment decisions
https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-and-
resources/calculators-and-apps/investment-
calculators
3,4 Geometric sequence (Lesson 8,9)  Appendix B
definition, nth term  Design own sequences-in pairs  GeoGebra:
formula, exponential  Introduction: Activity (appendix B) https://www.geogebra.org/m/QUtpppeH

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 nature  Explore sequences-GeoGebra
(NESA, 2017, p.62)
Sum of n, infinite terms (Lesson 10,11)  Appendix B
(NESA, 2017, p.62)  Students to add values from Appendix B activity, think  Video:
what if numbers are large and derive sum of n terms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
 Guided practice y1Ob0K63hc
(Lesson 12-14)  Worksheets:
 Visualisation video-infinite sum, Square activity-paper http://rpdp.net/admin/images/uploads/resour
folding to understand, derive limiting sum formula ce_12152.pdf
 Combined worksheet on practical situations
5, 6 ACMM076, ACMM095, (Lesson 14,15) Modules, screenshots, material links:
ACMM096 and reducing  Revisit Appendix A and link knowledge to compare
balance loan investments with interest paid daily/monthly/quarterly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
(NESA, 2017, p.62)  Real-life problems: exponential growth and decay through v=RPa71GBMruw
recap of geometric sequence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
 Discussion, practical scenarios: students/their friends v=XGx1ijIp9mo
taking loan for education/other purposes
(Lesson 16,17) https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-and-
 Preparation-flipped classroom resources/calculators-and-apps/personal-
1. Teacher shares instructional videos scaffolding the task loan-calculator
2. Interactive modules, screenshots for content, links to
 Spreadsheet
online material
3. Instructions on readiness for group task for activity  Appendix C
(Lesson 18-20)
 Flipped classroom activity (Appendix C) and reflection
Assessment Details Outcomes: Diagnostic, formative assessment
Evaluation of the Learning and Teaching: Entry exit slips, observations (taking rounds), reflections, ICT project, group presentation, flipped
classroom activity

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 Appendix A
ICT Financial Modelling project- Power of compounding

Aims to address multiple levels of SOLO Taxonomy (Mulbar, Rahman & Ahmar, 2017)

Objective: To familiarise students with power of compounding, to understand modelling investments and encourage students to invest from an early
age.

Instructions:

 Students choose their groups after deciding whether they are smart/safe investors.
 form 2 teams: wealth investors (those who make one-time investment) and wealth creators (who make recurring investment).
 further divide into subgroups of 4 within the two teams
Project:
1. Compare growth in investment amount (in spreadsheet) by comparing Simple and Compound interest for 20 years at 5 years interval and
represent it graphically (linear versus exponential)
2. Create annuity tables in spreadsheet:

Wealth investors Wealth creators

one-time investment recurring investments
3. Assess the impact of power of compounding under varying interest rates, noticing the difference in return after specified long duration.
4. Analyse impact of frequency of contribution for fixed amount and total duration.
5. Share the findings/conclusions with opposite team.
6. Choose the way of presentation (PowerPoint/report/spreadsheet)
7. Assess your team’s performance

Helpful material:
https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/2017/5/16/present-value-of-an-ordinary-annuity-table
https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-and-resources/calculators-and-apps/investment-calculators

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 Student self-assessment rubrics ( SOLO Taxonomy)
Unsatisfactory Use wrong data or process of solving, conclusion is incorrect/irrelevant.
Partially satisfied Make some connection between several data/information sources, but these relationships are not appropriate
Satisfactory Associate the concept/process, so that all relevant information is connected and relevant conclusions are obtained

STUDENT RESPONSE

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 Annuity-Wealth
Annuity- Wealthinvestors
creators
450000
600000
400000
500000
350000
300000
400000
$)
(in $)
Amount (in

250000
300000
Amount

200000
150000
200000
100000
100000
50000
0
0
0
0 1
1 2
2 3
3 4
4 5
5 6
6 7
7 8
8 9
9 1011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435
1011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435 Growth in Investment @15% over 20 years
Number of
Number of years
years Simple versus compound interest
1800
atat 4%
10% at12%
at 5% at
at6%
15%
1600

1400

1200

Amount (in $)
1000

800

600

400

200

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
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Number of years

Simple interest Compound Interest

 Appendix B
Geometric sequences-Real world connections

Objective: To understand Geometric sequence and derive nth term through real world situations

Instructions:

 Students are divided in pairs. Each student writes a scenario in a card and passes that on to next two with the instruction to move the chain
similarly till every student gets a note.
 record pattern (2, 4, 8, 16…) and number of transfers undertaken
 choose any one scenario card
 formulate that scenario into mathematical situation and represent information in tabular form.
 Further derive nth formula and represent it graphically
 Example:
Scenario card: “Infected COVID cases in Australia”
Person A sneezed without covering mouth and shook hands with 3 people who got infected and next day each one of them shook hands with 3
more people.

Days Newly infected number Total

1 3 3
2 3× 3 = 3 × 31 9
3 3× 9 = 3 × 32 27
n 3× 3n-1
(nth formula)

 Extension task: Students decide the number of people they want to pass the scenario card to with the same instruction of not breaking the chain,
and note their observations

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 Student response: Graph indicating exponential growth

INFECTED CASES

81

27

9
3
1 2 3 4

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 APPENDIX C
Flipped classroom activity – Dilemma

Addresses relational level of SOLO Taxonomy (Mulbar et al., 2017)

Students are divided into 3 groups and analyse following cases:

Case 1 (Outcome assessed- ACMMM076): Your parents need $130000 to fund your education 10 years from now; and plan to invest $50000 now.
You have offerings from 3 banks:

Bank 1 2 3
Interest rate compounding 10% annually 9.8% quarterly 9.6% daily
Choose best option and justify.
Case 2 (Outcome- ACMGM096): Your parents are contemplating buying term insurance of $3.2 Mil. The insurance advisor gives them 3 options for
being covered for next 20 years.

Option Condition Total premium (in $)

A Pay upfront premium 85000
B Pay for 5 years 100000
C Pay for 20 years 150000
Choose best option.
Case 3 (Reducing balance loan): Your parents have to take loan from a bank to buy a property. They get half yearly bonus which can be used to pay
the loan partly.
 Bank A offers loan at 12% p.a. compounded monthly but does not offer facility of prepayment
 Bank B offers loan at 13% p.a. compounded monthly, offers you an option to prepay part of loan without penalty.
Choose best option.

Each group chooses ANY ONE case, work out the solutions and present the outcomes to other groups. All groups collaboratively state the best outcome

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in 3 cases.
Extension task (Optional): Students to state the advantages and disadvantages of cases with probable solutions offered.

REFLECTION
(1092 WORDS)

The fundamental outlook behind the development of this unit outline, for stage 6 Mathematics learners has been to help students acquire analytical,

interpretative, problem solving and other necessary skills, along with deeper understanding of the content for application in real life context. This intent

is consistent with the purpose of the syllabus; enabling students to become independent 21 st century learners and decision makers, and explore problems

through observation and reflection (NESA, 2017). The chosen topic of Financial Modelling allows students to not only ‘display, analyse and interpret

data values from a real-life situation’ (p. 8), but more importantly provides a new dimension to students’ thinking and building upon their prior

knowledge (NESA, 2017).

The planning and teaching strategies in the unit outline are aligned with relevant theories. The consideration of key differences between instrumental

understanding, described by Skemp as ‘rules without reasons’ (p. 2), and relational understanding that highlights knowing what is to be done and why,

is integral (Skemp, 1976). This is consistent with the tasks undertaken in the unit outline that encourages students to understand the logic and objective

of the chosen tasks and also relate the acquired mathematical knowledge with situations outside the classroom (Olsen, 1981). Regular connections are

made with real life situations by encouraging students to start investing at an early age and decide their investment strategies through the inquiry task of

power of compounding. Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development explains learner’s actual level of development and the level that can be attained with

the help of peers and through scaffolded tasks by teachers. As the students become familiar, they begin to perform the tasks independently, which

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become effective through collaboration (Shabani, Khatib & Ebadi, 2010; Dololittle, 1995; Goos, Stillman & Vale, 2007). This is evident in the unit

outline where numerous collaborative tasks highlight the positive interdependence. Moreover, peer mentoring, where a student of higher ability guides

the lower ability student, is evident. Both abilities benefit from this, while the lower ability student benefits from understanding the concept with the

help of peer mentor, the higher ability student attains greater conceptual clarity, ensuring deeper understanding. Goos et al., (2017) states that students

with higher ability develop sophisticated level of mathematical thinking by interacting with other students. Association is made with previous

knowledge at various stages where the students view the stage 5 syllabus and use it to develop knowledge for new concepts.

Piaget’s theory is most prominent in relation to Mathematics learning. Ghazi, Khan, Shazada and Ullah (2014) state that in the formal operational stage

of Piaget’s cognitive development, children develop deductive logical thinking and the ability to think about abstract concepts and are able to draw

necessary conclusions. Bruner, however, opposes the mutually exclusive stages of Piaget’s cognitive development, stating their interdependence (Adler,

1963) Moreover, he emphasizes upon the spiral approach to learning wherein the student revisits a concept multiple times and ensures thorough

understanding of a topic by completing many cycles of the spiral (Cowan, Morrison and Bride, 1998). This matches with the intent of the unit outline to

ensure deep understanding of mathematical concepts.

Constructivism resonates with Piaget’s views on Mathematical ideas that knowledge is constructed and ‘not passively received from the environment’

(Clements & Battista, 1990, p.34). Students have the flexibility to develop their own methods to approach a problem. Constructivist teachers encourage

regular communication, facilitate learning where students reflect upon the tasks (Clement & Battista, 1990). The unit outline harmonies with this

ideology providing ample opportunity for regular communication among students and with the teacher. Moreover, active participation of students is

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ensured through range of group activities where opportunities are provided to critically reflect upon the tasks and by engaging in intellectual discussions

centred around the key concepts. Active involvement of students, where there is a provision to value learning, is a prerequisite for engagement (Ley,

Attard & Holmes, 2018). An attempt to build a profound connection with the outside world is made by constructing real world problems (Giardini,

2016).

Other teaching strategies to cater to diverse learners include; think pair share, peer mentoring, five questions approach, flipped classroom, group

discussions and collaborative tasks with reflection; supported by a range of ICT tools. Technology facilitates better learning opportunities as one

receives instant feedback, especially in Financial modelling as using a spreadsheet to understand compound interest enables students to experiment with

varying interest rates by changing the values or formulae (Goos et al., 2007).

Differentiated techniques have been employed to cater to audio, visual and kinesthetic learners. Learning tasks have been distinguished with levels

ranging from simple to complex to address diverse learning needs. Students are given opportunities to analyse, interpret and investigate problems and

justify the strategies they employ to reach necessary conclusions. The flipped classroom activity allows the students to reflect and observe significant

points at their own pace, by viewing and reviewing videos and other study material numerous times, which in a traditional classroom setup is likely to

be missed. It further encourages social interaction among peers and promotes effective learning (Muir & Chick, 2014).

Formative assessment is one of the most powerful tools that a teacher employs to assess student learning. It enhances the learning process and has

stemmed from Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (Magno & Lizada, 2015). It encompasses three main components: ‘evidence of students’

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knowledge and understanding, nature of feedback given to students, and shifts in the way that students learn’ (Cauley & McMillan, 2010). Several

strategies to ensure and assess learning have been employed at various stages, which include observations, questioning, reflection, group discussions,

individual and group tasks and self-assessment. Moreover, regular and timely feedback is provided, both by students and the teacher to reduce the errors

and encourage students to set personal learning goals. Feedback influences student attribution towards success (Cauley & McMillan, 2010). This is

evident in the unit outline where the students assess their own performance to reflect upon their level of understanding. Further, the five-question

approach, as a diagnostic tool, has been employed at the onset of the class which ensures effective engagement of students and paves way for

constructive discussions over mathematical concepts (Ley et al., 2018).

To conclude, the planning of the unit outline of Financial modelling has helped integrate all the essential elements to enhance the teaching learning

process and to allow students to appreciate the power of compounding, its application in real life for saving and investment, encouraging them to be the

wealth creators, thus adding value to their own life and society at large. Backward mapping technique has been employed to ensure effective learning

outcomes.

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 References

Adler, M. (1963). Some Implications of the Theories of Jean Piaget and JS Bruner for Education.

Armstrong, T. (2018, August 20). Compound Interest Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.nerdwallet.com/banking/calculator/compound-interest-

calculator

Bragg, S. (2019, January 10). Present value of an ordinary annuity table. Retrieved from

https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/2017/5/16/present-value-of-an-ordinary-annuity-table

Cauley, K. M., & McMillan, J. H. (2010). Formative assessment techniques to support student motivation and achievement. The Clearing House: A

Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 83(1), 1-6.

Clements, D. H., & Battista, M. T. (1990). Constructivist learning and teaching. Arithmetic Teacher, 38(1), 34-35.

Cowan, P., Morrison, H., & McBride, F. (1998). Evidence of a spiral curriculum using a mathematical problem-solving tool. Interactive Learning

Environments, 6(3), 205-224.

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Doolittle, P. E. (1995). Understanding Cooperative Learning through Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development.

Gardiner. (n.d.). Geometric Sequences. Retrieved from https://www.geogebra.org/m/QUtpppeH

Ghazi, S. R., Khan, U. A., Shahzada, G., & Ullah, K. (2014). Formal Operational Stage of Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory: An Implication in

Learning Mathematics. Journal of Educational Research (1027-9776), 17(2).

Giardini, E. (2016). Mathematical learning with a purpose. Journal of Student Engagement: Education Matters, 6(1), 13-18.

Goos, M., Stillman, Gloria, Vale, Colleen, & NetLibrary, Inc. (2007). Teaching secondary school mathematics research and practice for the

21st century. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.

Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-and-resources/calculators-and-apps/investment-calculators

Ley, J., Attard, C., & Holmes, K. (2018). The Five Question Approach: Disrupting the Linear Approach to Mathematics Teaching. Mathematics

Education Research Group of Australasia.

Magno, C., & Lizada, G. S. (2015). Features of classroom formative assessment. Educational Measurement and Evaluation Review, 6.

Mellin-Olsen, S. (1981). Instrumentalism as an educational concept. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 12(3), 351-367.

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Muir, T., & Chick, H. (2014). Flipping the Classroom: A Case Study of a Mathematics Methods Class. Mathematics Education Research Group of

Australasia.

Mulbar, U., Rahman, A., & Ahmar, A. (2017). Analysis of the ability in mathematical problem-solving based on SOLO taxonomy and cognitive

style. World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education, 15(1).

Munns, G., & Woodward, H. (2006). Student engagement and student self‐assessment: the REAL framework. Assessment in Education: Principles,

Policy & Practice, 13(2), 193-213.

n.d. (2020). Retrieved 7 April 2020, from http://rpdp.net/admin/images/uploads/resource_12152.pdf

NSW Education Standards Authority. (2017). NSW Syllabus for the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics Advanced Stage 6 Syllabus. Retrieved from

https://www.educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/stage-6-learning-areas/stage-6-mathematics/mathematics-advanced-2017

Personal loan calculator. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/tools-and-resources/calculators-and-apps/personal-loan-calculator

Shabani, K., Khatib, M., & Ebadi, S. (2010). Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development: Instructional Implications and Teachers' Professional

Development. English language teaching, 3(4), 237-248.

Skemp, R. R. (1976). Relational understanding and instrumental understanding. Mathematics teaching, 77(1), 20-26.

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Think twice. (2018, February 1). Infinite Sums | Geometric Series | Explained Visually. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=-y1Ob0K63hc

Woo, E. (2016, December 5). Reducing Balance Loans (1 of 2: Why are reducing balance loans important for mortgages). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPa71GBMruw

Woo, E. (2016, December 7). Reducing Balance Loans (2 of 2: Working out the amount of balance paid versus interest paid). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGx1ijIp9mo&t=61s

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