Appendix 3.2: Sample School-Assessed Coursework (SAC) Tasks
Sample 1: Podcast – Unit 2 – Outcome 2
Key knowledge
- impacts of conservation, economic and recreational activities on a range of outdoor environments
- the role of community-based environmental action to promote positive impacts of humans on outdoor environments
- direct and indirect impacts of technologies that support human interactions with outdoor environments, including:
- equipment manufacture
- transport
- snow making
- recreational vehicles
- the impact of urbanisation on outdoor environments
- identification and management of threatened species and/or ecological communities in an outdoor environment
Key skills
- evaluate a range of impacts on contrasting outdoor environments
- compare direct and indirect impacts of technologies on outdoor environments
- describe a local environmental policy that supports management of threatened species or an ecological community
- discuss and predict impacts of urbanisation on outdoor environments
- evaluate the effectiveness of management strategies on an outdoor environment
(Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2023. pp. 19-20. Reproduced with permission.)
Sample Task
Student instructions:
- You are required to develop a podcast that goes for 12 minutes.
- You will be given 60 minutes to develop your podcast script, and then a further 15 minutes to record your podcast.
- You should record your podcast on QuickTime Player or another audio recording software.
- You must upload your podcast prior to the end of the lesson.
- Your podcast should relate to your recent outdoor experience.
In your podcast, you are required to:
- Describe the impact of a conservation, economic and recreational activity on an outdoor environment you have visited or studied.
- Evaluate the impact of your chosen activity on your chosen outdoor environment
- Explain how one community-based action can help humans to have a positive impact on your chosen outdoor environment.
- Describe how technology has a direct, and a non-direct impact on your outdoor environment.
- Compare the impact of your chosen direct and non-direct technological impact.
- Predict how future urbanisation may impact your chosen outdoor environment.
- Evaluate the impact of a management strategy to help conserve a threatened species or ecological community in your chosen outdoor environment.
Note: This task would be marked holistically using a rubric.
Sample 2: Case Study – Unit 3 – Outcome 1
Key knowledge
- Australian outdoor environments before humans arrived, including characteristics of biological isolation, geological stability and climatic variations
- relationships with outdoor environments expressed by specific Indigenous peoples’ communities before and after European colonisation
- relationships of non-Indigenous peoples with specific outdoor environments as influenced by and observed in local or visited outdoor environments during historical time periods:
- Early colonisation (1788–1859)
- Pre-Federation (1860–1900)
- Post-Federation (1901–1990)
Key skills
- explain characteristics of Australian outdoor environments before humans arrived
- analyse the changing relationships with Victorian outdoor environments expressed by specific Indigenous peoples’ communities before and after European colonisation
- analyse the changing relationships of non-Indigenous peoples with Victorian outdoor environments as observed during historical time periods
(Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2023. pp. 22-23. Reproduced with permission.)
Note: The beginnings of early environmentalism are not assessed in this case study as it is assessed in the written report below.
Sample Task
Student instructions:
- You are required to write a case study on changing human relationships with outdoor environments
- Examples within your case study must relate to one outdoor environment you have visited or studied
- Reading time: 10 Minutes
- Writing time: 60 Minutes
- Total Marks: 40 Marks
- Permitted materials: pens, pencils, sharpeners, and highlighters.
Name an outdoor environment that you have visited or studied:
Question 1 (8 marks)
a. Identify two characteristics that influenced your chosen outdoor environment prior to humans (2 marks).
b. Explain how two identified characteristics from part a. have influenced your chosen outdoor environment (6 marks).
Question 2 (9 marks)
a. Describe a relationship held with your chosen outdoor environment by Indigenous people prior to European colonisation using a specific example (3 marks).
b. Describe a relationship held with your chosen outdoor environment by Indigenous people shortly after European colonisation using a specific example (3 marks).
c. Analyse how the changing relationships described in part a. and b. impacted your chosen outdoor environment (3 marks).
Question 3 (13 marks)
The Victorian Goldrush started in 1852 and significantly impacted human relationships in many areas of Victoria for decades to come.
a. Identify the two historical time periods, including the years they spanned, that the goldrush impacted (2 marks).
b. Describe a human relationship that was impacted by the discovery of gold in your chosen outdoor environment for each time period identified in part a. (6 marks).
c. Compare how the relationships from part b. impacted your chosen outdoor environment (5 marks).
Question 4 (10 marks)
The Post-Federation (1901-1990) period shaped Australia as we know it today. Write a short report, about how relationships with your chosen outdoor environment were impacted during this time.
Your report should include:
- A description of two events that impacted on your chosen outdoor environment during the Post-Federation period
- An analysis of how each event changed relationships with your chosen outdoor environment
Sample 3: Written Report on Outdoor Experience
Note: The following task relates to the written report for 4.3 as described in chapter 12.
| Outcome | Outdoor Environment | KK |
| 3.1 | Lal Lal | the beginnings of environmentalism and the resulting influence on political party policy, as observed in one of the following historical campaigns:
• Little Desert |
| 3.2 | Lal Lal | conservation, recreation and economic relationships with outdoor environments |
| 4.1 | Falls Creek and Bogong High Plains | the importance of healthy outdoor environments for individual physical and emotional wellbeing, and for society now and into the future |
| 4.1 | Falls Creek and Bogong High Plains | the impact of threats on society and outdoor environments, including two of the following:
• land degradation • introduced species • climate change • urbanisation • flood • fire |
Key knowledge
- outdoor and environmental concepts related to human relationships with, and the health and sustainable use of, the selected outdoor environments
- the nature of primary and secondary data relevant to the investigation
- conventions of report communication, including appropriate structure (Introduction, Body and Conclusion), terminology and representations of the data
Key skills
- plan for and conduct an independent investigation in a range of outdoor environments
- collect relevant data in a range of outdoor environments, authenticated through use of a logbook
- evaluate and report data and information, including findings and implications
(Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2023. p. 29. Reproduced with permission.)
Student instructions:
- You are to develop a written report on your outdoor experiences to Lal Lal, Surrounds, Falls Creek, and Bogong High Plains.
- Your written report should be based on the key knowledge shown in the above table from across the study design, and the following key knowledge and skills.
Your written report needs to evaluate human relationships with, and the health and sustainable use of, your two selected outdoor environments.
- Your report needs to:
- draw upon both primary and secondary data contained in your logbook.
- be in an appropriate structure (introduction, body, conclusion)
- In your written report you should:
- Describe the beginnings of environmentalism referring to one historical environmental campaign.
- Describe how early environmentalism and your chosen campaign influenced a historical political party policy.
- Describe the impacts of early environmentalism on your outdoor environment.
- Compare how different relationships (conservation, recreation, economic) have impacted your outdoor environment in the last 10 years.
- Justify the importance of your two outdoor environments for the current and future health of individuals and society.
- Describe two threats to your outdoor environment.
- Analyse the impact of your two threats on the future of society.
- Analyse how human relationships with your two outdoor environments changed over time and create a recommendation for the future management of your chosen outdoor environments based on historical use.
Conditions
- You will have 10 minutes of reading time, and 60 minutes of writing time to complete your written report.
- You are permitted to bring into the task, pens, pencils, rulers, highlighters and an eraser.
References
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2023). Outdoor and Environmental Studies – Study Design. https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/outdoor/2024OutdoorEnviroSD.docx
