Where can I get more information?

www.curriculumonline.ieThis is the website of the National Council forCurriculum and Assessment (NCCA) where you willfind key documents such as the Graphics subjectspecification and the Graphics AssessmentGuidelines.

www.jct.ieThis is the website of JCT schools’ support service.Junior Cycle for Teachers exists to inspire, supportand empower teachers in the transformation ofjunior cycle education in Ireland. For moreinformation on Graphics please visit our subjectsite.

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JuniorCycle

Informationon

Graphics

A Student’s Learning Journey

1st YearStudents develop knowledge, understanding,skills and values through engagement with

learning outcomes

Learning supported by formative assessment

Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA)

Students develop knowledge, understanding,skills and values through engagement with

learning outcomes

Learning supported by formative assessment

Classroom-Based Assessment 1Communication through sketching

Teachers engage in a Subject Learning andAssessment Review meeting

2nd Year

Students develop knowledge, understanding,skills and values through engagement with

learning outcomes

Learning supported by formative assessment

Classroom-Based Assessment 2Graphical presentation skills

Teachers engage in a Subject Learning andAssessment Review meeting

SEC ExaminationProject – 30%

Final Examination – 70%

3rd Year

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In Junior Cycle Graphics, students develop theircreativity, spatial ability, and capacity to reason andcommunicate ideas through engagement withabstract and applied geometric problem-solvingactivities. Graphics encourages the development ofthe cognitive and practical dexterity skills associatedwith graphical communication

Students will build an appreciation of the role ofgraphics in the world around them and will makejudgements on the best mode through which torepresent their ideas and solutions.

Junior Cycle Graphics Classroom-Based Assessment 2:Graphical presentation skills

Project and Examination

Learning will be experienced across three strands– 2D Graphics, 3D Graphics and Appliedgraphics. Throughout each of the strands, the useof four elements: Spatial reasoning, Designthinking, Communicating and Geometricprinciples and Constructions creates aframework for student learning that ensures acoherent learning experience.

� Completed within a three-week period inthird year

� Students will focus on how to effectively presenttheir research graphically. It will inform theproject assessment element. Students willresearch and investigate the domain in whichthe project is situated and present their findingsgraphically through any appropriate graphicalmedia

� This Classroom-Based Assessment is anopportunity to instil in students a curiousdisposition, where they are free to experiment,encouraged to explore new and challengingopportunities and to reflect on the process

� Recorded on the students’ JCPA

After completion of each Classroom-BasedAssessment (CBA), teachers engage in a SubjectLearning & Assessment Review (SLAR) meeting todiscuss student learning and share effectivepractice. Both CBAs are assessed by teachers usingFeatures of Quality as set out in the AssessmentGuidelines provided by the National Council forCurriculum & Assessment (NCCA).

On completion of the Classroom-BasedAssessments, students undertake a project. Theproject is completed after the second CBA in thirdyear. The brief for the project is set and marked bythe State Examinations Commission (SEC). Theproject accounts for 30% of the final SEC gradewith the final exam accounting for the other 70%.

STEMScience, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics(STEM) contribute to technological and societalchanges in today’s world. Junior Cycle Graphicsfosters and nurtures STEM approaches to learning,skills and dispositions. The ‘STEM Education -Implementation Plan 2017-2019’ can be found athttps://www.education.ie/en/The-Education-System/STEM-Education-Policy/stem-education-implementation-plan-2017-2019-.pdf

Learning outcomes are statements that describewhat knowledge, understanding, skills andvalues students should be able to demonstratehaving studied Graphics in Junior Cycle. There arethirty-seven learning outcomes in Graphics asoutlined in the structure of the specification. Thespecification stresses that the learning outcomesare for three years.

Learning Outcomes

Students will develop their creativity as theyinvestigate and solve design challenges. Studentswill work with their peers to refine their ideas froman abstract concept to a final, detailed, drafteddesign. Abstraction, and spatial reasoning arefundamental to this process; graphics providesmultiple and varied opportunities for students todevelop these high level cognitive and creative skillsin engaging context.

Learning Experiences

� Completed within a three-week period insecond year

� Students will develop their skills in usingeffective sketching methods and media toaccurately communicate their vision, design andsolution

� The student can communicate their findingsthrough any appropriate media

� Recorded on the students’ Junior Cycle Profileof Achievement (JCPA)

Classroom-Based Assessment 1:Communication through sketching

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Assessment in Graphics at junior cycle will optimisethe opportunity for students to become reflectiveand active participants in their learning and forteachers to support this. This can be achievedthrough the provision of opportunities for studentsto negotiate success criteria against which thequality of their work can be judged by peer, self,and teacher assessment; and through the quality ofthe focused feedback they get in support of theirlearning.

Ongoing Assessment

Structure of the Specification