Skills Detectives Gallery

Overview

This 60-minute lesson (Lesson 3 of 10) helps Year 9 students identify and explain technical skills used in local Latrobe Valley industries. Students work as “Skills Detectives” using real job advertisements and industry case studies to extract evidence and share findings in a gallery walk.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• Describe how technical skills, capabilities, and attributes are applied across different industry groups in the Latrobe Valley.
• Analyse job advertisements and case studies to identify technical skill words and what they mean in real work.
• Use evidence from local examples to explain why certain skills match specific industries and roles.

Success criteria

Students can:

• Identify and explain at least two technical skills from at least two different local industries.
• Support explanations with evidence (exact phrases from job ads or clear references to case studies).
• Use appropriate safety/quality wording where relevant (e.g., safe procedures, PPE, accuracy, standards).
• Contribute respectful feedback during a gallery walk and improve wording using peer comments.

Curriculum links

• Design and Technologies: select, justify, test and use suitable technologies, skills and processes, and apply safety procedures to safely make designed solutions.
• Design and Technologies: analyse needs/opportunities, develop design briefs, and investigate/select materials, systems, components, tools and equipment.
• Design and Technologies: develop project plans considering time, cost, risk and production (used here through simple risk/safety thinking when interpreting jobs).
• Digital/Technologies (project responsibility and risk awareness): use simple project management tools to plan and manage projects and account for risks and responsibilities (in a light touch during planning and roles for the gallery walk).

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and wellbeing check-in. Teacher shares the welcome page, performs Acknowledgement of Country for Kurnai College, reviews 8 classroom rules, and shows a 1–5 “how are you feeling” scale; students mark their number on a sticky/mini-card and take their seat quietly.

2. 5–10 min · Positive primers and lesson focus. Teacher reads a short positive primer (e.g., “When I’m analysing, I look for evidence first.”) and states the learning intention and success criteria; students echo one success-criterion statement with a partner and add a quick “goal for today” in their workbook.

3. 10–18 min · Detectives’ tool: what counts as a technical skill? Teacher models with one example job-ad extract and highlights circled technical-skill words, explaining: technical skills = hands-on/mechanical/procedural abilities using tools, equipment, systems, measurements, and safe processes; students complete a mini-sort (technical vs personal attributes vs qualifications) using a short sentence set on the scaffolded worksheet.

4. 18–30 min · Industry case study analysis (group work). Teacher assigns groups of 3–4 and gives each group an industry photo board set (e.g., AGL Loy Yang Power Station, Latrobe Regional Hospital, hospitality venues, construction firms, Morwell retail businesses) plus a scaffolded job-ad sheet with key technical words pre-circled for support. Students:

• Choose one industry and identify two technical skills from the job ad/case study.
• Write “Skill → What it involves → Evidence phrase” for each skill.
• Add one safety/quality clue if the ad mentions safe procedures, PPE, standards, accuracy, or risk controls.

5. 30–40 min · Teacher conferencing and support loop. Teacher circulates with a quick checklist, prompting students to clarify meanings (e.g., “How would you demonstrate this skill?” “What tool/equipment/system is mentioned?”). Students update their wording to ensure it is explained, not just named, using sentence starters on the worksheet:

• “In this job, technical skill X means…”
• “The evidence is…”
• “This links to safe/quality work because…”

6. 40–55 min · Gallery walk with sticky note feedback. Teacher posts industry findings around the room and reminds students of expectations for respectful feedback. Students rotate in pairs:

• Leave one sticky note per group using a feedback frame: “I noticed…, I wonder…, Next you could…”
• Look for missing elements: another industry, a second technical skill, or clearer evidence. Students return to their original board and briefly read feedback aloud within the group.

7. 55–60 min · Exit ticket: evidence-based explanation. Teacher collects a short exit ticket: “Name two technical skills from two different local industries and quote one evidence phrase for each.” Students submit and leave their “how are you feeling” updated number at the end.

Resources

• Welcome page, Acknowledgement of Country prompt, and 8 classroom rule cards
• 1–5 “how are you feeling” scale (sticky notes or mini-cards)
• Vivid industry photo boards with labelled callout bubbles (e.g., “clinical assessment”, “plant operations”)
• Scaffolded worksheet packs with:
• industry icons and colour-coded sections
• pre-highlighted job ads with key technical words circled (support)
• sentence starters for explanations
• Job ad/case study extracts for each local industry (print)
• Sticky notes (feedback) and markers
• Teacher checklist for quick conferencing
• Optional timer visible to students for rotation timing

Assessment

• Formative during mini-sort: technical vs attributes check (teacher observes misconceptions).
• Formative during group analysis: teacher reviews evidence phrases and whether students explain what the technical skill involves.
• Exit ticket: two technical skills across two industries with evidence phrases (short, measurable).

Differentiation

• Support: pre-circled technical skill words in job ads, colour-coded sections, and sentence starters; targeted teacher prompting during the 30–40 min conference window.
• Support for writing: provide a “Skill → What it involves → Evidence” template and allow oral dictation to a scribe for the first draft (then student revises).
• Extension: students add a “safety/quality link” explanation and include one tool/equipment/system mentioned in the evidence; or compare why one skill is transferable vs industry-specific.
• Flexible learning needs: allow students to choose between hospital/hospitality/construction/retail/power in early group selection; enable role options (Reader, Evidence Finder, Explainer, Safety Checker) so every student contributes.