Library Data Analysis HubYear 12 Enterprise Computing

Differentiated support

Learner profile

Student M (fictional)
EAL/D phaseDeveloping (ACARA EAL/D Learning Progression)
First languageNot on school record
Can do
  • Read values from charts and tables
  • Calculate per-capita figures and medians step by step
  • Explain a choice aloud
Sticking points
  • Long academic sentences with nested clauses
  • Subject terms such as median vs average, per capita and benchmark
  • Timed independent drafting
Strengths to use
  • Confident with numbers, percentages and table operations

Individualised plan

DimensionAdjustmentWhere
EnvironmentBilingual dictionary and term cards always at hand; paired with a peer for talk-first analysisAll
TeachingKey terms pre-taught (five term cards open each lesson); sentence frames for drafting; chart before text (annotate the chart, then write the paragraph)W5–W7 lessons
AssessmentStaged draft submission (W5 term-card check / W6 chart + one paragraph / W7 full text). Marked on criteria content; clear language is expected, and sentence complexity can varyThe whole task
FeedbackAnnotations in simplified English with terms highlighted; oral feedback check-in within 24 hours of written feedbackFeedback Loop

Core and modified worksheets

Both versionsSpot the extreme value → Argue the exclusion → Recompute the benchmark
Core version for the whole class
PEER GROUP DECISION — whose figures can we fairly compare?

Council        | Population | Loans/resident
---------------|------------|---------------
Cessnock       | 69,352     | 2.65
Shoalhaven     | 110,803    | 3.83
Maitland       | 98,163     | 3.86
Wagga Wagga    | 68,951     | 4.13
Willoughby     | 79,634     | 10.70
Kiama          | 23,173     | 6.45

1. Compute the median loans/resident for all six councils. ______
2. One council's figure is far higher than the rest, and one is far smaller in population. Which one changes the comparison most if removed? Why?
3. Decide your peer group. Justify in two sentences: why these, why not others?
4. Recompute the median. Did the benchmark move? ______
Modified version for Student M
PEER GROUP DECISION — whose figures can we fairly compare?

[A. Circle the word you need]  median  /  average   → we use ______ because
extreme values change it less.

[B. Look at the table. One council is much smaller than the others. Mark it with ✗.]
(table identical)

[C. Before/after]
   Median, all six councils:      ______
   Median, five comparable:      ______
   The benchmark moved  ☐ a lot   ☐ a little

[D. Sentence starters — finish both]
   I compare Cessnock with ____________ because they have similar ______.
   I exclude __________________ because its size makes the number not fair.

[E. Talk first, then write]: tell your partner which group you chose, then write the same two sentences.

Sentence frames

FunctionFrame
Reporting a numberX is ______ (number), compared with the peer median of ______.
Explaining an exclusion______ is excluded because its ______ differs by too much from the group.
Checking an anomalyThe table shows ______, but this may be a recording problem because ______.
RecommendingBefore deciding on ______, the council should verify ______.
Stating a limitationThis figure measures ______, not ______, so it cannot tell us ______.

Data boundary for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge

NSW Public Library Statistics records library services and loans. It does not carry Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems or community voices.

Some conclusions need community authorisation, and some cannot be drawn from data at all. The syllabus asks teachers to work in partnership with Elders, community members, Cultural Knowledge Holders or the local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, and to follow Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) protocols. This task leaves those questions to the community.

See “Protocols for collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities” in the Enterprise Computing 11–12 Syllabus (NESA, 2022).

Guiding questionIf the council wanted to know whether its library serves Darug community needs, what would this dataset fail to tell them, and who could tell them?