Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
EDAR299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Visual Arts Education 1 OR EDCB299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Commerce and Business Studies OR EDDR299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Drama Education 1 OR EDEN299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in English Education 1 OR EDGE299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Geography Education 1 OR EDHE299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Health Education 1 OR EDHI299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in History Education 1 OR EDIT299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in ICT and Digital Technologies Education 1 OR EDMA299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Mathematics Education 1 OR EDMU299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Music Education 1 OR EDPE299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Physical Education 1 OR EDRE299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Religious Education 1 OR EDSI299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in General Science Education 1 OR EDSS299 Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Humanities and Social Sciences Education
Unit rationale, description and aim
To plan and deliver lessons that promote learner engagement and enhance student learning, intending secondary teachers need knowledge and understanding of the senior secondary curriculum, along with theoretical frameworks and pedagogical approaches that are emblematic of teaching in their chosen teaching areas, including teaching/learning that responds to the high-stakes assessment that is a usual feature of senior secondary schooling.
This unit enables students to extend their knowledge of their major curriculum and teaching area with a particular focus on placing that key learning area within the broader curriculum context, both nationally and internationally. Students will explore how general capabilities and cross curriculum perspectives from contemporary Australian curriculum are integrated within their curriculum area and the connections between the key areas of study. Different approaches to the middle years of schooling and the ways in which they cater for the diversity of needs and interests of students will be contrasted. Concepts such as gender diversity, principles of social justice, ethics and human rights will be considered.
The aim of this unit is for the pre-service teacher to develop their pedagogical content knowledge through becoming familiar with the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for teaching [your area of study] at a senior secondary level.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description |
|---|---|
| LO1 | Analyse and articulate how general capabilities and cross curriculum perspectives, such as those incorporated in the Australian curriculum, can be integrated within their major curriculum area |
| LO2 | Compare and contrast and critically evaluate curricula both locally and internationally, with a particular focus on their major curriculum area and how it integrates across the curriculum, and apply to the development and modification of own teaching practice |
| LO3 | Analyse policies and approaches to schooling through the lens of catering for diversity and the needs of diverse learners |
| LO4 | Critically review and synthesise research on key issues such as gender, ethics and/or social justice in their major curriculum area and propose policy in response |
Content
Topics will include:
- The impact of the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration and the general capabilities desired from education curricular.
- Cross curriculum perspectives such as Indigenous perspectives, Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia and sustainability within the contemporary Australian curriculum and other curriculum approaches.
- Policy and curriculum approaches including local, national and international perspectives, and a range of curriculum including the International Baccalaureate. This should include a study of international comparative research and assessment where available.
- Differentiated curriculum and catering for diversity within the different approaches with particular focus on a pre-service teachers’ key curriculum area
- Current issues in education including gender diversity, principles of social justice, ethics and human rights and their impact on access and participation in the key learning area.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit applies a social constructivist approach to develop the pre-service teacher’s understanding of effective pedagogies through active engagement and collaborative learning. The pre-service teacher will build an understanding of teaching strategies designed to consolidate the learning of content, apply knowledge to problem-solving tasks and develop analytical and evaluating skills. The pre-service teacher’s skills of professional communication and ability to work collaboratively will be practised through group work. The pre-service teacher’s teaching skills of planning and assessing, and his/her ability to locate and synthesise information, will be developed through designing curriculum appropriate for the pre-service teacher’s specialist teaching areas. The pre-service teacher will continue to gather and reflect upon evidence of attainment of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate.
Teaching and learning strategy described above will use an appropriate selection of approach, including, for example:
- Weekly content delivered asynchronously
- Active learning, reflections, and discussions that promote peer learning
- Microteaching opportunities
- Self-directed reading and research
- Collaborative learning opportunities
The unit is hosted on a Learning Management System (LMS) site with resources and online links, announcements, and a discussion board to post questions and reflections that promote connection between content and educational experiences.
Mode of delivery: This unit may be offered in different modes to cater to the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants.
Multi-mode
Learning activities are delivered through a planned mix of online and in-person classes, which may include full-day sessions and/or placements, to enable interaction. Activities that require attendance will appear in a student’s timetable.
Online unscheduled
Learning activities are accessible anytime, anywhere. These units are normally delivered fully online and will not appear in a student’s timetable.
Online scheduled
All learning activities are held online, at scheduled times, and will require some attendance to enable online interaction. Activities will appear in a student’s timetable.
ACU Online
In ACU Online mode, this unit is delivered asynchronously, fully online using an active, guided learning approach. Pre-service teachers are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions and receive regular and timely feedback on their learning.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks and their weightings are designed so that the pre-service teacher can progressively achieve the course learning outcomes. The Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment units in this course focus on pre-service teachers acquiring content knowledge and developing the skills to assimilate conceptual knowledge for that knowledge to inform skills that will be applied in practice.
The two assessment tasks are sequenced to allow feedback and progressive development. By completing Task 1 the pre-service teacher will apply knowledge of assessment strategies. In Task 2 pre-service teachers develop a program of work for senior students over a period of time.
To pass this unit, pre-service teachers are required to demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes by submitting all assessment tasks, obtaining a combined score of at least 50 per cent, and receiving a passing grade in all critical tasks.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Requires pre-service teachers to analyse and critically evaluate a range of curriculum documents and teaching approaches and demonstrate how the general capabilities and cross curriculum perspectives can be integrated into their core curriculum area. Part of this task may be completed in a group. | 50% | LO1, LO2 |
Assessment Task 2: Requires pre-service teachers to critically review and synthesise literature and policy in relation to the teaching and learning approaches to be used in their curriculum area to enable differentiation for diversity and consideration of current issues in education. | 50% | LO3, LO4 |
Representative texts and references
Australian Curriculum https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) www.acara.edu.au
Relevant jurisdictional curriculum documents
Other Curriculum documents, including state, territory and some international documents.
Brady, L., & Kennedy, K. (2019). Curriculum construction (6th ed.). Pearson Australia.
International Baccalaureate. (2010). The middle years program: Preparing students for university in the 21st century. IB Middle Years Program. http://www.ibo.org/myp/" http://www.ibo.org/myp/
International Baccalaureate (2023). Resources: https://www.ibo.org/professional-development/free-learning/
Jennings, M. (2012).Teaching for results: Best practices in integrating co-teaching and differentiated instruction. Rowman & Littlefield Education.
Killen, R. (2022). Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (8th ed.). Cengage Learning Australia.
Ornstein, A., & Hunkins, F. (2018). Curriculum: Foundations, principles, and issues (7th ed.). Pearson.