Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
Nil
Unit rationale, description and aim
As curricula across Australia are increasingly acknowledging, literacy is not an isolated skill, separate to disciplinary knowledge in the learning areas. Rather, literacy is fundamentally integrated with learning area knowledge, pedagogy and assessment. But each subject, learning area or discipline, be it Science, History, Health and Physical Education etc., has its own literacy needs. This includes distinct reading focuses, distinct ways of writing and diverse uses of multiliteracies. For students to succeed across all learning areas, they require comprehensive skills in literacy in each learning area. This in turn requires teachers to have in-depth understandings of the literacy demands in these subjects, and the pedagogies for most effective teaching.
This unit focuses on the literacy and multiliteracy demands across the curriculum at both primary and secondary levels, as well as the pedagogies and assessment strategies for best supporting students to learn both literacy and content knowledge together. Students will develop knowledge of the variation in literacy and multiliteracy demands across subject areas, how to map the literacy demands in their area, and pedagogies for explicitly supporting reading to learn subject-area knowledge and writing to express this knowledge. Students will then apply what they have learnt to a specific subject area relevant to their situation.
The aim of this unit is to support students in understanding the specialised literacy practices of their and other learning areas, grasping the need for and practice of explicit literacy teaching in each subject, and applying the knowledge about language and literacy they have learnt in this and other units to specific curriculum contexts.
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 | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Demonstrate an understanding of the literacy demands, skills and concepts of literacy relevant to different learning areas (APST Lead 2.1) | GC1, GC2, GC7, GC9, GC11 |
| LO2 | Critically evaluate texts used to support reading and writing, as well as classroom practice in the teaching of literacy (APST HA 1.3; APST Lead 2.1, 2.5) | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11 |
| LO3 | Use relevant metalanguage and multimodal knowledge in identifying the literacy knowledge, skills and understandings embedded in various content areas (APST Lead 2.1) | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11 |
| LO4 | Design and integrate tasks in a unit of work that support learning through explicit teaching of reading and viewing, including for multimodal texts (APST HA 1.3, 2.3, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1; APST Lead 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 3.4, 3.5, 6.4) | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11 |
| LO5 | Design tasks in a unit of work that integrate an explicit teaching of writing, including multimodal writing (APST HA 1.3, 2.3, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1; APST Lead 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 3.4, 3.5, 6.4) | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11, GC12 |
| LO6 | Design teaching strategies which incorporate literacy-informed approaches to knowledge-building (APST HA 1.3, 2.3, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1; APST Lead 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 3.4, 3.5, 6.4) | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC9, GC11, GC12 |
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED
On successful completion of this unit, students should have gained evidence towards the following standards:
1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds Support colleagues to develop effective teaching strategies that address the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. |
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting Support colleagues to plan and implement learning and teaching programs using contemporary knowledge and understanding of curriculum, assessment and reporting requirements. |
3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs Work with colleagues to plan, evaluate and modify learning and teaching programs to create productive learning environments that engage all students. |
4.1 Support student participation Model effective practice and support colleagues to implement inclusive strategies that engage and support all students. |
5.1 Assess student learning Develop and apply a comprehensive range of assessment strategies to diagnose learning needs, comply with curriculum requirements and support colleagues to evaluate the effectiveness of their approaches to assessment. |
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - LEAD
On successful completion of this unit, students should have gained evidence towards the following standards:
1.2 Understand how students learn Lead processes to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching programs using research and workplace knowledge about how students learn. |
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area Lead initiatives within the school to evaluate and improve knowledge of content and teaching strategies and demonstrate exemplary teaching of subjects using effective, research-based learning and teaching program |
2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies Monitor and evaluate the implementation of teaching strategies within the school to improve students’ achievement in literacy and numeracy using research-based knowledge and student data. |
3.1 Establish challenging learning goals Demonstrate exemplary practice and high expectations and lead colleagues to encourage students to pursue challenging goals in all aspects of their education. |
3.4 Select and use resources Model exemplary skills and lead colleagues in selecting, creating and evaluating resources, including ICT, for application by teachers within or beyond school. |
3.5 Use effective classroom communication Demonstrate and lead by example inclusive verbal and non-verbal communication using collaborative strategies and contextual knowledge to support students’ understanding, engagement and achievement |
6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning Advocate, participate in and lead strategies to support high-quality professional learning opportunities for colleagues that focus on improved student learning |
Content
This unit will be comprised of four modules, which build students’ knowledge of the language, literacy and multiliteracy demands across the curriculum, explicit methods of teaching reading and viewing for learning in the subject areas, and explicit teaching of writing for organising disciplinary knowledge.
- Module 1. Mapping the literacy demands across the curriculum.
- Register (field, tenor and mode) as a tool for mapping literacy demands across learning areas.
- Language and multimodal features of text across registers.
- Module 2: Purpose and text organisation across the curriculum
- Genre as a tool for understanding the purpose and organisation of texts across the curriculum, including informative, procedural, persuasive, response, imaginative and chronicling texts.
- Language and multimodal features of text across genres.
- Module 3. Reading for learning across the curriculum
- Strategies for explicit teaching and assessing of reading and viewing for learning.
- Integrating reading and viewing with content teaching, including curriculum planning.
- Using metalanguage to support reading for learning and using reading to build metalanguage.
- Module 4. Writing across the curriculum
- Strategies for explicit teaching of writing and composing, including the Teaching-Learning Cycle.
- Using metalanguage to support writing and composing.
- Choosing and adapting model texts for deconstruction.
- Strategies for jointly constructing texts.
- Assessing independent writing and composing.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is offered in multi-mode and will be supported by a Learning Management System (LMS) site. Engagement for learning is the key driver in the delivery of this curriculum. The unit will facilitate active participation in online lectures, tutorials, discussion groups, and learning activities that demonstrate alignment of teaching, learning and assessment.
This is a 10 credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the teaching period, comprising directed tasks and self-study. The learning and teaching and assessment strategies include a range of approaches to support learning such as reading, reflection, discussion, video, workshops, and assignments etc.
Mode of delivery: This unit will be offered in one or more of modes of delivery described below, chosen with the aim of providing flexible delivery of academic content.
- On Campus: Most learning activities or classes are delivered at a scheduled time, on campus, to enable in-person interactions. Activities will appear in a student’s timetable.
- Intensive: In an intensive mode, students require face-to-face attendance on weekends or any block of time determined by the school. Students will have face-to-face interactions with lecturer(s) to further their achievement of the learning outcomes. This unit is structured with required upfront preparation before workshops. The online learning platforms used in this unit provide multiple forms of preparatory and practice opportunities for you students to prepare and revise.
- 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.
Assessment strategy and rationale
In order to successfully complete this unit, students need to complete and submit two graded assessment tasks. The assessment strategy offers opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge of the literacy demands of their learning area, and their ability to integrate explicit teaching of reading/viewing and writing/composing into their learning-area teaching.
The first task (50%) is related to the first module, and requires students to demonstrate their understanding of the literacy demands of a curriculum area of their choice, through an analysis and comparison of three texts from this curriculum area – a student text, a model text they wish their student to work toward, and a text that they wish their students to read to learn their subject’s content knowledge – using metalanguage they have learnt in the unit or degree. The second task (50%) focuses on curriculum planning for curriculum literacy teaching, through the design of a unit of work that integrates the explicit teaching of reading/viewing and writing/composing with content teaching.
In order to pass this unit, students are required to successfully complete both assessment tasks and achieve an overall score of 50% or above.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1 Literacy Needs in the Learning Area Students will choose three texts associated with a particular learning area, level and unit of work: a student text, a challenging model text for supporting student writing/composing, and a challenging reading/viewing text for learning subject area knowledge. Drawing on metalanguage and literacy/multiliteracy concepts introduced in this unit or elsewhere in their degree, students will analyse these texts for their key language, text and/or multimodal features and compare the literacy demands they show in relation to student learning needs. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3 |
Assessment Task 2 Planning for integrating literacy with curriculum teaching. Students will design a unit of work that integrates explicit teaching and assessing of reading/viewing and writing/composing with content teaching. This will include developing a plan for supporting the reading/viewing of challenging texts for students to learn, and a sequence of writing/composing tasks, that gradually release responsibility to the student. | 50% | LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6 |
Representative texts and references
Asha, J. (2022). The potential of the visual: Teaching literacy with multimodal texts. Primary English Teaching Association of Australia.
Callow, J. (2013). The shape of text to come: How image and text work. Primary English Teaching Association of Australia.
Derewianka, B., & Jones, P. (2022). Teaching language in context (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Humphrey, S. (2017). Academic literacies in the middle years: A framework for enhancing teacher knowledge and student achievement. Routledge.
Humphrey, S., & Vale, E. (2020). Investigating model texts for learning. Primary English Teaching Association of Australia.
Jones, P.T., Matruglio, E., & Edwards-Groves, C. (Eds). (2021). Transition and continuity in school literacy development. Bloomsbury.
McDonald, L. (2018) A literature companion for teachers (2nd ed.). Primary English Teaching Association of Australia.
Parkin, B., & Harper, H. (2018). Teaching with intent: Scaffolding academic language with marginalised students. Primary English Teaching Association of Australia.
Rose, D., & Martin, J.R. (2012). Learning to write: Reading to learn. Equinox.
Rose, D. (2016). Engaging and supporting all our students to read and learn from reading. PETAA Paper 202. Primary English Teaching Association of Australia.