Unit rationale, description and aim
Pre-service teachers must be able to support all students as unique learners with diverse strengths, backgrounds, challenges, interests, and capabilities. For this, they must be flexible, open-minded and reflexive life-long learners with the ability to adapt and teach curricula effectively for all students, including students with disability, through inclusive practice.
This unit promotes positive attitudes towards understanding student diversity and the fundamental concepts of inclusive education. This is achieved through contemporary knowledge about various sociocultural impacts on learning and how to overcome barriers to equitable access. This includes the ability to form collaborative partnerships with parents/carers, community services and other professionals, and knowledge about how to differentiate for students with disability. Human rights, anti-discrimination and ethical principles are analysed within policy frameworks and international, national and state legislative requirements.
The unit is designed to equip pre-service teachers with high-quality research-informed, evidence-based knowledge, innovative pedagogical skills, and practical student-centred experiences so that they can take responsibility for supporting all their students as unique individuals to access, participate and thrive.
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.
Describe the complex nature of student diversity a...
Learning Outcome 01
Explain how relevant policy, legal and curriculum ...
Learning Outcome 02
Construct responsive differentiated teaching, lear...
Learning Outcome 03
Evaluate strategies for building respectful collab...
Learning Outcome 04
Exercise critical thinking and judgements through ...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- The fundamental concepts of inclusive education, how inclusive school cultures are promoted through ethical practices, and current international, national and state legislative requirements and policies relating to inclusion and equity of educational experiences. The historical development of inclusive education from exclusion to inclusion including concepts with specific reference to the difference between the medical model of disability and the social model of disability, and the difference between integration and inclusion.
- The nature of diversity, including students with disability
- Diversity statements in the Australian Curriculum and the foundations of the Disability Standards for Education
- Student resilience and wellbeing as supported through pro-social practices and embedding the teaching of social-emotional skills within the curriculum
- Evidence of the impact of inclusion for students with and without disability, and the importance of ‘student voice’ in devising effective adjustments to curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment.
- Foundations of differentiation for content, process, product and learning environment through Universal Design for Learning.
- Measurement and recording techniques to assess students’ progress, to guide appropriate instructional programming decisions, to modify teaching practice, and to report to parents/carers of students with diverse learning needs
- Curriculum knowledge to program effectively for the diverse students in every classroom with discussion of case studies on literacy, numeracy, language development and behaviour
- A range of diverse teaching and learning strategies and resources (including assistive technologies) to engage all students in learning, including verbal and non-verbal communication strategies
- Behaviour management strategies and social skills development in conjunction with instructional programs
- Attitudes, strategies, and skills required for effective collaboration and productive partnerships with colleagues, parents/carers, community groups, medical professionals, and other external professionals
- A range of support networks and services at a class, school, system and community level to support the inclusion of students with disability.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment will relate directly to the achievement of the associated learning outcomes. The assessment strategy aims to elicit evidence that pre-service teachers have developed the requisite in-depth knowledge of diversity, inclusive frameworks, and approaches to developing an evidence-informed perspective on the diverse learning needs of a group of students. The assessment strategy mirrors the progression of learning within the unit. Pre-service teachers will be expected to provide evidence of practice that builds on this theoretical and actual practical knowledge of diverse learning needs and reflects adjustments in curriculum, resources, and teaching strategies that respond to diverse learning needs and promote a more inclusive learning environment for their students.
The first assessment task is a critical task that enables pre-service teachers to demonstrate knowledge of specific issues and concepts addressed in the learning outcomes through evidence-based responses to specific questions and problem scenarios. The second assessment is a critical task that requires pre-service teachers to develop a personalised learning plan to cater for a case study student with a disability and diverse learning needs. This task allows pre-service teachers to apply their knowledge of evidence-based approaches to differentiation and to critically reflect on issues important to inclusive practice.
Minimum Achievement Standards
The assessment tasks and their weighting for this unit are designed to demonstrate the achievement of every learning outcome. In order to pass this unit, pre-service teachers are required to submit all assessment tasks, to meet the learning outcomes of the unit and achieve a minimum overall passing grade of 50%.
Both assessment in EDES601 are Critical Tasks which are core to the demonstration of a number of Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Pre-service teachers must demonstrate mastery of every summative Graduate Teacher Standard identified and attain a score of at least 50% in Task 2 in order to pass this unit.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Critical Reflection and Analys...
Assessment Task 1: Critical Reflection and Analysis
Critical Task
This assessment requires you to critically reflect on teaching students with disability, with a focus on effective ways to support their learning through inclusive practice. You must support your reflection with recent academic research and address issues of access and participation in learning. This will be achieved through engagement with relevant Australian legislation and policy frameworks, the perspectives of the focus student and relevant stakeholders, as well as other relevant professional sources which provide support for students with disability in inclusive settings.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Case study on Differentiation ...
Assessment Task 2: Case study on Differentiation
Critical Task
Plan successful inclusion strategies for one of the four students in the following hypothetical scenarios. This will include differentiated teaching, learning, and assessment planning, and strategies for how to provide support for their participation and achievement in learning activities. In the report you should:
- Describe the learner and their specific condition
- Identify the learner’s strengths and barriers to learning with reference to research and the implications for teaching
- Analyse the demographic and academic context
- Identify relevant and contemporary Australian legislation that protects and supports the learner’s access, participation, inclusion, and learning
- Plan for three SMART learning outcomes to overcome barriers to learning for the selected learner
- Design differentiated teaching strategies to support your learner’s needs and inclusion and ways to assess the student’s progress on achieving the SMART outcomes
- Explain strategies for how you would work collaboratively across contexts with parents/ care givers and other education and medical professionals
- Identify ongoing professional learning that currently exists to support the engagement, learning, and success of students with disability in inclusive contexts
- Reflect on the broader implications of disability, inclusive learning, and the teachers’ responsibilities and duty of care to meet these needs
- Reflect on how can schools provide high quality inclusive education for students with disability and better align whole school support and educational adjustments. <
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The teaching and learning strategy in this unit is designed to be flexible and promote self-regulated and guided learning, underpinned by adult learning principles. Unit content will be presented in a variety of teaching-learning modes and active participation in the learning process will be encouraged where possible through self-directed and problem-based learning experiences, as well as guided reflection. Through the adoption of a reflective approach to the teaching-learning process, pre-service teachers will be encouraged to critically analyse their own learning approaches and preferences in relation to the content of the unit. 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.
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 is offered in different modes to cater to the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants and maximise effective participation for isolated and/or marginalised groups.
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.
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.
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
Locations
Credit points
Year
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