Unit rationale, description and aim
The Technologies curriculum is designed to provide learning opportunities for students that facilitate the development of critical and creative thinking skills to solve real-world problems. Aligning with the education goals from UNESCO and the 2019 Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration, realisation of these mandates requires the adoption of constructivist principles to support ‘hands-on’, student-centred, play based, contemporary teaching and learning strategies.
In this unit, pre-service teachers will establish a knowledge base in the areas of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in F-6 Technologies Australian curriculum, and the Early Years Learning Framework. The understanding of curricula will be provided from a Catholic, State and Independent school and centre perspectives. More specifically, it will familiarise pre-service teachers with both the Design and Technologies and the Digital Technologies components of the Australian Curriculum, and Outcomes in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). This will include syllabus content and requirements, approaches to lesson planning and delivery, the use of project-based learning, and current and emerging digital technologies for resource development. Pre-service teachers will experiment and evaluate a range of digital technology resources to support meaningful technology pedagogy and will learn to differentiate between ICT General Capabilities and Digital Technologies.
The aim of this unit is to develop pre-service teachers’ awareness of the unique language and literacy, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities of the technologies, and the EYLF Practices to meet the learning needs of a diverse range of students in prior to school and school-based settings.
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.
Critically analyse Design and Digital Technologies...
Learning Outcome 01
Evaluate and apply a range of design and digital r...
Learning Outcome 02
Demonstrate skills and understanding of assessment...
Learning Outcome 03
Synthesise and apply knowledge of the Australian C...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- Study of relevant national, state and systemic policy and syllabus statements to set the context for the Australian Curriculum: Technologies within the Foundation to Year 6 context, and the Early Years Learning Framework
- Examination of a range of theoretical frameworks relating to teaching of and with technologies
- Approaches to planning and development of project-based teaching and learning strategies including Reggio Emilia problem-based learning approaches
- Teaching and learning strategies, that include the general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities, and the Practices in the Early Years Learning Framework, to meet a range of diverse learning needs and cultures, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives
- Exploration of explicit literacy and numeracy needs and strategies for students to succeed in the Technologies and teaching strategies to assist students to achieve in these areas
- Strategies that can be used to evaluate and modify the Technologies teaching programs to improve student learning
- Ethics, values and contemporary influences involved in the teaching of the technologies
Assessment strategy and rationale
A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. Assessment tasks will address the full range of Digital and Design Technologies offered in the various jurisdictions and comprise two assessments.
Assessments in this unit engage pre-service teachers in practical tasks that mimic the ‘real-world’ of schools and early-learning centres. The capacity to think analytically and work autonomously and collaboratively will be developed through undertaking individual and shared tasks. Evaluative thinking is encouraged through critical reflection on these learning activities and on a range of resources.
Assessments include a review of an existing Design Technologies Project-based unit of work and the development and implementation of a Digital Technologies project solution.
Minimum Achievement Standards
In order to pass this unit, participants are required to submit or participate in all assessment tasks. The assessment tasks and their weighting for this unit are designed to demonstrate the achievement of each learning outcome.
Electronic Submission, Marking and Return
Assessment task submission and return of marked assessment will be done through Turnitin on the Learning Management System. Tasks will be marked and returned three weeks after the assessment is completed.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1 (Group & Individual activit...
Assessment Task 1 (Group & Individual activity): Design & Technologies / Early Years Learning Framework
Group section
A set of three lessons based on PBL practices (lessons could be part of a larger project)
Each group member to supply one lesson. Lessons are to link to each other, be of the same duration and include the use of digital technology as well as providing lesson objectives, outcomes and links to EYLF / curriculum
Innovative teaching strategies – providing the lessons for collaboration via an LMS
Lessons are to be included in Learning Management System such as OneNote class Notebook or Google Classroom. Outcomes, links and lesson objectives are to be included.
LMS is to also include an overview of the project, learning goals, milestones, and calendar
Individual section
Critical reflection
Students write a reflective blog of how the lessons and broader PBL project reflect good PBL practice, innovative teaching and are underpinned by the EYLF / curriculum. Also include a rationale for supporting the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT and provide examples of how issues will be mitigated.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Digital Technologies Format...
Assessment Task 2: Digital Technologies
Formative assessment task: assessment for learning, assessment as learning
A single appropriate length formative assessment task based on a digital tool
Students will create a learning activity that authentically demonstrates the inclusion of a digital tool that utilises skills and processes from the relevant curriculum for the age group.
Sample response
Students will create a sample response to the learning activity, (including extension ideas) that will be demonstrated to peers
Assessment for learning
Students will critique the sample response and outline what evidence they have captured. They will use this to inform the next lesson which they will draft.
Assessment as learning
Students will create an online self-assessment feedback form and justify the self-assessment areas of inclusion, the user experience and the links to the EYLF Digital Technologies curriculum
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
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 of directed tasks and self-study.
An emphasis is placed on pre-service teachers as adult learners with responsibility for their own learning and who are capable of problem-solving. The learning in this unit is inquiry-based, learner-focused and student-centred. Teaching and learning strategies are designed to be flexible and promote self-regulated and guided learning, underpinned by adult learning principles and may include:
- Lectures face-to-face or online to enhance knowledge
- Seminars, tutorials or workshops; online activities to engage in active learning
- Reading guides which involve directed reading as well as self-directed online study materials
- Discussion Forum online postings and responses designed to encourage peer collaboration
- Webinars and podcasts for lecturer and student communication and for further information.
Face-to-face/Online Learning support
Students enrolled in both face to face and online learning modes are required to regularly log into the Learning Management System site to access recorded lectures and important announcements, to communicate with other students and lecturers, and to submit assessments and access feedback and grades. Students who are enrolled in either face to face or online learning will have equal access to support from the lecturer in charge and tutors.
Additional equipment requirements for online learning:
- Reliable broadband access is recommended.
- Headset with microphone to listen to podcasts, view videos and interact in synchronous classes.
ACU Online
This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
ACECQA Curriculum Specifications
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following specific knowledge:
Representative texts and references
Required text(s)
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2015). Australian Curriculum: Technologies., Canberra, ACT: Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority.
Australian Government Department of Education and Training (2018). Belonging, being and becoming: The early years learning framework for Australia. Retrieved April 26, 2021 from https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-
Relevant State and Territory curriculum documents.
Recommended references
Albion, P., Campbell, C., & Jobling, W. (2018). Technologies education for the primary years. South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia.
Arthur, L, Beecher, B., Death, E., Docket, S., & Farmer, S. (2021). Programming and planning in early childhood (8th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia.
Early Childhood Australia (ECA). (2018). Statement on young children and digital technologies. Canberra, ACT: ECA. http://dx.doi.org/10.23965/ECA.001
Edwards, S., & Bird, J. (2017). Observing and assessing young children’s digital play in the early years: Using the Digital Play Framework. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 15(2), 158–173. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X1557974
Henderson, M., & Romeo, G. (Eds). (2015). Teaching and digital technologies: Big issues and critical questions. Port Melbourne Vic: Cambridge University Press.
Howell, J. (2012). Teaching with ICT: Digital pedagogies for collaboration and creativity. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.
Howland, J.L., Jonassen, D.H., & Marra, R.M. (2012). Meaningful learning with technology (4th ed.). Pearson new international edition. Harlow, Essex: Pearson
Larmer, J., Ross, D., & Mergendoller, J.R. (2017). PBL starter kit: To-the-point advice, tools and tips for your first project in middle or high school. Novato, CA: Buck Institute for Education.
Thompson, S., & Thompson, N. (2018).The critically reflective practitioner(2nd ed.). London, England: Palgrave Macmillan.
UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education. (2010). Recognizing the potential of ICT in early childhood education. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000190433