EDLA369 - Literacy Education 2

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

EDLA264 Literacy Education 1

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit focuses on the learning and teaching of speaking, listening, writing, reading and viewing appropriate to the later years of primary school. Questions of integration of knowledge and its application in schools and community will be addressed. Pre-service teachers will extend their study of a range of relevant literary (e.g. novels), information, media and multi-modal texts appropriate to Years 3-6 and examine ways of using such texts for planning and integrating literacy across their classroom teaching. This knowledge incorporates children’s ability to draw on spelling strategies, word processing and technology to underpin their competence in literacy. Emphasis will be on how pre-service teachers learn to support children to become effective, analytical and critical writers and readers of a variety of text types for different purposes, appropriate for Years 3-6. The unit will develop the pre-service teachers’ understanding of assessment-related issues and the purposes, characteristics, and limitations of various types of assessments.

This unit aims to provide pre-service teachers with the knowledge and ability to scaffold children’s learning at more complex levels of reading and writing structures and processes, with a particular focus on scaffolding literacy in ways that are responsive to full range of abilities.

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.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - use theories of children’s literacy development as they critically evaluate the range of approaches to teaching reading, writing, viewing, speaking and listening (GA4; APST 2.1, 2.5; ACECQA B4)

LO2 - discuss critically and identify relevance of current research, topical issues and curriculum development in relation to literacy teaching and learning (GA4; APST 2.1, 2.5; ACECQA B4)

LO3 - investigate teaching and learning strategies that scaffold literacy learning; incorporating children’s ability to draw on spelling strategies, word processing, and technology as these apply to the later years of primary schooling (GA8; APST 2.1, 2.5; ACECQA B4)

LO4 - work collaboratively to show ways of using a wide variety of literary, factual, media and multi-modal texts for planning and integrating literacy across their classroom teaching through a focus on critical reading and writing practices and the implementation of essential learnings and productive pedagogies (GA7; APST 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 6.3; ACECQA B4)

LO5 - use varying approaches to monitor and assess children’s composition and comprehension of a variety of texts and language used to construct these texts (GA5; APST 2.1, 2.5, 5.1, 5.3; ACECQA B4)

LO6 - discuss critically the role of social interaction and explain ways to create inclusive literacy classrooms that consider the needs of those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and that are responsive to a full range of abilities (GA4; APST 1.3, 1.5; ACECQA B4)

Graduate attributes

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL

On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:

ACECQA CRITERIA

On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following specific knowledge:

Content

Topics may include:

• Review of theories of the processes of reading and writing development and the ways in which these theories shape and construct literacy programs (e.g., socio-cultural, functional, cognitive in the later years of primary schooling)
• Literary, factual, media and multi-modal texts, especially those intended for older children
• Strategies for promoting and motivating children’s literacy learning, including strategies for spelling, word processing and technology to underpin their competence in literacy
• Strategies for scaffolding children’s learning, with a particular focus on the scaffolding literacy teaching and learning
• Ways of supporting children to become effective, analytical and critical writers and readers of a variety of text types for different purposes, appropriate for Years 3-6
• Assessment-related issues and the purposes, characteristics, and limitations of various types of assessments
• The theory and practices of critical literacy, with a focus on critical reading and writing practices in the everyday context of the classroom and the wider society
• Skill in planning and sequencing activities and strategies that are intended to promote literacy and learning and that take account of information gained through monitoring and assessment
• Understanding the use of state and national curriculum requirements in planning literacy programs
• Relevant national, state and territory curriculum documents and assessment.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Pre-service teachers will be involved in a variety of teaching-learning strategies to progress and demonstrate their understandings in this unit. Participants will be involved in a variety of teaching-learning strategies to support learning, including:

• Lectures
• Seminars, tutorials, or workshops
• Reading guides – which may involve students in both directed reading for the unit as well as self-directed study materials
• On-line activity that may incorporate complex use at a level of composition (e.g., on-line literacy texts such as fan-fiction and blogs).

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 with a normal expectation of 36 hours of directed study and the total contact hours should not exceed 36 hours. Directed study might include lectures, tutorials, webinars, podcasts etc. The balance of the hours then become private study.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment tasks and their weightings are designed to allow pre-service teachers to progressively demonstrate achievement against the unit learning outcomes and demonstrate attainment of professional standards.

Minimum Achievement Standards

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome.

The total assessment tasks will amount to the equivalent of 4,000 words.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Comber, B., & Kamler, B. (2005). Turn-Around pedagogies: Literacy interventions for at-risk students. Newtown, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association.

Comber, B., Nixon, H., & Reid, J. (Eds.). (2007). Literacies in place: Teaching environmental communications. Newtown, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association.

Department of Education and Training (Western Australia). (2005). First steps: Writing map of development (2nd ed.). Port Melbourne, Vic.: Rigby Heinemann.

Department of Education and Training (Western Australia). (2005). First steps: Reading map of development (2nd ed.). Port Melbourne, Vic.: Rigby Heinemann.

Fullen, M., Hill, P., & Crevola, C. (2006). Breakthrough. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Hancock, J., & Leaver, C. (2006). Teaching strategies for literacy: Strategic approaches for teaching literacy and English. Norwood, SA: Australian Literacy Educators' Association.

Hill, S. (2012). Developing early literacy: Assessment and teaching (2nd ed.). South Yarra, Vic: Eleanor Curtain Publishing.

Healy, A. (Ed.). (2008). Multiliteracies and diversity in education: New pedagogies for expanding landscapes. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2011). New literacies: Everyday practices and classroom learning (3rd ed.). Maidenhead, Eng: Open University Press.

Winch, G., Johnston, R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L., & Holliday, M. (2010). Literacy: Reading, writing and children's literature (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Wing Jan, L. (2009). Write ways: Modelling writing forms (3rd ed.). South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press.