Year
2021Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Prerequisites
NilUnit rationale, description and aim
This unit is designed to establish a knowledge base for pre-service teachers in the areas of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in ICT and Digital Technologies for secondary students in the junior and middle years of schooling (Years 7-10). An understanding of the national curricula which is specific to Catholic, State and Independent schools will provide the focus of this unit. The unit is also designed to develop pre-service teachers’ understanding of contemporary theory, concepts and skills in ICT and Digital Technologies studies as applied in the junior secondary classroom context. A range of curriculum perspectives will be explored, including literacy, numeracy, ICT, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education, students with special needs and effective teaching. There is a focus on effective teaching and classroom management, including student engagement, participation and inclusion.
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 - Plan, implement and evaluate a range of ICT and Digital Technologies learning and teaching activities for junior and middle years students which involve a variety of pedagogical approaches and resources (including ICT) appropriate to these year levels and curriculum content (GA4, GA5, GA9, GA10)
LO2 - Explain, develop and evaluate a variety of classroom strategies which cater for individual differences in student learning (e.g. cognitive, physical, social, cultural) and integrate general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities (including literacy, numeracy and ICT) in ICT and Digital Technologies Education (GA4, GA5, GA9)
LO3 - Examine the relationships between student learning and expertise, higher order thinking, learning task design, assessment, feedback and reporting in (GA4, GA5, GA9).
Graduate attributes
GA4 - think critically and reflectively
GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession
GA9 - demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media
GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
1.3 Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. |
2.1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area. |
2.2 Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence. |
2.3 Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans. |
2.4 Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages. |
2.5 Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas. |
2.6 Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students. |
3.1 Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics. |
3.2 Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies. |
3.3 Include a range of teaching strategies. |
3.4 Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning. |
4.5 Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and the strategies available to support the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching. |
5.1 Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning. |
6.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs. |
6.2 Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers. |
7.1 Understand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession. |
7.2 Understand the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage. |
Content
The topics will include:
- The two strands of the Digital Technologies curriculum: knowledge and understanding and processes and production
- Key concepts of Digital Technologies: Abstraction; data collection and data representation and data interpretation; Specification, algorithms and implementation; Digital systems; and Interactions and impact
- Safely and ethically exploiting information systems to systematically transform data into digital solutions
- Sharing information online - ethically and technically
- Managing online projects and evaluating their success
- an understanding of how effective teaching, including curriculum rigour, engagement, participation and inclusion, is a key factor in effective classroom management
- Factors in the educational context (international, national, state, territory and local levels) including curriculum policies and perspectives that shape the identity of ICT and Digital Technologies in Years 7-10.
- general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities including the integration of literacy, numeracy and ICT and local, state, territory and national perspectives in ICT and Digital Technologies Education
- planning sequences of learning activities relative to specific school context and identified factors impacting teaching and learning
- the relationship between reflexive learning and effective concept formation to build higher order thinking in ICT and Digital Technologies Education
- catering for a diverse range of learners in ICT and Digital Technologies Education
- discipline specific teaching strategies and issues related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in ICT and Digital Technologies Education
- pedagogical strategies to promote problem solving and critical thinking in ICT and Digital Technologies Education
- feedback, assessment and reporting in ICT and Digital Technologies Education
- extending and challenging learners in ICT and Digital Technologies Education
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 through critical reading, lecturer modelling, discussion, and practice in tutorials. 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 a ICT and Digital Technologies context. 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 face-to-face lectures and / or online lectures (synchronous and asynchronous)
- Hands-on tutorials and discussions that promote peer learning
- Microteaching opportunities
- Self-directed reading and research
- Collaborative learning opportunities
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 and the professional standards. 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 in order 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.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Lesson planning demonstrating an understanding of sequencing, a variety of appropriate pedagogical approaches, behaviour management, safety considerations and resources to engage student learning in a nominated educational setting. This lesson plan must address general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities. The lesson must include examples of ICT resources to engage students in their learning and also highlight evidence of literacy and numeracy teaching strategies that have been applied to the ICT and Digital Technologies Education lesson. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3 | GA4, GA5, GA9, GA10 |
Assessment Task 2: Implementation and evaluation of a sequence of learning and teaching activities within which provision is made for assessment of student learning and feedback. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3 | GA5, GA9 |
Representative texts and references
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2013). Draft Australian Curriculum: Technologies. Accessed at http://consultation.australiancurriculum.edu.au/Static/docs/Technologies/Draft%20Australian%20Curriculum%20Technologies%20-%20February%202013.pdf (To be replaced by Final Australian Curriculum Technologies in 2014).
Bowden, G., & Maguire, K. (2008). Practice IT: Book 1 for lower secondary (3rd ed.). Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press.
Bowden, G., & Maguire, K. (2008). Practice IT Book 2 middle secondary (3rd ed.). Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press.
Grover, D., Knights, H., & Gormley, E. (2011). Information and software technology: A project-based approach (2nd ed.). Sydney: Pearson Education Australia.
Hennessy, S., Ruthven, K., & Brindley, S. ( 2007). Teacher perspectives on integrating ICT into subject teaching: commitment, constraints, caution and change. In Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37(2), 155-192.
Howell, J. (2012). Teaching with ICT: Digital pedagogies for collaboration and creativity. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.
Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2004). The learning by design guide. Victoria: Common Ground Publishing.
Luce-Kapler, R. (2007). Radical change and wikis: teaching new literacies. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 51(3), 214-224.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MYCEETYA)(2006). The Statements of Learning for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) were managed by Australian Education Systems Officials Committee (AESOC) on behalf of MCEETYA, and developed by Curriculum Corporation.
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, National Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians-, 8 September 2008, p. 3.