EDTS240 - Technologies Education

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit is designed to develop pre-service teachers’ knowledge, understanding, processes and production skills in the planning of teaching and learning experiences in technologies for students from Foundation to Year 6, within the context of relevant technologies curriculum documents. More specifically, it will familiarise participants with both the Design and Technologies and the Digital Technologies components of the Australian Curriculum. This will include syllabus content and requirements, approaches to lesson planning and delivery, the use of project-based learning, and information and communication technology (ICT) for resource development. Emphasis is placed on the Technologies as an interdisciplinary way of knowing which emphasises the development of knowledge, understanding, processes and production involved in creative, innovative and sustainable design solutions.

This unit aims to develop pre-service teacher’s awareness of the unique language, literacy, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities of the technologies to plan teaching and learning experiences in technologies for students from Foundation to Year 6 that meet the learning needs of a diverse range of students.

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 - examine relevant national/state and systemic policy and syllabus documents which set the context for the Australian Curriculum: Technologies within the Foundation to Year 6 continuum (GA5, GA8; APST 2.1)

LO2 - critique the aims, objectives, content and assessment requirements of the Australian Curriculum: Technologies syllabus documents (GA5, GA8; APST 2.1, 5.1)

LO3 - select, document, implement and evaluate, both independently and collaboratively, a range of strategies, including project-based learning, appropriate to the teaching and learning of the Australian Curriculum: Technologies, that reflect the general capabilities and cross-curriculum capabilities, to meet diverse student learning styles and prior experiences (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9, GA10; APST 2.1, 2.3, 5.1)

LO4 - critically evaluate and develop learning resources using a range of information and communication technologies (GA4, GA8, GA9, GA10; APST 2.6, 3.4)

LO5 - demonstrate informed attitudes towards the learning and teaching of the Australian Curriculum: Technologies and an understanding of and commitment to the development of learning opportunities through safe, responsible and ethical ICT engagement, including the ability to critically consider, access and use a range of resources and information from digital sources (GA5; APST 4.5)

LO6 - examine a range of theoretical frameworks relating to teaching with technologies, including professional ethical standards that facilitate the safe and responsible use of ICT, including understanding of issues related to plagiarism. (GA4; APST 2.1, 2.6, 4.5).

Graduate attributes

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

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

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

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:

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
• Study of the aims, objectives, outcomes, content and assessment requirements of the relevant Australian Curriculum: Technologies syllabus
• 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
• Teaching and learning strategies, that include the general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities, to meet a range of student learning styles and prior experiences
• Digital Technologies processes and production skills – defining and solving problems through using digital systems, critical and creative thinking and applying computational thinking
• The language and literacy of the technologies
• Ethics, values and contemporary influences involved in the teaching of the technologies subject.

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.

Mode/Attendance Pattern: Lecture and tutorials or could be offered intensive mode (winter/summer school)

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 weighting for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome.

A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. Such procedures include the development of a Design Technologies Project-based assessment task and 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 total assessment tasks will amount to the equivalent of 4,000 words.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2013). Draft Australian Curriculum: Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/learning_areas/technologies.html

Grover, D., Range, J., Knights, H., Gormley, E., & Perri, S. (2008). Information and software technology: A project-based approach. Sydney, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

Howell, J. (2012).Teaching with ICT: Digitalp pedagogies for collaboration and creativity. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Larmer, J., & Ross, D. (2009). PBL starter kit. California: Buck Institute for Education.

Thompson, S., & Thompson, N. (2008). The critically reflective practitioner. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.

Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., & Nanlohy, P. (2010). Learning for teaching: Teaching for learning, (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia