Year
2022Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
EDSI599 Science Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment 1 or EDST543 Science Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment 1
Incompatible
EDST620 Earth and Environmental Sciences Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment
Unit rationale, description and aim
In order to plan and deliver lessons that promote learner engagement and enhance student learning, intending secondary teachers need knowledge and understanding of the senior secondary curriculum, along with theoretical frameworks and pedagogical approaches that are emblematic of teaching in their chosen teaching areas, including teaching/learning that responds to the high-stakes assessment that is a usual feature of senior secondary schooling.
In this unit, pre-service teachers will consider the place of Earth and Environmental Studies education in contemporary Australian society, and the senior secondary curriculum, in particular. They will explore a range of evidence-based approaches for curriculum development and alignment and to plan for effective teaching and learning, including formative and summative assessment. Pre-service teachers will learn approaches for building knowledge of Earth and Environmental Studies and how to provide constructive feedback and reporting. They will learn approaches for engaging senior secondary learners and to meet the learning needs of diverse students in the senior secondary years. They will further develop skills to shape the dialogic talk of the classroom. Pre-service teachers will formulate unit and assessment plans in order to demonstrate a knowledge of curriculum, learning and assessment theory. They will assemble a resource folio to demonstrate the capacity to collect, create and critique resources for effective teaching and learning and to link with curriculum. They will investigate issues and considerations of curriculum implementation as found in the practical reality of schools.
The aim of this unit is for the pre-service teacher to develop their pedagogical content knowledge through becoming familiar with the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for teaching Earth and Environmental Studies at a senior secondary level.
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 - Describe and explain the senior secondary Earth and Environmental Studies curriculum, including the place of Earth and Environmental Studies within contemporary Australian society and the unique professional responsibilities of the Earth and Environmental Studies teacher (GA4, GA5, GA8; APST 2.1, 2.3, 3.4)
LO2 - Analyse the relationships between curriculum design, task design and student expertise so as to support student learning and the evaluation of teaching and curriculum design (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9; APST 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 4.2, 4.5, 5.1)
LO3 - Apply and evaluate the use of linguistic resources utilised to provide directions, demonstration, presentations and support of student learning (GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9, GA10; APST 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 3.3, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2)
LO4 - Critically analyse, develop and implement a knowledge of the variety of pedagogical strategies in senior secondary Earth and Environmental Studies which allow the specific learning strengths and needs of students to be met (GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9; APST 1.3, 1.5, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.3)
LO5 - Synthesise and apply a range of approaches to assess, provide feedback and report on student learning within the senior secondary Earth and Environmental Studies learning area (GA4, GA5, GA8; APST 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5).
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
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:
1.2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching. |
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. |
1.5 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. |
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. |
2.5 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. |
3.5 Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement. |
3.6 Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning. |
4.1 Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities. |
4.2 Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions. |
4.3 Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour. |
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. |
5.2 Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning. |
5.3 Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning. |
5.4 Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice. |
5.5 Demonstrate understanding of a range of strategies for reporting to students and parents/carers and the purpose of keeping accurate and reliable records of student achievement. |
Content
Topics will include:
- Earth and Environmental Studies in the Australian curriculum context: historical context and current frameworks and documentation
- The Australian senior secondary Earth and Environmental Studies curriculum
- Planning for effective teaching in Earth and Environmental Studies
- Effective senior Earth and Environmental Studies teaching and learning
- Differentiated teaching in Earth and Environmental Studies
- Needs of learners from diverse cognitive, physical, social, cultural backgrounds
- Digital resources and approaches for senior Earth and Environmental Studies
- Engaging all learners in senior Earth and Environmental Studies
- Conversational, questioning and scaffolding techniques to shape dialogic classroom talk in Earth and Environmental Studies
- Assessing student learning and reporting achievement in senior Earth and Environmental Studies
- High-stakes assessment in senior secondary Earth and Environmental Studies, including the specific moderation process and student data interpretation
- Composing assessment items in Earth and Environmental Studies
- An introduction to data-informed teaching in Earth and Environmental Studies
- Professional responsibilities and relationships
- Professional associations and continued professional learning
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 an Earth and Environmental Studies 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 three assessment tasks are sequenced to allow feedback and progressive development. By completing Task 1 the pre-service teacher will apply knowledge of curriculum planning and teaching and assessment strategies in the development of a unit of work for use in a specific classroom context. In Task 2 the pre-service teacher will develop a summative assessment task and reflect on the approach they took for reliability and validity. Lastly, in Task 3 the pre-service teacher will carry out a critical analysis of suitable strategies and resources for ensuring literacy and numeracy strategies are pragmatic. These tasks reflect ‘real world’ school contexts and teaching responsibilities, thereby preparing the pre-service teacher for professional experience placement and their role as a teacher.
Assessment in this unit includes two Critical Tasks: 5. Resource Folio and Critical Analysis; and 6. Design of program/unit of work. Pre-service teachers must demonstrate mastery of every summative Graduate Teacher Standard identified for each Critical Task and attain a score of at least 50 per cent in each Critical Task in order to pass the Critical Task assessment.
In order to pass this unit, pre-service teachers are required to demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes by submitting all assessment tasks, obtaining a combined score of at least 50 per cent, and receiving a passing grade in all tasks.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Design of a program/unit of work Critical Task 6. The design of a program/unit of work for senior Earth and Environmental Studies students over a nominated period. Artefacts and reflections may provide evidence of attainment of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate and can be included in the ePortfolio. | 40% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 | GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9, GA10 |
Assessment Task 2: Assessment Development Develop a summative assessment task and accommodating marking guide or rubric that could be used for moderation purposes | 30% | LO4, LO5 | GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9 |
Assessment Task 3: Resource Folio and Critical Analysis Critical Task 5. Create a folio of 8 learning activities across a range of curriculum topics and skills relevant to senior secondary Earth and Environmental Studies, including strategies and resources to support the development of literacy and numeracy for and through Earth and Environmental Studies. Artefacts and reflections may provide evidence of attainment of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate and can be included in the ePortfolio. | 30% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 | GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8, GA9, GA10 |
Representative texts and references
Australian Curriculum https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) www.acara.edu.au
Relevant jurisdictional curriculum documents