EDFD546 - Development and Learning

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

Aspiring teachers need to develop and demonstrate their understanding of learners and their development and the learning process.

This unit is based on recent and significant insights from cognitive and developmental psychology to provide frames of reference to assist pre-service teachers to understand student characteristics in the middle and adolescent years, and their implications for teaching. Particular emphasis is placed on relevant aspects of the learner, the teaching context and how to connect educational theory to practice in learning environments. From their individual and social perspectives students will examine and compare the processes of how people learn and develop a rich understanding of the teacher's role in creating effective, challenging and inclusive learning environments. An important aim of the unit is to enable pre-service teachers to implement effective practices to facilitate learning in today's digitally enabled classrooms.

This unit aims to assist pre-service students to reflect on theories of learning, develop an informed personal view of learning processes, and have a critical reflective understanding of pedagogy based on sound educational psychology principles.

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 - Develop and apply a critical understanding of student characteristics and learning needs, using human development and learning theories, with a particular focus on adolescence and the secondary school years (GA4, GA5; APST 1.1, 1.2)

LO2 - Critically analyse basic assumptions, concepts, and principles of major learning and human development theories to determine the implications of each theory for instructional settings (GA4, GA5, GA8; APST 1.1, 1.2, 1.5)

LO3 - Articulate a critical understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, including students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds (GA4, GA8; APST 1.3, 1.4)

LO4 - Critically examine and synthesise individual and social constructivist approaches to learning and teaching, to inform the development of strategies that are responsive to the needs of diverse learners (GA8; APST 1.1, APST 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5)

LO5 - Synthesise theories of learning and examples and apply to the evaluation, development and safe, responsible, ethical implementation of ICT enabled learning resources and pedagogies to engage diverse learners (GA8, GA9, GA10; APST 3.4, 4.1, 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

This unit is based on an understanding that learning and development of individuals are processes that are situated in complex and diverse socio-cultural contexts. The content includes the following:

Learner characteristics and development and how these may affect learning

• age-level adolescent socio-cognitive and emotional characteristics
• theories of psychosocial, emotional and cognitive development
• challenges and behaviours in the middle and adolescence years
• understanding student differences in ability, development and achievement 
• awareness that all learners can be literate and numerate
• the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, including students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds

Learning theories and applications for teaching and learning of self-regulation and lifelong learning

• behavioural and social cognitive theories and how they apply to classroom management
• information-processing theory, memory and learning strategies
• constructivist approaches to learning, teaching and assessment
• self-regulation and lifelong learning
• applications and implications of new technologies for assisting learning

Creating effective class and school learning environments:

• a range of resources and strategies, including ICT, that are responsive to the needs of diverse learners
• how students learn with peers, in groups and individually 
• how to motivate and engage learners
• information technology and social media as tools for learning, and their safe, responsible and ethical use
• developing student centred learning strategies and resources to support metacognition and reflection.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Pre-service teachers will be involved in a variety of teaching and learning strategies to progress and demonstrate their understandings in this unit. Lecture workshop and tutorial formats will be used and resources and assessment details will be provided in the Learning Environment Online (LEO).

This unit will take a blended approach familiarising students with the many ways technology can contribute to learning and instruction. Pedagogical approaches using and applying technology as a tool for learning will be integrated into the unit using examples and applications of theories of learning, and case studies of effective practice based on the AITSL Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. LEO will be used to provide an online learning environment and a combination of lectures and tutorials, face-to face-will be used. A collaborative communication space for online discussion and collaboration within LEO to support online learning communities will be offered.

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 semester. To achieve a passing standard in this unit, students will find it helpful to engage in the full range of learning activities and assessments utilised in this unit, as described in the learning and teaching strategy and the assessment strategy. The learning and teaching and assessment strategies include a range of approaches to support your learning such as reading, reflection, discussion, webinars, podcasts, video, workshops, and assignments etc. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

A variety of assessment procedures will be used to ascertain the extent to which students achieve stated outcomes. In order to pass this unit, students are required to submit or participate in all assessment tasks.

Minimum Achievement Standards

In order to pass this unit, students are required to achieve a minimum of 50% in all assessment tasks. All assessments will be conducted in accordance with ACU guidelines relating to student conduct and ethics in this area.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Berk, L. E. (2016). Infants children and adolescents (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J., (2009). The systematic design of instruction (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Pearson.

Duchesne, S., McMaugh, A., Bochner, S., & Krause, K. (2015). Educational psychology: for learning and teaching (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Thomson Learning Australia.

McInerney, D. M. (2013). Educational psychology: Constructing learning (6th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia.

Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2018). Development through life: A psychosocial approach (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Price, K. (Ed.) (2018). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An introduction for the teaching profession (3rd ed.). Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press.

Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Santrock, J. W (2014). Child development: An introduction (14th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

Slavin, R.E, (2014). Education psychology: Theory and practice (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Snowman, J., Dobozy, E., Scevak, J., Bryer, F., & Barlett, B. (2009). Psychology applied to teaching. (1st Australian ed.). Milton, Qld: John Wiley & Son Australia.

Weiten, W. (2017). Psychology: Themes and variations (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, A. (2016). Educational psychology (4th ed.). Melbourne, Vic: Pearson Australia.