Year
2023Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
EDRE290 Religious Education Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment 1 or EDRE101 Religious Education 1: Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment or EDRE161 Religious Education 1
Incompatible
EDRE102 Religious Education 2: Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment , EDRE162 Religious Education 2
Unit rationale, description and aim
As students move through the Catholic primary school their awareness of the wider society in which they live increases. The classroom teaching of religious education needs to reflect such awareness. This unit focuses on religious education in the middle and senior years of primary schooling. It has specific emphases on students' understanding and awareness of the Catholic Church tradition including the role and place of sacraments and scripture as well as religion's place in Australia's multi-cultural and multi-faith society. When considering effective pedagogy in the middle and senior primary religion classroom settings, teaching and learning need to be informed by contemporary theory and practice that reflect an understanding of the ways in which students in these primary years develop.
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 - Critically apply knowledge about curriculum development, preparation, implementation and evaluation to the classroom teaching of religion (GA4; APST 1.1, 1.2)
LO2 - Identify various approaches to sacramental education and develop appropriate teaching and learning strategies for the middle and senior primary classroom (GA5; APST 1.1, 2.1)
LO3 - Prepare creative Eucharistic and non-Eucharistic liturgies using expertise and appropriate skills drawn from contemporary curriculum and liturgical documents (GA3, GA7; APST 2.1, 2.2)
LO4 - Identify and implement critical teaching and learning processes to the teaching of scripture with middle and senior primary students (GA4, GA5; APST 2.2, 3.2)
LO5 - Identify the many expressions of faith within the multi-cultural and multi-faith contexts of Australia, including the distinctive contribution Indigenous spirituality makes to religion within the Australian context and develop appropriate teaching and learning strategies for the primary religion program (GA1, GA2; APST 1.1, 1.2)
LO6 - Analyse and apply moral/values education to the primary classroom religion program (GA3; APST 2.2, 3.2)
Graduate attributes
GA1 - Demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity
GA2 - Recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society
GA3 - Apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making
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
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
1.1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning. |
1.2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching. |
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. |
3.2 Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies. |
Content
Topics will include:
- Planning, teaching, assessment and evaluation processes for the classroom religion program. The sequencing and development of an appropriate classroom religion program at a middle/senior primary level.
- School, parish and parents as complementary partners. Sacraments of healing and commitment.
- Principles of children’s liturgy. The preparation and celebration of Eucharistic and non-Eucharistic liturgies.
- Scripture in the middle and senior primary classroom.
- Overview of religious traditions including Indigenous spirituality in the Australian context, range of cultural expressions of Christianity.
- Moral/Values education - theories and strategies and their applications to Religious Education, relationship with other curriculum areas such as personal development, health, human society and its environment.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The learning and teaching strategy in this unit is informed by various principles that are enunciated in the University’s Strategic Plan (2020 – 2023). In particular, the unit adopts a “student-centric approach that ensures every student has the opportunity and support they need to succeed and graduate at ACU” (Australian Catholic University, 2020, p. 7) (Priority 2.5).
EDRE291 is taught in numerous modes (i.e. face to face, intensive, online, mixed) and involves 150 hours of focused learning. This consists of lectures and tutorials in the face-to-face mode, and recorded lectures (for asynchronous use), videoconferencing and webinars in the online mode. The remaining hours are reserved for private research and cooperative learning through forums and reflective journals, leading to the completion of the required assessment tasks.
EDRE291 is intended for undergraduate students (Middle and Upper Primary) who wish to complete their bachelor degree with the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to successfully teach Religious Education in the middle and upper primary years of Catholic schools. Together with other units that combine and are foundational to the teaching of Religious Education, EDRE291 leads to accreditation to teach religious education in their diocese.
In this unit, students will investigate and understand various means of teaching assessment and evaluation of Religious Education curriculum in the middle to upper years in Catholic primary schools, in the context of how young children develop spiritually and the Diocesan Curriculum documents that will frame their teaching and learning. They will learn how to apply their knowledge of key elements of Church life to effectively construct positive learning experiences for children in Catholic schools. They will also learn how to develop an age-appropriate prayer life for their students, including class non-Eucharistic liturgies and other celebrations of faith. They will learn how to design teaching and learning experiences that are inclusive of Indigenous knowings and for cross-curricular contexts.
The unit is taught in a variety of settings: face to face, intensive and fully online. As such, a variety of teaching/learning strategies may be used including lectures, seminars, individual supervision, and research adapted to internal, online or mixed mode. Accessing local Diocesan Religious Education curriculum materials is part of this unit.
Lectures, tutorials, workshops are used to provide students with a range of opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills that are necessary to demonstrate the learning outcomes.
The unit duration will be 150 hours in total with a normal expectation of 24 hours of directed study and the total contact hours should not exceed 24 hours. Directed study might include lectures, tutorials, webinars, podcasts etc. The balance of the hours becomes private study.
The unit will be of 150 hours in total with a normal expectation of 24 hours of directed study and the total contact hours should not exceed 24 hours. Directed study might include lectures, tutorials, webinars, podcasts etc. The balance of the hours becomes private study.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The unit builds towards assessment of students’ knowledge of the classroom teaching of Religious Education. It first assesses their ability to work with curriculum documents, engage with the theological background of units and plan teaching sequences that are age appropriate, creative and engaging. Further assessment establishes their knowledge of aspects of the wider educational life of the school: liturgical preparation, spirituality and sacramental education. The assessment will relate directly to the achievement of the unit outcomes. There will be two pieces of assessment in this unit. The percentage weighting for each task will vary according to specific task requirements.
The first assignment requires students to demonstrate their ability to link their theological background knowledge to the classroom context to develop creative and age-appropriate activities for middle to upper primary school students, including assessment and evaluation of these activities. They will also demonstrate their ability to think critically about these activities in the light of Diocesan documentation and the range of faith dispositions that students bring to the RE classroom (LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5).
The second assignment requires students to express their understanding of complex situations in relation to Religious Education. Students’ knowledge of inclusion of other religious traditions, especially Indigenous spirituality will need to be demonstrated through this task. Also students’ knowledge of the sacramental life of the Church and how students develop their moral thinking may be included in this task (LO2, LO3, LO6).
Total assessment 4000 words.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1 The focus of the first assessment item will be on a significant content area that informs the classroom religion program making explicit links to the local/other diocesan religious education curricula/guidelines. Students are to demonstrate their deep and critical knowledge of the contemporary theological background knowledge of the content area, and develop creative and appropriate teaching and learning activities and relevant teaching resources which could accompany this topic. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5 | GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5 |
Assessment Task 2 The focus of this assessment will be on students’ critical knowledge and understanding of liturgy, sacramental preparation, religious traditions including Indigenous spirituality and moral/values education. | 50% | LO2, LO3, LO6 | GA3, GA5, GA7 |
Representative texts and references
Relevant diocesan and national Catholic Education Commission curriculum guidelines and documents.
Australian Catholic University. Journal of Religious Education. School of Religious Education: Canberra.
Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
Congregation for Catholic Education. (1997). The Catholic school on the threshold of the third millennium. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_27041998_school2000_en.html.
Congregation for Catholic Education. (1988). The religious dimension of education in a Catholic school. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_19880407_catholic-school_en.html.
Hyde, B., & Rymarz, R. (2009). Religious education in Catholic schools: Contemporary issues and perspectives for RE teachers. Terrigal, NSW: David Barlow Publishing.
Lysik, D.A. (Ed). (2004). The liturgy documents: A parish resource: Volume one (4th ed.). Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications.
Lysik, D.A. (Ed). (1999). The liturgy documents: A parish resource: Volume two (3rd ed.). Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications.
National Catholic Education Commission. (2003). Walking his way, telling his truth, living his life: Implications of Ecclesia in Oceania for Catholic education. Canberra: NCEC.
National Catholic Education Commission. (2016). A Framework for Formation for Mission in Catholic Education. Canberra: NCEC.
Ryan, M. & Grajczonek, J. (2007). An inspired tradition: Religious education in Catholic primary schools today. Brisbane: Lumino Press.
Rymarz, R and Belmonte, A. (Eds). (2017). Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools: Exploring the Landscape. Mulgrave: Vaughan Publishing.