EDGE599 - Geography Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment 1

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Nil

Incompatible

EDSS532 Geography Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment 1

Unit rationale, description and aim

In order to plan and deliver lessons that promote learner engagement and enhance student learning, intending secondary teachers need a knowledge and understanding of the junior secondary curriculum, along with theoretical frameworks and pedagogical approaches that are emblematic of teaching in their chosen teaching areas.

Pre-service teachers will study the junior secondary Geography curriculum, including general capabilities, cross-curriculum priorities and other allied materials. They will critique their prior knowledge and experience in the field and how these connect with the scope of the curriculum, identifying opportunities, challenges and responsibilities of Geography teaching. Pre-service teachers will explore theoretical frameworks associated with teaching and learning in Geography education. They will learn evidence-based approaches to plan for effective teaching and learning, including embedded literacy and numeracy, and the use of digital technologies. They will learn approaches for engaging learners and to meet the learning needs of diverse students. An introduction to assessment, in particular diagnostic and formative, is undertaken. They will learn to compose good questions, tasks and develop skills to shape the dialogic talk of the classroom. Focusing on the detailed planning of a short series of lessons, pre-service teachers will learn to structure lesson sequences within units of work in order to demonstrate a knowledge of curriculum and learning theory. They will engage in microteaching to practice engaging students and guiding the classroom discourse.

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 Geography at a junior 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.

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level

On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level standards:

Content

Topics will include: 

• The pre-service teachers’ prior experience of, and engagement with education in Geography education
• The Australian junior secondary Geography curriculum, including general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities, focusing on appropriate state/jurisdictional expectations, syllabi and guidelines
• Theoretical frameworks associated with Geography teaching and learning
• Pedagogical approaches emblematic of Geography teaching and learning
• Planning and curriculum alignment
• Planning for effective teaching and learning in junior secondary Geography education
• Differentiated teaching in Geography
• Needs of learners from diverse cognitive, physical, social, and cultural backgrounds
• Needs of learners from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
• Incorporating literacy and numeracy in Geography teaching
• Digital technologies for teaching/learning in Geography education
• Conversational, questioning and scaffolding techniques to shape dialogic classroom talk in Geography education
• Teacher-presented explanations
• An introduction to assessment in junior secondary Geography education with particular emphasis on formative and diagnostic
• Learning beyond the classroom
• Student welfare and safety in Geography classrooms and typical Geography teaching/learning environments
• 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. It is designed to build the pre-service teacher’s understanding of teaching strategies designed to consolidate the learning of content, apply knowledge to problem-solving tasks and develop analytical and evaluating skills. The pre-service teacher’s skills of professional communication and ability to work collaboratively will be practised through group activities and culminating in micro-teaching opportunities. Teaching skills of planning and assessing, and ability to locate and synthesise information, will be developed through designing Geography lessons. The pre-service teacher will continue to gather and reflect upon evidence of attainment of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate. 

The teaching and learning strategy described above will use an appropriate selection of approaches, including, for example: 

• Weekly lectures (synchronous and asynchronous)  
• Hands-on discussions that promote peer learning 
• Microteaching opportunities 
• Self-directed reading and research 
• Collaborative learning opportunities 

The unit is hosted on a Learning Management System (LMS) site with resources and online links, announcements, and a discussion board to post questions and reflections that promote the connection between content and educational experiences.

Mode of delivery: This unit may be offered in different modes to cater to the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants.

Multi-mode

Learning activities are delivered through a planned mix of online and in-person classes, which may include full-day sessions and/or placements, to enable interaction. Activities that require attendance will appear in a student’s timetable.

Online unscheduled

Learning activities are accessible anytime, anywhere. These units are normally delivered fully online and will not appear in a student’s timetable. 

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 assessment tasks are sequenced to allow feedback and progressive development. These tasks reflect ‘real world’ school contexts and teaching responsibilities, thereby preparing the pre-service teacher for professional experience placement and one’s role as a teacher. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Required text(s)

Australian Curriculum https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) www.acara.edu.au