Unit rationale, description and aim
To achieve their education goals and contribute to an informed society, every student must develop strong skills in literacy and numeracy as the foundation for learning. The aim of this unit is to provide pre-service teachers with strategies and practices for integrating explicit literacy and numeracy instruction into an effective teaching and learning sequence. This unit will offer pre-service teachers the opportunity to enhance the development of literacy and numeracy learning for all students within all curriculum areas. In this unit, pre-service teachers examine literacy and numeracy requirements for different curriculum areas in secondary school subjects and the way these literacies need to be developed for learners from diverse language and cultural backgrounds. Pre-service teachers will develop and extend their understandings of research evidence related to teaching reading, writing, speaking and listening for curriculum learning, and develop a metalanguage for teaching and assessing spoken, written, visual, symbolic, and graphic representations and their interactions in multimodal texts. Pre-service teachers will also identify and examine the numeracy skills inherent in their curriculum areas and extend their understanding of research evidence in the teaching of numeracy. This will culminate in the development of literacy and numeracy high challenge/high support strategies that differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities and are responsive to the strengths and needs of students from different language backgrounds.
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.
Demonstrate mastery of literacy and numeracy skill...
Learning Outcome 01
Critically reflect on theory and classroom practic...
Learning Outcome 02
Use relevant questioning, assessment strategies an...
Learning Outcome 03
Use theoretical models, student data and pedagogic...
Learning Outcome 04
Design and integrate literacy and numeracy learnin...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- The nature of literacy, language and numeracy and their role in learning in the different areas of the curriculum.
- Issues related to the nature and duration of second language and literacy learning and outcomes of schooling for different cultural/linguistic groups.
- Contemporary understandings of research evidence related to teaching reading, writing, speaking, listening in relevant curriculum contexts and levels.
- Contemporary understandings of research evidence related to the teaching of numeracy in relevant curriculum contexts and levels.
- Language as a social process, meta-language and numeracy in context.
- Constructions of literacy and numeracy in relevant state, territory and national curriculum and support documents from upper primary level through to secondary level.
- Integrating numeracy and literacy within culturally responsive learning frameworks.
- The purpose and structure of different types of spoken, written, visual, graphic and multimodal texts.
- Introduction to systems of grammar and discourse used in current curriculum and assessment documents.
- A range of strategies used for the explicit teaching of literacy and numeracy.
- Task design, construction and critical evaluation of resources used in the teaching of literacy and numeracy.
- Strategies for evaluating, developing, assessing, monitoring and programming for literacy and numeracy development relevant for the different curriculum areas.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks and their weightings allow pre-service teachers to progressively demonstrate achievement against the course learning outcomes by demonstrating academic and professional standards. This unit focuses on developing an understanding of, and skills across the professional knowledge, practice and engagement needed to meet expectations of the Graduate Attributes and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST): Graduate level. In this unit Assessment Task 1 focuses on pre-service teachers’ identifying the literacy demands, student needs and strategies for supporting students’ literacy in their teaching areas. Assessment Task 2 focuses on pre-service teachers’ identifying the numeracy demands, student needs and strategies for supporting students’ numeracy in their teaching areas. The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to demonstrate the achievement of each learning outcome. To promote sustained learning, pre-service teachers are expected to complete weekly readings and practice tasks as assigned by teaching staff and submit ALL assessment tasks.
Minimum Achievement Standards
To achieve a passing standard in this unit, students must 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. Pre-service teachers are required to demonstrate achievement of learning outcomes by submitting all assessment tasks.
Assessments in this unit include two Critical Tasks:
- Assessment Task 1 – Assessing and Addressing Literacy Learning Needs
- Assessment Task 2 – Assessing and Addressing Numeracy Learning Needs
These tasks are core to the demonstration of a number of Australian Professional Teacher Standards. Pre-service teachers must demonstrate mastery of every summative Graduate Teacher Standard identified and attain a score of at least 50% in Task 1 and Task 2 in order to pass this unit and obtain a combined score of at least 50%.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Literacy and Numeracy skills ...
Assessment Task 1: Literacy and Numeracy skills
Identify key literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills in a chosen secondary teaching area and relevant issues in relation to the education of linguistic minority students.
For the numeracy component, identify key misconceptions for the numeracy/mathematical content identified.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Assessing and addressing Numer...
Assessment Task 2: Assessing and addressing Numeracy learning needs (Individual task)
Critical Task
Create a profile of the numeracy strengths and needs of 3 students, including at least one EAL/D learner, in relation to a specified curriculum learning and assessment goal within a unit of work.
1. Provide evidence of diagnostic data you utilised and your analysis of students’ work samples.
2. Provide an example of written and oral feedback provided to students to further their numeracy development
3. Identify and discuss three teaching strategies that integrate explicit teaching of numeracy with curriculum instruction to address the varied needs of the students profiled.
4. Research and develop a portfolio of culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and learning strategies integrated within a curriculum unit of work to address the varied needs of students profiled. This includes:
- Four tasks with teaching notes and resource/s to support students to develop appropriate numeracy skills to achieve a curriculum goal.
For each task, describe:
a. further differentiation of activities to address identified issues in the education of linguistic minority students
b. the particular numeracy skills and knowledge being developed and their relevance to the broader outcomes of the subject
c. how digital resources may be used
d. how these strategies can be modified for implementation at home
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The learning and teaching strategy for this unit recognises that learning builds on pre-existing understandings and is shaped by a learner’s sociocultural context. In line with the chosen learning and teaching strategy, this unit includes content delivery designed to encourage active learning and engagement, and teaching methods to consolidate the learning of content, apply knowledge to problem-solving tasks and develop analytical and evaluating skills. The learning and teaching strategy is achieved through a range of learning activities such as reading, reflection, discussion, and engagement with webinars, podcasts and video resources.
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
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 connection between content and educational experiences.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level
In connection to the learning outcomes, 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:
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toDemonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO3, LO5
Relating toOrganise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO5
Relating toUse curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating toKnow and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4, LO5
Relating toImplement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO5
Relating toPlan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO5
Relating toInclude a range of teaching strategies.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO5
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO5
Relating toDemonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2
Relating toIdentify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO5
Relating toDemonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating toDemonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Representative texts and references
The Australian Curriculum: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/.
National Numeracy Learning Progressions: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/national-literacy-and-numeracy-learning-progressions/national-numeracy-learning-progression/.
Recommended texts
Clark. U. (2019). Developing language and literacy in English across the secondary school curriculum An inclusive approach. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93239-2
Herbert, S., Muir, T., & Livy, S. (2020). Characteristics of a secondary school with improved NAPLAN results. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 32(3), 387–410. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-019-00304-y
Humphrey, S. (2017). Academic literacies in the middle years: A framework for enhancing teacher knowledge and student achievement. Routledge.
Humphrey, S., & Vale, E. (2020). Investigating model texts for learning. Primary English Teaching Association of Australia.
Humphrey, S. & Vidal Lizama, M. (2020). Developing ‘Bridging’ Semiotic and Pedagogic Knowledge for Pre-Service Subject Area Teachers in the ‘New Mainstream’. In Cardozo-Gaibisso, L. & Vazquez Dominguez, M. (Eds.). Advancing Language Equity Practices with Immigrant Communities: Learning in and Out of Schools. IGI Global
Jones, P., Matruglio, E., & Edwards-Groves, C. (Eds.). (2022). Transition and continuity in school literacy development. Bloomsbury Academic.
Main, K., Pendergast, D., & Bahr, N. (Eds.). (2017). Teaching middle years : rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment (3rd ed.). Allen & Unwin.
Miller, J., & Armour, D. (2021). Supporting successful outcomes in mathematics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students: a systematic review. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(1), 61–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1698711
Morrison, S., & McLafferty, L. (2018). Bridging the Gaps in Mathematics and Numeracy: Supporting Schools in Practitioner Research. Educational and Child Psychology, 93–.
Unsworth, L., Cope, J., & Nicholls, L. (2019). Multimodal literacy and large-scale literacy tests : Curriculum relevance and responsibility. The Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 42(2), 128–139. https://doi.org/10.3316/aeipt.223598
Westwood, P.S. (2021). Teaching for numeracy across the age range : An introduction. Springer.