Course Outline
EDU347 Teaching Junior Secondary English
Course Coordinator:Joanne Casey (jcasey1@usc.edu.au) School:School of Education and Tertiary Access
2024Semester 1
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
What is this course about?
Description
This course builds capacity to design and recognise effective pedagogy within English for students in Years 7 - 10. You organise and plan lessons using the Australian Curriculum: English, apply your knowledge, understanding and skills to interpret, implement and adapt learning, in order to engage Junior Secondary students. You integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, culture or languages into learning activities and reflect on your developing teaching practice.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – You are required to engage with Learning Materials accessed through Canvas. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 9 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – The tutorials are face-to-face and required materials are provided weekly on Canvas. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
Course Topics
Language theory that informs curriculum
Australian and Queensland Curriculum English and associated terminology
Literary texts used in Junior Secondary English courses
Teaching strategies used to differentiate teaching to a broad range of learners from different social, cultural and language contexts
Concepts, principles, structures and assessment associated with designing Lesson Plans and Units of Work
Literacy and numeracy demands across the curriculum
ICT applications in teaching, learning and communication
Using data to inform teaching, specifically NAPLAN and Australian Curriculum achievement standards
What level is this course?
300 Level (Graduate)
What is the unit value of this course?
12 units
How does this course contribute to my learning?
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership | |
| 1 | Apply your knowledge of language learning theory and its connection to the Australian Curriculum English Years 7-10 to critically evaluate and justify teaching decisions. | Knowledgeable |
2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 |
| 2 | Plan, organise and integrate English content into authentic learning sequences demonstrating understanding of concepts, principles and structure of English pedagogy | Empowered |
1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 |
| 3 | Communicate in different modes to an informed academic audience. | Knowledgeable |
2.6, 3.5, 6.3, 7.4 |
| 4 | Set achievable, challenging learning goals to match student abilities and identify authentic assessment and moderation processes | Ethical |
1, 3, 3.1, 5, 5.5 |
| 5 | Provide evidence of ability to use appropriate teaching strategies and resources such as ICT to support safe, responsible, and ethical learning and teaching decisions. | Ethical |
2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.5 |
* Competencies by Professional Body
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership | |
| 1 | PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE: Know students and how they learn |
| 1.5 | Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. |
| 2 | PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE: Know the content and how to teach it |
| 2.1 | Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area |
| 2.2 | Content selection and organisation: Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence. |
| 2.3 | Curriculum, assessment and reporting: Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans. |
| 2.5 | Literacy and numeracy strategies: Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas. |
| 2.6 | Information and Communication Technology (ICT): Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students. |
| 3 | PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning |
| 3.1 | Establish challenging learning goals: Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics. |
| 3.2 | Plan, structure and sequence learning programs: Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies. |
| 3.3 | Use teaching strategies: Include a range of teaching strategies. |
| 3.4 | Select and use resources: Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning. |
| 3.5 | Use effective classroom communication: Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement |
| 4.5 | Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically: 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 | PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning |
| 5.5 | Report on student achievement: 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 |
| 6.3 | Engage with colleagues and improve practice: Seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices. |
| 7.4 | Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities: Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice. |
Am I eligible to enrol in this course?
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Pre-requisites
Enrolled in Program (AE304 and an English Major or English Studies Extended Minor) or (ED315 and an English Minor)
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
Not applicable
How am I going to be assessed?
Grading Scale
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Details of early feedback on progress
Early feedback on language skills will be provided in Week 3 following a formative in-class quiz.
Assessment tasks
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 20% | 1000 words, 90 minute exam |
Week 4 | In Class |
| All | 2 | Oral and Written Piece | Individual | 40% | 1500 words. Lessons and 5 minute video presentation |
Week 7 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Essay | Individual | 40% | 2000 words |
Week 10 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Diagnostic Test | |
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to demonstrate your foundational knowledge of the Australian and Queensland English curriculum and policy and underpinning language theory for secondary schooling in Years 7-10. |
| Product: | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled |
| Format: | The purpose of this task is to provide you opportunities to demonstrate your foundational knowledge of the Australian Curriculum: English and language learning theory in preparation for the next two tasks. If the test reveals that you have some knowledge gaps or misunderstandings, you can access additional support to help build your knowledge and/or skill base. This process of diagnosing and then providing follow up support mirrors how you can support students as a practising teacher. The test comprises multiple choice and short answer questions. One of these will include making and justifying an ethical judgment. You are encouraged to bring one single-sided page of notes to the exam. A voluntary, formative assessment which will comprise a short ‘open book’ practice test (30 minutes) will be held and marked by you in the Week 3 tutorial. The feedback obtained from this formative test will provide you with information on where there are gaps in your knowledge and this material will assist your revision for the examination that follows. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 2:Sequence of lessons and video | |
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to apply your knowledge of how to enact teaching strategies to achieve specific learning outcomes. You are required to select a literary text that is appropriate for one Junior Secondary year level. The literary text will be used as a focus for instruction as you design and deliver two sequential Lesson Plans and a video segment based on writing. |
| Product: | Oral and Written Piece |
| Format: | There are three aspects to this task. 1. Select a literary text that can be used in Junior Secondary English. Evaluate and justify the text choice and a range of teaching strategies you will use to teach the text in a particular year level. This requires you to develop an audio presentation that is embedded in a Powerpoint and is presented to a hypothetical relief teacher. (Suggested time is 1 minute). 2. Create two (2) sequential Lesson Plans. Use the chosen literary text as the basis from which you will develop writing knowledge and skill in a particular genre. Reference must be made to ACARA requirements for genre in the year level, and a link must be provided to the chosen literary text. 3. Discuss, in an audio presentation that is embedded in a Powerpoint, how, in one of the lessons, you plan to teach one aspect of writing to a class of students (suggested time is 4 minutes). Please provide explicit instruction on how you intend to conduct the teaching. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 3:Unit of Work Evaluation | |
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to advance your ability to evaluate an English Unit of Work and student assessment data. |
| Product: | Essay |
| Format: | During tutorials in Weeks 8 and 9, you will learn how to: interpret a school student’s assessment data, and evaluate a Unit of Work. You will identify the student’s English strengths and weaknesses in relation to the outcomes they achieved at the conclusion of the Unit of Work. In evaluating the Unit of Work, you will consider what was taught, the strategies and resources used, assessment practices, and what requires further consideration so students' ongoing development is enhanced. To demonstrate your knowledge, you are required to write a Unit of Work evaluation in essay form which outlines your: • Evaluation of the student data and what learning is required to improve outcomes. • Evaluation of the Unit of Work in relation to its content, the student’s achievement levels, the teaching strategies and assessment practices that were employed, the role of moderation of assessment and why moderation is important, opinions on effective reporting to students, parents/carers and, a rationale for keeping accurate and reliable records of student achievement in English. |
| Criteria: |
|
Directed study hours
A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Schedule
| Period and Topic | Activities |
Module 3 Weeks 8-10 Planning, organising and integrating English content into a unit of work. |
What is a unit of work? Interpreting student data and evaluating teaching programs. Assessing English, providing feedback, engaging in moderation and reporting. Investigating Units of Work. Conducting further readings and tutorial/online activities as outlined in the weekly Learning Materials on CANVAS. |
Module 2 Weeks 4-7 English teaching strategies for diverse learners in a range of contexts. |
Introducing teaching strategies that include those that are non-verbal and ICT based (with emphasis on the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICTs). Applying teaching strategies during tutorials to cater for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and other groups’ histories, cultures and languages. Linking teaching strategies to stages and strands of English learning in curriculum documents. Developing referencing skills. Identifying points of view. Learning how to develop a Lesson Plan. Organising and integrating lesson content, skill, strategies including ICT for diverse learners in a Lesson Plan. Reading a variety of journal articles based on explicit English teaching strategies. Viewing English lessons provided on Canvas. Engaging with further readings and tutorial/online activities as presented in CANVAS Learning Materials. |
Module 1 Weeks 1-3 Australian Curriculum English: F-12 Language acquisition and literary theories – including the Four Resources Model. An introduction to the role that literary texts play in language learning. |
Develop referencing skills. Navigate the Australian Curriculum English website. Engage with the genres of adolescent literature. Learn how to interpret and critically evaluate documents, and make and justify ethical decisions and write responses. Respond to feedback on knowledge and skill provided in Week 3. Explore the education policy documents that include: Melbourne Declaration, A Flying Start for QLD Children. QLD Closing the Gaps Report, Towards a 10-year plan for STEM. Investigate relevant English policy documents from the ALEA site. Participate in library work. Read young adult literature. Engage in further readings and tutorial/online activities provided in CANVAS weekly Learning Materials. |
What resources do I need to undertake this course?
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Prescribed text(s) or course reader
Specific requirements
Not applicable
How are risks managed in this course?
What administrative information is relevant to this course?
Assessment: Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Assessment: Additional Requirements
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct
Assessment: Submission penalties
Late submission of assessment tasks may be penalised at the following maximum rate: - 5% (of the assessment task's identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - 10% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the third day - 20% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted after seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension you must contact your course coordinator to negotiate an outcome.
SafeUniSC
UniSC is committed to a culture of respect and providing a safe and supportive environment for all members of our community. For immediate assistance on campus contact SafeUniSC by phone: 07 5430 1168 or using the SafeZone app. For general enquires contact the SafeUniSC team by phone 07 5456 3864 or email safe@usc.edu.au.
The SafeUniSC Specialist Service is a Student Wellbeing service that provides free and confidential support to students who may have experienced or observed behaviour that could cause fear, offence or trauma. To contact the service call 07 5430 1226 or email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au.
Study help
For help with course-specific advice, for example what information to include in your assessment, you should first contact your tutor, then your course coordinator, if needed.
If you require additional assistance, the Learning Advisers are trained professionals who are ready to help you develop a wide range of academic skills. Visit the Learning Advisers web page for more information, or contact Student Central for further assistance: +61 7 5430 2890 or studentcentral@usc.edu.au.
Wellbeing Services
Student Wellbeing provide free and confidential counselling on a wide range of personal, academic, social and psychological matters, to foster positive mental health and wellbeing for your academic success.
To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email studentwellbeing@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 1226.
AccessAbility Services
Ability Advisers ensure equal access to all aspects of university life. If your studies are affected by a disability, learning disorder mental health issue, injury or illness, or you are a primary carer for someone with a disability or who is considered frail and aged, AccessAbility Services can provide access to appropriate reasonable adjustments and practical advice about the support and facilities available to you throughout the University.
To book a confidential appointment go to Student Hub, email AccessAbility@usc.edu.au or call 07 5430 2890.
Links to relevant University policy and procedures
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
- Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
- Review of Assessment and Final Grades
- Supplementary Assessment
- Central Examinations
- Deferred Examinations
- Student Conduct
- Students with a Disability
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
Student Charter
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
General Enquiries
-
In person:
- UniSC Sunshine Coast - Student Central, Ground Floor, Building C, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs
- UniSC Moreton Bay - Service Centre, Ground Floor, Foundation Building, Gympie Road, Petrie
- UniSC SouthBank - Student Central, Building A4 (SW1), 52 Merivale Street, South Brisbane
- UniSC Gympie - Student Central, 71 Cartwright Road, Gympie
- UniSC Fraser Coast - Student Central, Student Central, Building A, 161 Old Maryborough Rd, Hervey Bay
- UniSC Caboolture - Student Central, Level 1 Building J, Cnr Manley and Tallon Street, Caboolture
- Tel:+61 7 5430 2890
- Email:studentcentral@usc.edu.au