Course Outline
EDU352 Teaching Junior Secondary Science 1
Course Coordinator:Amy Strachan (astrachan@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 Science for Years 7 -10. You organise and plan lessons using the Australian Curriculum for Science, apply your knowledge, understanding and skills to interpret, implement and adapt learning, in order to engage Junior Secondary students. You will develop knowledge for integrating general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives 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 and interact with asynchronous materials and activities accessed through Canvas modules, course readings and required texts. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 9 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – You are required to attend weekly tutorial/workshop activities on campus. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
Course Topics
- Science ‘Big Ideas’ and the nature of science and scientific literacy
- The Australian Curriculum: Science (ACS): Science Understanding, Science Inquiry Skills and Science as a Human Endeavour
- Science Pedagogies for Years 7 – 10
- Representations, ICT, literacy and numeracy in science education
- Design, planning and organisation of science lessons, learning sequences, practical experiments and inquiry activities
- Setting learning goals and differentiating teaching for a diversity of students
- General Capabilities and Cross-curriculum Priorities including Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
- Assessment, feedback and reporting in science
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 the Australian Curriculum Science and pedagogical content knowledge to develop science curriculum materials that provide intellectual quality, significance and quality learning environments. |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.5 |
| 2 | Apply knowledge of scientific ideas and laboratory safety procedures to design classroom activities in Science. |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
2.1, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 |
| 3 | Apply knowledge and refer to formative data to cater to diverse student learning needs using a variety of pedagogical strategies, including integration of ICT, literacy and numeracy in learning activities and assessment |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 |
| 4 | Employ effective language, structure and text to communicate curriculum strategies and ideas. |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
3.5
|
* Competencies by Professional Body
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership | |
| 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. |
| 3.1 | 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 |
| 3.6 | Evaluate and improve teaching programs: Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning. |
| 4.1 | Support student participation: Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities. |
| 4.2 | Manage classroom activities: Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions |
| 4.3 | Manage challenging behaviour: Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour. |
| 4.4 | Maintain student safety: Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements. |
| 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. |
| 5.1 | Assess student learning: Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning. |
| 5.2 | Provide feedback to students on their learning: Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning |
| 5.3 | Make consistent and comparable judgements: Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning. |
| 5.4 | Interpret student data: Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching 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 a Biological, Chemical or Psychological Sciences Extended Minor) or (SE303 and a Biological, Chemical or Psychological Sciences Major or Extended Minor) or (ED315 and a Marine Science Major or 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
Task 1 is a group task involving planning and running a science activity suitable for junior secondary students. Your tutor will give you feedback on your one-page activity plan (due Week 3), and your tutor and peers will give you further feedback when you run the activity with your tutorial group (in Week 3, 4 or 5 to 8).
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 | Oral and Written Piece | Group | 25% | 600 word activity plan (individual) plus lead a 20 minute tutorial activity (group). |
Refer to Format | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check and in class |
| All | 2 | Plan | Individual | 35% | 1000 words lesson plan plus 300 words lesson sequence rationale plus appendices |
Week 7 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Essay | Individual | 40% | 1600 words |
Week 10 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Planning and Running a Science Classroom Activity | |
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to demonstrate your ability to plan and deliver constructive, engaging and inclusive science activities |
| Product: | Oral and Written Piece |
| Format: | In a small group you will plan, explain and run an activity designed to help junior secondary students deepen their understanding of a science concept. Your presentation activity and written activity plan will include: • Identification of links between your activity and a science concept. • Identification of links between your activity and the Australian Curriculum: Science. • Demonstrated teaching strategies that support engagement, inclusivity and classroom management in Years 7-9 science. • Demonstration of organisational and communication skills used to plan, present and run a science classroom activity. Submission- Activity Plan: Week 3. Tutorial Activities: Weeks 3 to 8. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 2:Creating a Lesson Plan | |
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to plan a science lesson that fits within an ACS lesson sequence. |
| Product: | Plan |
| Format: | You will use a provided template to design a lesson plan (1000 words) plus at least one original resource (eg. student worksheet, ppt slides, etc) that integrates a science demonstration or experiment in a 70 minute lesson within a lesson sequence. You will write a rationale (300 words) that situates the lesson in a lesson sequence. You cannot repeat any of the same activities you used in Task 1, and you must use technology-enabled learning at some stage of your lesson. You will: • Apply principles of constructive alignment to develop and integrate lesson goals, learning activities and assessment strategies into a lesson plan. • Design a constructive learning sequence with strategies (eg. hands-on science, ICT, literacy, numeracy) to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities. • Use knowledge of student learning, science content and effective teaching strategies to situate your lesson in a lesson sequence. • Plan for classroom management. |
| Criteria: |
|
| All - Assessment Task 3:Lesson Plan Evaluation | |
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to apply education theory and a pedagogical framework to evaluate and develop your Task 2 science lesson. |
| Product: | Essay |
| Format: | Your essay will evaluate your Task 2 lesson plan with reference to the Australian Curriculum: Science (ACS), the Quality Teaching (QT) Framework, and current well-informed education literature to demonstrate: • a working knowledge of Australian Curriculum: Science General Capabilities (ICT, literacy and numeracy) applied to teaching and learning activities • application of the QT pedagogical model and strategies that underpin quality science learning and teaching • application of formative assessment strategies to evaluate learning outcomes |
| 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 1 Weeks 1 - 4 Science for what? |
• The Nature of Science • Thinking with Science Big Ideas • Deepening scientific knowledge and understanding • Misconceptions and alternative conceptions • The Australian Curriculum: Science (ACS) • Curriculum scope and sequence • Organising classroom activities • Curriculum Alignment 1: Curriculum Objectives Ref: The Art of Teaching Science, Chapters 1, 2, 3 & 7; The Australian Curriculum: Science; Canvas Learning Materials |
Module 2 Weeks 5 - 10 The Art and Science of Teaching Science |
• STEM education, Scientific Literacy and Vocational Science • Curriculum Alignment 2: Lesson Goals and pedagogical decisions • STEM education, Scientific Literacy and Vocational Science • Science Pedagogies • Assessment for Learning - purposeful and efficient assessment strategies to support learning and teaching • The Quality Teaching Framework • ACS General Capabilities: Literacy, Numeracy, ICT, Critical and Creative Thinking • ACS Curriculum Priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, Sustainability • Challenging Common Education Myths and Misconceptions Ref: The Art of Teaching Science, Chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; The Australian Curriculum Science; Canvas 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
Please note that you need to have regular access to the resource(s) listed below. Resources may be required or recommended.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Vaille Dawson,Grady Venville,Jennifer Donovan | 2019 | The Art of Teaching Science | 3rd Ed | Routledge |
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