Course Outline
EDU355 Teaching Senior Secondary Science 2
Course Coordinator:Isaac Coffie (icoffie@usc.edu.au) School:School of Education and Tertiary Access
2026Trimester 2
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 unisc.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 is only for students who have two teaching areas in the senior sciences. You will extend and refine your knowledge of Queensland Curriculum, pedagogy, assessment and reporting of Senior Secondary Science. You will develop skills in designing programs that develop critical and creative thinking skills in your students by engaging them in student-centred, experiential science investigations. Planning and managing science experiments and extended experimental investigations are a feature of this course. You will attend tutorials that are specific to your science minor teaching area.
How will this course be delivered?
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – You are required to engage with a range of weekly materials delivered through Canvas including course recordings, reading materials and activities | 2hrs | Week 1 | 9 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – On campus engagement and application of learning materials | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
Course Topics
- Queensland Senior Science curricula
- Curriculum planning and alignment of content, pedagogy and assessment for senior science
- Teaching and learning strategies for engagement of diverse learners in science
- Assessment and reporting practices in senior science
- Facilitating engaging experimental investigations for your students
- Classroom safety and risk assessment
- Integrating resources including information and communication technologies (ICT) into science curriculum
- Literacy and numeracy in senior science
- Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, culture and knowledge in senior science curriculum
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 | Demonstrate your application of science content and Senior Science curriculum knowledge in developing science inquiry sequences, teaching and learning activities and assessment. |
Creative and critical thinker Engaged |
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 |
| 2 | Apply knowledge of teaching and learning strategies that support the diversity of learners communication in senior science. |
Creative and critical thinker Engaged |
2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1 |
| 3 | Develop and apply understandings of principles of assessment and reporting that monitor senior students' levels of achievement and progress in senior Science. |
Creative and critical thinker Engaged |
5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 |
| 4 | Apply knowledge of planning, resourcing, teaching, and managing to create learning experiences for students of Senior Secondary Science |
Creative and critical thinker Engaged |
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.1 |
| 5 | Employ effective language, structure and text to communicate curriculum strategies and ideas. | Knowledgeable |
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. |
| 2.4 | Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians: Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages. |
| 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 |
| 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. |
| 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 |
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 SE303 and two of the following- Biological Sciences and Chemical Sciences major or Extended Minor
Co-requisites
EDU353
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
It is expected that students engaging in this course have undertaken tertiary science content courses that will be drawn upon to complete this course.
Microcredential Information
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
In Week 2 you will lead a (formative) group conversation similar to Task 1 for practice and feedback.
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 | Individual | 25% | 10 minutes |
Refer to Format | In Class |
| All | 2 | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 30% | 60 minutes |
Week 9 | In Class |
| All | 3 | Portfolio | Individual | 45% | 1800 words |
Week 10 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Leading a science demonstration and class discussion | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to demonstrate your capacity to engage students with Science through demonstrations and discussion.For students who do two science teaching areas this task is for teaching area 2. For example, if you do a Biological Sciences major and a Chemistry minor then this will be a chemistry task |
||||||||||||
| Product: | Oral | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | Submit: Week 4 or 5. You are taking the role of a teacher of senior students who is presenting a demonstration stimulus (real, modelled or virtual) linked to the subject matter and inquiry pedagogy of your 2019 QCAA senior syllabus; including cognitive verbs and 21st Century skills. Following the demonstration you will facilitate a class discussion that links the demonstration to the subject matter. The purpose of this is to develop your ability to facilitate a class discussion using Socratic questioning or a substantive conversation, to engage every student in the discussion, and to guide the discussion towards desired outcomes linked to your curriculum. |
||||||||||||
| Criteria: |
|
||||||||||||
| Generic Skills: | Communication, Collaboration |
||||||||||||
| All - Assessment Task 2:Examination | |||||||
| Goal: | The purpose of this task is to demonstrate your subject-specific curriculum and pedagogical content knowledge and skills |
||||||
| Product: | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | You will complete a short answer quiz in week 9, to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of topics from your tutorials including: • Science pedagogical and content knowledge for senior secondary classroom practice • Science inquiry learning, curriculum, planning and teaching strategies that engage senior science students and their application in the senior Science syllabuses • Ethical and responsible selection and use of resources including ICT • Purpose of formative assessment and feedback to students (including feedback, moderation and reporting) • Personal reflection on practice This task may include a laboratory skills assessment |
||||||
| Criteria: |
|
||||||
| Generic Skills: | Communication, Organisation |
||||||
| All - Assessment Task 3:Inquiry Science Portfolio | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to demonstrate your understanding of science inquiry learning and how to integrate inquiry in student experiments using a 21st Century approach and skills. |
|||||||||||||||
| Product: | Portfolio | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | This task is for teaching area 2. For example, if you do a Biological Sciences major and a Chemical Sciences minor then this will be a chemistry task Prepare a portfolio that identifies, describes and justifies inquiry learning in school science that includes: • an overview of inquiry learning for Queensland science students • a range of inquiry approaches to suggested and mandatory practicals from your QCAA senior syllabus that include 21st Century Skills • a brief analysis of what knowledge and skills students require for the QCAA senior science Student experiment or Research investigation. Note: this must be different from what you choose in Teaching Senior Secondary Science 1. • an original, engaging three lesson sequence that demonstrates appropriate application of an inquiry approach to a QCAA senior science student experiment or research investigation assessment • A justification of your choice of resources, teaching strategies, and how you will challenge all students • A description of diagnostic or formative assessment as appropriate, including an explanation and justification of the feedback process you will use with students throughout the lesson sequence. |
|||||||||||||||
| Criteria: |
|
|||||||||||||||
| Generic Skills: | Communication, Organisation, Applying technologies |
|||||||||||||||
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.
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
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Vaille Dawson,Grady Venville,Jennifer Donovan | 2019 | The Art of Teaching Science | n/a | Routledge |
Specific requirements
You will need a lab coat for tutorials You will need to successfully complete a laboratory induction quiz in week 1 prior to attending tutorials
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:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
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 submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
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
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: