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Course Outline

EDU383 Teaching Junior Secondary Curriculum

Course Coordinator:Craig Johnston (cjohnston1@usc.edu.au) School:School of Education and Tertiary Access

2027Trimester 1

UniSC Sunshine Coast

UniSC 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

In this course, you will develop specialised knowledge and skills for implementing the ACARA 7-10 curriculum, building capacity to design and recognise effective pedagogy. You will learn how to design lesson plans and learning sequences that will engage diverse learners based on critical reflection on current trends. You will explore and evaluate a range of pedagogy, assessment and reporting strategies that maximise learning outcomes for junior secondary students, including developing strategies for supporting literacy, numeracy and ICT learning.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Blended learning
Learning materials – You are required to engage with asynchronous learning materials, associated activities and required/recommended course reading materials accessed through Canvas and using the required textbooks. 2hrs Week 1 9 times
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – A blended learning approach is used to deliver the workshop component of the course. The workshop is synchronous using technology-enabled learning and teaching experience that involves on-campus engagement and application of learning materials. 2hrs Week 1 10 times

Course Topics

  • Knowledge of the Australian Curriculum 7-10

  • Principles of constructive alignment 

  • Knowledge of how students learn (memory, spacing, retrieval, cognitive overload) 

  • Strategies for establishing challenging and achievable learning goals with students 

  • Teaching strategies that support acquisition of new knowledge (explicit teaching, scaffolding, modelling, worked examples) 

  • Teaching strategies that support application and utilisation of knowledge (rich investigative tasks, inquiry learning, independent problem solving) 

  • Ongoing formative (to determine prior knowledge/ misconceptions, evaluate progress and inform pedagogical planning) and summative assessment strategies, including moderation and reporting 

  • Embedding literacy, numeracy and ICT learning (including safe and ethical use of ICT)

  • Safety, management protocols and risk assessment (where appropriate)  

  • Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in junior secondary

  • Inclusion of diverse learners 

What level is this course?

300 Level (Graduate)

Demonstrating coherence and breadth or depth of knowledge and skills. Independent application of knowledge and skills in unfamiliar contexts. Meeting professional requirements and AQF descriptors for the degree. May require pre-requisites where discipline specific introductory or developing knowledge or skills is necessary. Normally undertaken in the third or fourth full-time study year of an undergraduate program.

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 Identify and apply content and pedagogy for the Australian Curriculum in your second teaching area. Knowledgeable 
2.1, 2.2, 3.1
2 Identify and apply a range of teaching and learning strategies that provide achievable challenges and engage the diversity of students in junior secondary. Engaged
Problem solving 
1.5, 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.5
3 Plan, create, explain and justify principles of assessment, moderation, feedback and reporting, that measure students' progress towards achievement standards in junior secondary. Creative and critical thinker
Problem solving 
2.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
4 Explain and justify planning, resourcing, teaching strategies, responsible and ethical ICT use, literacy, numeracy and 21st century skills developed through the ACARA 7-10 curriculum. Creative and critical thinker
Problem solving 
2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
5 Create effective and professional oral and written communication for classroom and academic purposes using relevant research literature, policy and curriculum documents. Knowledgeable
Communication 
1.4, 1.5, 3.1, 3.3, 3.6

* Competencies by Professional Body

CODE COMPETENCY
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership
1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students: Demonstrate 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.
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.
2.1 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.
3.6 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
4.5 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.

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 or SE303

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Not applicable

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

Early feedback will be provided through examples and scaffolding of the expectations in weeks 1 and 2. Task 1 is due in Week 3 and will be returned before census date.

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 Quiz/zes Individual 15% 
6-8 questions, up to 1000 words
 Week 3 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 2 Written Piece Individual 40% 
1500 words
 Week 7 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 3 Artefact - Creative, and Oral Individual 45% 
20 minutes mini-lesson, 1 page equivalent for the resource, 1 page teaching peer review.
 Refer to Format In Class
All - Assessment Task 1:Curriculum quiz
Goal: 
The goal of this task is to assess your curriculum knowledge for your teaching area.
Product: Quiz/zes
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
You will be given a series of questions related to aspects of the Australian Curriculum (ACARA) that you will answer with reference to your teaching area. The questions will assess your understanding of the rationale of your teaching area, defining features, achievement standards, and the application of general and cross-curriculum priorities.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Identification and application of discipline content in the Australian Curriculum.
 1 2
2 
Identification and application of teaching strategies in junior secondary.
 4
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation
All - Assessment Task 2:Lesson sequencing and planning
Goal: 
The goal of this task is to develop your ability to evaluate a lesson sequence and plan one detailed lesson plan linked to your second teaching area.
Product: Written Piece
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
This task is in two parts.
1. You will be provided with a lesson sequence in your second curriculum area. Analyse and evaluate the lesson sequence using the techniques and strategies discussed in tutorials. Identify potential problems and/or deficiencies in the lesson sequence, which may include the application of direct instruction, scaffolding, retrieval practice, differentiation, and other shortcomings. 
2. Redevelop one lesson plan in full to account for any problems or issues you have identified, including annotations with links to your curriculum.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Apply deep knowledge of practice, pedagogy and curriculum through designing innovative learning sequences that use a range of teaching and learning strategies.
 1 2 3 4
2 
Evaluation and creation of effective learning plans with a range of teaching strategies and resources including ICT, literacy and numeracy, and effective pedagogy suitable for the student cohort.
 2 4
3 
Demonstrate clear written communication skills and academic literacies including English expression grammar, spelling, punctuation, APA referencing conventions.
 2 4
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies
All - Assessment Task 3:Micro-Teaching
Goal: 
The goal of this task is to engage in micro teaching to peers, illustrating and demonstrating understanding of pedagogical approaches submitted in Task 2. You will create and use a resource or artefact in the teaching.
Product: Artefact - Creative, and Oral
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
1.In tutorials during weeks 9 and 10, you will teach a topic of your choice from your curriculum to your peers using pedagogical approaches described in the developed lesson plan from your assessment task 2, using a developed resource. The resource can be a graphic organiser, PowerPoint, activity description, or other artefact, and should be annotated to show your curriculum links and planning process.
2. Engage in a peer review of your colleagues' micro-teaching with regard to their pedagogical techniques, planning, organisation, and communication.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Knowledge and understanding of the pedagogical approaches evident in the Australian Curriculum 7-10
 1 2
2 
Ability to teach your subject evidencing a variety of teaching skills
 2 3 5
3 
Ability to engage professionally in a peer review process to evaluate teaching eprformance.
 2 4
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Applying technologies, Information literacy

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 Roy Killen,Mitch O'Toole 2023 Effective Teaching Strategies 8e n/a Cengage AU

Specific requirements

Not applicable

How are risks managed in this course?

Health and safety risks for this course have been assessed as low. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

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

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: 

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