Course Outline
EDU793 Teaching Senior Secondary Curriculum
Course Coordinator:David Hills (dhills2@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
In this course, you will develop specialised knowledge and skills for implementing the Queensland Senior Secondary curriculum in your second teaching area. You will learn how to design lesson plans and learning sequences that will engage diverse learners based on critical reflection on current trends in your teaching area. You will explore and evaluate a range of pedagogy, assessment and reporting strategies that maximise learning outcomes for senior students, including developing strategies for supporting literacy, numeracy and ICT learning within your second teaching area.
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 – 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
- History of senior secondary curriculum schooling in Queensland
- Senior secondary syllabus structure and components
- Curriculum design and alignment
- Discipline-specific pedagogical and content knowledge for senior secondary classroom practice
- Teaching and learning strategies that engage senior students
- Diagnostic, formative, summative assessment and reporting
- Literacy, numeracy, ICT and 21st-century skills
- Marking, feedback and moderation
- Interpreting student assessment data to modify teaching
What level is this course?
700 Level (Specialised)
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 and explain content and pedagogy for Senior Secondary curriculum in Queensland. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker |
2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2 |
| 2 | Apply and explain a range of teaching and learning strategies, including ICT, that provide achievable challenges and engage the diversity of students in senior secondary. |
Creative and critical thinker Empowered Engaged |
2.2, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.5 |
| 3 | Explain, evaluate and justify teaching and learning strategies, that incorporate ICT, literacy, numeracy and 21st-century skill for senior secondary students. |
Creative and critical thinker Ethical Engaged |
2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.5 |
| 4 | Plan, create, evaluate and justify the principles of assessment, moderation, feedback and reporting that measure senior students' progress towards achievement standards in senior secondary. |
Creative and critical thinker Empowered Engaged |
2.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5 |
* 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. |
| 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. |
| 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
available to students enrolled in ED706 Master of Teaching (Secondary)
Co-requisites
Not applicable
Anti-requisites
Not applicable
Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)
It is expected that you will engage in this course when you have undertaken tertiary content courses in the teaching area allocated upon acceptance to the program of study. You will be required to draw upon that content knowledge 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
Task 1 will provide feedback on progress during the class.
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 | Individual | 20% | 5-minute presentation and questions 700-word reflection |
Refer to Format | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check and in class |
| All | 2 | Plan | Individual | 40% | 2500 words |
Week 7 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check and in class |
| All | 3 | Portfolio | Individual | 40% | 2500 words |
Week 10 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Subject selection presentation and reflection | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to identify and apply senior secondary curriculum and assessment processes and reflect on your performance to identify future professional development goals and plans. |
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| Product: | Oral and Written Piece | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Submit: Presentation: Tutorial Week 4 Written: Three days following the presentation You have been selected by the Head of Department to attend the senior subject evening to talk to parents and students about the value of your second teaching area subject at an allocated school. In this 5-minute presentation, you will identify and apply the content, underlying philosophy, and pedagogy of the subject, including how it engages senior secondary students. You will answer questions about how the senior secondary subject contributes to the Queensland Certificate of Education and/or ATAR. After the presentation, you will respond to questions from students and parents/ carers. Three days following the presentation, you will prepare a reflection that explores one key area for development related to your ability to organise and engage participants. A reflection framework should be selected and referenced. Include as an appendix your presentation slides or notes. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Annotated unit of work and rationale | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to demonstrate your applied and synthesised knowledge of your senior secondary syllabus, discipline-specific pedagogical and curriculum knowledge. |
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| Product: | Plan | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | Using one of the units from your senior secondary syllabus, design a sequence of 3 lessons that demonstrates your: - Discipline-specific pedagogical and content knowledge for senior secondary classroom practice -The first lesson must include how you will identify where a student is in their learning through assessing what they know, or think they know. -Sequencing content and tasks are to become increasingly challenging. -opportunities to practise. - Range of teaching strategies including literacy and numeracy - Curriculum, planning and teaching strategies that engage senior students and their application in the senior syllabus with reference to the development of 21st-century skills - Capacity to develop learning goals that create achievable challenges - Use of a range of teaching strategies and resources - Understanding of the role of formative assessment in teaching and learning - Understanding of QCAA policies and practices. In your rationale, justify your curriculum, teaching and assessment decisions using references to your syllabus, QCAA processes, relevant academic literature and Australian educational policy documents. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Portfolio Teaching, learning and assessment | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to plan, create, explain and justify the application of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in your senior curriculum area. |
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| Product: | Portfolio | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | Select one summative internal or school-based (teacher-designed) sample assessment task from the QCAA. You will critically analyse the task to demonstrate your ability to apply your understanding of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in your Senior Secondary Curriculum area for an allocated school site. Your portfolio needs to critically analyse the application of this task in the school context based on the syllabus and contemporary literature. Your portfolio needs to include: • Identify how the selected summative assessment task connects to the final grade awarded for this subject. • Analyse the school profile and justify implications for engaging senior secondary students at this school. • Identify the specific classroom level data that you would have available to you as a senior secondary teacher before the commencement of the teaching and assessment related to this task? Explain how you might use this data in your practice? • Critically analyse the sample task identify the strengths and weaknesses of the task for the students at the allocated school based on the syllabus and contemporary literature. • Identify and justify two modifications you would make to this task. • Explain and justify the process quality assurance that relates to the design, development, marking and moderation of this task. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Applying technologies, Information literacy |
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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 | Gobby, B. & Walker, R | 2022 | Powers of Curriculum: Sociological Aspects of Education | 2nd | Oxford |
Specific requirements
It is expected that all students have access to electronic devices and suitable internet access to engage with the course materials. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is required for each tutorial session. Exams will be undertaken using a BYOD.
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: