Course Coordinator:Michael Carey (mcarey@usc.edu.au) School:School of Education and Tertiary Access
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.
This course develops your personal proficiency in, and knowledge of, the structure and usage of the English language and concepts of literacy acquisition. You will acquire knowledge of the different functions of language, textual features, traditional and functional grammar terms, and aspects of language and literacy acquisition. You will develop awareness of the essential role that English language and literacy plays from early childhood through to the secondary school years.
Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
Blended learning | |||
Learning materials – Learning materials will be provided online to be completed each week. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 9 times |
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Face-to-face on-campus tutorial. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 10 times |
700 Level (Specialised)
12 units
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 advanced knowledge of English language structures and literacy |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker |
1, 1.2, 2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 5, 5.2 |
2 | Reflect and critically analyse personal experience of language and literacy learning and the literature on the evolution of language and literacy teaching. |
Creative and critical thinker Empowered |
1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.5, 3.6, 6, 6.1, 6.2 |
3 | Evaluate and adapt your personal English language and literacy competencies and needs for development. |
Knowledgeable Engaged |
2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5, 6, 6.1, 6.2 |
4 | Communicate proficiently using appropriate, coherent and cohesive English language at whole text, word and sentence level. |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
2.5, 3.5, 7, 7.1 |
CODE | COMPETENCY |
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership | |
1 | PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE: Know students and how they learn |
1.2 | Understand how students learn: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching. |
1.3 | Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds: Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. |
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. |
2.5 | Literacy and numeracy strategies: Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas. |
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. |
5 | PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: Assess, provide feedback and report on 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 |
6 | PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT: Engage in professional learning |
6.1 | Identify and plan professional learning needs: Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs. |
6.2 | Engage in professional learning and improve practice: Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers |
7 | PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT: Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community |
7.1 | Meet professional ethics and responsibilities: Understand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession. |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
A low-weighted (20%) written task (task 1) will provide early feedback on your knowledge of the course content, academic literacy and your communicative competency. Weekly blended learning activities will provide ongoing feedback to develop your language awareness from week 2 to week 8. Short, weekly quizzes on each weekly topic (Task 2a) will provide you with ongoing feedback on conceptual understanding of the learning materials.
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 | Written Piece | Individual | 20% | 1000 words |
Week 4 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All | 2a | Quiz/zes | Individual | 15% | Fifteen-to twenty minute quizzes due weekly on Friday by 5 p.m. |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | Online Test (Quiz) |
All | 2b | Quiz/zes | Individual | 25% | Over 8 weeks you will complete 10 activities and that take approximately one hour each to complete. |
Week 8 | Online Test (Quiz) |
All | 3 | Report | Individual | 40% | 1500 words |
Week 10 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All - Assessment Task 1:Personal reflection | |||||||||||||
Goal: | To personally reflect upon your English language learning experience in relation to articles which describe the current and past history of English language teaching in Australia. |
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Product: | Written Piece | ||||||||||||
Format: | Context: Your English language learning experience. Student’s role: Reflect personally. Audience: Your tutor. Mode: written. Medium: Reflective essay. Text type: Personal response in the first person but in an academic register. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Organisation, Information literacy |
All - Assessment Task 2a:Learning material quizzes | |||||||
Goal: | To consolidate your learning of the concepts presented in learning materials as nested assessment. |
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Product: | Quiz/zes | ||||||
Format: | Context: Your understanding of concepts delivered in the Learning Materials. Student’s role: Complete 9 quizzes; one in each week during weeks 1-9. Each quiz is due by Friday 5 pm each week from weeks 1-9. Mode: Canvas quizzes. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Problem solving |
All - Assessment Task 2b:MyLab Writing | |||||||
Goal: | To apply your knowledge of four components of written English language: metalanguage and parts of speech; sentence level grammar; English punctuation, and English usage and style. |
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Product: | Quiz/zes | ||||||
Format: | Your English language knowledge. Student’s role: complete formative (graded) grammar activities. Mode: online. Medium: multiple choice and short response quizzes. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving |
All - Assessment Task 3:Phonological development report | |||||||||||||
Goal: | To critically analyse phonological development theory and synthesize this theory into the evaluation of, and formative feedback on an early learner's writing sample. |
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Product: | Report | ||||||||||||
Format: | Context: Critical analysis of phonological development theory and its application to practice. Student’s role: Critically analyse phonological development theory and apply theory to the assessment and feedback of an early learner's writing sample. Mode: 1500 word written report. |
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Criteria: |
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Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation |
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.
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.
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 |
Recommended | Lester Faigley,Gabriella Munoz,Michael Carey | 2017 | The Little Pearson Handbook | 4th Australasian edition | n/a |
Students require access to the internet and a laptop or PC to do assessment tasks on this course. For assessment task 2b, students will need to buy a MyLab Writing licence. Details of how to purchase the resource will be provided closer to the commencement of classes.
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.
Supplementary Assessment 5.1 A student’s eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent on the following conditions applying: (a) the final mark is in the percentage range 47 per cent to 49.4 per cent; and (b) the course is graded using the Standard Grading scale. 5.2 Supplementary assessment is not a possible outcome of a Review of Final Grade. Where the review process requires the student to complete additional assessment to reach a determination on an appropriate final mark and grade, an interim notation of Alternative Exam (AE) or Alternative Assessment – other (AO) is applied. 5.3 Students whose final mark is less than 47 per cent at the time of the official release of grades will not become eligible for supplementary assessment should an application for a review of final grade result in an adjusted final mark in the range of 47 to 49.4 per cent.
7.8.2 Late submission of assessment tasks will be penalised at the following maximum rate (the rates are cumulative): (a) five percent (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; (b) 10 percent (of the assessment task’s identified value) for the third day; (c) 20 percent (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; and (d) a result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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