EUB129 Introduction to Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment: Double Degree

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Online

Overview

This unit is the first of two units in the double degree that focus on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in your first teaching area. In this unit, you will be introduced to national and state curricular documents, pedagogic frameworks and assessment (formative, diagnostic and summative) and theories that inform contemporary teacher practice. You will learn how to plan a lesson in your first teaching area using knowledge of student learning, curriculum sources, teaching strategies, and assessment responsive to student needs. You will have opportunities to observe, and reflect on,  classroom practice. The unit provides a foundation further developed through professional experiences and child and adolescent learning units.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. 1. Demonstrate understanding of national and state curricula, taxonomies for educational objectives, pedagogic frameworks and assessment strategies that will inform the design of learning sequences and lesson plans.
2. Make inferences from observations and evidence of learning from site visits (physical or virtual) to identify implications for teaching.
3. Design, iteratively develop, and reflect on learning experiences.
4. Demonstrate knowledge and application of professional and ethical conduct for the teaching profession.

Content

Learning Approaches

In this unit, you will learn through engaging in the following: 

• workshops (face to face)  that will be supported by online learning resources
• individual research and readings
• collaborative activities with peers
• observations of classroom practice
• reflections on classroom practice
  
  

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

 Feedback in this unit is provided to you in  the following ways:

• Individual and collaborative reflection on lesson planning at workshops;
• Collaborative activities and discussions;
• Peer and tutor feedback during workshop activities;
• Self-assessment using the criteria and standards for the summative assessment tasks; and
• Formal feedback on summative assessment tasks.

Assessment

Overview

There are two assessment items in this unit. One  task is a draft lesson plan and accompanying risk assessment while the other assessment item is an adjusted lesson plan with annotations and reflections.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Draft lesson plan

Your task is to design a lesson planning document for a class in a year level between years 7 and 10 that aligns with the Australian Curriculum in your first teaching area. The lesson planning document must incorporate clear learning goals and success criteria and must include an introductory activity to orient students to the lesson. You will also submit a risk assessment for your lesson, taking into consideration safety and risk in your learning environment.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Threshold Assessment:

You must achieve a passing grade (4) on each individual assessment task to successfully pass this unit.

Assessment: Portfolio

This assessment task comprises two parts:

Part A -An adjusted lesson planning document

You will draw on the unit content, classroom observations and your own reflections to revise your lesson planning document and risk assessment that you submitted in the first assessment task in the unit.  Using your knowledge and understanding of  curriculum in your first teaching area, pedagogic frameworks and assessment strategies, along with relevant academic and professional literature, you will be required to annotate your planning document to justify how these changes could improve student engagement and learning in the lesson.

Part B-Reflection

You are required to draw on your classroom observations, the unit content, your adjusted lesson planning document from Part A, and your own experiences to reflect on how to engage students and enhance their learning.

This is an assignment for the purposes of an extension.

Threshold Assessment:

You must achieve a passing grade (4) on each individual assessment task to successfully pass this unit.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Requirements to Study

Blue Card

A blue card is required to complete this unit. A blue card confirms that you have passed a screening of your criminal history (the Working with Children Check) and have been approved to work with children and young people. For more information on the blue card and how to apply please visit the QUT website.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out-of-the-ordinary risks associated with general participation in this unit. Workplace Health and Safety protocols associated with computer use will apply.