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USQ Home > Programs and Courses > 2013 USQ Course specifications > EDG2000 Designing for Learning

EDG2000 Designing for Learning

Semester 2, 2013 On-campus Toowoomba
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Education
School or Department : Education
Version produced : 11 April 2013

Contents on this page

Staffing

Examiner: Michele McGill
Moderator: Peter McIlveen

Requisites

Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: GDTL or GDTO

Other requisites

Students must be available for a prescribed period of time to undertake a placement in a school or other approved site as required in this course. State law in Queensland (Australia) requires that all adults working/undertaking professional experience/researching with children under the age of 18, in the state of Queensland are required to possess a current suitability card (Blue Card). (See "Other Requirements" for further information.) Also see: http://www.usq.edu.au/educational/profexp/bluecard

Rationale

Today's learners demand a curriculum and associated learning activities which are relevant and will enable them to gain skills which will be of use in the years beyond schooling. Teachers are working in increasingly complex contexts; they need to be sensitive to and skilled in responding to sociocultural diversity and students' unique skills and needs. Understandings of how learning occurs, of the relationship between physical and cognitive development, of similarities and differences between learners, and of the influence of the context within which the learner develops enable educators to make pedagogical decisions relevant to the teaching and learning environment. These understandings impact directly on the teacher's behaviour, their planning, curriculum and authentic assessment practices. Beginning teachers require access to a framework for effective planning and teaching and to a suite of effective teaching strategies in order to be able to plan and implement meaningful educational experiences for and with their students.

Synopsis

Through this course pre-service educators are introduced to basic concepts and developmental issues connected to research and the skills and strategies of observation necessary to apply these to an educational setting. The influence of the similarities and differences in both learners and learning environments will be explored in relation to effective educational practice. They will explore the range of social and political forces that interact to shape the nature of educational contexts and environments within educational sites. Students will begin to explore a range of planning styles, ranging from single lessons to a sequence of learning, with provisions made for diversity among learners. The course aims to provide opportunities for students to develop their general teaching skills and pedagogical content knowledge through systematic reflection: the integration of assessment (for & of learning), content, learning and teaching. The course provides for 15 days of Professional Experience to an identified school.

Objectives

The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course. The assessment item(s) that may be used to assess student achievement of an objective are shown in parenthesis. On completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. demonstrate knowledge of social cognitive and constructivist views of learning and behavioural views of learning and developmental concepts (Assignment 1 or 2)
  2. develop an understanding of the forms of intelligence, cognitive styles and abilities which contribute to student learning and diversity. (Assignment 1 or 2)
  3. relate relevant theories to effective teaching practice (Assignment 1 or 2)
  4. demonstrate knowledge of the socio-cultural, legislative, systemic and educational contexts that inform quality teaching for diversity (Assignment 1 or 2)
  5. design plans for teaching and learning and reflect on these in a systematic fashion (Assignment 3 and Professional Experience)
  6. apply a framework for effective teaching as a guideline for their own practice (Assignment 3 and Professional Experience)
  7. plan appropriate learning experiences from appropriate curriculum frameworks (Assignment 3 and Professional Experience)
  8. demonstrate awareness of the differences between assessment of and for learning (Assignment 1 or 2 and Professional Experience)
  9. demonstrate knowledge of appropriate ICT uses for teaching, learning & assessment (Assignment 3 and Professional Experience)
  10. demonstrate an understanding and application of critical reflection to their own practice as learners and their developing role as a professional educator. (Assignment 2 and Professional Experience)
  11. demonstrate competence in and appropriate use of language and literacy, including spelling, grammar, punctuation and bibliographic referencing. (All assessments)

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Behavioural, cognitive and social constructivist views of learning 10.00
2. Physical, personal, social and moral development 10.00
3. Socio-cultural influences on individuals, schools and education 10.00
4. Frameworks for effective teaching 10.00
5. Short-term planning for teaching and learning 10.00
6. Selecting teaching strategies and resources, including ICTs 10.00
7. Introduction to alignment of assessment, pedagogy and curriculum 10.00
8. Principles of authentic and valid assessment 10.00
9. Formative and summative assessment 10.00
10. Application of social justice principles to assessment issues 10.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from USQ's Online Bookshop (unless otherwise stated). (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/bookweb/subject.cgi?year=2013&sem=02&subject1=EDG2000)

Please contact us for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/contact/)
  • Churchill, R. et al 2013, Teaching - Making a Difference, 2nd edn, John Wiley & Sons, Australia.
  • McGill, M., & McIlveen, P 2012, Unpacking the Case: Designing for Learning, 2nd edn, Pearson Education Australia, French's Forest. NSW.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
  • Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D 2006, Strategies and models for teachers: teaching content and thinking skills, 5th edn, Pearson Education, Boston.
  • Fetherston, T 2007, Becoming an effective teacher, Thomson Learning, South Melbourne.
  • Frangenheim, E 2007, Reflections on classroom thinking strategies, 9th edn, Rodin Educational Consultancy, Loganholme.
  • Kellough, R 2007, A resource guide for teaching K-12, 6th edn, Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
  • Killen, R 2009, Effective teaching strategies: lessons from research and practice, 5th edn, Thomson Social Science Press, South Melbourne, VIC.
  • Woolfolk, A 2013, Educational Psychology, 12th edn, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW.
  • Whether you are on, or off campus, the USQ Library is an excellent source of information http://www.usq.edu.au/library. The gateway to education resources is here ... http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/facultyguides/education/default.htm.

Student workload requirements

Activity Hours
Directed Study 80.00
Independent Study 80.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
PRACTICUM 1 1 16 Jul 2013 (see note 1)
ASSIGNMENT 1 CASE RESPONSE 1 30 30 12 Aug 2013
ASSIGNMENT 2 CASE RESPONSE 2 30 30 09 Sep 2013
ASSIGNMENT 3 40 39 28 Oct 2013

NOTES
  1. A mark of one (1) indicates you have passed the Professional Experience component. A mark of zero (0) indicates you have not passed the Professional Experience component. Professional Placement should be conducted as per the Professional Experience Calendar unless approval has been granted by the Course Examiner.

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    ONC: It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities scheduled for them including discussion fora, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. It is the student's responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in the induction sessions.

    ONLINE: There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to participate appropriately in all activities including discussion fora scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. It is the student's responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in the induction sessions.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks.

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    If students submit assignments after the due date without (prior) approval of the examiner then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded. No assignments will be accepted after model answers have been posted.

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course and must satisfactorily complete the sector-based professional experience.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination in this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    As there are no examinations in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

  8. University Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au/portal/custom/search/category/usq_document_policy_type/Student.1.html.

Assessment notes

  1. APA style is the referencing system required in this course. Students should use APA style in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide. http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/referencing/apa

Other requirements

  1. Students will require access to e-mail and have Internet access to UConnect for this course.

  2. IMPORTANT NOTE: Working with Children: State law in Queensland requires that all adults (including university students, pre-service educators, trainers, vocational teachers, industry educators) working with children under the age of 18, in the state of Queensland*, obtain approval before commencing such work. Many education courses include a practical component (professional experience, project work, research, assessment etc.) that may require engagement with children under the age of 18. It is your responsibility to ensure that you possess a current suitability card (Blue Card) before commencing any practical components of this course. DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE WITH CHILDREN UNDER 18 UNLESS YOU POSSESS A CURRENT ‘BLUE CARD’. For further information: http://www.usq.edu.au/education/profexp/bluecard and http://www.ccypcg.qld.gov.au/bluecard/index.html
    *If you are undertaking practical experience outside the state of Queensland, Australia you should check local requirements.
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