Unit Outline

This unit introduces you to educational psychology and the theories of learning, relating them to contemporary teaching practices. As a result of studying this unit, you will understand why contemporary teaching practice is focused on learning rather than just educational delivery or training, and be able to incorporate this knowledge into your teaching and learning strategies. Various approaches to learning and teaching will be studied, and contextualised within a lesson plan that reflects your own beliefs and values about learning and teaching. This unit will inform and improve your knowledge of foundational and contemporary theories and practices in teaching and learning.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

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


1	analyse major theories of learning as they apply to the learner.
2	plan teaching strategies that respond to the relationship between learning theory and the characteristics of learners.
3	articulate your own learning and teaching philosophy, values and beliefs.
4	apply professional and academic skills to communicate and transfer knowledge to an intended audience.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Developing a Learning and Teaching Philosophy Statement	See the MyLO site for the due date	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Perspectives on Learning	Week 10	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Reflecting our Philosophy of Teaching and Learning Practice	Week 13	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Developing a Learning and Teaching Philosophy Statement

Task Description:

This task is a quiz that will help you to consolidate learning in relation to modules one, two, and three in the unit, in preparation for the development of your learning and teaching philosophy in AT3. You will be required to complete the quiz in three parts over the semester at the culmination of each module.

Further information around this task will be provided in the unit.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 2.1, 3.5

Task Length:

500 word equivalent

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analyse the major theories of learning	LO1
2	Plan teaching strategies that respond to the relationship between learning theory and the characteristics of adolescent/adult learners	LO2
3	Articulate your own learning and teaching philosophy, values and beliefs	LO3
4	Apply professional and academic skills to communicate and transfer knowledge to an intended audience	LO4

Assessment Task 2: Perspectives on Learning

Task Description:

In this task, you will create a presentation using the Screencast-O-Matic application that will demonstrate your understanding of the psychological and social orientations to learning that we cover in Module Two.

The presentation will have a maximum of 12 slides, a running time of 12-15 minutes, and be positioned as if you were explaining these perspectives to new teachers in applied learning settings. Your presentation should include each of the following pproaches to learning:
• Behaviourism
• Cognitivism
• Humanism
• Social Learning

In your presentation, the first slide will contain your name, student ID and title of your presentation. The second slide should contain a brief introduction to the presentation, your personal background, and what will follow in the presentation. This slide would also be a great place to briefly describe the characteristics of your learners. Your last slide should contain your references (small font, 12pt is fine). The remaining slides will focus, in turn, on each theoretical perspective, concluding with a summary where you reflect on your current understandings, values and beliefs.

For each perspective, you will:
a) Outline the key theorists and their constructs.
b) Articulate how you believe learning could be achieved by drawing upon relevant aspects of the perspective. To do this, you should consider something that you teach and use it to demonstrate a construct described by the theorists that you have referred to in the presentation. For those not already teaching, think about skills that you teach in other areas, e.g., at work, or with your own or other’s children.
c) Reflect on your own experiences as a learner (e.g., as part of your own school experiences) and provide an example of your own learning that illustrates each perspective in action.
d) Reflect on your own learning in modules One and Two. How has your own learning been extended through a deeper understanding of these theories?
e) Support your claims with in-text citations (these should match your reference list).

There will be learning activities during the first module to assist you in joining Screencast-O-Matic and build your confidence in creating a presentation using this free application.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 2.1, 3.5, 6.2

Task Length:

1500 words

Due Date:

Week 10

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analyse and reflect on the major theories of learning as they apply to your own and other’s learning (30%)	LO1, LO3
2	Identify strategies that respond to the relationship between learning theory and learner characteristics (30%)	LO2, LO3
3	Reflect on your current understandings, values, and beliefs (30%)	LO1, LO3
4	Apply professional and academic skills to communicate and transfer knowledge to an intended audience (10%)	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Reflecting our Philosophy of Teaching and Learning Practice

Task Description:

This task is comprised of three parts. In the first part, you will continue to develop your learning and teaching philosophy statement. In the second part, you will develop a lesson plan, which will include links to relevant theory, and in the third part you will outline a justification for the choices in the lesson plan, expanding the connections to the theory that you have made there.

In more detail:
In Part A, you will further develop your teaching and learning philosophy statement by incorporating theoretical and other influences on your current way of thinking about teaching. You should do this by drawing on the perspectives of learning covered in Module 1 and 2 and the theoretical approaches to learning covered in Module 3.

In Part B, you will demonstrate how you translate your beliefs into action. In this part you will provide a lesson plan that:
• Responds to the needs of your learners and,
• Reflects your own beliefs about teaching and learning.

In part C you should:
Include a theoretical justification for your chosen learning and teaching strategies. That is, you should describe:
• why you chose to use certain strategies, and as part of this explanation, how they reflect the learning perspectives that we have covered in the unit,
• how the strategies respond to your learners needs
• how they reflect your philosophy of learning and teaching.
This product will provide you, your employer (current or potential) and other interested stakeholders with a picture of your teaching identity and values, your own learning as well as an example of current work and is suitable for inclusion in your Portfolio.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 6.2

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analyse and reflect on the major theories of learning as they apply to your own and other’s learning (30%)	LO1, LO3
2	Analyse the major theories of learning (30%)	LO3
3	Select and justify a range of teaching strategies that respond to the relationship between learning theory and the characteristic needs of the learner (40%)	LO2, LO3
4	Apply professional and academic skills to communicate and transfer knowledge to an intended audience (10%)	LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Gould, J. (2012). Learning theory and classroom practice in the lifelong learning sector (2nd ed.). London: Sage.