Unit Outline

This unit provides a range of strategies to cater for students with diverse needs in learning mathematics. The learning needs may include: difficulties directly related to the learning of mathematics, such as dyscalculia; difficulties that are not directly related to mathematics, such as literacy obstacles; or other learning differences, such as those which stem from cultural differences or exceptionality. The range of students also includes those who are gifted in learning mathematics. The unit is based on two justifiable premises: first, that all students are able to engage successfully with an appropriately challenging mathematics curriculum but may do so in different ways; and second, that teachers have a responsibility to provide high quality learning experiences, supported by pedagogical reasoning, to all students.

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	reflect on the necessary attitudes and professional values needed in order to meet the diverse learning needs of students in mathematics classrooms, including a commitment to social justice, inclusion, engagement and achievement.
2	design, develop and justify mathematical learning experiences, including assessment, for students with diverse learning needs.
3	analyse and synthesise scholarly literature relevant to identifying and catering for the diverse needs of students and apply that knowledge in the context of mathematics teaching and learning.
4	communicate in written and oral forms in a scholarly manner and engage in constructive discussion with peers.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	(ESH220 - Primary and Early Childhood Mathematics Pedagogy) OR (EPR220 - Primary Mathematics Pedagogy) OR (EES162 - Foundations of Numeracy Support)

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:	Discussion Posts (option for discussion boards or online synchronous discussion workshops)	Week 5	30 %	LO1, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Planning for Inclusion	Week 8	40 %	LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Designing a Task to Meet Individual Needs Using AI	Week 11	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Discussion Posts (option for discussion boards or online synchronous discussion workshops)

Task Description:

You will be required to engage in two fortnightly discussions about a key issue related to required reading sand reflect upon literature relevant to diversity and inclusion in teaching and learning mathematics. At the commencement of each of the two fortnightly discussions, a question or issue will be provided to initiate your thinking.

You can choose to participate in the discussion either face to face in two synchronous online tutorials (one for Weeks 1-2 and the other for Weeks 3-4) or online in discussion forums in MyLO. The online discussion forums in MyLO will be open for two weeks at a time (Weeks 1-2 and Weeks 3-4) and you will be expected to complete your posts by 3:00pm (Hobart time) on the Monday in weeks 3 and 5 respectively.

Students in the face to face synchronous online tutorials will be expected to participate in small group discussions that will be monitored by the tutor. Students posting in the discussion forums in MyLO will be expected to post their responses and reactions to group members with constructive feedback. Unit staff will also engage in providing feedback to groups. This feedback may be used by students to make any moderations to posts as they wish.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1

Task Length:

1200 words (2 x 600 word summary reflections).

Due Date:

Week 5

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Reflect on the professional values and attitudes appropriate to supporting and enabling inclusion in teaching and learning mathematics (40%)	LO1
2	Interpret meaning from scholarly texts in relation to inclusive practices and relate these meanings to learning in mathematics (30%)	LO3
3	Evaluate each other’s online responses and provide constructive feedback (20%)	LO4
4	Use appropriate communication skills for the intended purpose (10%)	LO4

Assessment Task 2: Planning for Inclusion

Task Description:

You will be provided with a selection of unit plans for different year groups that provide the ACARA content descriptors, the context of each class and the prior knowledge of the students. Choose one of these unit plans to work with and plan the first lesson in the unit in relation to the given content descriptor for that age group. Your lesson plan should accommodate the three tiers of Response to Intervention (RTI) support. Tier 1 Whole class instruction should accommodate a range of abilities based on Tomlinson's model: Content, Process and Product. Tier 2 should relate to small group instructional intervention and target the learning of a group of 5 to 6 students who are struggling. Tier 3 should relate to an Intensive intervention targeting a small group 2-3 students who require remedial support.

Associate degree students should prepare a plan for a Tier 3 intensive intervention for a small remedial group.

In the lesson plan you should:
•Align the ACARA content descriptor with your SMART objective(s) for the lesson.
•Include key teaching points and focus questions that align with the objectives and allow for different levels of learning.
•Indicate criteria in relation to expected learning in order to assess students at different levels of learning.
•Include teaching strategies and learning activities that will promote equity and support inclusion for all students in the class.

You should include a rationale that explains the alignment of objectives to differentiated outcomes of students and justifies how your intended teaching approaches will support equity and inclusion for each tier. The rationale should refer to relevant literature on models of inclusions and teaching approaches.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.4, 4.1

Task Length:

Lesson/intervention plan: 1000 words; Rationale: 600 words.

Due Date:

Week 8

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrate knowledge for teaching mathematics by aligning curriculum content to diverse needs in mathematics appropriately (30%)	LO2
2	Plan for teaching approaches that will promote inclusion in mathematics learning (40%)	LO2
3	Use scholarly literature to justify your choices of teaching content and approaches in the context of diverse student populations (15%)	LO3
4	Use appropriate communication skills to present plans and to reflect analytically (15%)	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Designing a Task to Meet Individual Needs Using AI

Task Description:

Task design is a key aspect of teaching in shaping materials, examples and questions that will support learning. Task design becomes even more critical when we are catering for a student with a specific learning need. Many educators are now turning to Generative AI tools to support the planning and design of tasks.

In this Assessment Task, you are required to plan a task that will support students with a specific individual need such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, EAL/D or for students who are gifted using a Generative AI tool. You may use ChatGPT, CoPilot or other systems that you are comfortable with.

Choose a year group and ACARA content descriptor within a chosen topic and use the prompt: “Generate a (#)-minute plan for (chosen year) that aligns with (ACARA content and topic details).” You should then continue to adjust and refine the details with the AI in relation to the specific student need and the mathematics topic.

Guidance and examples will be provided in the unit content.

You should submit the task including the prompts and key phrases that you used to generate and then adjust the task, including screenshots where relevant.

You should then critique (1) the efficacy of the Generative AI tool in generating the plan for the task and (2) the adaptations that you made in supporting students with the specific need in relation to the mathematics topic.

You should refer to literature to support your critique.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.4, 4.1

Task Length:

1200 words

Due Date:

Week 11

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrate knowledge of mathematics and teaching practices that will support specific learning needs by adjusting and refining AI generated task design (30%)	LO1
2	Present and critique learning activities that will promote inclusion in mathematics learning (30%)	LO2
3	Use scholarly literature critique effectiveness of task design (30%)	LO3
4	Use appropriate analytical communication skills (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