Unit Outline

This unit is designed for students who wish to gain experience and skills to prepare them for teaching in rural locations within Tasmania, or remote locations in other Australian states or international locations, where schools may be small and classes comprised of students who have varied levels of prior education and experience. The unit is taught in 3 modules: Cultural and social dimensions of teaching in rural and remote communities, including language challenges and cultural adaptability; strategies for working effectively with the community; and differentiating curriculum for a diverse range of learners; and differentiating curriculum for multi-grade classrooms.

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	identify and analyse practical and ethical issues related to a teachers work in socio-economically and culturally diverse communities, including remote indigenous communities.
2	discuss and evaluate key cultural features of community identity, including indigenous perspectives.
3	examine and apply a range of strategies to differentiate curriculum to meet the needs of a diverse range of students.
4	engage with the literature which informs the theoretical frameworks for leadership and learning in communities of inquiry and use multiple source types to evaluate different perspectives.

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:	Quiz - Cultural and Social Dimensions of Teaching	See the MyLO site for the due date	5 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Weekly Discussion Group Participation and Reflection	See the MyLO site for the due date	45 %	LO1, LO2, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Differentiated Lesson Planning	See the MyLO site for the due date	50 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Quiz - Cultural and Social Dimensions of Teaching

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 differentiated lesson plan in AT3. You will be required to complete the quiz in three parts over the semester at the culmination of each module.

Further details about this task will be available in the unit.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 3.4, 3.5, 6.3, 7.3, 7.4

Task Length:

500 word equivalent

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

5 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Consider student need in socio-economically and culturally diverse communities	LO1, LO2, LO3
2	Identify practical and ethical issues for teaching in diverse communities	LO1

Assessment Task 2: Weekly Discussion Group Participation and Reflection

Task Description:

In this task you will be asked to reflect on your personal beliefs and values in combination with the knowledge gained in the first part of the unit (during modules 1 and 2). This task has two parts.

Part A:
Each week you and your group members will respond to a question that will be posted on the MyLO discussion board in relation to cultural awareness, language, and community involvement.
In the discussions, you will need to:
• present initial thoughts about the topic drawn from readings and your own views
• pose other questions, ideas, or issues to stimulate discussion in the group; and
• respond to comments and questions posed by other group members.
In your discussion posts, you should maintain an academic and professional tone. You may write in first person, but other academic standards of written expression should be observed.

Part B: At the conclusion of the discussion period (Week 7) you should submit a 1000-word reflection that considers your future teaching practice. As part of this you should:
• Outline how the discussion and interpretation of literature has altered your perspectives on rural and
remote education
• Justify your reflection using the academic literature, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, and
peer feedback
• Consider the implications of this learning for your future professional practice

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.4, 6.3, 7.1, 7.3

Task Length:

1500 words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

45 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Reflect on personal beliefs and values, combined with new knowledge and understanding, and consideration of the implications this has for professional practice (30%)	LO1, LO2
2	Engage with peers to extend knowledge (30%)	LO1, LO2
3	Explore teacher impact in schools and in the wider community (30%)	LO4
4	Demonstrate professional language and literacy skills, using appropriate academic writing conventions and APA referencing (10%)	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Differentiated Lesson Planning

Task Description:

Within your current or intended curriculum area, you are to utilise the backwards lesson planning scaffold to design a teaching sequence that demonstrates:
• differentiation in the presentation of curriculum and materials
• the teaching pedagogy used to support learning, and
• opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning.

The plan is to incorporate in the relevant sections:
• a rationale that explains the demographics of your host class, and how it caters for three different ability levels
• justification for the teaching sequence, and
• clear consideration of literature from the field of curriculum differentiation.

The plan should be based on a class scenario involving students in at least three grade levels (for primary and secondary classes) -or three different ability levels (for Applied Learning and similar situations). N.B. This task will be modified as appropriate for students who are from the primary teaching area or who are not in a teaching role

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST)
1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 4.1, 7.1

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Respond to the diverse needs of students to differentiate learning (30%)	LO2, LO3
2	Apply consideration of practical and ethical issues for teaching in diverse communities (30%)	LO1
3	Justify range of teaching strategies (30%)	LO1, LO2, LO3
4	Demonstrate professional language and literacy skills, using appropriate academic writing conventions and APA referencing (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.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

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.

Required Resources

Required reading materials