Unit Outline

This unit is designed to provide students with an understanding of the subject disciplines, History and Geography, in the primary school. Students will learn about key aspects of historical and geographical knowledge and understanding and skills and how such knowledge can be transformed into classroom practice. Emphasis will be given to learning about and applying Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) skills and to developing understanding of the importance of fieldwork in History and Geography. There will be a brief examination of two of the Australian Curriculum Cross-Curriculum perspectives, Asia and Australias engagement with Asia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders histories and cultures. Students will gain an understanding of how to adapt existing curriculum documents to specific teaching contexts. Students will design teaching and learning activities and experience a variety of teacher- and student-centred teaching and learning strategies, and the development of shared resources for History and Geography teaching. Students will improve their research skills and knowledge of available teaching and learning resources, and evaluate their age appropriateness for the classroom.

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	Design effective teaching and learning activities for primary students (F-6) that are consistent with the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences.
2	Create learning resources, which may include ICT resources, which support primary students’ understanding of content and skills from the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences.
3	Evaluate teaching resources and learning sequences based on an understanding of age- and subject-appropriate pedagogies.
4	Incorporate theoretical and professional literature to communicate ideas about teaching the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences in the primary school.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Concurrent Pre-requisite	EMT502

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Greater attention has been paid to developing students' content knowledge and pedagogical expertise through experiential learning activities.

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:	Understanding the Curriculum	See the MyLO site for the due date	20 %	LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Planning for Primary History	See the MyLO site for the due date	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Planning for Primary Geography	See the MyLO site for the due date	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Understanding the Curriculum

Task Description:

Explain the structure of the Australian Curriculum: HASS (F-6).

In your response, you should refer to:
• Knowledge and Understanding Strand
• Skills Strand
• Year Level Descriptions
• Achievement Standards

Provide examples, where appropriate, from one (or more) of the Year Levels within the curriculum.

Your response must adhere to academic writing conventions (i.e., formal academic prose and appropriate APA referencing).

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

Task Length:

500 words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrate understanding of the structure and scope of the Australian Curriclum: HASS (F-6) (40%)	LO4
2	Use examples from the Australian Curriculum: HASS strands to explain the structure and scope of the curriculum requirements (30%)	LO4
3	Communicate ideas through appropriate use of academic writing conventions (academic language and APA referencing) and justify arguments with reference to theoretical and professional literature (30%)	LO4

Assessment Task 2: Planning for Primary History

Task Description:

Part A (approximately 750 words):
Design a lesson (approximately 45 minutes duration) related to the Australian Curriculum: HASS Year 4 content description:
The effects of contact with other people on First Nations Australians and their Countries/Places following the arrival of the First Fleet and how this was viewed by First Nations Australians as an invasion.

The lesson is to be introductory in nature and should be designed with consideration of the historical thinking capabilities of children in this age group. Your lesson should also make use of at least three (3) historical sources (primary and/or secondary sources) as teaching/learning resources. Include the sources you use in your assignment (i.e., as an appendix), as well as a short description each source.

Part B (approximately 1000 words):
Provide a written evaluation of your lesson discussing the lesson’s key features and your rationale for your planning choices. Your evaluation should discuss:
• how your lesson links to the Australian Curriculum: HASS (F-6)
• the teaching strategies you have employed
• the historical thinking capabilities of young children
• how you will teach this lesson with cultural sensitivity

Your response must adhere to academic writing conventions (i.e., formal academic prose and appropriate APA referencing of theoretical and professional literature).

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2,1.4,2.1,2.2,2.3 2.6,3.3,3.4

Task Length:

1750 words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Design teaching and learning activities that are consistent with the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (20%)	LO1
2	Create learning resources that support student learning (20%)	LO2
3	Illustrate understanding of Historical knowledge (20%)	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
4	Evaluate teaching resources and/or learning sequences based on an understanding of age- and subject- appropriate pedagogies (20%)	LO3
5	Communicate ideas through the appropriate use of academic writing conventions and justify arguments with reference to theoretical and professional literature (20%)	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Planning for Primary Geography

Task Description:

Part A (approximately 750 words) Design a geography fieldwork lesson related to the Australian Curriculum: HASS (F-6). The Year Level is of your choosing. The lesson should be approximately 90 minutes in duration (not including travel time, where relevant). Use the PALMS fieldwork lesson planner to help you design fieldwork activities to related to your chosen curriculum content.

Create a resource/handout/activity sheet explaining one of the fieldwork activities to your students. This resource should be written as a procedure and in student-friendly language. It should provide clear instructions on what students will do when they are in the field (e.g., begin instructions with active verbs, such as ‘collect, ‘locate’, ‘find’, ‘draw’, ‘record’ etc.).

Part B (approximately 1000 words): Provide a written evaluation of your fieldwork lesson and resource. Your evaluation should discuss:
• how your lesson links to the Australian Curriculum: HASS (F-6)
• the geographical thinking capabilities of young children
• the relevance of the field work activities you have employed
• your ‘next steps’ for teaching (i.e., What will you do in the next lesson back in the classroom? How does the next lesson relate to the fieldwork?)

Your response must adhere to academic writing conventions (i.e., formal academic prose and appropriate APA referencing of theoretical and professional literature).

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 2.1,2.2,2.3,2.6,3.3 3.4

Task Length:

1750 words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Design teaching and learning activities that are consistent with the Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences (20%)	LO1
2	Create learning resources that support student learning (20%)	LO2
3	Evaluate teaching resources and/or learning sequences based on an understanding of age- and subject- appropriate pedagogies (20%)	LO3
4	Communicate ideas through the appropriate use of academic writing conventions and justify arguments with reference to theoretical and professional literature (20%)	LO4
5	Illustrate understanding of Geographical knowledge (20%)	LO1, LO2, LO3, 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.