Unit Outline

Literacy in Secondary School equips pre-service teachers with the knowledge and skills required to effectively teach literacy in secondary classrooms. Grounded in the research that shows explicit reading and writing instruction improves students’ academic understanding, this unit highlights the integral role of language and literacy in student learning across the curriculum. You will learn how explicit instruction in reading and writing—tailored to discipline-specific content—enhances students’ learning and develop a teaching toolkit to identify, teach and respond to the literacy needs of diverse learners, including students who speak English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D)

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	Articulate knowledge of current theory about how students learn to read and write and the evidence base for effective literacy instruction in secondary schools.
2	Critically reflect on the nature of literacy and its role in curriculum learning, and the implications of this for your teaching practice.
3	Demonstrate understanding of the literacy conventions and demands associated with curriculum areas.
4	Develop and apply explicit literacy instruction for specific educational contexts.
5	Demonstrate academic and information literacy skills.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Concurrent Pre-requisite	EMT502

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:	Assessment of subject matter expertise in the effective teaching of reading in secondary school	Week 6	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Assessment Task 2:	Planning a writing lesson using the GRR model	Week 11	40 %	LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5
Assessment Task 3:	Reflection on the role of literacy in learning	Week 12	20 %	LO2, LO3, LO5

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Assessment of subject matter expertise in the effective teaching of reading in secondary school

Task Description:

In this task you will demonstrate your developing understanding of reading theory and instructional strategies to support reading in your teaching specialisation.

Drawing on learning from Module one (weeks 1 – 5) and the Australian Curriculum you will prepare and record a voiced over multimodal presentation on how to teach reading in one of your secondary curriculum specialisations. Your audience is pre-service peers at a Tasmanian Education Society (TEDS) event.

In your presentation you will:
· identify the reading demands of one of your teaching disciplines and explain its role and importance with reference to the Australian curriculum (e.g. stage description, content descriptors).
· briefly outline the components of reading comprehension (the Big 6) and illustrate components with examples to show the reading demands of a specific disciplinary text.
· Propose Tier 1, evidence-based literacy strategies teachers can use before, during and after reading (at least two for each phase) to support and develop student reading skills. Show how each strategy would be applied to the chosen text.
· Explain why these strategies are effective, citing the research base that supports them.
More detailed task information will be provided in the assessment section online.

Task Length:

10 - 12 minute presentation with transcript (1500 words equivalent)

Due Date:

Week 6

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrates understanding of the reading demands of a teaching specialisation with reference to the Australian Curriculum.	LO2, LO3
2	Identifies the reading demands of a disciplinary text and explains how these align with the Big 6 using specific textual examples.	LO2, LO3
3	Selects and sequences literacy strategies to explicitly teach reading in a subject specialisation. Justifies reading strategies with reference to reading research.	LO1, LO3, LO4
4	Communicate ideas appropriately for a professional audience including effective use of multimodal format and use of academic conventions.	LO5

Assessment Task 2: Planning a writing lesson using the GRR model

Task Description:

You will demonstrate your ability to plan an explicit writing lesson to scaffold student writing in your teaching specialisation. This task draws on your learning in module 2 to identify and explicitly teach an appropriate aspect of writing for a genre relevant to your discipline area. You will focus on one aspect to develop a lesson of explicit instruction.
Further detail about this assessment task will be provided in the assessment section in MyLO.

Task Length:

1500 words

Due Date:

Week 11

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Applies knowledge of effective literacy pedagogy to design a lesson that explicitly teaches writing.	LO3, LO4
2	Applies knowledge of the literacy demands of a teaching specialisation to develop and analyse a mentor text to model disciplinary writing.	LO3, LO4
3	Justifies lesson design drawing on research that shows explicit writing instruction improves student achievement.	LO1, LO3, LO4, LO5
4	Communicate ideas using academic conventions appropriately.	LO5

Assessment Task 3: Reflection on the role of literacy in learning

Task Description:

In this task you will reflect on your understanding of literacy and how it has changed through your learning in this subject and the implications of this for your future teaching practice.

You will draw on three sources to support your reflection and articulate your new understanding of literacy and its role in your teaching:
· Your literacy survey responses (completed at the beginning, middle and end of the course)
· The course content (Module 1 & 2 lectures, tutorials and readings)
· Course literature and the Australian curriculum

Further information about the reflective task is available in the assessment description in MyLO.

Task Length:

800 words

Due Date:

Week 12

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Shows insight into the relationship of literacy to own teaching specialisation drawing on literature and the Australian Curriculum.	LO2
2	Explains how own ideas about literacy have evolved illustrating with reference to survey responses, course content and research.	LO2, LO3
3	Articulates relevant implications for future teaching practice.	LO2, LO3
4	Communicates ideas with clarity and coherence using appropriate academic expression and conventions.	LO5

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.