Course specification for EDS4250

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EDS4250 Literacies Across the Curriculum

Semester 1, 2020 On-campus Springfield
Short Description: Literacies Across Curriculum
Units : 1
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Education
Student contribution band : National Priority - Teaching
ASCED code : 070105 - Teacher Education: Secondary
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: ESP2200 or EDS2402 and Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: BEDU or BSED

Other requisites

Students enrolling in courses which do not follow the recommended enrolment pattern cannot be assured of a developmental learning experience or program completion within their preferred timeframe.

Rationale

Literacies are social and cultural practices that are important to life as well as to learning. It is the responsibility of secondary pre-service teachers to ensure that their students are able to engage successfully in the comprehension and composition of texts required in each of their curriculum areas. This means that pre-service teachers in all curriculum areas should be knowledgeable about the theories of literacies and pedagogies and the relationship between literacies and learning. They also need to be able to identify the specific literacies demanded within their curriculum specialisations and evidence-based strategies that will facilitate planning for effective teaching and learning of literacies for diverse groups of learners.

Synopsis

This course aims to help pre-service teachers to understand the relationship between literacies and learning, and the specific literacies demanded within their curriculum specialisations. They will learn about a range of appropriate frameworks and pedagogies for the teaching of literacies. Pre-service teachers will also learn how to design and sequence units of work with embedded learning and assessment of literacies, as well as planning focused and appropriate lessons on literacies for diverse learners, including English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

Objectives

The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course in accordance with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST). On successful completion of this course pre-service teachers should be able to:

  1. apply the major concepts, theories and policies about embedding the teaching of literacies into curricular areas (APST 2.1);
  2. identify the literacies demands relevant to their curricular areas and about how to understand and analyse texts (APST 2.5);
  3. plan, structure and sequence high-quality literacies learning and authentic assessment tasks within curricular areas (APST 2.2);
  4. apply a broad repertoire of pedagogical strategies, including content, resource and strategy selection and organisation, which includes literacy strategies for teaching area (APST 2.5, 3.3);
  5. use appropriate pedagogies and select appropriate strategies when planning for effective learning for students of diverse abilities and from diverse backgrounds, including EAL/D and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners with consideration of cultural and linguistic background (APST 1.4);
  6. apply course content using appropriate personal, professional and academic literacies.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Contemporary contexts and issues for the learning of literacies 10.00
2. Pedagogies and frameworks for the teaching of literacies 20.00
3. Macro planning 40.00
4. Micro planning 30.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=EDS4250)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

Henderson, R (ed) 2018, Teaching literacies: pedagogies and diversity, Oxford ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Press, South Melbourne, Victoria.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
Comber, B & Kamler, B (eds) 2005, Turn-around pedagogies: literacy interventions for at-risk students, Primary English Teaching Association, Newtown, New South Wales.
Derewianka, B 2011, A new grammar companion for teachers, e-lit, Primary English Teaching Association, Marrickville, New South Wales.
Wing Jan, L 2015, Write ways: modelling writing forms, 4th edn, Oxford ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Press, South Melbourne, Victoria.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 80.00
Independent ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 85.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
ASSIGNMENT 1 40 40 27 Mar 2020
ASSIGNMENT 2 60 60 04 Jun 2020

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks.

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination in this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Assessment notes

  1. Referencing in assignments must comply with the APA referencing system. This system should be used by students to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA style to be used is defined by the USQ library's referencing guide. This guide can be found at .

  2. Students are required to demonstrate competence in and appropriate use of academic language and literacy, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and referencing in all assessment responses. Marks allocated to the aforementioned criteria will be specified in the criteria for assessment of all assessment items.

  3. Students are required to submit ALL assignments to evidence meeting or exceeding the mandatory requirements of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APSTs).

Evaluation and benchmarking

In meeting the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app’s aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course:
1. conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement
2. forms part of the Bachelor of Education and is benchmarked against the:

  1. internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review
  2. Queensland College of Teachers
  3. Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

Other requirements

  1. Participation: Students can expect it will be necessary to participate in and contribute to a range of learning opportunities in this course including online study activities, lectures, tutorials, seminar presentations, group discussions and self-directed study activities in order to apply the coursework that will enable quality assessment tasks to be submitted as evidence of professional development.

Date printed 19 June 2020