School: Education

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Strategies for Teaching Students with Learning Difficulties and Learning Disabilities
  • Unit Code

    EDU4221
  • Year

    2025
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    2
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    A/Prof Lorraine Sarah HAMMOND

Description

This unit examines the psychological and educational problems of children with learning difficulties and learning disabilities (LD).The process of assessing literacy based skills and analysing student work samples is a strong focus in this unit that leads to the selection of appropriate strategies and approaches to remediate skill deficits. The unit has a highly practical component and includes a case study.

Prerequisite Rule

Must pass 1 unit from EDS3240

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Analyse and evaluate research articles in the field.
  2. Analyse the psychological and social profiles of children with learning difficulties and learning disabilities.
  3. Discuss the major policy issues in respect of service delivery to children with learning difficulties and learning disabilities.
  4. Discuss the major programs and curricula used by teachers working with children with learning difficulties and learning disabilities.
  5. Outline the teaching strategies required in teaching children with learning difficulties and learning disabilities.

Unit Content

  1. Analysis and evaluation of research in the field.
  2. Assessment methods including standardised tests, teacher tests and critical analysis of student work samples and observed behaviours to determine learning strengths and weaknesses in the area of literacy development.
  3. Empirically based strategies to support students with learning difficulties and learning disabilities.
  4. Mapping the territory: understanding the nature and incidence of learning difficulty and learning disability terminology used to describe students withsuch difficulties and disabilities.
  5. The reading, spelling and writing process, the common literacy difficulties students experience and strategies to support literacy development.

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 2Not Offered8 x 4 hour seminarNot Offered
SummerNot Offered5 x 6 hour seminarNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Additional Learning Experience Information

Students will have the opportunity to hear from guest speakers and complete a practical assessment on an individual with LD six years of age or older.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
Case StudyStudent with a learning difficulty or learning disability50%
AssignmentTimed Assessment 50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
Case StudyStudent with a learning difficulty or learning disability50%
AssignmentTimed Assessment 50%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

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