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

    Geography and Social Sciences in Primary Schools
  • Unit Code

    HSS6275
  • Year

    2024
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    10
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr David Blair RHODES

Description

This unit is designed to provide students with an understanding of the subject disciplines, Geography and Civics & Citizenship, in the primary school. Students will learn about key aspects of 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 ICT skills and to developing understanding of the importance of fieldwork in Geography. The unit will incorporate an examination of the Australian Curriculum Cross-Curriculum perspectives, Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders histories and cultures, and Sustainability. Students will gain an understanding of how to adapt existing curriculum documents to specific teaching contexts. Students will experience a variety of teacher- and student-centred teaching and learning strategies, and researching, locating and using resources for Geography and Civics & Citizenship learning and teaching. Students will create authentic learning experiences that address issues of community engagement, social justice, sustainability, and diversity.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Articulate a rationale for teaching Geography and Civics & Citizenship in primary classrooms.
  2. Demonstrate how to plan, structure and sequence learning programs for Geography and Civics & Citizenship in primary classrooms.
  3. Design learning experiences that reflect knowledge and understanding of the learning and teaching context, and the content of the relevant curriculum documents.
  4. Demonstrate skills on how to make meaningful connections between the classroom, the community, the nation-state and global issues.
  5. Utilise effectively a range of resources, including ICT, relevant to the teaching of Geography and Civics & Citizenship; and understand the importance of designing authentic, integrated teaching, learning and assessment experiences including strategies that effectively evaluate teaching and learning.

Unit Content

  1. Concepts in Geography.
  2. Methods of Geography inquiry.
  3. Teaching and learning Geography in primary classrooms.
  4. Inquiry based learning experiences.
  5. Project based learning.
  6. Assessment in Geography.
  7. Reflective teaching in Geography.

Learning Experience

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

Additional Learning Experience Information

Lectures, seminars, workshops, field trips

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
EssayEssay50%
PresentationIn-class Presentation50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
EssayEssay50%
PresentationIn-class Presentation50%

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.

HSS6275|1|1

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

    Geography and Social Sciences in Primary Schools
  • Unit Code

    HSS6275
  • Year

    2024
  • Enrolment Period

    2
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    10
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    Dr David Blair RHODES

Description

This unit is designed to provide students with an understanding of the subject disciplines, Geography and Civics & Citizenship, in the primary school. Students will learn about key aspects of 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 ICT skills and to developing understanding of the importance of fieldwork in Geography. The unit will incorporate an examination of the Australian Curriculum Cross-Curriculum perspectives, Asia and Australia's engagement with Asia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders histories and cultures, and Sustainability. Students will gain an understanding of how to adapt existing curriculum documents to specific teaching contexts. Students will experience a variety of teacher- and student-centred teaching and learning strategies, and researching, locating and using resources for Geography and Civics & Citizenship learning and teaching. Students will create authentic learning experiences that address issues of community engagement, social justice, sustainability, and diversity.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Articulate a rationale for teaching Geography and Civics & Citizenship in primary classrooms.
  2. Demonstrate how to plan, structure and sequence learning programs for Geography and Civics & Citizenship in primary classrooms.
  3. Design learning experiences that reflect knowledge and understanding of the learning and teaching context, and the content of the relevant curriculum documents.
  4. Demonstrate skills on how to make meaningful connections between the classroom, the community, the nation-state and global issues.
  5. Utilise effectively a range of resources, including ICT, relevant to the teaching of Geography and Civics & Citizenship; and understand the importance of designing authentic, integrated teaching, learning and assessment experiences including strategies that effectively evaluate teaching and learning.

Unit Content

  1. Concepts in Geography.
  2. Methods of Geography inquiry.
  3. Teaching and learning Geography in primary classrooms.
  4. Inquiry based learning experiences.
  5. Project based learning.
  6. Assessment in Geography.
  7. Reflective teaching in Geography.

Learning Experience

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

Additional Learning Experience Information

Lectures, seminars, workshops, field trips

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
EssayEssay50%
PresentationIn-class Presentation50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
EssayEssay50%
PresentationIn-class Presentation50%

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.

HSS6275|1|2