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  2. Teaching Upper Secondary Social Science [SSE4225]

Faculty of Education and Arts

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

    Teaching Upper Secondary Social Science

  • Unit Code

    SSE4225

  • Year

    2015

  • Enrolment Period

    1

  • Version

    1

  • Credit Points

    10

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus

Description

This unit examines teaching senior school courses within the Society and Environment Learning Area. Its focus will be the Year 11 and Year 12 WACE course documents, however, some focus on lower secondary Society and Environment will also be necessary. Participants will develop a working knowledge of the underlying principles and strategies that deal with: achieving appropriate learning area outcomes, teaching-learning resources, assessments, constructing rubrics and assessment tasks. A system for planning teaching-learning programs for these courses will be processed. Students will focus in one of the following senior secondary teaching areas: economics, geography, history, political science, ancient history.

Non Standard Timetable Requirements

Both on-campus and residency mode of delivery are available. Selected Pre-service Teachers may complete some aspects of the unit within the residency schools as part of the residency mode.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Construct a functional teaching/learning programme for a section/unit of an upper secondary syllabus.
  2. Describe the content and assessment requirements of the Curriculum Council's courses of study for all Year 11 and Year 12 courses in the Society and Environment Learning Area.
  3. Describe the key elements and distinctive characteristics of the Curriculum Framework for the Society and Environment Learning Area.
  4. Design assessment instruments appropriate for evaluating the achievement of syllabus objectives.
  5. Evaluate the impact of state and national curriculum developments on the implementation of senior secondary syllabuses.
  6. Identify the contribution of the social sciences and methods of social inquiry to secondary education.
  7. Utilise excursion policy documents to plan out of school learning experiences.

Unit Content

  1. A review of Curriculum Council's policy and procedures related to assessment, grading and moderation.
  2. A review of current teaching-learning resources including relevant teacher/professional associations.
  3. An overview of curriculum developments and an analysis of their impact on teaching-learning processes with respect to upper secondary syllabus design and implementation.
  4. An overview of the philosophical and methodological contributions of various social science disciplines to senior school secondary education.
  5. Avenues for teacher professional self-development.
  6. Designing appropriate assessment instruments to monitor student outcomes.
  7. Development of a model for long term planning of an upper secondary syllabus course.
  8. Planning, implementing and integrating field work activities into the teaching-learning programme.
  9. The application and implementation of investigative based teaching-learning tasks.
  10. The integration of subject specific process skills to promote conceptual development.
  11. The structure, content and requirements of senior school courses.

Additional Learning Experience Information

A combination of lectures, discussions, workshops, demonstrations, multi-media presentations, guest speakers, fieldwork, school-based experience and personal reference reading may be used to implement this unit depending upon discipline specialisation.

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 Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentAssignment50%
ExaminationExamination50%

Text References

  • ^ Ralph, B and Stacey, M. (2005). Longman Australian Atlas. (5th ed.). Australia: Pearson Eucation.
  • ^ Marsh C.J. (Ed.). (2005). Teaching studies of society and environment. (4th ed.). Australia: Pearson Education.
  • Balderstone, D. (ed.) (2006). Secondary geography handbook. England: Geographical Association.
  • Banks, J.A. and McGee Banks, C.A. (1999). Teaching strategies for the social studies. (5th ed.). New York: Longman.
  • Clarke, S. (2001). Unlocking formative assessment. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
  • Taylor, Tony & Young, Carmel. (2003). Making history: A guide for teaching and learning of history in Australian schools. Melbourne: Curriculum Corporation.
  • Macintyre, Stuart. (2004). The history wars. Melbourne: University Press.
  • Conolly, G. (Ed.). (2001). Geography's place: Promotion of geography in Australia. Gladesville, Australia: National Geography Support Group and Australian Geography Teachers' Association (AGTA).
  • Athanasou, J., & Lamprianou, I. (2002). A teacher's guide to assessment. Australia: Social Science Press.

Journal References

  • Bennett, R.E. (2002). Inexorable and inevitable: The continuing story of technology and assessment. Journal of Technology Learning and Assessment. 1,1,2-23.
  • Charkins, J. (1999). The new approach to economics. Social Studies Review. 38 (2), 32-35.
  • Brookheart, S. (1993). Teachers' grading practices: Meaning and values. Journal of Educational Measurement. 30 (2), 123-142.
  • Van Fossen, P.J. (2000). Teachers' rationales for high school economics. Theory and Research in Social Education. 28, 391-410.
  • Marran, J. (1944). Discovering innovative curriculum models for school geography. Journal of Geography. 93, 9.

Website References

^ Mandatory reference

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.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

SSE4225|1|1

Faculty of Education and Arts

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

    Teaching Upper Secondary Social Science

  • Unit Code

    SSE4225

  • Year

    2015

  • Enrolment Period

    2

  • Version

    1

  • Credit Points

    10

  • Full Year Unit

     N

  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus

Description

This unit examines teaching senior school courses within the Society and Environment Learning Area. Its focus will be the Year 11 and Year 12 WACE course documents, however, some focus on lower secondary Society and Environment will also be necessary. Participants will develop a working knowledge of the underlying principles and strategies that deal with: achieving appropriate learning area outcomes, teaching-learning resources, assessments, constructing rubrics and assessment tasks. A system for planning teaching-learning programs for these courses will be processed. Students will focus in one of the following senior secondary teaching areas: economics, geography, history, political science, ancient history.

Non Standard Timetable Requirements

Both on-campus and residency mode of delivery are available. Selected Pre-service Teachers may complete some aspects of the unit within the residency schools as part of the residency mode.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Construct a functional teaching/learning programme for a section/unit of an upper secondary syllabus.
  2. Describe the content and assessment requirements of the Curriculum Council's courses of study for all Year 11 and Year 12 courses in the Society and Environment Learning Area.
  3. Describe the key elements and distinctive characteristics of the Curriculum Framework for the Society and Environment Learning Area.
  4. Design assessment instruments appropriate for evaluating the achievement of syllabus objectives.
  5. Evaluate the impact of state and national curriculum developments on the implementation of senior secondary syllabuses.
  6. Identify the contribution of the social sciences and methods of social inquiry to secondary education.
  7. Utilise excursion policy documents to plan out of school learning experiences.

Unit Content

  1. A review of Curriculum Council's policy and procedures related to assessment, grading and moderation.
  2. A review of current teaching-learning resources including relevant teacher/professional associations.
  3. An overview of curriculum developments and an analysis of their impact on teaching-learning processes with respect to upper secondary syllabus design and implementation.
  4. An overview of the philosophical and methodological contributions of various social science disciplines to senior school secondary education.
  5. Avenues for teacher professional self-development.
  6. Designing appropriate assessment instruments to monitor student outcomes.
  7. Development of a model for long term planning of an upper secondary syllabus course.
  8. Planning, implementing and integrating field work activities into the teaching-learning programme.
  9. The application and implementation of investigative based teaching-learning tasks.
  10. The integration of subject specific process skills to promote conceptual development.
  11. The structure, content and requirements of senior school courses.

Additional Learning Experience Information

A combination of lectures, discussions, workshops, demonstrations, multi-media presentations, guest speakers, fieldwork, school-based experience and personal reference reading may be used to implement this unit depending upon discipline specialisation.

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 Board of Examiners.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentAssignment50%
ExaminationExamination50%

Text References

  • ^ Ralph, B and Stacey, M. (2005). Longman Australian Atlas. (5th ed.). Australia: Pearson Eucation.
  • ^ Marsh C.J. (Ed.). (2005). Teaching studies of society and environment. (4th ed.). Australia: Pearson Education.
  • Balderstone, D. (ed.) (2006). Secondary geography handbook. England: Geographical Association.
  • Banks, J.A. and McGee Banks, C.A. (1999). Teaching strategies for the social studies. (5th ed.). New York: Longman.
  • Clarke, S. (2001). Unlocking formative assessment. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
  • Taylor, Tony & Young, Carmel. (2003). Making history: A guide for teaching and learning of history in Australian schools. Melbourne: Curriculum Corporation.
  • Macintyre, Stuart. (2004). The history wars. Melbourne: University Press.
  • Conolly, G. (Ed.). (2001). Geography's place: Promotion of geography in Australia. Gladesville, Australia: National Geography Support Group and Australian Geography Teachers' Association (AGTA).
  • Athanasou, J., & Lamprianou, I. (2002). A teacher's guide to assessment. Australia: Social Science Press.

Journal References

  • Bennett, R.E. (2002). Inexorable and inevitable: The continuing story of technology and assessment. Journal of Technology Learning and Assessment. 1,1,2-23.
  • Charkins, J. (1999). The new approach to economics. Social Studies Review. 38 (2), 32-35.
  • Brookheart, S. (1993). Teachers' grading practices: Meaning and values. Journal of Educational Measurement. 30 (2), 123-142.
  • Van Fossen, P.J. (2000). Teachers' rationales for high school economics. Theory and Research in Social Education. 28, 391-410.
  • Marran, J. (1944). Discovering innovative curriculum models for school geography. Journal of Geography. 93, 9.

Website References

^ Mandatory reference

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.

Academic Misconduct

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism;
  • unauthorised collaboration;
  • cheating in examinations;
  • theft of other students' work;

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can be accessed through the ECU website.

SSE4225|1|2