Outline

Overview

The unit enables teacher education students who have an enthusiasm for and expertise in Science and Technology to undertake a more extensive preparation in this discipline. It is designed to develop a holistic view of Science and Technology as an essential component of the primary school curriculum. The unit also focuses on ways to support teacher colleagues and promote excellence in Science and Technology K-6 education. Connections between theory, research and practice will be exemplified through close links with the fourth year professional experience.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Education
Credit points	4
Prerequisites ?	170 credit points including EDUP4083
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Christine Preston, christine.preston@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	School teaching plan Plan and present a Science and Technology plan for teachers.	50%	Week 04 Due date: 15 Sep 2020 at 15:30	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Portfolio Portfolio evidences Science and Technology enrichment activities.	50%	Week 10 Due date: 19 Oct 2020 at 05:00	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Excursion plan: An excursion report associated with an on-site visit to an excursion venue with the purpose of planning an out-of-school learning experience for primary students.
Evaluation of a school teaching plan: In pairs students analyse and evaluate a school’s science and technology teaching plan for a unit of work. Drawing on the research and academic literature on effective science and technology teaching practice, students will revise the unit of work.
Critical reflection on a taught lesson: Individually plan and teach a science lesson that involves demonstration of one or a combination of the skills/techniques used by effective science and technology teachers.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Where to from here? Introduction, assignments. SO you think you can code? Lego robots.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	How can we teach primary chemistry effectively?	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	How can we promote scientific thinking and deep understanding about chemistry? Practice and preparation for PL.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Assignment presentation - School teaching plan	Presentation (2 hr)
Week 04	What makes a great school teaching plan? - evaluating and enhancing plans - Scope and sequence - Syllabus mapping.	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	What do you need to know about assessment and reporting to parents?	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	Are you ready to be a primary science leader?	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	How will you stay connected and keep learning? Guest speaker STANSW.	Seminar (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: The Sydney School of Education and Social Work requires attendance of at least 90 percent of all seminars, workshops or lectures. Where a student is unable to attend at the required rate evidence of illness or misadventure may be required and the student may be required to undertake extra work. Students should discuss the circumstances of their absence(s) with the co-ordinator of the unit of study. Further details are provided in the School canvas site: https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/13426

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 4 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 80-100 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Reading material will either be provided directly by the lecturer or made available via the Canvas site.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. critically evaluate and enhance the quality of school teaching plans to increase their effectiveness for science and technology teaching and learning
LO2. engage with teacher colleagues to enhance science and technology practice by working collaboratively in planning, resourcing, assessing and reporting to parents
LO3. develop, manage and maintain the effectiveness of whole school plans for science and technology
LO4. promote initiatives that support increased engagement in science and technology including cross-curriculum integration (e.g. STEM education); excursions / incursions; community involvement and use of digital technologies and computational thinking
LO5. critically reflect on personal competence in teaching science and technology K-6 with a view of continuous improvement
LO6. engage with and understand the nexus between practice, theory and research through professional competence in written communication skills
LO7. promote positive dispositions towards science and technology and be an advocate for excellence in science and technology education in primary schools.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Alignment with Competency standards

Outcomes	Competency standards
	Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - 1.2.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching. 3.4.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning. 3.6.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning. 4.1.1. (Graduate) Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities. 4.4.1. (Graduate) Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements. 5.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning. 6.3. Engage with colleagues and improve practice
	Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - 5.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning. 5.2.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning. 5.3.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning. 5.4.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice. 5.5.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of a range of strategies for reporting to students and parents/carers and the purpose of keeping accurate and reliable records of student achievement. 6.4.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learning. 7.4. Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities
	Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - 1.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning. 1.2.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching. 1.5.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. 1.6.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of legislative requirements and teaching strategies that support participation and learning of students with disability. 2.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area. 2.2.1. (Graduate) Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence. 2.3.1. (Graduate) Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans. 2.6.1. (Graduate) Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students. 3.1.1. (Graduate) Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics. 3.6.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning. 4.1.1. (Graduate) Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities. 5.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
	Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - 1.2.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching. 1.5.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. 2.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area. 2.6.1. (Graduate) Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students. 3.1.1. (Graduate) Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics. 3.3.1. (Graduate) Include a range of teaching strategies. 3.4.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning. 3.5.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement.
	Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - 2.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area. 6.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs. 6.2.1. (Graduate) Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers. 6.3.1. (Graduate) Seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices. 6.4.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learning. 7.4.1. (Graduate) Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice.
	Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - 1.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning. 1.2.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching. 1.3.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds. 1.4.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. 1.5.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. 2.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area. 3.3.1. (Graduate) Include a range of teaching strategies. 3.5.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement.
	Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - 1.5.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. 2.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area. 3.1.1. (Graduate) Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics. 3.3.1. (Graduate) Include a range of teaching strategies. 3.5.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement. 6.4.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learning. 7.4.1. (Graduate) Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice.

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) -

Competency code	Taught, Practiced or Assessed	Competency standard
1.1.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning.
1.2.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
1.3.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.
1.5.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
2.1.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.
2.2.1		(Graduate) Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.
2.3.1		(Graduate) Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.
2.6.1		(Graduate) Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students.
3.2.1		(Graduate) Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies.
3.3.1		(Graduate) Include a range of teaching strategies.
3.4.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.
3.5.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement.
4.1.1		(Graduate) Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.
4.2.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions.
4.4.1		(Graduate) Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.
4.5.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and the strategies available to support the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching.
6.2.1		(Graduate) Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers.
6.4.1		(Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learning.
7.4.1		(Graduate) Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice.

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

The Portfolio has been incorporated into assessment after feedback from previous students. n

Additional information

Site visit guidelines

If you are undertaking professional experience/field education placement as part of your enrolment in this unit of study, please assess your specific needs and requirements for the safe and successful completion of an external placement within a host organisation. You will be given the opportunity to disclose any health issues that have a work health and safety significance before arranging a placement so that your safety, and the safety of others, can be properly assessed. The Professional Experience Coordinator/Field Education Manager will work to ensure that the workplace assignment to you is appropriate for your needs and requirements. If you are experiencing disability, and require reasonable adjustments to be arranged, please contact Disability Services as early as possible prior to commencing the internship. Please note, in all cases, and for the purpose of organising reasonable adjustments, only the impact and not the nature, of your disability will be disclosed to the host organisation.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Alignment with Competency standards

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Site visit guidelines

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

EDUP4084: Science and Technology Specialisation B

Semester 2, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Alignment with Competency standards

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Site visit guidelines

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect