Curriculum and Assessment in Primary Education G (11336.1)

Required texts

Required Text:

Key Text – Brady, L. & Kennedy, K. (2019). Curriculum Construction. (6th Ed). Frenchs Forest: Pearson.

Other required and recommended readings are available in the library and/ or online. They are listed on the CANVAS site.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Where possible, all assessment items will be submitted online via the teaching site in UCLearn. The first page of each assessment item should include the following information:

• Student ID number:
• Assessment Name:
• Word Count (if applicable):

Students' names are not to be included on any assessment tasks/submission. Only Student ID numbers should be included (as per the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedures). 

Lesson Plans

When developing your lesson plans, it is encouraged that you are using your skills in lesson planning and design to create engaging and rich lesson resources. Using materials from commercial sites such as TPT, Twinkl, Sparkle Box etc. is not desirable in this unit. If you adapt resources from commercial sites and sources, please note this in your lesson planning and resource development.

Extensions

Students can apply for an extension to the submission due date for an assessment item due to extenuating, evidenced circumstances (specific details are found in the Assessment Procedures). An extension must be applied for before the due date. Documentary evidence (e.g. medical certificate) will be expected for an extension to be granted, however this will not guarantee that the application will be successful. The Unit Convener or relevant Program Director/Course Convener will decide whether to grant an extension and the length of the extension.

An Assignment Extension form is available from the Student Forms page.

Lateness

Late submissions will only be accepted for a limited period. If more than one late submission is made within that period, only the first late submission will be accepted for marking and may be subject to penalties as detailed in the Assessment Procedures. All assessment items required to be submitted online must be submitted via the appropriate CANVAS drop box. It is the student's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant CANVAS site. If the unit convener and/or tutor are unable to access a submission, or if no submission has been made by the due date and time, a standard late penalty of 10% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day, for three days, after which the submission will receive a score of ‘0' in keeping with UC's Assessment Policy.

Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the unit convenor.

Responsibility for understanding:

Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the Unit Convener.

All assessment items required to be submitted online must be submitted via the appropriate Canvas drop box. It is the pre-service teacher's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant Canvas site. If the Unit Convener and/or tutor are unable to access a submission, or if no submission has been made by the due date and time, a standard late penalty of 10% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day, for three (3) days, after which the submission will receive a score of ‘0' in keeping with UC's Assessment Policy.

The University of Canberra's Assessment Policy and Procedure recognise that unavoidable and/or exceptional professional circumstances can impact a student's ability to submit assignments on a due date. If you wish to apply for an assignment extension because of such circumstances, you will need to provide a statement addressing why the circumstances are unavoidable and/or exceptional, written by your workplace supervisor. Please understand that this statement does not automatically entitle the applicant to an approved extension; rather, it forms the basis of consideration for an extension that may or may not be approved.

Artificial Intelligence

GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:

1.     The Unit Convener has authorised its use for that assessment;

2.     The student uses it in the way that the assessment instructions allow for;

3.     The student fully acknowledges its use, with appropriate citations and references. Each referencing guide provided by the Library provides advice on how to appropriately reference the use of GenAI in-text.

Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not allowed for that assessment. If students are unsure, they should seek advice from the Unit Convener.

Students should be aware that the University of Canberra utilises GenAI detection software. Suspected instances of unauthorised GenAI use may lead to a Learning Validation Conversation' designed to provide assurance that a student is able to demonstrate relevant knowledge and skills to meet required learning outcomes. Students who are suspected of having misused GenAI in assessment may be required to attend a summary inquiry for suspected misconduct.

Special assessment requirements

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Supplementary assessment

Refer to the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedures.

1. Provision of valid documentation 2. Academic Integrity Module (AIM)

1. Provision of valid documentation

• Please note that the University takes student conduct very seriously. All documentation provided to University staff must be valid and the provision of fraudulent documentation carries with it potentially serious consequences, including suspension and/or exclusion from the University. Note that all allegations of student misconduct will be referred to the Associate Dean for Education (ADE) as a prescribed authority for investigation.

2. Academic Integrity Module (AIM)

• Note: AIM is a Required completion task for Unit 11336 – zero marks
• Students are required to complete AIM and upload the completion certificate (badge) to the assessment item drop box on the Canvas site.
• Students who do not submit the completion certificate will be given a withheld (WH) grade until such time as they upload it to the Canvas site.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Indicative breakdown of workload

Coursework component:

• Workshop participation: 30 hours
• Weekly preparation for workshops: 30 hours
• Assessment preparation: 90 hours

Professional Experience Placement component:

• 10 consecutive working days with full participation during all work hours. Students are expected to teach at least 5-6 lessons, but will be dependent on the school context and timetable. Ideally, students should aim to teach up to 10 or 12 lessons where possible.
• Preservice teachers are expected to be available at the school between the hours of 8.30 am - 5.00 pm (approximately).

Inclusion and engagement

It is strongly recommended that students who need assistance in undertaking the unit because of disability or an ongoing health condition register with the Inclusion and Engagement office as soon as possible so that reasonable adjustements can be made.

Participation requirements

Successful completion of the professional experience component is critical to success in the whole unit.  Refer to assessment (5a) on the Canvas site for further details. Students must make themselves familiar with the processes and policies of professional experience.

This unit has been designed to ensure that authentic and consistent engagement supports successful completion of unit requirements, including assessment requirements. There is a strong correlation between engagement and success in higher education; conversely, lack of engagement correlates with assessment and unit failure. Students seeking advice when facing failure should expect advice to reflect the extent of their engagement: little or sporadic engagement with unit resources may lead to advice to withdraw and/or to engage authentically and consistently with future units of study.

Active engagement in all online modules enhances your learning and is strongly advised. Unless specifically stated in the unit outline, there is no mandatory attendance requirement except fopr the mandatory placement elements. However, you may elect to attend timetabled activities, as they allow you to ask 'real time' questions to develop your understanding for the relevant assessment tasks.

Students must engage with weekly module content, including completion of lectures, padlet and other discussion activities. Student attendance at scheduled sessions and weekly workshops is recommended for successful completion of the course. Successful engagement with all learning activities in this accredited Initial Teacher Education course is necessary to demonstrate that you have met the Australian Professional Standards for Graduate Teachers (AITSL, 2011). Your participation in both class and online activities will enhance your understanding of the unit content and, therefore, the quality of your assessment responses. Lack of participation may result in your inability to pass assessment items satisfactorily.

A Note for Online Students.

This is a unit that is delivered to both online and on-campus students. While on-campus students will have regular timetabled activities, online students will be able to study in your own time. The course content is designed in weekly blocks that do not require online students to attend any timetabled activities unless specifically stated. There may be optional timetabled activities to further support your learning that online students can choose to attend. Assessment deadlines will apply. As a unit of study offered in this mode, attendance at scheduled sessions is not a mandatory requirement of this unit. Students who enrol in the ‘self-paced study' option (in lieu of tutorials) effectively have no tutorials to attend, and students who are enrolled in on-campus or remote tutorials may wish to re-allocate to ‘self-paced study' as the semester progresses. There is, however, a strong correlation between participation and success in higher education. With this in mind, we encourage and expect students to actively participate in all module activities to enhance their learning opportunities.

Required IT skills

Implementation of technology for teaching and learning purposes is a required aspect of this course, including an understanding of e-safety aspects as they pertain to young students.

Please note: 

Artificial intelligence services must not to be used for assessment or assessment preparation by students unless explicitly allowed in the assessment instructions for an assessment task published with the assessment task and/or in the unit outline. That is, an artificial intelligence services may only be used if:

• its use is authorised by the unit convener as part of a specified assessment task, and
• it is used in the way allowed in the assessment instructions and/or unit outline, and
• its use is appropriately referenced, meaning that students must reference the use of AI in their assessment in the same way as they reference other source material.

In-unit costs

Travel and parking costs may apply to field trips around Canberra.

Costs associated with acquiring WWC, WWVP and TQI accreditations are required, which may include travel to Queanbeyan or other NSW Service centre.

Work placement, internships or practicums

A School-based Professional Practicum is a required element of this unit.  

• A successful Pass in the professional placement is requisite for a Pass in this unit and is determined by the placement team rather than the unit convenor.

• As this unit involves a "professional practicum", extra student responsibilities are required in addition to those described in section 6. Work-place learning requires strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. School, parent, teacher and student confidentiality must always be maintained (see Policies on Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy https://www.canberra.edu.au/Policies/PolicyProcedure/Index/572 ; and Student Charter https://www.canberra.edu.au/Policies/PolicyProcedure/Index/200) and including for assessment items such as reports or essays. The professional nature of this unit also requires 100% participation at all learning activities (lectures, practicals as scheduled – see section 3) for the successful completion of this unit (also see section 6c). If attendance requirements cannot be satisfied (e.g. timetable clash), it is recommended that you contact the Academic Programs Team to discuss re-scheduling your study in this unit.

Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) background check is a requirement of this Unit.

• Students in this unit are required to have a current Working with Vulnerable People card to participate in this unit. Note that the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act only applies to the ACT. For students undertaking placements in other states or territories, it may be that an alternate Police Check or a Working with Children Check is required. Students are responsible for arranging their own checks through the ACT Office of Regulatory Services or other State bodies. Please refer to the professional experience section on the All Teacher Education Students (ATES) Canvas site for full information on the Professional Experience requirements.¿

Working with Children Check (WWC) background check is a requirement of this Unit for working in NSW is also required

• Students in this unit are required to have a current Working with Children Check card to participate in this unit. This ensures students will be able to complete a placement in NSW as well as the ACT over the course of the Masters degree.

Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) accreditation as a preservice teacher is required.

• More information is available through the 11336 and ATES CANVAS courses.

Student Placement/ Internship Agreement Form and Acceptable Use of ICT forms are required before commencing the professional practicum.

• Students are required to complete an Acceptable use of ICT resources form to access ICT resources in their placement school. A hard copy of the form will be distributed and collected by your tutor early in each semester. A link to this form will also be made available on the Unit Canvas site.

Please follow the following instructions to ensure your unit convenor remains informed of your progress in your negotiated placement:

1. Fill in the professional experience placement planner in collaboration with your school mentor. (This planner can be found on the Professional Experience site of the Unit Canvas site. Indicate on the planner when your interim and final reports will be completed.

2. Upload your planner, as a draft, to this UCLearn (Canvas) site using the Dropbox

3. If your proposed schedule for the completion of your interim and final reports changes, please upload a new planner with the new dates

Please note: This unit involves a professional work placement and hence, it requires strict adherence to professional practice, principles, and ethics. School, student, and/or research participant confidentiality must always be maintained, including for assessment items like reports or essays etc.

Additional information

This unit introduces theoretical and pedagogical aspects of Curriculum and Assessment in the Primary School.

Students need to complete academic reading and responses as provided and adhere to all school-based placement work placement requirements.

Complying with this information is a requirement for students enrolled in this unit.

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