Teaching Secondary Humanities and Social Sciences UG (12040.1)

Please note these are the 2026 details for this unit
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Teaching Secondary Humanities and Social Sciences UG
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods Placement
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.25 6 Faculty Of Education
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
School Of Teacher Education Level 3 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit Band 1 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 1 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit develops pre-service teachers' pedagogical content knowledge for the Key Learning Area of Humanities and Social Sciences. An investigation of the Australian Curriculum for this area will be applied to a cycle of planning, teaching and reflecting on the learning of a diverse student group in an authentic clinical context. Pre-service teachers will collaborate on teaching episodes that address the requirements and purpose of the humanities and social sciences as they critically examine their teaching, assessment, feedback and reporting strategies for their positive impact on student learning and wellbeing. Clinical teaching episodes in this unit contribute a cumulative total of 3 days' professional experience to the course(s) in which it sits. This unit also includes a professional experience 'block' placement of 15 days in a Secondary or Senior Secondary school during which pre-service teachers will demonstrate their ability to consolidate their teaching skills as they plan, teach and reflect for a sustained period of time.

Important Note: Students should only enrol in this unit if it matches their choice of disciplinary major. If in doubt, contact the Program Director or the Academic Programs Team at the Faculty of Education before enrolling in this unit.

Students should be aware that completing a disciplinary 'method' unit for which they will not meet NESA's Subject Content Knowledge Requirements for Secondary Teaching at the point of course completion may lead to problems when seeking to register as a teacher.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of student development, how this affects student learning and implications for inclusive curriculum and teaching;
2. Demonstrate a broad knowledge and understanding of the structure of the Australian Curriculum for the discipline at Secondary and Senior Secondary levels and its significance to teaching and learning;
3. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies needed in the discipline and within the Secondary and Senior Secondary classrooms;
4. Adopt a critically reflective approach to teaching and the related ability to plan for and implement to teaching, learning and assessment strategies that inform and have a positive impact on learners within the discipline;
5. Identify and implement strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities;
6. Implement assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess and report student learning;
7. Organise and manage classroom activities and behaviour, provide clear directions, and maintain a supportive and safe learning environment; and
8. Engage with professional colleagues, and professional learning, to maintain a productive working environment and to improve professional practice.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - evaluate and adopt new technology
4. UC graduates are able to demonstrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing - communicate and engage with Indigenous Australians in ethical and culturally respectful ways


Prerequisites

Must have passed 36 credit points including 10425 Curriculum - Assessment, Planning and Reporting AND one of the following:
- 10450 Ways of Knowing, Being and Doing in Education
- 12034 Being a Teacher
- 9919 The Educational Workplace

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2027 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 Placement Dr Stacey Griffiths
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 Placement Dr Stacey Griffiths
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 15 February 2027 Placement Dr Stacey Griffiths
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 09 August 2027 Placement Dr Stacey Griffiths
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

All readings will be provided via the unit Canvas site. 

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

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 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.

Special assessment requirements

An aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the unit as well as satisfactory completion of Professional Experience.

Provision of valid documentation & Student Expectations for Lesson Planning

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.

Student Expectations for  Lesson Planning 

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.

 

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

Workshops and online  participation       60 hours

Reading and individual study                  180 hours

Assessment tasks                                   60 hours 

A professional experience practicum of 15 days is also a requirement of this unit.  

Pre-workshop activities will be posted online weekly so that time within workshops can be utilised collaboratively and effectively. Active engagement with and completion of relevant online activities before each workshop is required in order to maximise learning in this unit.

Participation requirements

There is a strong correlation between participation and success in higher education. Your participation and engagement with all unit activities will enhance your understanding of this unit's content and therefore the quality of your assessment responses. Lack of participation may result in your inability to satisfactorily pass assessment items. 

Participation in ‘school based' tutorial classes is a compulsory condition of this unit, and attendance will be recorded. You must participate in 100% of the ‘school based' tutorial classes to pass this unit. In the event that you cannot attend your assigned session due to illness or extreme circumstances, you must provide appropriate documentation to the Unit Convener as soon as possible. In the case of sessions missed due to illness or extreme circumstances, both the academic content and the professional experience component are required to be made up. More than two documented absences may lead to failure of the unit due to non-completion.

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.

Required IT skills

Students are required to use a wide range of ICT to support their own learning, and their planning and delivery in the clinics. 

In-unit costs

n/a

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit involves school-based clinics and a professional practicum and, therefore, additional student responsibilities are required in addition to those described in section 6. Work-place learning requires strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. Client confidentiality must always be maintained  including for assessment items such as reports or essays. The professional nature of this unit also requires 100% participation at all learning activities for the successful completion of this unit (also see section 6c). 

This unit includes a 15 day professional experience placement. Students must adhere to UC policies including the Student Conduct Rules (2018), WIL Policy and Procedure, and Assessment Policy and Procedure. All information regarding placements is available on the All Teacher Education Students (ATES) canvas page and it is the responsibility of the student to check for any updates.  

Students are advised to review InPlace regularly to check the status of their pre-placement requirements and to ensure that all contact details are up-to-date and will be for the during of the placement period. This information must include an emergency point of contact or next of kin. 

The Placement Team requires evidence of the following before a placement can be organised: 

Pre-placement Requirements (ALL must be uploaded to InPlace): 

  • Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) card 
  • Working with Children Check (WWCC) 
  • TQI Preservice Teacher Registration 
  • Completion of Pre-Place module 
  • Early Childhood (EC) – Current First Aid, CPR and Anaphylaxis  

Student needs to upload this information to InPlace and ensure it is verified (green status) by the due date stipulated by the placement team. All compliance tasks must be valid for the duration of the placement blocks. It is a student responsibility to ensure that previously submitted compliance documentation is valid for subsequent placement blocks. 

Pre-placement Requirements (must be uploaded to Unit Canvas Page for first professional experience): 

  • Acceptable Use of ICT form 
  • UC Student Acknowledgement form 

Failure to complete required pre-placement requirements by the due date will result in the cancellation of placement and may result in a fail (NC) grade for the unit. 

When students are allocated a placement it is their responsibility to contact the school/service to determine any additional pre-placement requirements specific for that location that need to be completed prior to the placement start date. Failure to do this may result in withdrawal from the placement and potential fail (NC) grade for the unit. 

Students who currently have a UC Reasonable Adjustment Plan (RAP) may be eligible for a Placement Support Letter (PSL). It is the student's responsibility to work with UC Wellbeing to determine any adjustment needed for Placement. 

Eligibility for placement is dependent on satisfactory academic progression at the time placement is scheduled. 

All placements must occur according to the published placement calendar on the ATES site. Students experiencing extenuating circumstances may request a date change; approval, however, is at the discretion of the Faculty. All placement blocks must be completed within 12 months of the associated unit's teaching and learning start date. Delays beyond this timeframe may result in a fail (NC) grade for the unit. 

Intervention and Support 

Students who demonstrate unsatisfactory progress towards the expected standard of practice at any point throughout their placement will be provided with Intervention and Support. This support process is tailored to meet the needs of the individuals. If sufficient improvements are not evident, a fail grade (NC) for the unit is the likely outcome. If the student's conduct or practice constitutes a significant risk to public safety, a student's placement may be terminated immediately without the Intervention and Support process being enacted. The student will meet with their Unit Convenor/Faculty member and discuss their progress in the unit and provided opportunities to reflect on their practice, setting goals for improvement.  

Assessment Requirement 

Placement must be successfully passed to pass the Unit 

Generalised Support  

For placement queries, contact placements@canberra.edu.au. 

Next step

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