Teaching Secondary Science UG (12042.1)

Required texts

Recommended Reading:

• Woolcott, G. and Whannell, R. (2018), Teaching Secondary Science: Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.

Additional resources will be made available on the unit Canvas site.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Whenever possible all assessment items will be submitted online via the unit Canvas site. Standard statement to apply. Where this is not possible, exceptions may be sought from the Faculty Associate Dean Education (ADE).

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.

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.

Special assessment requirements

Normally an aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the unit.

Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA)

All preservice teachers are required to pass all four elements of the AfGT to demonstrate that the Australian Professional Standards for Graduate Teachers are met. Meeting the Graduate Teacher Standards enables the preservice teacher to graduate from the respective accredited programs of learning. The preservice teacher cannot graduate unless they have satisfactorily completed the AfGT and all other course assessment tasks.

It may be necessary for academics to make ‘on balance' judgements about whether each Element has been passed – that is, judgements about whether the preservice teacher has achieved below, at or above the Standard. To make on-balance judgements, assessors draw on assessment data to make defensible judgements about the preservice teacher's learning (Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority, 2019; Australian Curriculum Assessment & Reporting Authority, 2019; AITSL, 2017)

If, on balance, preservice teachers do not meet the Graduate Standard for any or all Elements of the TPA, following moderation, they will be given one chance to resubmit requested elements to demonstrate their achievement of the Standards required. After this, if the Graduate Standards have not been satisfactorily met on balance, preservice teachers will receive a ‘fail' grade for the TPA and be referred to the Program Director and/or the ADE for guidance as to next steps.

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.

Academic integrity

Students have a responsibility to uphold University standards on ethical scholarship. Good scholarship involves building on the work of others and use of others' work must be acknowledged with proper attribution made. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification of data are dishonest practices that contravene academic values. Refer to the University's Student Charter for more information.

To enhance understanding of academic integrity, all students are expected to complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) at least once during their course of study. You can access this module within UCLearn (Canvas) through the 'Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism' link in the Study Help site.

Use of Text-Matching Software

The University of Canberra uses text-matching software to help students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understanding of academic integrity. The software matches submitted text in student assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals, and previously submitted student texts.

Learner engagement

You will be working in small groups to plan and deliver lessons during the school-based workshops.  This means that you will need to prioritise shared planning time together outside of the workshops (face to face or online) so that you have shared and equitable contribution to this work.

This means that you will attend and participate in a three-hour workshop each week and additional hours will be composed of shared planning with your peers, undertaking reading and planning individually and researching for your assignment tasks.

Reading and private study: 180 hours

Workshop participation and school clinic attendance: 60 hours

Assessment tasks: 60 hours

Participation requirements

Professional Experience

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.

On Campus and School Based Clinics

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.

*Note: This unit commences with weeks 1 on campus and weeks 2 to 7 will be school-based to meet accreditation requirements of 3 days professional experience

Unit Engagement 

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. 

Required IT skills

Students may utilise a range of tools during their teaching and should familiarise themselves with classroom-based technologies.

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

You may wish to purchase a UC Education polo shirt, available from the UC Shop at your own expense. This is encouraged to be worn to all workshops - campus and schools based.

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit involves work integrated learning: Placement or Internship and Professional Practicum. Students must adhere to University policy during WIL activities, including the Student Conduct Rules 2018, the WIL Policy and WIL Procedure, and the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedure.

For teaching degrees, students need to ensure they have their WWCC, WWVP, COVID vaccination status and evidence of PSTR uploaded to InPlace.

This unit involves professional practicum and therefore, additional student responsibilities are required in addition to those described in section 6. Workplace learning requires strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. School student and staff confidentiality must always be maintained (refer policies on ATES - Professional Experience Handbook, ACT ED Teachers' Code of Professional Practice (or equivalent) and Student Conduct Rules), including for assessment items such as reports or essays. This applies to staff and patrons of any outside agency where an internship or other WIL activity is taking place. The professional nature of this unit also requires 100% participation at all learning activities (workshops, practicals etc. 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 this unit.

You are also required to complete details in InPlace, refer to inplace.canberra.edu.au. If you have any queries related to InPlace please contact placement@canberra.edu.au.

Additional information

Provision of information to the group

Notifications through the Canvas Announcements Forum or the Canvas Discussion Forums are deemed to be made to the whole class.  It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they check for announcements on the Unit's Canvas website (forum messages are also emailed to student email addresses only).  Students should ensure they check their student email regularly.  The Canvas discussion forums will be checked by staff regularly.

Use of student email account

The University Email policy states that "students wishing to contact the University via email regarding administrative or academic matters need to send the email from the University account for identity verification purposes".  Therefore all unit enquiries should be emailed using a student university email account. Students should contact servicedesk@canberra.edu.au if they have any issues accessing their university email account.

Research Led Education: There are active researchers teaching this unit who are able to engage students in deep and active learning and transmit to students their passion for the research they are carrying out.

• Semester 2, 2024, On-Campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (221625)
• Semester 1, 2024, On-Campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (221453)