Addressing Challenges in Educational Environments (9857.2)

Please note these are the 2022 details for this unit
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Addressing Challenges in Educational Environments
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods On-campus
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Education
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Academic Program Area - Education Level 4 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit Band 1 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 1 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
Through a combination of lectures, workshops and independent research, this unit enables pre-service teachers to demonstrate and extend their knowledge and skills when planning teaching and learning for a diverse range of students including Indigenous students, students with disability, rural and remote students, students from an EAL/D background and gifted and talented students.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Contextualise the contemporary challenges in educational environments;
2. Make links between educational environments, policies and frameworks; and
3. Identify and evaluate effective strategies to address potential challenges early career educators may experience.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
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
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 - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - understand issues in their profession from the perspective of other cultures
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - make creative use of technology in their learning and professional lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas


Prerequisites

Students must have passed 72 credit points including 9869 Designing Learning for Diversity and Inclusion.

Corequisites

Must be enrolled in one of the following undergraduate Initial Teacher Education (ITE) courses:
321JA Bachelor of Primary Education
322JA Bachelor of Primary Education (STeM)
323JA Bachelor of Primary Education (Creative Arts)
324JA Bachelor of Primary Education (Health and Physical Education)
327JA Bachelor of Secondary Education/Bachelor of Arts
328JA Bachelor of Secondary Education/Bachelor of Science
330JA Bachelor of Secondary Education (Health and Physical Education)
347JA Bachelor of Secondary Education (Arts)
348JA Bachelor of Secondary Education (Science)

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 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
2025 Bruce, Canberra Winter Term 26 May 2025 On-campus Mrs Michelle O'Brien
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 28 July 2025 On-campus Mrs Michaela Vergano
2026 Bruce, Canberra Winter Term 08 June 2026 On-campus Mrs Michelle O'Brien
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 On-campus Mrs Michaela Vergano
Not available

Required texts

You may purchase the required text through the several book retailers such as: Amazon, Book Depository and Booktopia amongst others.

Required

Howard, J.A. (2013) Distressed or deliberately defiant? Managing student behaviour due to trauma and disorganised attachment.  Australian Academic Press Group Pty Ltd. (Available online)

Highly Recommended Texts

Burns, J. R. (2024). The no-nonsense guide to mental health in schools.  Routledge

Ewing, R., Glass, C., Kervin, L., Gobby, B., & Le Cornu, R. (2020). Teaching: Dilemmas, challenges and opportunities (6th ed). Cengage. 

McLeskey , J., Maheady, L., Billingsley, B., Bronwell, M. T., & Lewis, T. (2022). High leverage practices for inclusive classrooms.  Routledge.

Mitchell, D. & Sutherland, D. (2020). What really works in special and inclusive education. Routledge.

 Recommended Texts

             Ashman, A., (2019). Education for inclusion and Diversity. Pearson.

             Australian Childhood Foundation. (2018). Making space for learning.  Trauma Informed Practice in Schools (online).

Blaustein, M. E., & Kinninburgh, K. M. (2018). Treating traumatic stress in children and adolescents: How to foster resilience through attachment, self-regulation and competency (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Dunlap, G et al. (2019).  Prevent -Teach - Reinforce: The school-based model of individualized positive behaviour support.  Brookes. 

Eller, J. & Hierck, T. (2022). Trauma-sensitive instruction: Creating a safe and predictable classroom environment. Hawker Bronlow Education.

Graham, L. (Ed.). (2024). Inclusive Education for the 21st century: Theory, policy and practice (2nd ed). Routledge.   

Matusz, P. J. (2024).  Tenaciously teaching teenagers. Routledge

Quinzio-Zafran, A., & Wikins, E. (2021).  The new teacher's guide to overcoming common challenges.  Routledge.

Ralph, T. (2024).  Student voice, behaviour, and resistance in the classroom environment.  Routledge.

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. Where this is not possible, exceptions may be sought from the Faculty Associate Dean Education (ADE). 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. 

Artificial Intelligence

Students may use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as indicated in the assessment instructions for this unit.

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.

It is strongly recommended that students keep records of the development process for all works submitted for assessment, or drafts of work submitted for a work-in-progress review, in a learning portfolio or equivalent. Failure to provide evidence of the development process for assessment may influence a suspicion of GenAI misuse or other forms of academic misconduct. 

 The GenAI for Students Library Guide provides further information, including how to reference GenAI

Special assessment requirements

Submission of all assessments, and an aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the unit.

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.

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 student workload

Reading and private study: 60 hours

Weekly tutorial engagement: 30 hours

Assessment tasks: 60 hours

Inclusion and engagement

Some of the content of this unit has the potential to be emotionally challenging and may be triggering for some.  Students are encouraged to talk with the unit convenor and seek out support from Student Wellbeing if required.

Participation requirements

There is a strong correlation between participation and success in higher education. Your participation and engagement with online 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. Unless specifically stated in the unit outline, there is no mandatory attendance requirement. 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.

Required IT skills

Only basic IT skills are required to complete this unit

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

Please note that the Australian Childhood Foundation online course Trauma Responsive Practice in Education has a cost of $33.   When registering online for the course, students will be required to pay using a credit card.  There is a free option provided  as well.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

Additional information

Theoretical foundations:  The theoretical foundations of the unit are evidence-based and look at multi-disciplinary learning in cognitive sciences, health sciences, behavioural sciences as well as the specialised education fields of disability and inclusive practices. 

Research Led Education: This unit involves research-led education. There are active researchers delivering 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.