EDST101 to EDST448
EDST101 Environmental Studies
10 cp
This unit is designed to develop the students’ knowledge and understanding of the environment and of the various processes which operate within it. This awareness should help the student to realise that every living thing depends on the environment and on its relationships with other living things. Students should develop a sense of personal responsibility to care for the environment.
EDST102 Computers in Education
10 cp
This unit aims to provide an opportunity for students to develop their familiarity with the impact of computers and learning technologies on education, especially in the provision of new learning environments. An examination will be made of computers and software commonly used in schools. Current educational practices, concepts and ideas concerning the use of computers will also be explored.
EDST107 Science and Technology for Primary Teachers 1
10 cp
Science education is a strategic priority in Australian school; therefore, primary teachers need an understanding of science and its importance in society today. This and the next unit in the sequence have been designed to lay a foundation that enables students to develop a deeper understanding of the historical, social nature and future of science and technology and their role in the critical transformation to a sustainable society. In this unit, science and technology are portrayed as particular ways of knowing, engaging with and shaping the world. Within science, these ways of knowing are exemplified by the role of evidence and scientific method through exploration of some of the ‘big stories’ that have shaped human culture, such as cosmology, astronomy, evolution, germ theory, plate tectonics. In technology, the processes of design, construction and evaluation are examined. A framework provided by the broad themes of matter and energy that characterise western science enables a range of concepts to be explored. These contribute to students’ conceptual understanding of their place in western science and prepare the groundwork to examine relevant content contained within the various school curricula in the next unit. Throughout these units the critical issues of sustainability are addressed through selected content that allows students to engage with science and technology though a range of environmental issues within an authentic local project focus.
EDST200 Integrating Technology and Science
10 cp
This unit focuses on integrating design technology with science, as part of the primary curriculum. Emphasis is given to the development of design, construction and technology skills, using a variety of materials. Issues in teaching technology linked with science are explored.
EDST201 Science and Technology Education
10 cp
This unit aims to develop students’ understanding of teaching science and technology in the primary school. This will include further development of the students’ own knowledge and skills in science and technology in the primary curriculum, as well as the skills needed to plan learning experiences for children. Constructivism as a theory of learning is central to this unit. The unit examines and models a range of teaching strategies that underpin current best practice in science and technology in the primary school as well as considering issues that impact on student learning in science and technology such as gender and diversity. Students will examine a number of Australian and other curriculum documents and be given opportunities to plan science and technology experiences.
EDST203 ICT Systems: An Introduction
10 cp
This unit aims to develop students’ understanding of teaching science and technology in the primary school. This will include further development of the students’ own knowledge and skills in science and technology in the primary curriculum, as well as the skills needed to plan learning experiences for children. Constructivism as a theory of learning is central to this unit. The unit examines and models a range of teaching strategies that underpin current best practice in science and technology in the primary school as well as considering issues that impact on student learning in science and technology such as gender and diversity. Students will examine a number of Australian and other curriculum documents and be given opportunities to plan science and technology experiences.
This unit aims to build an introductory understanding of contemporary information systems. Students develop a generic understanding of the applications of computers by examining the history of computers, how to buy a computer, computer peripherals, computers in the workplace, computer networks, computerised tasks in the workplace, software solutions, the origin of the internet, Y2K issues and computer viruses. This course is also designed to develop foundation skills in word processing, databases, and spreadsheets and desktop publishing. It is expected that students undertaking this course will recognise computers as the tool of the information age and be able to explain basic concepts in IT.
EDST204 Science and Technology for Primary Teachers 2
10 cp
The second unit builds upon the first by further broadening students’ understanding of a range of science and technological concepts within the framework of matter and energy introduced in the first unit. This unit again engages students with the broad themes of matter and energy within a sustainability framework, but with a particular focus on a range of concepts that are relevant to various primary school curricula such as earth and space, life and living, ecosystems and biodiversity, matter and materials and energy and change. Technology is emphasised through students’ design and construction task relevant to the content.
EDST330 Networking for Schools
10 cp
This unit comprehensively investigates why the computer is the tool of the information age. Students will identify interacting elements of a computer system and how the system functions; contemporary operating systems and the various applications for which each is used; explore local and wide-area networks, including various topologies; determine network design criteria; define different types of computers accurately and the purpose of each; and define and examine software licensing and piracy. This unit is structured so that students are supported in their learning by a variety of hard (paper) and electronic information which encourages cooperative self-paced learning.
EDST331 Information Technology: Education and Ethics
10 cp
This course aims to give students an awareness and understanding of what it is to be an ethical professional working within an information technology (IT) context. On completion of this course, students should understand the professional responsibilities of an information systems practitioner, be aware of the wider implications of information technology to society at large, and be competent to make sound ethical decisions regarding the implementation and use of information systems. The internet is used as the primary source for exploring fundamental issues related to the ethical use of information technology as it provides a variety of perspectives. Issues examined in this unit are related to the students’ individual educational work context.
EDST401 Educating for a Sustainable Future
10 cp
Change and development in the twentieth century brought economic benefits to some of the world’s peoples and environmental problems to all. The state of the world’s ecosystems now poses a serious threat to the health of all Earth’s species. There is now an increasing awareness of the need to reconcile economic success with ecological sustainability and broad support for the basic aim of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations and the planet’s ecosystems.
Education has a crucial role to play in empowering people to participate in working for a sustainable future. Environmental education should be seen not as a separate learning area but more as a philosophy and way of life that permeates the entire curriculum as part of a whole-school approach that is an education for a sustainable future. Schools and other educational institutions need to exercise leadership to promote and reinforce environmental responsibility by integrating the ethical, social, economic and ecological values of environmentally sustainable development into educational practice and policy.
This unit aims to assist students to develop the values, knowledge, and skills to realise the principles and practices of ecological sustainable development in their professional and personal lives, in the workplace and in the wider community through a consideration of real alternatives to our current unsustainable way of life.
EDST411 Teaching with Information Technology
10 cp
This unit aims to provide students with an understanding of the practical implications of information technology for education and schooling. The unit will consider strategies for developing activities using information technology and teaching with information technology. Students will examine information technology as a context, stimulus and tool for learning.
EDST419 Designing IT Resources in Education
10 cp
This is a project-based unit. It will provide students with opportunities to enhance their knowledge and understanding of a wide range of information and communication technology (ICT) applications in educational contexts. Students will develop software and instructional design skills to create innovative solutions to improve teacher productivity or personal management, and to enhance learning outcomes within educational contexts in their own teaching situations.
EDST422 Environmental Education
10 cp
This unit examines a range of concepts which underpin an understanding of sustainability. Students will analyse a variety of issues involving the relationship of humans to the environment. They will also examine ways in which young people learn about the environment and then consider means of including environmental education in the school curriculum. Students will conduct first-hand investigations at sites outside the university.
EDST426 Implementing Information Technology Resources
10 cp
This is a project-based unit. It will provide students with further opportunities to enhance their knowledge and understanding of particular specialist information and communication technology (ICT) applications. Students will develop and implement a substantial student-centred multimedia learning project in a particular educational setting. They will use action research to evaluate the effectiveness of the project in achieving the learning outcomes.
EDST429 Education for the 21st Century
10 cp
Schools and other educational organisations are under intense pressure to respond to a rapidly changing world and to prepare students for active participation in the world of the 21st century. This multidisciplinary unit offers teachers and others involved in the education field an opportunity to develop an understanding of the role and practice of education into the next century. The unit draws its content from the fields of future studies, and considers the role of schools in preparing students for a century which will be able to use the insights gained from this unit to develop curriculum and/or school policy direction.
EDST441 ICT Curriculum and Teaching 1
10 cp
This unit will assist students to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to become competent and enthusiastic teachers of core information technology subjects in junior secondary classes. More specifically, it will familiarise students with policy documents, syllabus requirements, approaches to lesson planning and delivery, the use of information and communications technology for resource development, and effective resource and safety management. Students will develop short lesson sequences, simple assessment activities and learning resources to achieve the syllabus outcomes.
EDST442 ICT Curriculum and Teaching 2
10 cp
This unit will assist students to develop further knowledge and skills to become competent and enthusiastic teachers of secondary ICT subjects in senior secondary classes. More specifically it will familiarise students with relevant policy documents, specific syllabus requirements, approaches to lesson sequencing and program development, statutory requirements for student assessment and reporting, the design of suitable assessment tasks, and unit evaluation, as well as the optimum use of facilities and resource management. Students will develop units of work, assessment tasks and learning resources to achieve selected syllabus outcomes.
EDST443 Science Curriculum and Teaching 1
10 cp
This unit is designed to develop students’ understanding of the philosophy, values and ethics which underpin the teaching of science. Emphasis is placed on developing student confidence in using the syllabus and associated policy statements; planning lessons incorporating varied teaching and learning styles, including technology; and recognising the importance of safety and the requirements of the law. The contribution of science to our culture is studied, together with the application of science methods to social and technological problems. The curriculum emphasis of the appropriate state curriculum documents will be explored.
EDST444 Science Curriculum and Teaching 2
10 cp
This unit aims to develop students’ understanding of how the content of relevant senior science syllabuses is developed in terms of mandatory policies. The major focus is on planning, student assessment and evaluating science units to meet the needs of a range of learners. Use of technology, different modes of assessment, and the place of innovative approaches to teaching science is promoted. Methods by which science can incorporate various curriculum perspectives such as gender, multiculturalism and the environment are considered.
EDST445 Science Curriculum and Teaching 3
10 cp
The need to enable the transition to a sustainable future is foregrounded in the documents that state: “to succeed in [the] world, students will need to create a future which is sustainable – developing an understanding of the interaction between social, economic and environmental systems and how to manage them”. Moreover, science itself has undergone immense change as a consequence of globalisation. The growth of the biotechnologies, and the imminent development of nanotechnology, means science as commodity production has been harnessed to the interests of the global economy. Together, these drivers call for a broader interpretation of science. “Sustainability science” is one response that engages diverse knowledge systems including modern western science (MWS), ecoliteracy, ethnoscience, local knowledge, futures thinking, and global education to produce human-environment systems aimed at developing a sustainable future. This unit will assist students to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and values to teach a “sustainability science” approach within science education to both junior and senior secondary classes.
EDST446 Science Curriculum and Teaching 4
10 cp
This unit builds upon Science Curriculum and Teaching C to further develop students’ understanding of the need and underlying process and concepts that enable the transition to a sustainable future. It also examines novel approaches and concepts that underpin the new field of sustainability science. This unit will assist students to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and values to teach a “sustainability science” approach within science education to both junior and senior secondary classes. It provides a critical examination of current curricula and assists students to develop teaching and learning approaches consistent with Sustainability science through engagement with community based or “citizen science”. The unit draws on the late 20th century concepts of chaos and complexity and autopoiesis (self organisation) to extend students’ views of science beyond the confines of a reductionist curriculum.
EDST447 Technology Curriculum and Teaching 1
10 cp
This unit will assist students to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to become competent and enthusiastic teachers of technology syllabuses in junior secondary classes. More specifically, it will familiarise them with relevant policy documents, specific syllabus requirements, approaches to lesson planning and delivery, the use of information and communications technology for resource development, and effective resource and safety management. In the first instance, the specific junior secondary syllabuses may include Textiles and Design, Food Technology, Electronics, Technical Drawing and Techniques’.
EDST448 Technology Curriculum and Teaching 2
10 cp
This unit will assist students to develop further knowledge and skills to become more competent and enthusiastic teaches of senior technology subjects. More specifically, it will familiarise students with relevant policy documents, specific syllabus requirements, approaches to lesson sequencing and program development, statutory requirements for student assessment and reporting, the design of suitable assessment tasks, unit evaluation as well as the optimum use of facilities and resource management. Students will develop short lesson sequences, assessment tasks and learning resources to achieve the syllabus outcomes. In the first instance, the specific senior secondary technology syllabuses may include Design and Technology, Engineering Studies, Industrial Technology, Electronics, Food Technology and Textiles and Design.
Page last updated: 2017-06-29
Short url: https://handbook.acu.edu.au/60696
Page last updated: 2017-06-29
Short url: https://handbook.acu.edu.au/60696