ADAB105 Indigenous Lifestyles Past and Present

10 cp

The aim of this unit is to explore the main elements of Indigenous cultures past and present. The main emphasis will be on cultural diversity and dynamic cultural change. In linking the past to the present, aspects of traditional culture expressed in modern cultural forms will be examined. Areas to be explored include kinship systems and social structures, traditional roles of men, women and children, religion and spirituality, the dreaming and the law, relationship with the sea and land, caring for the environment, economic life, and the inter-relation of the arts in everyday life.

ADAB106 Post-Contact Indigenous History

10 cp

This unit explores changes in Indigenous societies from 1788 to the 1960s. The impact of European contact and colonisation will be focused upon utilising both written and oral sources. The effects of invasion, dispossession and government policies on the lives of Indigenous people during this period will be examined. This unit also concentrates on the study of Indigenous family history, the history of local resistance, the rise of Indigenous community organisations and political activism.

ADAB107 Contemporary Issues in Indigenous History

10 cp

The aim of this unit is to research a broad range of Indigenous contemporary issues relating to the political, social and legal aspects of Indigenous communities. Included will be land rights, Mabo, native title, Wik and reconciliation. There will be a focus also upon health, housing, education, deaths in custody and government structures which affect Indigenous people.

ADAB111 Indigenous Cultures and Peoples

10 cp

This unit is designed to offer students a greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories and the role of Indigenous studies within the Australian educational context. The unit will focus on the diversity of Indigenous Australia with particular emphasis on the cultures and history of the region in which it is being taught. The development and implementation of the unit will involve Indigenous community members and make reference to relevant local resources. Major themes will include: Contemporary Cultures and Issues; the Contributions of Indigenous People in the Making of Australia; Traditional Cultures and Histories and Contemporary Indigenous perspectives in Education.

ADAB113 Australian Indigenous Peoples, Cultures and Identity

10 cp

The major focus of this unit is the exploration of individual Indigenous identity within a framework of wider Indigenous cultures and theoretical structures. The diversity of cultures and the multiple aspects of traditional cultures and modern cultural forms will be examined. This foundation will provide a clearer understanding of how Indigenous identity continues to change as a result of social/cultural and historical influences.

ADAB204 Australian History in an Indigenous Context

10 cp

This unit explores Australian history from an Indigenous perspective. It focuses on the concept of a shared history that acknowledges both the conflicting and collaborative aspects of our colonial and post colonial past. Changes in Indigenous societies since colonisation and the impact of European contact will be investigated, utilising both written and oral sources. The effects of invasion, dispossession and government policies on the lives of Indigenous peoples during this period will be examined. The Indigenous response to colonisation and the history of local resistance will focus on the rise of Indigenous community organisations and Indigenous political activism.

ADAR100 Creative Arts Education: Visual Arts

10 cp

This unit is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the role of the visual arts in both an educative and societal context. It provides an introduction to the various theoretical models and strategies that underpin the role and function of the visual arts in teaching and learning. The unit also aims to increase students’ knowledge, skills and appreciation of the role of the artist as maker, presenter and critic, through the provision of practical experiences and opportunities for personal expression. This unit enables students to establish links between theoretical components and classroom practices in school settings.

ADAR308 Creative Arts Education 1

10 cp

This unit is designed to provide students with an introduction to the field of the Creative Arts in education. Introductory experiences in the areas of Visual Arts, Music, Dance, Drama and Media education (where applicable) develop students’ foundational knowledge and understandings of the distinctive nature of subject disciplines. Students will develop a critical appreciation of the unique contributions the arts make to society and how these contributions can be engaged with and interpreted in the primary school classroom. Pedagogical principles, theoretical components and practice within Music and/or Visual Arts and/or Drama and/or Dance and/or Media are examined and applied in the design and implementation of classroom practices in school settings. This unit provides foundational understandings and experiences that will inform students’ choices in areas of specialisation in EDAR422 Creative Arts Education 2.

ADFD100 Child Development and Learning

10 cp

This unit aims to provide students with clear links between the substantive research findings within educational and developmental psychology. One goal of research in educational and developmental psychology is to carefully examine questions about the factors that contribute to human learning using objective research based methods. The understanding of the interrelationship between human development and learning and its application to teaching at the primary level is of particular interest.

This unit is not intended to be prescriptive, but is meant to encourage in the student a way of thinking, an outlook on teaching that brings consistency to one's decisions validating one's developing professional knowledge.

ADFD124 Social Analysis and Community Outreach

10 cp

This unit aims to provide students with first hand experiences of injustices existing in our local and global community. Such injustices result in the denial of basic human rights to many citizens. The unit provides students with tools to analysis the causes and effects of these injustices. It also enables students to reflect upon their own values and attitudes concerning justice issues and how consider how these may impact on their future professional and personal lives. The Community Outreach Program component of this unit provides students with a relevant, modern day context in which to come to a personalised understanding of mission, justice and service while relating the service learning to teacher education.

ADFD127 Contexts for Learning and Development

10 cp

This unit is the first in a six unit study sequence in the Education Studies Major. Through the major the students begin to address the questions of the role of schools in a democratic society in educating for a more just an equitable society, and in particular the mission and nature of Catholic schools in our society. Specifically, this unit focuses on important concepts and theories which deepen understanding of school aged young people as individual persons and members of social groups. Developing such an understanding is fundamental knowledge for teachers. Students will consider and critique a range of theories concerning the physical, cognitive and psychosocial aspects of development with particular relevance to the school years. Students will examine ideas and debates about the context of development with specific reference to family, school, peers, culture and diverse social contexts. Students will be introduced to information communication and learning Technologies (ICLT) to develop skills and applications for learning. Lectures and tutorials will actively engage students in a range of activities that encourage a critical reflective approach to their knowledge of development and learning. Along side the content explored in the unit students will be inducted into appropriate university level study skills. In terms of the dimensions of quality pedagogy, Unit 1 looks to the dimensions of intellectual quality (notably elements of problematic knowledge and higher order thinking) and significance (with specific reference to elements of background knowledge, cultural knowledge, inclusiveness and connectedness.

ADFD133 Understanding Learning

10 cp
Co-requisite ADFX110 Professional Experience 1

This unit is the second in a sequence of six units designed to expand the students’ knowledge of learning processes. The unit explores a range of relevant theories to help students understand their own and others learning. It thus enables teacher education students gain key knowledge for their central professional task of constructing effective learning environments. Particular emphasis is placed on relevant aspects of the learner, the teacher and their interrelationships as well as learner differences. As part of their studies, students will work in groups as learning communities. These experiences and their experiences in school settings will be used to provide a base for the concepts and theories of learning introduced in the unit. The unit enables students to develop knowledge of the variety of ways in which human beings can learn: become aware of different forms of learning – physical, perceptual, rote memorizing, metacognitive, narrative, analytical; understand human learning as an active process of meaning making; comprehend important theories of learning, cognition and intelligences and their cultural histories; and explore differences in learning styles and other individual and group differences in cognition and learning. This study will assist students in developing strategies to help children and themselves to become more effective learners. Using technology as a tool for learning will be incorporated throughout the unit. In terms of the dimensions of quality pedagogy, Unit 2 looks to the dimensions of intellectual quality (notably elements of deep knowledge, deep understanding, problematic knowledge, higher order thinking) and quality learning environment (with specific reference to elements of explicit quality criteria, engagement, high expectations, social support and student direction).

ADFX110 Professional Experience 1

0 cp
Co-requisite ADFD133 Understanding Learning

The aim of the first part of the Professional Experience Program is to provide preservice teachers with the opportunity to develop their understanding of the work of the teaching profession and to consider their possible futures within it. At the same time as preservice teachers are developing knowledge of themselves as learners, and extending their understanding of the disciplines that are integral to curricula, they will be experiencing a range of current teaching and learning contexts. In these settings preservice teachers will be asked to take on a number of roles in order to develop insight into the nature of the teaching profession; these might include: purposeful observer, active participant, classroom assistant. The unit will assist the students to identify learning styles and apply various strategies to cater for such learning styles and contexts. Through observation and discussion the student will be able to develop elementary teaching and management skills and to undertake some introductory activities.

ADFX212 Professional Experience 2

0 cp
Prerequisites ADFX110 Professional Experience 1

This professional experience in the primary teacher education program is to provide opportunities for preservice teachers to become immersed in the life of the school program through participation in a combination of full-day professional experiences and a short Block practicum. During this experience the preservice teacher will work initially with small groups, particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy, thus integrating education and professional studies undertaken at the University, and the school-based professional learning experiences. This professional experience should develop and extend preservice teachers’ teaching, learning and management strategies.

ADFX300 Field Experience 3

0 cp

This unit refines and enhances teaching and learning approaches to provide for individual learning differences. The unit offers opportunities for students to apply principles of curriculum planning, to refine and consolidate evaluation and assessment techniques and strategies, refine management and discipline skills, apply appropriate curriculum knowledge through lesson and unit preparation and implementation and to promote a variety of interpersonal skills to reflect critically on experience.