EDLA101 English Education 1

10 cp

This unit focuses on the learning and teaching of literacy in the early years of schooling. Through studying a variety of literary, non-literary, media and multi-modal texts, especially those used by young children, students will develop their understanding of the nature, uses and structures of language. Students will study a range of practices which promote children’s composing and comprehending of spoken and written language, as well as techniques for monitoring language use and growth.

 

EDLA102 English Education 2 

10 cp

This unit focuses on the learning and teaching of speaking, listening, writing, reading and viewing in the middle and upper primary years. Students will extend their study of a range of relevant literary, non-literary, media and multi-modal texts and ways of using such texts as one basis for planning English language programs. Students will undertake further studies of practices for promoting and monitoring children’s composing and comprehending of spoken and written language.

 

EDLA104 Communication Skills and their Contexts

10 cp

This unit is designed to enable students to develop skills in composition and analysis of written forms of communication. As well as attending to the structure of writing, this unit assists students to identify contexts of communication and develop appropriate written styles to address these contexts. Students will also explore verbal communication and different styles of oral presentation, particularly in educational settings.

 

EDLA107 Linguistics for Literacy

10 cp

This unit provides a basis for students’ knowledge about the nature and development of language. Theoretical frameworks of language will be explored with an emphasis on socio-cultural and functional approaches to language. Students’ knowledge about language will include an in-depth study of the structure of language, in particular the relationship between oral and written language. Their studies will also focus on the interdependent relationship between context, meaning and grammar incorporating the notion of context as culture, discourse and situation. Through the materials used in the unit, students will experience this learning by means of an explicit engagement with the social and ethical dimensions of differing language contexts, and though practical applications to spoken and written language texts such as audio and visual multimodal texts, transcripts, literary, information, and media resources. Theories of language learning in early childhood from 0 – 5 years will be examined and provide a basis for students’ understanding of pre-school language development and the interdependence of language and emergent literacy. This unit will develop in students’ skills of communication that reflect an understanding of self and others in the learning environment together with a respect for the richness of social and cultural diversity.

 

EDLA108 Children’s Literature for Literacy 

10 cp

Children’s literature is an essential part of literacy education. Therefore, this unit will introduce students to the corpus of children’s literature that encompasses the variety of literary genres, contemporary melded genres, traditional tales, picture books, post-modern picture books and e-books as well as poetry. These will be considered from historical, socio-cultural and post-structural perspectives and will include multicultural literature. This unit is designed to develop and deepen students’ knowledge of children’s literature. The approaches to learning in this unit will include individual and multiple perspectives on learning about children’s literature, and a consideration of student difference and interests, and the significance this has for their learning. Students will consider contexts and strategies for responding to, thinking about and critiquing children’s literature within a basis of literary, semiotic and language theories. The unit will also consider Indigenous literature, enabling students to acknowledge Indigenous Australians’ deep spiritual relationship with the land and value and respect Indigenous cultures. The unit will offer opportunities for students to read widely, develop critical habits of mind, consider what constructs quality children’s literature, and participate in discussions with deep understanding, within a framework that engages the social and ethical dimensions of study and research.

 

EDLA200 Classroom Communication Skills 

10 cp

While reliance on and use of technology in communication increases in society, students need to develop verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. This unit provides the opportunity for students to further develop such skills, knowledge and strategies and to utilise these in classroom settings.

 

EDLA202 Literature and Drama for Teachers

10 cp

This unit builds on earlier units which deal with human development, learning and technology. It is designed to develop student understanding of the concepts and major issues in literacy education and to develop competence in teaching practices which are appropriate in particular school settings as well as in the context of different curriculum areas.

 

EDLA203 Literacy in the Early

10 cp

This unit is designed to provide students with a comprehensive, integrated overview of literacy in the early years. The unit integrates theory and research with practical application. It brings reality to theory by illustrating and translating the abstract into concrete suggestions and activities for use in the classroom. In turn, it provides the meaning and rationale for practical ideas, suggestions, and presented activities. This presentation of theory, research, and practical ideas will provide students with a comprehensive, professional foundation to guide practice.

 

EDLA204 Literacy Education 1

10 cp

This unit focuses on the literacy development of children in the early years of schooling. It will develop in students an understanding of the processes of reading and writing, as well as how children learn to read and write. The teaching of reading will be developed through students’ knowledge of the processes of reading, as well as through a range of pedagogical approaches. The students will learn that the teaching of writing requires knowledge of text structures, English grammar, drafting and editing processes and spelling awareness. These approaches include the ability to motivate, develop and extend children’s responses to literary, factual and multimodal texts; to introduce higher-order thinking strategies through critical and analytical tasks appropriate for K(P) – 2 children; to understand graphological and phonological knowledge, including phonemic awareness, onset and rime, syllabification and sight word recognition. Literacy teaching and assessment practices will be developed from this strong basis of understanding current literacy research and will draw on the discipline knowledge developed in previous courses. Students will consider how mainstream classrooms incorporate children of diverse language, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, deepening their understanding of the contextual socio-political and historical factors influencing schooling, as well as their understanding of the social world, and issues of inclusivity and Catholic social teaching. It will introduce the notion of teaching and learning as socially embedded, together with recognition of the complex contexts of teaching practice and curriculum design. Underpinning the learning in the unit is a fundamental concern for justice and equity, and the dignity of all human beings. The unit provides students with knowledge about research on emergent and developing literacy and the interdependence of talking, listening, reading, writing and viewing. The unit will encourage students to be reflective, independent and flexible thinkers who are open to new ideas and ways of learning, and will demonstrate, practise and exemplify a commitment to lifelong learning.

 

EDLA304 English Education 3

10 cp

The final professional studies unit in English for prospective primary school teachers is intended to deepen students’ understanding of major issues in the area and to develop further their skills in planning, teaching and evaluating in English programs. Issues will relate to on-going theoretical debates, including those relating to the nature of language and language development, and the implications of these for English teaching. The learning needs of particular children will provide a focus for a significant component of the unit.

 

EDLA308 Australian Literature: An Indigenous Perspective

10 cp

This unit examines Australian literature, including early and contemporary Indigenous works, and the literature surrounding the challenge of a new landscape. Other issues include the search for spiritual fulfilment in an alien environment, the emergence of women’s literature, and the immigrant experience. These will be in the form of poems, short stories and excerpts from novels.

 

EDLA309 Literacy Education 2

10 cp

This unit focuses on the learning and teaching of speaking, listening, writing, reading and viewing appropriate to the later years of primary school. It will strengthen the students’ understanding of themselves as learners and educators as they meet intellectual challenges using a range of cognitive processes, and demonstrating a commitment to professional growth. This unit will also assist students to address the questions of integration of knowledge and its application in schools and community. Theoretical frameworks of literacy education will be revisited to ensure students have a strong basis for pedagogy. Students will extend their study of a range of relevant literary (eg novels) information, media multi-modal texts appropriate to Years 3-6 and examine ways of using such texts for planning and integrating literacy across their classroom teaching. Students will extend their knowledge and ability to scaffold children’s learning at more complex levels of reading and writing structures and processes, with a particular focus on scaffolding literacy. This knowledge incorporates children’s ability to draw on spelling strategies, word processing and technology to underpin their competence in literacy. Emphasis will be on students learning how to support children to become effective, analytical and critical writers and readers of a variety of text types for different purposes, appropriate to Years 3-6. Underpinned by a fundamental concern for justice and equity and the dignity of all human beings, the unit will develop students’ understanding of assessment-related issues and the purposes, characteristics, and limitations of various types of assessment. They will become knowledgeable in the implementation of essential learning and productive pedagogies.

 

EDLA403 Children and Literature

10 cp

This unit provides students with the opportunity to extend their reading and knowledge of literature for children and young adults. It includes a review of the history of children’s literature in England, the USA and Australia along with the study of different genres and changing genres. The unit presents recent developments in literary theory and considers the application of these to literature for children and young adults, particularly in the light of developments in visual literacy and critical literacy. Participants will consider the wider socio-cultural impact of the children and young adult literature ‘industry’.

 

EDLA413 TESOL Techniques 

10 cp

This unit requires students to explore the latest techniques in the teaching of TESOL. Activities and strategies designed to assist second language students develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills will be the focus of this unit. How to assess the language skills of ESL students will also be examined in the unit.

 

EDLA430 Cross-Curriculum Uses of Children's Literature

10 cp

This unit is designed to help educationalists recognise the values of using literature in many aspects of the curriculum. Ways of developing literature-based reading programs will be discussed, as well as ways of choosing and using literature which would support such programs. The development of the use of literature in non-humanities areas such as mathematics and science will be outlined and practical workshops in such areas will be undertaken. The unit will also give participants guidelines for evaluating literature for use in other curriculum areas.

 

EDLA438 English Curriculum and Teaching 1

10 cp

This curriculum studies in English for secondary schools unit focuses on the nature, uses and structure of language as applied to the teaching of literacy in the secondary classroom. Through studying a variety of literary, non-literary and media texts, students will examine a range of principles and practices which focus on the teaching of reading, writing, speaking and listening. The unit also focuses on approaches to planning, teaching and evaluating units of work that implement relevant syllabus documents. The unit will deal with approaches to teaching English which cater for a range of students with specific language needs. The unit will develop and critically evaluate resource material for teaching and learning English and plan activities which integrate the four language modes of reading, writing, speaking and listening; and effectively provide for individual differences in mainstream English classrooms in particular, for the junior secondary years.

 

EDLA439 English Curriculum and Teaching 2

10 cp

This, the second Curriculum Studies unit in English, focuses on approaches to planning teaching and evaluating units of work, which implement relevant syllabus documents particularly for the senior secondary years of schooling.

 

EDLA440 ESL Curriculum and Teaching 1

10 cp

This unit is designed to explore the historical development of the teaching of English within the Australian context. Current ESL education policies and State Government documents relevant to the area will be examined. Recent research findings concerning the acquisition of first and second language will be a major focus of this unit. How the research translates into approaches for teaching ESL and specific techniques for the teaching of listening, speaking reading and writing skills will be explored. Using these approaches and techniques for developing lesson plans for second language learners will be a key feature of this unit.

 

EDLA441 ESL Curriculum and Teaching 2   

10 cp

Within this unit students will be expected to familiarise themselves with existing government and non-government curriculum materials for the mainstream classroom and explore ways to adjust this material so as it is appropriate to the ESL learner in the mainstream classroom. In addition, this unit will offer students the opportunity to analyse language errors made by ESL learners and then design appropriate material and activities to address the errors being made. Issues of cultural diversity, refugees, racism and multiculturalism will also be addressed within the unit. The unit will develop and critically evaluate resource material for teaching and learning English and plan activities which integrate the four language modes of reading, writing, speaking and listening; and effectively provide for individual differences in mainstream English classrooms.