Undergraduate - UnitEDF1030 - Literacy learning and the young child

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Education
Offered	Berwick First semester 2014 (Day) Peninsula First semester 2014 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Ms Wendy Goff (Berwick); Dr Denise Chapman (Peninsula)

Synopsis

This unit introduces students to the multifaceted, diverse worlds of children's literacy learning spanning home, community and formal school contexts. Engagement with contemporary research literature assist students in their exploration of literacy concepts, events and theories leading to their development of pedagogical practices that support children's literacy learning in multiple contexts. A strong emphasis is given to understanding the four roles of the literate person in relation to speaking, reading, writing and listening, and recognising the importance of respecting the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on literacy learning.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

understand the connections between home and community literacies with special focus on verbal and non-verbal language in context
recognise how key literacy concepts are practised in early learning settings such as homes, communities, childcare, preschool and the primary school
analyse and critique literacy skills such as phonemic awareness, semiotic theory, text genres, morphology, phonics, consonants, syntax, phonology and semantics
engage with contemporary theories and research related to literacy learning and development from birth to 12 years
demonstrate understanding of key curriculum principles and strategies relating to literacy for young children
develop an understanding and appreciation of inclusive and diverse practices to support and engage children from a range of language heritage backgrounds, including bilingualism and multilingualism, which leads to an awareness of the cultural construction of language development.

Assessment

Research paper as a poster presentation on a key literacy topic (2000 words equivalent, 50%)
Observation and critical written analysis of an everyday literacy scenario for a young child (2000 words equivalent, 50%)

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Evan Ortlieb

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:

2 hours per week

(b.) Additional requirements:

10 hours of independent study per week

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Education - Early childhood and early childhood-primary