Undergraduate - UnitEDF4033 - Innovation in curriculum and pedagogy in schools

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	City (Melbourne) Term 3 2014 (Flexible)
Coordinator(s)	Dr Helen Grimmett

Synopsis

This unit provides opportunities for students to explore innovative curriculum, pedagogy and practice in schools. Through an examination of a range of innovative practices that engage diverse student populations, the unit explores the ways in which teachers in schools transform centralised curriculum documents and bring curriculum 'to life' for their students. In association with this exploration, they investigate a range of issues including maximising student motivation in schools; engagement through curriculum development and innovative practice, developing community-based curriculums and practices, and teachers seeing themselves as 'curriculum workers' and the implication of this for their professional identity. Students draw on their understandings of curriculum policies, issues and innovation to develop practices that are inclusive, exciting and educational.

Outcomes

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

describe, evaluate and compare different theoretical and practical approaches to developing curriculum, including both traditional and innovative practices
examine contemporary curriculum issues and explore exemplars of innovative practice by teachers in response to these issues
articulate the connections between robust curriculum development and innovative practice
analyse key policies and documents relating to curriculum, including those associated with the Australian Curriculum, and show how they promote or constrain innovative practice
appreciate the importance of teachers as curriculum workers and explain how this is related to their professional identity
develop curricula and practices that are educational, innovative, inclusive of difference and aligned with national and state curriculum policies and frameworks.

Assessment

Research essay (2000 words, 50%)
Curriculum construction task (2000 words equivalent, 50%)

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Helen Grimmett

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

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

2 contact hours per week

(b.) Additional requirements:

independent study to make up the minimum required hours per week

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

Education - Early childhood and early childhood-primary