Postgraduate - UnitEDF5175 - Psychology education in the secondary years A

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 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.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Education
Offered	Clayton First semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Mrs Karen Marangio

Notes

This unit is part A of a two-part unit and must be taken in conjunction with part B (EDF5176).

Synopsis

This unit explores the learning and teaching of psychology in secondary schools. It enables students to teach psychology and lay a strong foundation for career-long professional learning. Students become familiarised with psychology curricula and national and international research literature, including current developments and historical views. Students explore the complexities of teaching to enhance student learning of psychology and use these understandings to design and implement purposeful learning activities within a range of contexts. This unit encourages students to consider the purpose of teaching psychology in schools. Students develop an understanding of the subject discipline's place within secondary schools, at senior level (Years 11 and 12) and junior level (Years 7 to 10), including within the science domain, and its links to other domains such as health and humanities. The unit emphasises a view of learning about teaching as an ongoing, collaborative process that is developed through engaging with theory, research and critical reflection on experience.

Outcomes

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

appreciate the nature and scope of psychology as a subject discipline in secondary schools
demonstrate familiarity with the curricula policies related to the teaching of psychology, both nationally and internationally
follow ethical guidelines when teaching psychology and plan responsibly, especially when carrying out research investigations and teaching potentially sensitive or controversial topics
acquire a sound understanding of key theoretical and pedagogical perspectives and issues in the teaching of psychology
develop competence in planning and implementing lessons and units of work, including assessment strategies, that embrace the diverse social and cultural backgrounds and personal experiences of students
select and utilise appropriate resources, including drawing on current local or global issues and popular media to create effective learning activities that may incorporate information and communication technology (ICT) to suit the school context and the students' learning needs
inspire learners of psychology to foster an interest in and positive attitude toward the understanding of human mental processes and behaviours
value the links between psychological understandings, the real world and students' everyday lives and consider what it means to be a psychologically literate citizen in today's society
work collaboratively with peers to help articulate the pedagogical issues, consider different perspectives and understand that learning to teach is a social endeavour
reflect critically on the development of their own teaching and learning to teach psychology.

Assessment

Investigation into learning and teaching psychology (2000 words, 50%)
Reflective journal (2000 words, 50%)

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

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

2-3 contact hours per week

(b.) Additional requirements

independent study to make up the minimum required hours per week

Chief examiner(s)

Mrs Karen Marangio

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

Secondary education
Secondary health and physical education

Prerequisites

A minor sequence in psychology