Curriculum Studies - Computing Technology
Quick Info
- Currently offered by Alphacrucis: Yes
- Course code: CRS419
- Credit points: 10
- Subject coordinator: Cassandra Pendlebury
Prerequisites
A major in Computing or Computing Technology including at least two units that develop skills in the design and development of software e.g. programming in a computer-based language and system analysis, design, development and testing.
EDU401 Foundations in Christian Learning and Teaching.
The following courses are prerequisites:
Awards offering Curriculum Studies - Computing Technology
This unit is offered as a part of the following awards:
Unit Content
Curriculum Objective
Students will explore the use of ICT to implement responsible and ethical solutions to problems in a society characterized by rapid technological change, global communication and increasingly competitive knowledge-driven economies. This course provides an introduction to curriculum, pedagogy and assessment for teaching the NESA’s Computing Technology Years 7-10 (2022) Syllabus. It provides students with an opportunity to understand the various discourses that inform teachers' knowledge and pedagogical practice as well as critically engaging with models of pedagogy. In this subject, students will also explore ways in which the development of ICT skills can be embedded across the curriculum to meet relevant Year 7-10 requirements.
Outcomes
- Review current literature on pedagogy and specify the implications of the use of ICT in the classroom, while considering the Quality Teaching Framework and Great Teaching Inspired Learning and how these models relate to teaching specifically in the ICT area.
- Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the contemporary principles of inquiry-based learning together with the key content, concepts, processes and skills in current NESA’s Computing Technology syllabus.
- Develop student-centred innovative and well-designed unit of work that includes ICT content; skills; language, literacy and numeracy demands of the content; and identify, apply and assess age appropriate differentiated strategies for the full range of student abilities (supporting well-being and safety) and diverse backgrounds in Christian and alternate school contexts.
- Identify the social impact and discuss legal, ethical and industrial issues relating to the use of current and emerging technologies in secondary school teaching;
- Apply collaborative strategies and best practice project management techniques in the development and implementation of ICT solutions.
Subject Content
1. The Australian Curriculum - Technologies and NESA Years 7-10 Technology Syllabuses
- Establish the relationship between the Australian Curriculum - Technologies and the NESA Computing Technology Years 7-10 (2022) Syllabus.
- Consider the place of the NESA Years 7-10 Computing Technology syllabus and school implementation.
- The aims, rationale and sequential development of the NESA Computing Technology Years 7-10 as worked through the core learning and focus areas of the syllabus; the value of support documents in developing effective teaching and learning programs that support student academic achievement, the wider goals of society and whole person development.
- Place of Computing Technology Years 7-10 in the continuum of learning in K-12, including a particular understanding of the links between Stage 3 and Stage 4; and aim, objectives, outcomes, content, course requirements and key terms.
- The place of the Life Skills Syllabus within the subject’s outcomes and teacher decision making.
Place of Computing Technology Years 7-10 within Christian and alternate school contexts.
2. Values and human issues:
- Christian and alternate worldview perspectives, social action, moral education, cultural and ideological difference, values and the NESA syllabi, interfaith understanding, ethical and legal issues in teaching.
- Developing a philosophy of teaching Technology;
Community Participation:
- Community Engagement: roles and responsibilities; careers in ICT, assistive technologies; equity and access; cyber bullying; cyber terrorism; opportunities for Christian mission.
- The role of parents/carers in teaching and learning Computer Technology Years 7-10.
- The teacher as a communicator of the educational process to parents/ carers and community.
- The role and value of Computing Technology Years 7-10 within education.
- A consideration of lessons learned with regard to the use of technology for school aged students undertaking distance learning during the Covid 19 pandemic.
Teacher professional associations:
- Place of associations in creating professional support networks, including: Australian Council for Computers in Education, ICT Educators of NSW
Presentation of activities and resources for the concept and skills development, and knowledge acquisition of teachers.
3. Teaching Stage 4 and 5 Computing Technology
- Knowledge and understanding of Years 7-10 Computing Technology as academic disciplines, including recent theory and practice related to principles and processes of production and development of computing technology as an industry; the various philosophies of technology, particularly in Computing Technology Years 7-10, and comparing such to a Christian and other faith constructs.
- Defining and analysing problems; designing, creating and evaluating solutions; how people learn ICT, stages of growth and development in ICT concept development with attention to Years 7-10; ICT anxiety; gender and ICT; central ideas and common student misconceptions;
- Models of pedagogy for teaching and assessing Computing Technology Years 7-10: Strategies for developing the essential knowledge, understanding, values and attitudes and skills necessary for students to achieve the syllabus outcomes. The practical nature of the Technologies learning area engages students in critical and creative thinking, including understanding interrelationships in systems when solving complex problems and promotes the realisation of ideas through a systematic approach to experimentation, problem solving, prototyping and evaluation.
- Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans; encouraging reflective thought and action; enhancing the relevance of new learning; facilitating shared learning; making connections to prior learning and experience; providing sufficient opportunities to learn; teaching as inquiry.
Teacher Decision Making
- Accommodating transition to High School/ Senior School/ New school or institution.
- Planning lessons: interpreting the syllabus; content selection; skills selection; lesson sequences; pedagogical strategies for student learning and improving achievement;
- Using the Quality Teaching Framework (QTF) and positive learning environments to implement school based and state education policies and legislation for enhancing quality teaching and learning and student wellbeing;
- Legal and Industrial Issues: legal and statutory responsibilities, Workplace Health and Safety, professional liability, piracy; copyright; privacy; information security;
- Management practices for technology teachers including safety and risk management, selecting, storing, maintaining and replacing equipment and other resources including software tools;
- Using effective collaboration strategies; communication techniques – verbal, written, graphical, visual.
Teaching General Capabilities
- Explicit teaching of the language, literacy and numeracy demands of the content.
- Literacy: Scaffolding literacy with the 4 Resource Model.
- Numeracy: Scaffolding numeracy with the 4 Resource Model (UTAS).
- ICT: understanding meaningful learning as applied to ICT skills and knowledge acquisition.
- Critical and Creative thinking: Revised Blooms/ SOLO.
Teaching for the range of abilities:
- Age appropriate choices and scaffolding for Stage 4 and 5
- Applying UDL and Maker/Kaplan//Williams models to teaching in the ICT fields Inclusion: Implementing Universal Design for the full range of abilities.
- G&T: Gifted and Talented using Williams/ Kaplan/ Maker models.
Teaching for Diverse Settings
- Applying appropriate teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds; physical, social and intellectual development in the ICT fields.
- ATSI: Australian Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander; the 8 ways model of indigenous pedagogy.
- EALD: scaffolding literacy; using ICT to assist meaningful learning.
Religious backgrounds: considering differing worldview perspectives.
4. Teacher program development
- Create programs using Understanding by Design that develop scope and sequences, and incorporate concept development, skills development, and knowledge acquisition associated with threshold concepts, tools, and skills, and core learning.
- Developing the scope and sequence.
- Developing the assessment task – the role of the marking rubric in moderating to assist in evaluating areas for improvement.
- Developing the unit outline – the sequence of lessons.
Teacher decision making
- Selecting threshold concepts; signature pedagogies;
- Sequencing concept development; skills development and knowledge acquisition to achieve learning outcomes.
- Graduating Blooms through the unit (horizontal sequencing & vertical sequencing).
Ensuring the program accommodates the full range of abilities (including gifted and talented) and diverse backgrounds of students.
5. Models Supporting Assessment
- Applying types of assessment: formative, summative, formal, informal.
- Pedagogical based assessments: problem based and project based.
- Models for creating authentic assessments Kaplan/Maker/Williams.
- Developing the assessment schedule.
- Developing the assessment task – the role of the marking rubric in moderating to assist in evaluating areas for improvement.
- Assessing every lesson: the daily role of the teacher.
- Support document examples.
- Strategies for recording and reporting student achievement: types of data collected; recording data for a purpose; areas of reporting; using data to inform program evaluation and future lesson planning.
- Normative, portfolios, objective tests, rubrics, anecdotal records, observation, working effectively with parents and volunteers.
- Online, virtual and fieldwork assessment tasks.
- Measuring and recording assessment, keeping reliable records and reporting to parents/carers and other professionals.
- NESA assessment requirements for the Record of School Achievement and other syllabus studied.
Modifying assessment for age appropriateness, inclusion, for the full range of abilities and giftedness and diverse backgrounds.
This course may be offered in the following formats
- Face to Face (onsite)
- E-learning (online)
- Intensive
- Extensive
Assessment Methods
- Forum Posts (25%)
- Unit of Work (2000 words equivalent) (35%)
- Analysing, Evaluating and Assessing a Units of Work (2500 words equivalent) (40%)
Prescribed Text
- References will include the most current curriculum requirements for schools.
Check with the instructor each semester before purchasing any prescribed texts or representative references