Learning Area English 2

This subject is not offered in 2013.

125 hours.

Attendance at all classes (tutorial/seminars/practical classes/lectures/labs) is obligatory. Failure to attend 80% of classes will normally result in failure in the subject.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Learning Area English 2 is offered to teacher candidates who have satisfactorily completed Learning Area English 1.

This builds on Learning Area English 1 and will include: a closer study of each of the English subjects taught in the post compulsory years of schooling (including VCE, VET, VCAL, ACARA and IB curricula); an exploration of digital learning in subject English; an examination of some of the key issues in English teaching, such as teaching for equitable outcomes, approaches to assessment, text selection and best approaches to supporting the literacy development of diverse learners.

In particular, the role of Australian texts (particularly those of Indigenous Australians) and Asian texts in the curriculum will be explored.

In focussing on these aspects of subject English, teacher candidates will develop confidence in planning, implementing and evaluating learning and teaching experiences across all year levels, and for the diversity of learners in English classrooms. Teacher candidates will be encouraged to devise and utilise a range of resources to cater to different learning styles, multi-literate abilities, and specific needs in the study of a wide range of texts.

Teacher candidates will be encouraged to reflect critically on their own practice as secondary English teachers, and to use their evaluations to inform their future planning for teaching and learning. Emphasis will be given to becoming part of the wider English teaching profession, and to establishing professional readiness.

Guided research will enable students to develop skills related to data collection and analysis, and will promote ongoing integration of theory and practice in their development as English teachers in the 21 st century.

On completion of this subject, teacher candidates should be able to demonstrate:

• a deepened understanding of the post-compulsory pathways accessed by students in Victorian secondary schools.
• the ability to plan and evaluate learning and teaching experiences for diverse learners in secondary English and those with specific needs
• a greater understanding of the role of Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander texts in subject English
• confidence in utilising the affordances of digital technologies for learning and teaching experiences in secondary English
• the ability to utilise the affordances of digital technologies for learning and teaching in subject
• the ability to reflect deeply on professional practice as English teachers
• confidence to articulate a position of some of the key issues facing English teachers in the 21 st century
• developing research skills which make connection between theory and practice.

The subject covers a range of the National Professional Standards for Teachers (for Graduate Teachers). In particular, the subject will contribute to students attaining the following standards:

1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organisation
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting
2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
3.3 Use teaching strategies
3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs
3.7 Engage parents/ carers in the educative process
4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically
5.1 Assess student learning
5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning
5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements
5.4 Interpret student data
6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice
6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning
7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities

There are 2 assessment tasks:

• An annotated multi-modal resource to be used to support learning and teaching in the post-compulsory years of schooling (2000 words equivalent) due mid semester, 50%
• A project investigating an issue relevant to contemporary English teaching (2000 words) due end of semester, 50%

There are 2 hurdle tasks:

• Lead weekly discussion of readings once in the semester and contribute a minimum of 4 posts of 100 words (in different weeks) to the online discussion, due as scheduled
• One ‘English beyond the classroom’ presentation. Presentations will be scheduled in the final weeks of the semester

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject, teacher candidates will have the knowledge, skills and understanding to enable them to:

• Be skilled communicators who can effectively articulate and justify their practices as knowledgeable agents of changes.
• Be flexible and able to adapt to change through knowing how to learn;
• Understand the significance of developing their practice on the basis of research evidence;
• Work in teams with skills in cooperation, communication and negotiation;
• Be independent of mind, responsible, resilient, self-regulating;
• Have a conscious personal and social values base.