Learning and Development

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

170 hours

Admission to the Master of Clinical Teaching or Professional Certificate in Teaching (Clinical)

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

This subject will provide a general conceptual framework for understanding learning, teaching and the range of factors influencing learning. It will analyse the knowledge enhancement process from a range of evidence-based, theoretical and socio-cultural perspectives. Developmental trends in knowledge acquisition and the processes that facilitate it will be identified and evaluated. These include brain development, cognitive transformation, self-regulation, motivation, and knowledge storage and retrieval. Pedagogical approaches and conceptualisations of curriculum for fostering knowledge enhancement and effective learning will be developed. Means of fostering student motivation and engagement will be explored. There will be strong emphasis on links with current practice and on critical reflection as a paradigm for teacher self-evaluation and professional learning.

• Articulate how learning occurs and the key roles of processes such as cognitive transformation, motivation self-regulation and social influences on knowledge enhancement
• Describe developmental trends in knowledge acquisition
• Explicate links between pedagogy, curriculum, assessment and learning
• Describe key characteristics of learning environments that engage students emotionally, socially, physically and cognitively
• Describe key characteristics of curriculum and pedagogy that are developmentally and contextually relevant and build on diverse backgrounds and experiences of students
• Evaluate and critique teaching practice and curriculum implementation from relevant research validated perspectives
• Reflect critically on their own learning and teaching and identify implications for their own professional growth.

• Reports of four observations from classroom or other context (600 words each, 2400 words in total) due fortnightly, from week two of subject, 40%
• Two interventions of 1300 words each (2600 words in total) due end of subject, 60%

Learn to teach, teach to learn.’ Catherine Scott. Cambridge University Press

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

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

• Improve the motivation and learning of those they work with
• Design and implement learning experiences that create a balance between the acquisition of essential knowledge and skills, and the search for meaning and understanding
• Participate actively and positively in a learning community
• Evaluate and use constructive criticism of their work and the work of colleagues
• Report clearly and accurately on a work-related situation