Language and Teaching

This subject is not offered in 2016.

85 hours

None

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject introduces Associates to the literate demands of the range of subject areas taught in the secondary school. Associates will be assisted to develop interventionist classroom practices using explicit language strategies. Topics will include: the relationship between language and learning; the scaffolding role of the teacher in students’ learning through language; teachers’ and students’ use of oral language to enhance learning; the structures and language features of key text types used in secondary schooling; the processes involved in reading the complex multimodal texts used in modern secondary schooling; supporting students’ reading and writing; and planning for literacy in the subject areas. Associates will relate their understandings of these issues to their teaching in the schools

On completion of this subject, associates will be able to:

• Recognise the role of spoken and written language in learning across the secondary subject areas;
• Plan interventionist classroom practices which account for and address literacy demands;
• Reflect on their own ongoing role in supporting learning through spoken and written language;
• Know how to work cooperatively with other teachers in supporting student learning through language;
• Have strong oral and written communication skills;
• Have sufficient metalinguistic awareness to reflect productively on their use of language in the classroom.

• One 1000 word evaluation of oral language in learning and teaching, due soon after the initial intensive (50 per cent);
• Clinical praxis exam, which is an oral presentation equivalent to 4000 words, held during the mid-year intensive. The exam comprises the equivalent of 1500 words for Individualising Learning and Teaching 1, the equivalent of 1500 words for Social and Professional Contexts and the equivalent of 1000 words for Language and Teaching (50 per cent)

There is one hurdle requirement:

• Students are required to complete a summary of the allocated weekly readings. The purpose of the summary is for students to be able to participate in a 10 minute group discussion of issues and questions that arise from the readings. Students will be provided with a proforma for the reading review. Satisfactory completion entails the completion of the summaries and participation in group discussions.

This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 80% attendance at all tutorials, seminars and workshops.

“Literacy Across the Secondary Subjects” (DVD) Kristina Love, Graeme Baker & Marie Quinn Melbourne University, 2007

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject, associates 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.