Course Title: Biology Method A

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Biology Method A

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

CUED1132

Bundoora Campus

Undergraduate

360H Education

Face-to-Face

 Sem 1 2010,
Sem 1 2017,
Sem 1 2018,
Sem 1 2019

CUED1176

Bundoora Campus

Postgraduate

360H Education

Face-to-Face

 Sem 1 2006,
Sem 1 2007,
Sem 1 2009,
Sem 1 2010

Course Coordinator: Dr Tasos Barkatsas

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7423

Course Coordinator Email: tasos.barkatsas@rmit.edu.au


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Submajor study in the following specialist science area:

Biology - includes genetics, human biology, microbiology, botany, zoology


Course Description

This is a methods course that focuses on teaching the theoretical and practical aspects of Biology in secondary schools. Students are introduced to a variety of ideas, techniques and skills that will enable them to evaluate the effectiveness of different teaching/learning strategies. This course will focus on the planning of classroom and curriculum materials.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course is designed to assist students to:

  • Construct a course of study in VCE Biology that is relevant and engaging to learners.
  • Develop skills in teaching biology, including laboratory skills.
  • Develop practical teaching skills for VCE Biology.
  • Select and use a range of support resources for teaching Biology.
  • Use curriculum documents and relevant resources to design a course of study and plan classroom activities and materials in Biology.


Upon completion of this course students will be able to:

  • Construct, using support materials, a course of study in VCE Biology.
  • Use a range of teaching strategies relevant to the VCE Biology classroom.
  • Articulate the importance of the inter-relationships between humans and the natural environment, and its relationships with secondary Biology.
  • Demonstrate practical teaching skills for VCE Biology.

ICT Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course, students will have demonstrated and/or acquired the following ICT capabilities:

  • Understandings of the role of ICT in learning and implications for the classroom.
  • Awareness of a range of contemporary ICT resources suitable for the classroom.
  • Skills in using ICT for communication, presentation, work preparation and implementation.

VIT Standards
This course is aligned with the following standards:

  • Teachers know how students learn and how to teach them effectively.
  • Teachers know the content they teach.
  • Teachers plan and assess for effective learning.
  • Teachers create and maintain safe and challenging learning environments.
  • Teachers use a range of teaching strategies and resources to engage students in effective learning.
  • Teachers reflect on, evaluate and improve their professional knowledge and practice.
  • Teachers are active members of their profession.


Overview of Learning Activities

Students’ learning in this course will involve a range of activities including lectures, tutorials, workshops, on-line discussions, curriculum design and readings in order to support the development of the learning outcomes of this course.
 


Overview of Learning Resources

See Part B


Overview of Assessment

Assessment tasks are directly linked to the stated objectives and outcomes. Assessment in the course will be both theoretical and practical in nature. A range of formative and summative assessment types will be incorporated into the course (for example, written, oral or performance based assessment).

Students should refer to Part B of the course guide for further information on assessment.