Course Title: Approaches to Cross-Curriculum Inquiry
Part A: Course Overview
Course Title: Approaches to Cross-Curriculum Inquiry
Credit Points: 12.00
Course Coordinator: Dr Naomi Wilks-Smith
Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7004
Course Coordinator Email: naomi.wilks-smith@rmit.edu.au
Course Coordinator Location: Bundoora
Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment
Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities
Enforced Pre-Requisite Courses
Successful completion of TCHE2658 Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education and TCHE2625 Literacy Test for Initial Teacher Education.
Note: it is a condition of enrolment at RMIT that you accept responsibility for ensuring that you have completed the prerequisite/s and agree to concurrently enrol in co-requisite courses before enrolling in a course.
For your information go to RMIT Course Requisites webpage
Course Description
In this course you will explore concepts, values and skills that apply across and beyond the traditional constraints of individual learning areas. You will develop your capabilities to integrate learning and teaching across the curriculum, through the exploration of ethical and social issues of relevance to primary school children. You will develop and apply your knowledge of inquiry pedagogies to the development of engaging integrated curriculum. You will also strengthen your ability to use a variety of resources, including digital technologies, to engage students in their learning. You will extend your capacity to design learning experiences that differentiate to meet the needs of students across a range of abilities.
Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development
This course contributes to the following BP320P24 Bachelor of Education (Primary) and BP320PEC24 Bachelor of Education (Primary and Early Childhood Education) Program Learning Outcomes:
PLO1 Develop and demonstrate broad and coherent theoretical and practical knowledge through one or more of the following practices: planning using data; teaching and learning; assessing; feedback and professional judgement; and appraising impact of teaching across a range of disciplines.
PLO2 Enhance student learning and wellbeing by adopting practices that support sustainable futures and principles of inclusion.
PLO3 Support students to develop the skills needed to become collaborative, problem-solving, creative learners with agency, and innovative and engaged members of society.
PLO4 Adopt and apply sustainable, ethical, and collaborative pedagogical approaches that demonstrate understanding of the transformative potential of education in local and global social contexts.
PLO5 Demonstrate agency and an emerging professional identity through effective learning and teaching.
PLO6 Apply initiative, judgement, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which may include the use of new technologies and teaching tools, to enhance your practice and to provide growth opportunities for students.
PLO7 Engage with school communities and professional networks and communicate with diverse stakeholders in a range of contexts.
PLO8 Draw on evidence-based theory and reflective practice to adapt to the changing needs of the profession and to identify professional learning needs to improve student learning outcomes.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
| Graduate APST | ||
| 1. | Design and plan effective and engaging inquiry-based learning experiences that integrate content knowledge, teaching and assessment strategies across a range of learning areas and ethical capabilities | 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.2, 3.3, 5.1 |
| 2. | Identify strategies for differentiating teaching to meet specific learning needs of students with varying abilities and diverse backgrounds and set learning goals that provide achievable challenges | 1.3, 1.5, 3.1 |
| 3. | Justify your pedagogical approaches to inquiry and how they support student learning drawing on your theoretical and practical knowledge | 2.1 |
| 4. | Apply your knowledge of resources, including Digital Technologies, to engage students in their learning across curriculum areas | 3.4 |
| 5. | Critically examine your knowledge of social and ethical issues and inquiry pedagogies, to strengthen your teaching of these areas | 2.1, 3.3 |
Overview of Learning Activities
Your learning in this course will involve a range of activities including lectures (online and face-to-face), workshops, practical activities and projects, individual tasks, collaborative group work, discussion and individual reflection.
Overview of Learning Resources
RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems.
There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.
Overview of Assessment
You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes (CLO) and on your development against the program learning outcomes. The assessment is also mapped against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST).
Assessment Tasks
| Title | Weighting | CLOs | APSTs | |
| AT 1 | Annotation and critique of inquiry pedagogy | 50% | 1, 2, 3 | 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 5.1 |
| AT 2 | Design of an inquiry unit | 50% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 | 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 5.1 |
Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.
If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.
Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.