EDCU12040 - Biological and Earth and Space Sciences

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Biological and Earth and Space Sciences develops understanding of both the content and pedagogy required to teach Science in Primary and Early Childhood classrooms. Students are introduced to concepts around how children learn Science; the importance of Science education in an Australian and international context; and current views around effective pedagogical practice linked to research. The focus on pedagogy will be linked to two content areas from the Australian Curriculum: Biological sciences and Earth and Space sciences.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 2
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 1
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Mackay
Online
Rockhampton
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Mackay
Online
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Presentation 50%
2. Practical and Written Assessment 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 73.21% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 33.73% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Moodle, Zoom
Feedback
Moodle course
Recommendation
Update Moodle content with more practical and usable examples to help with future teaching, particularly in the Early Childhood area.
Action Taken
The recommendations passed down as a result of the Early Years review as well as the new curriculum have resulted in the online content undergoing significant modifications.
Source: Unit evaluations
Feedback
Assessments
Recommendation
Revise assessments to aid with clarity and to align to the updated curriculum.
Action Taken
The assessments were updated to be in line with the new curriculum. There were further modifications made due to new AI technologies
Source: Moodle, Zoom
Feedback
Updated Science curriculum
Recommendation
Continue to align content with the new Australian Science Curriculum
Action Taken
The work has begun to include this focus, but more work will need to be done as well as an investment made in high quality teaching materials for the teaching of science online.
Source: Moodle
Feedback
Moodle
Recommendation
The online Moodle content will be updated in line with the new curriculum.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Moodle
Feedback
Assessment items
Recommendation
Assessments will be updated to assist with student clarity.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Online
Feedback
Textbook
Recommendation
A review into the current use of the primary textbook is needed.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Evaluate examples of teaching practice in science to identify how connections are made to students’ prior knowledge or experience to promote learning and inform pedagogical practice
  2. Access/evaluate and apply professional literature on contemporary science education to develop a rationale for learning design
  3. Analyse and incorporate content that recognises the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in the science classroom
  4. Select teaching and learning strategies that promote higher order thinking and scaffold students’ understanding of core concepts in the areas of Biological and Earth and Space sciences
  5. Create learning resources in which learner engagement is transformed by the use of ICT for collaboration and inquiry.

Successful completion of this unit provides opportunities for students to engage with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Career Stage) focus areas of:

1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students

1.2 Understand how students learn

1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area

2.2 Content selection and organisation

2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

3.3 Use teaching strategies

3.4 Select and use resources

4.1 Support student participation

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Presentation • • •
2 - Practical and Written Assessment • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • •
4 - Information Literacy • • • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Presentation • • • • • •
2 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • • • •