Course coordinator
Ms Anna Sibthorpe
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 22/11/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 4
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Education School
This course prepares pre-service teachers to teach Legal Studies in the senior phase of schooling. Pre-service teachers will be provided with opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of relevant curriculum documents. The course will engage pre-service teachers in analysis of recent disciplinary developments in scholarship and professional practice in the teaching of Legal Studies. They will be provided with opportunities to develop the appropriate knowledge and teaching strategies to effectively deal with literacy and numeracy demands and learning opportunities that exist in Legal Studies. Pre-service teachers will demonstrate the ability to (i) design, implement and evaluate learning and teaching sequences and discipline specific assessment tasks that draw on curriculum, assessment, reporting, and ICT knowledge; and (ii) identify and design discipline specific opportunities for professional engagement and communication within the school context, teaching networks and the broader community.
For Semester 1, 2025, the mid-semester break for this course will be relocated to university week 8. In Semester 2, this course commences 1 week before standard Semester 2 classes.
Course requirements
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
EDUC6835
Restrictions
Restricted to students who are eligible to undertake Bachelor of Education (Secondary) dual program Professional Year
Jointly taught details
This course is jointly-taught with:
Students in EDUC4657 and EDUC7657 and will attend joint classes and all activities are shared.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Ms Anna Sibthorpe
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
In the event that enrolment numbers are below 10 students, the course will operate on a modified schedule, consisting of ten workshops per year (five per semester).
Aims and outcomes
- Pre-service teachers will be provided with opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of relevant curriculum documents.
- The course will engage pre-service teachers in analysis of recent disciplinary developments in scholarship and professional practice in the teaching of Legal Studies.
- Pre-service teachers will be provided with opportunities to develop knowledge and teaching strategies to effectively deal with Literacy, Numeracy and 21st Century Skills demands and learning opportunities that exist in Legal Studies.
- Pre-service teachers will demonstrate the ability to:ﾠ
(i) design, implement and evaluate learning and teaching sequences and discipline specific assessment tasks that draw on curriculum, assessment, reporting, and ICT knowledge; and
(ii) identify and design discipline specific opportunities for professional engagement and communication within the school context, teaching networks and the broader community.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate understanding of relevant content and analysis of recent disciplinary developments in scholarship and professional practice in the teaching of Legal Studies
LO2.
Demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge of how students learn and knowledge of relevant curriculum documents to the development of appropriate discipline based learning goals and teaching strategies for students of varying abilities
LO3.
Demonstrate the ability to design, implement and evaluate learning and teaching sequences and discipline specific assessment tasks that draw on relevant curriculum documents, a range of effective teaching resources, a range of assessment and reporting strategies, and ICT knowledge that enables teaching strategies that expand learning
LO4.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of literacy, numeracy and 21st Century teaching strategies and their application in Legal Studies
LO5.
Demonstrate the ability to respond to feedback, and identify and design discipline specific opportunities for professional learning engagement and communication within the school context, teaching networks and the broader community and understand the rationale for this professional practice in relation to improved student learning
LO6.
Demonstrate clear, fluent and coherent communication skills in English consistent with personal, professional and academic conventions
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Practical/ Demonstration |
Micro Teaching
|
20% 20 mins |
13/03/2025 - 20/03/2025
Allocations will be determined during the first workshop. Reflections to be submitted one week after. |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Learning and teaching sequence and assessment | 50% Unit Plan + Resources + 3000 word descriptions/justifications |
1/08/2025 2:00 pm |
| Project | Professional engagement and communication | 30% 10 mins + 250 words + 1500 words |
Presentations 9/10/2025 - 16/10/2025 Report - Due 2pm 24/10/2025 Responses 16/10/2025 - 23/10/2025
Presentations will be conducted during the two workshops held before the report submission deadline. Responses to student submissions must be posted on the discussion board within one week following the presentation. |
Assessment details
Micro Teaching
- Team or group-based
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance, Written
- Category
- Practical/ Demonstration
- Weight
- 20% 20 mins
- Due date
13/03/2025 - 20/03/2025
Allocations will be determined during the first workshop. Reflections to be submitted one week after.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L06
Task description
Using the senior Legal Studies curriculum you are to present a lesson segment in pairs/or groups of three (depending on numbers).
Your presentation should go for no more than 20 minutes and should consist of the following:
- a 5 minute overview which presents your brief grid overview and also outlines where and how your segment fits into your lesson (you should show your grid overview and lesson plan)
- a 15 minute simulation of the lesson segment
Your group is required to submit the following in one document via Blackboard prior to your presentation (only one group member needs to upload this):
• A brief grid overview that shows where your lesson fits into a possible unit of work
• A full lesson plan that indicates where your segment fits into the lesson (the full lesson should be 60-70 minutes long)
• Any resources used
Individually you are to submit to Blackboard a personal reflection outlining what you did well, what you will need to improve for next time (in both your lesson plan and presentation) and what professional learning you need to complete to improve student learning and a rationale outlining the importance of continued professional learning. This must be submitted to Blackboard within the week after your presentation.
Please note: You are not required to present the full lesson in the workshop, you only present a 15 minute segment of the lesson.
Submission guidelines
Students will submit their unit outline and lesson plan to Blackboard prior to their presentation. Individual Reflections are to be submitted to Blackboard no later than one week following presentations.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.
Learning and teaching sequence and assessment
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 50% Unit Plan + Resources + 3000 word descriptions/justifications
- Due date
1/08/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L06
Task description
To ensure that the learning intents of the syllabus are delivered effectively, teachers need to plan their learning sequences and ensure that assessment tasks meet the requirements of the instrument specific marking guides.
The Task
You are to individually create a 25 lesson unit of work based on the senior Legal Studies curriculum.
Your submission needs to include the following:
1. Provide a unit overview in a detailed grid format (use grid template provided) which outlines:
a. Learning goal/intent
b. Key content/vocab/terminology
c. Key teaching, reporting and learning strategies
d. Literacy and numeracy activities
e. Marzano cognition
f. Resources required
g. Homework
h. Assessment strategies (e.g. informal, formal, diagnostic, formative, summative)
2. Describe and justify the teaching strategies/approaches to be used (with academic references). In this section you are to refer to relevant learning theory.
3. Prepare detailed lesson plans for three key lessons within your unit plan and provide all resources digitally (if you are using physical resources, take a photo and include it with your submission).
4. You need to ensure that at least one of these three lessons demonstrates the implementation of ICT teaching strategies. Justify how these strategies expand curriculum learning opportunities for students.
5. Using one lesson, explain how you have set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics.
6. Explain how in your unit (and detailed lesson plans) you have incorporated strategies to differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
7. Explain how literacy and numeracy strategies will be incorporated and developed within your unit. You need to provide specific examples of activities or strategies used.
8. Provide an assessment task and criteria for the unit that reflects the requirements of the curriculum document.
9. Demonstrate your understanding of assessment strategies by describing how you will use a range of approaches throughout the unit (e.g. informal, formal, diagnostic, formative, summative) to assess student learning.
Submission guidelines
Submit to Turnitin via the Blackboard link
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/applying-assessment-extension
Late submission
A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.
Professional engagement and communication
- Mode
- Oral, Written
- Category
- Project
- Weight
- 30% 10 mins + 250 words + 1500 words
- Due date
Presentations 9/10/2025 - 16/10/2025
Report - Due 2pm 24/10/2025
Responses 16/10/2025 - 23/10/2025
Presentations will be conducted during the two workshops held before the report submission deadline. Responses to student submissions must be posted on the discussion board within one week following the presentation.
- Learning outcomes
- L05, L06
Task description
Three part project
After completing your micro teaching task in Semester One and throughout your professional experience placement, you will have reflected on your own personal professional goals in Legal Studies Curriculum Studies to improve your teaching and student outcomes. Throughout Semester Two, we will dedicate one hour of our tutorial to sharing strategies to address professional development needs in a community context. During this time, four people will each facilitate a segment (4 x 10 minutes). Each member of the tutorial is required to facilitate a session that will be graded.
The Task
You are to individually select a personal professional goal based on feedback you have received to date:
Prior to class
• Conduct research into how students learn and the implications for teaching which will help you achieve growth towards your personal professional goal in Legal Studies CS.
• Upload an abstract of your presentation to the discussion board on Blackboard
(250 words).
During class
• (Part 1) Facilitate a 10-minute session to share what you have learnt with your class.
After class
• (Part 2) Respond to at least two students’ submissions suggesting an alternative approach for using these strategies in your own teaching to improve student outcomes.
• (Part 3) Prepare and submit to Turnitin a 1500-word report that outlines:
o Your personal professional goal and an overview of why continued professional learning is essential for teachers
o Background explaining why you identified this goal and how it is linked to feedback you have received from supervisors and teachers
o Academic research on strategies to use
o Classroom interventions and practical tips
o Expected impact on teaching and learning
o An overview of how you plan to work with professional associations and community representatives to build your professional knowledge and contribute to enhance teaching practices
Submission guidelines
Report to be uploaded to Turnitin via the Blackboard link.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off % | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 29 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: No evidence of ability to apply theories and principles of teaching and learning to classroom contexts. No understanding of the role of the syllabus in supporting learning, teaching and assessment. No use of materials to support teaching, learning and assessment in Legal Studies. |
| 2 (Fail) | 30 - 46 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Limited evidence of understanding and application of theories and principles of teaching and learning to Legal Studies classroom contexts. Limited understanding of the role of the syllabus in supporting learning, teaching and assessment in Legal Studiesﾠdemonstrated. Very limited or inappropriate use of materials to support teaching, learning and assessment in Legal Studies. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 47 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Superficial or incomplete understanding of theories and principles of teaching and learning and inconsistencies in application to the Legal Studies classroom context. Demonstrates limited understanding of the use of syllabus documents to support teaching, learning and assessment in the Legal Studies classroom context. Limited understanding of the design of appropriate resources to support teaching, learning and assessment in Legal Studies. |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Adequate understanding and application of teaching and learning principles and theories to the Legal Studies classroom context. Justifies/evaluates reasoning adequately. Adequate understanding demonstrated of the role of syllabus to support teaching and learning. Demonstrated adequate understanding of the syllabus in design of assessment for Legal Studies. Justifications for reasoning supported by an appropriate selection of academic sources. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Substantial understanding of theories, principles, policy and practice and their implications for teaching and learning in Legal Studies contexts. Substantial justifications/evaluations of reasoning supported by a range of resources. Demonstrated substantial understanding of the syllabus in design of assessment, resources and lessons for Legal Studies. Some errors in communication. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrated a good understanding of theories, principles, policy and practice and their implications for teaching and learning in Legal Studies contexts. Explicit justifications/evaluations of reasoning supported by a wide range of academic sources. Demonstrated substantial understanding of the syllabus in design of assessment, resources and lessons for Legal Studies. Fluent, logical and coherent communication with minor errors only. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of theories, principles, policy and practice and their implications for teaching and learning in Legal Studies contexts. Comprehensive justifications/evaluations of reasoning fully supported by a comprehensive range of academic sources. Demonstrated comprehensive understanding of the syllabus in design of assessment, resources and lessons for Legal Studies. Fluent, logical and coherent communication, free of errors. |
Additional course grading information
Determining final grades: The final grades are determined by consideration of the weighting of individual assessment items, through the use of weighting formula and the profile of individual grades across accumulated assessment tasks.
An exemplar to show calculation of the final grade:
All three assignments in this course will be provided a grade out of 7. The final grade will be calculated using the weighting and the individual assignment grades as follows.
Assignment 1 (A1): grade of 6 at 35% weighting
Assignment 2 (A2): grade of 5 at 35% weighting
Assignment 3 (A3): grade of 6 at 30% weighting
The final grade for this student taking into account the weighting of each assignment would be: (A1) + (A2) + (A3)
(0.35 x 6) + (0.35 x 5) + (0.3 x 6) = 2.1 + 1.75 + 1.8 = 5.65
The final grade would be rounded to the nearest whole number; in this case the grade would be 6.
In the case where the final grade is 0.5 or above, the grade will be rounded up to the nearest whole number (e.g. 5.5 would become 6). In the case where the final grade is 0.49 or below, the grade will be rounded down to the nearest whole number (e.g. 6.49 would become 6).
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
The following applies to all assessments in this course:
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the 'Assessment' folder in Blackboard for this course.
Release of assessment item marks and feedback
In addition to the grade awarded, feedback will be provided in a timely manner to enable students to apply the feedback to further tasks within the course or program and/or plan for supplementary assessment, requests for re-mark, or re-enrolment. However, as per UQ Policy and Procedures Library under the Assessment Procedure, results for the final assessment item are to be released only after the final grade for the course has been released. Time frames for applications for assessment re-mark are indicated under the Assessment Procedure.
Re-mark policy
After each assessable item, students will be given the opportunity to view their assessment and so satisfy themselves that a marking or administrative error has not occurred. The formal process of querying a course result (requesting a remark on academic grounds) is set out in the UQ Policy and Procedures Library under the Assessment Procedure.
Use of AI/MT to support or inform assessment
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Required syllabus documents may be downloaded from https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.auﾠ
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (24 Feb - 02 Mar) |
Workshop |
Course Introduction Introducing and exploring the Legal Studies curriculum documents (Years 11-12). This includes the current Queensland approach to senior syllabus, curriculum, assessment and reporting. Unit Outline development Intro to lesson planning. APST: 2.1 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L06 |
Week 3 (10 Mar - 16 Mar) |
Workshop |
Legal Studies Planning Lesson planning and unit outlines Intro to the SATE system Micro-teaching presentations APST: 1.2, 2.1 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L06 |
Week 4 (17 Mar - 23 Mar) |
Workshop |
Planning Planning (unit and lesson design) - including establishing challenging learning goals and alignment with cognitive verbs APST: 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2 Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L06 |
Week 6 (31 Mar - 06 Apr) |
Workshop |
Application of the Curriculum Lesson and activity planning. APST: 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04, L06 |
Week 7 (07 Apr - 13 Apr) |
Workshop |
Classroom management Classroom organisation and behaviour management in the Legal Studies classroom APST: 1.2, 3.1, 4.2 Learning outcomes: L05, L06 |
Week 8 (14 Apr - 20 Apr) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Mid-semester Break For Semester 1, 2025, the mid-semester break for this course will be relocated to university week 8 |
Multiple weeks From Mid-sem break (first semester) To Week 13 |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Break for Professional Experience |
O-Week (second semester) (21 Jul - 27 Jul) |
Workshop |
Literacy, Numeracy, 21st Century Skills Literacy and numeracy strategies within Legal Studies APST: 2.5 Learning outcomes: L04, L06 |
Week 14 (28 Jul - 03 Aug) |
Workshop |
ICT strategies Implementing teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning APST: 2.6 Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L06 |
Multiple weeks From Week 16 To Week 21 |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Break for Professional Experience |
Week 22 (22 Sep - 28 Sep) |
Workshop |
Professional learning Professional learning opportunities for Legal Studies teachers APST: 6.4 Learning outcomes: L01, L05, L06 |
Mid-sem break (second semester) (29 Sep - 05 Oct) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Mid-Semester Break |
Week 23 (06 Oct - 12 Oct) |
Workshop |
Assessment design Assessment design and development: including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning APST: 2.3, 5.1 Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L06 |
Week 24 (13 Oct - 19 Oct) |
Workshop |
Professional engagement Professional engagement as a Legal Studies teacher APST: 7.4 Learning outcomes: L05, L06 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.