Digital Technologies: STEM Connections (EDUC4730)

Length: 20 minute in-class facilitation + 1-3 page annotated session outline + session materials (unlimited) + work log (~1 page) + references (unlimited). Annotations are unlimited.

Task Context

As teachers of Technologies, you will explore various forms of technology and make decisions about technology resources in your classroom. In this context, a professional learning session, you will present to your colleagues a specific technology and/or information and communications technology (ICT) tool in your teaching. In completing this task, you will deepen your appreciation of educational technologies, including ICTs, and enrich your perspectives of technology, its impacts and consequences. The task requires you to demonstrate a knowledge and deep understanding of technology, including as intended and described by the Australian Curriculum: Technologies, which will form a solid foundation for the planning of learning and teaching experiences for your students at any year level.

Task Description

In small groups, you will collaboratively design and facilitate a professional learning (PL) session for your fellow preservice teachers. Your interactive PL session will involve implementing appropriate teaching and learning principles to support your colleagues in understanding how to use your chosen ICT tool to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students in STEAM learning area(s) of the Australian Curriculum. All group members must collaboratively engage in decision-making, planning, and in-class facilitation. The ICT tool should be applied in this context primarily for student learning, rather than management, teacher presentation, etc. Additionally, the ICT tool should be accessible to students during the workshop.

This assessment task consists of five parts:

• (1) Professional Learning session - Facilitated during class on March 20th 
• 20-minute session facilitation applying appropriate teaching and learning techniques for teachers as learners (e.g., do not lecture; do include hands-on activities; do discuss at the end). During the session:
• Equip your colleagues (i.e., teachers as learners) with 1-2 ways to use the ICT tool to expand curriculum learning opportunities for primary students in relation to your chosen ICT and STEAM learning areas.
• Clearly identify learning area(s) and content descriptors directly relevant to your ICT tool and use (consult the Australian Curriculum, version 9).
• Clearly identify the teacher as learner learning objectives you are targeting (consult Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST).
• Teachers as learners should engage with the ICT tool.
• (2) Annotated session outline (1-3 pages with unlimited annotations using Comments)
• Dot-point outline of your plan for the session for your use.
• Annotations using Comments with scholarly references to provide evidence and justification of addressing the following:
• Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of research into how (primary) students learn and the implications for teaching.
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching areas: ICT and your chosen STEAM area.
• Implementing ICT as part of expanding STEAM-related curriculum learning opportunities for primary students.
• Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies as applied to teachers as learners.
• Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student (i.e., teachers as learners) engagement.
• Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions for your teachers as learners.
• (3) Session materials (unlimited)
• Include materials created for use during the session (e.g., handouts, slides, posters, etc.) or readable images thereof.
• Optional: You may create annotations using Comments to further support addressing the points in 2.
• (4) Work log (~1 page)
• Create work log providing evidence of collaboration and fair distribution of effort during the task.
• See Group Work policy below.
• (5) References (unlimited)
• Create a reference list for all works cited
• Use APA format.

Submission

One group member submits the full document (i.e., 2-5 above) in Word or PDF form via Blackboard. Each other group member submits a single page stating the composition of the group and indicating the group member who submitted the full document.

Group Work Policy

You will receive a single group mark for this task, as all group members should collaborate and fairly contribute to completing this assessment task. However, exceptions can be made in the event of group dysfunction. If your group is experiencing dysfunction, it is your responsibility to promptly bring this to the attention of the course coordinator, who will then support the group to attempt to respectfully resolve the issues. If no timely group resolution is found, the course coordinator can take steps including, but not limited to:

1. Assigning new working arrangements for task completion, including re-grouping and/or requiring students to work individually
2. Deducting one grade from the overall group score for student(s) who the course coordinator determine(s) to be responsible for the dysfunction, using evidence from the work log and / or communications with students

Criteria & Weighting

Please refer to the accompanying criteria sheet posted on Blackboard.

Page Limit / Word Count Note

Due to the nature of this task, the page limits and word counts are recommendations, not strict requirements. However, being concise contributes to Communication.

Length: ~1500 words

Task Context

For this assignment, we will operate on the assumption that you may join a primary school with a makerspace when you eventually become a teacher. When you do this, you should be prepared to use the tools and technologies in the makerspace to implement activities with your students that are hands-on, innovative, and connected to the Australian Curriculum: Technologies. With this in mind, we will tour UQ's makerspace, UQ Innovate, and explore the tools and technologies available for use. We will follow by using those tools and technologies to create personalised artefacts. 

Task Description

Working in pairs, your task is to use some combination of digital and physical tools available in UQ Innovate to create a personalised artefact. While all of the tools and technologies in the makerspace will be available for you to use, it is recommended that you focus on creating an artefact using the 3D printers, laser cutters, or vinyl cutter. Examples of personalised artefacts include, 3D printed phone holders, laser cut earrings, and unique laptop stickers. After you create your personalised artefact, you will: (a) reflect on the experience of creating a personalised artefact in the makerspace, (b) evaluate your personalised artefact in relation to one of the three kinds of thinking in the Australian Curriculum: Technologies (e.g., systems thinking, design thinking, computational thinking), and (c) adapt the core ideas of your activity in the makerspace for use in a primary classroom. When we meet for class on Thursday, April 17th, please bring your personalised artefact to share it with your classmates in a round robin activity. Be prepared to speak about the tools you used and the processes you engaged in to create your personalised artefact. 

In addition to creating a personalised artefact in UQ's makerspace, you will will also produce ~1500 words of text. In this text, you should:

• (a) Reflect on the experience. For this part of the task, consider the following prompts: 
• What tools and technologies did you use to create your personalised artefact?
• What was it like to do work in the makerspace? What issues did you have when creating your product? How did you solve those issues? 
• Describe how you grew your technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) during the time you spent in UQ's makerspace. Please use evidence from your activity in the makerspace (e.g., pictures of digital and/or physical artefacts) to support your claims.
• (b) Evaluate your artefact in relation to one of the three kinds of thinking in the Australian Curriculum: Technologies. For this part of the task, consider the following prompts:
• Describe the work flow that you followed to create your personalised artefact.
• Explain how creating your personalised artefact facilitated engaging with systems thinking, design thinking, or computational thinking. Be sure to make concrete connections to the Technologies curriculum in this section. 
• (c) Adapt core ideas of the activity for primary classroom use. For this part of the task, consider the following prompts: 
• Explain 1-2 adaptations to your experience so that it could become appropriate for primary students.
• Provide 1-2 examples of how you will account for safe, ethical, and responsible use of technology during the adapted activities.

Submission

One group member should submit the full document in Word or PDF form via Blackboard. The document should include the names of both group members. 

Criteria & Weighting

Please refer to the accompanying criteria sheet posted on Blackboard.

Page Limit / Word Count Note

A range of word count is intentionally permitted; however, the expectation is for concise writing.

Length: ~2500 words of student-generated content (i.e., excludes template, AC quotes, appendices, and references (if applicable)) + unlimited annotations

Task Context

Effective learning and teaching in any subject area requires skilful planning. Unit plans prepared by teachers guide them through a logical and effective sequence for the development of children’s technical skills, conceptual ideas, and knowledge and understanding of a subject. For this assessment task, you will prepare the foundations of a unit plan for the integrated teaching of Technologies and supply annotations which explain and justify your choices regarding learning and teaching activities and strategies.

Task Description

Your task is to develop an inquiry-based Technologies unit plan using the template provided. The main content is to be from the Technologies Curriculum (Design or Digital) but the unit should also integrate subject matter from one additional STEAM subject. You must also include annotations explaining your decisions and alignment with assessment criteria. In the body of your unit plan, explicitly attend to items such as:

• Unit plan essentials – title, year level, length of unit, concise overview
• Australian Curriculum: Technologies and relevant integrated content to be addressed
• Australian Curriculum: General Capabilities (e.g., literacy, numeracy, ICT) and Cross-Curriculum Priorities (e.g., sustainability)
• Differentiation and responsiveness
• Assessment
• Phases of teaching and learning sequence, organised by Design Process phases
• Outlines of inquiry-based lesson activities
• Lists and descriptions of lesson resources and materials
• General goals and specific objectives
• Safety considerations (as needed)

You are not required to develop complete and detailed lesson plans for this unit. Instead, concise outlines should identify the key objectives and activities of each lesson. Learning experiences should be developmentally appropriate, enable student agency for creative decision-making and expression, and be intellectually engaging. Ideas explored in course workshops and related materials should be evident in the unit plan and annotations. The sources for any ideas, strategies, activities, resources, and justifications should be acknowledged and appropriately referenced using APA Style.

You must also include two types of concise annotations in an accompanying word document (or using the comments feature in Word). The first type of annotation should provide details of your decision-making in planning sequenced learning experiences pertaining to:

• Diverse student knowledge(s), experiences, characteristics, and cultures
• Understanding of how students learn
• Content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge for Technologies and the integrated STEAM subject
• Integrating subjects and linking to general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities
• Formal and informal assessment of student learning for diagnostic, formative, and summative purposes
• Sequencing lessons informed by curriculum, assessment, and reporting knowledge
• Setting appropriate and varied learning goals
• Differentiation and responsiveness to support inclusive participation
• Selection and use of appropriate resources

When possible, these annotations should also link applications in this assessment task with important ideas from the course.

The second type of annotation should draw attention to key passages where you believe you have addressed the assessment task criteria and explain your perceptions of how you met the criteria to the degree specified.

Submission

Submit the assessment electronically via Blackboard. Please use .docx or .doc format.

Criteria & Weighting

Please refer to the accompanying criteria sheet posted on Blackboard.

Page Limit / Word Count Note

Due to the nature of this assessment task, the word count is a recommendation, not a strict requirement. However, being concise is part of the Communication criterion.