Course coordinator
Mrs Dawn Boland
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- External
- Attendance mode
- Online
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Education School
This course serves the needs of multiple cohorts of students. It prepares current teachers to teach psychology in the senior phase of schooling. Students with backgrounds other than teaching will develop skills to prepare them for potential employment opportunities and/or subsequent studies aligned with the field of psychology education. During the course, students will be provided with opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of relevant curriculum documents. 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 psychology. Students will demonstrate the application of knowledge and skills to practice through (i) designing, implementing and evaluating effective learning and teaching sequences; and (ii) identifying and designing discipline specific opportunities for senior students to develop the knowledge and skills to effectively engage in psychological science.
Course requirements
Assumed background
Students are assumed to have sufficient conceptual background knowledge pertaining to the disciplinary field of psychology as well as prior knowledge, skills and attributes related to teaching and pedagogy in secondary education contexts.
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
EDUC7659
Restrictions
Entry to the Graduate Certificate in Educational Studies or Master of Educational Studies programs.
Course contact
Course staff
Lecturer
Mrs Dawn Boland
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
The course aims to engage pre-service and experienced teachers in a critical analysis of recent disciplinary developments in scholarship and professional practice in the teaching of Psychology in the senior phase of schooling.
ﾠ
Current and aspiring teachers 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 Psychology.
ﾠ
Pre-service and experienced teachers will demonstrate the application of knowledge and skills to practice through designing, implementing and evaluating effective learning and teaching sequences and discipline-specific assessment tasks that draw on curriculum, assessment, reporting, and ICT knowledge.ﾠ
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate a critical understanding of relevant content and analysis of recent disciplinary developments in scholarship and professional practice in the teaching of psychology. (APST 2.1)
LO2.
Demonstrate the ability to innovatively 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. (APSTs 1.2, 1.5, 2.1, 3.1)
LO3.
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in psychology. (APST 2.5)
LO4.
Demonstrate clear, fluent and coherent communication skills in English consistent with personal, professional and academic conventions. (APST 2.1)
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation, Project | Microteaching presentation, justification and rationale | 30% 15 minute presentation and written submission (justification and rationale) 1000 words |
10/04/2025 2:00 pm
All components of this assessment must be submitted together by the due date. |
| Project | Learning and teaching sequence task | 50% 2500 words |
22/05/2025 2:00 pm |
| Notebook/ Logbook | Reflective journal | 20% 3 selected reflections @1000 words in total |
12/06/2025 2:00 pm |
Assessment details
Microteaching presentation, justification and rationale
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance, Written
- Category
- Presentation, Project
- Weight
- 30% 15 minute presentation and written submission (justification and rationale) 1000 words
- Due date
10/04/2025 2:00 pm
All components of this assessment must be submitted together by the due date.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
For this assessment task, you are to design one secondary school Psychology lesson and present a mock teaching segment/teaching strategy of that lesson. This will be submitted as a pre-recorded video submission.
Your presentation should go for no longer than 15 minutes and consist of the following:
- A short introduction that outlines the topic and lesson objective/s and the teaching strategy to be presented - as well as where in a 1 hour hour lesson this strategy/segment would be presented.
- a 10 minute simulation of the teaching strategy.
In addition, you are required to submit a written component which includes:
- a unit plan (TLAP) that clearly demonstrates the scope and sequence of the content and skills to be developed within the topic selected as well as explicitly highlighting which lesson has been selected for the presentation (refer to course resources for suggested template)
- a comprehensive lesson plan that could be used by any supervising teacher, detailing the full 60 minute lesson from which the presented segment/strategy comes from (segment/strategy must be explicitly highlighted) and learning resources used (refer to course resources for suggested template)
- a justification for your unit/lesson design thoroughly supported by references to academic literature
- a rationale outlining the importance of continued professional learning supported by references to academic literature.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: (Shown as Proficient Level)
Focus - Professional Knowledge
Descriptors1.2, 1.5, 2.1, 2.5
Focus - Professional Practice
Descriptors 3.1, 3.3
Focus - Professional Engagement
Descriptor 6.4
Submission guidelines
Upload the video through the discussion board link.
Upload the written submission through Turn It In.
The presentation and written submission will recieve feedback and be marked through Turn It In.
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 task
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Project
- Weight
- 50% 2500 words
- Due date
22/05/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
Length: 2500 words
To ensure that the learning intentions of the syllabus are delivered effectively, teachers need to plan their teaching and learning sequences (TLAP) and ensure that assessment task(s) meet the requirements of the instrument-specific marking guide(s) (ISMG - found in QCAA Psychology Syllabus).
Task description
Design a comprehensive topic plan (10-15 hours worth of lessons) for use within a Queensland Secondary school Psychology context using the QCAA Psychology Syllabus, Units 1 or 2.
Your submission needs to include the following:
1. A detailed overview of the sequence of lessons for the topic including a summary of:
a. Learning goal/intent(s)
b. Key content/vocabulary/terminology
c. Key teaching and/or reporting strategies
d. Literacy and numeracy activities and/or strategies (where applicable)
e. Specific resources required
f. Homework (where applicable)
g. Assessment strategies, e.g. informal, formal, diagnostic, formative, summative (where applicable)
2. Three detailed tabular lesson plans (of ~1 hour each) including all elements typical of a functional lesson plan document (e.g. indicative timing for each learning activity, specific resources students will use, etc).
3. An assessment task sheet and marking criteria/rubric that reflects the requirements of the relevant syllabus document.
4. A thorough description and critical discussion of the design decisions which informed your topic plan, including evidence-informed reflections of the topic/lesson planning process you undertook. With reference to educational literature and relevant learning theory/research, as well as specific examples from your detailed lesson plan(s), ensure that you justify:
a. all high-level pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies used.
b. the implementation of ICT strategies and how the use of the(se) technologies expand learning opportunities for students.
c. how you have set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics.
d. how you have used differentiation strategies to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
e. how literacy and numeracy strategies have been incorporated to allow for thorough development of students' literacy and numeracy skills.
f. how you have used a range of assessment and reporting strategies throughout the topic to monitor student learning.
(To meet meet the requirements of section 4 it is recommended that students annotate unit and lesson planning documents to demonstrate explicitly where these elements are included and written explanation in the justification of the decision-making linking theory to practice with references to current research)
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers:
Focus - Professional Knowledge
Descriptors1.2, 1.5, 2.1, 2.5
Focus - Professional Practice
Descriptors 3.1, 3.3
Submission guidelines
Upload as 1 pdf file to Turn It In
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.
Reflective journal
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Notebook/ Logbook
- Weight
- 20% 3 selected reflections @1000 words in total
- Due date
12/06/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
To ensure that students remain on track to complete EDUC7071, you will be required to submit weekly journal posts to Blackboard through the Discussion Board Tab summarising your main learnings from the week. You will also need to submit a final culmitating reflection near the end of the course.
Part A - Weekly journal posts - formative feedback given through posts on the discussion boards as time permits (not marked)
This task is not designed to be onerous. Your posts can be very brief, i.e. ~100 words. The main areas to focus on in your reflections are:
- What is the key take away message you have from the workshop this week?
- What is one talking point from the workshop you are still unsure about?
- What information from the workshop would you like to know more about?
- Highlight any connections to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), Science of Learning, High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS) and your experience of the Micro Teaching Session.
These are suggested questions only, you are free to reflect on any element of the course you wish. It is important that you post your reflections weekly as they will guide some of the class discussion during the workshops each week. It will also be very difficult to complete the final submission at the end of semester without having made posts weekly.
Part B - Final submission - summative feedback given through Turn It In - this is marked towards the final grade.
For your final submission, please cut and paste your six most significant reflections from those you have made each week into a word processing document (e.g. Microsoft Word). As a seventh and final section, please add either an introduction or conclusions reflecting on the semester as a whole (~200 words). The focus for this last reflection should be on what you feel you have learned through completing EDUC7071.
Submission guidelines
Part B
Submit your selected 7 reflections (i.e. 6 from the course time and a final) and put together in one document.
Submit through the Assessment section and Turn It In
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 | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: No evidence of engagement with assessment requirements and literature. ﾠNo critical analysis of readings, theories and research. |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Very minimal engagement with assessment requirements and literature. ﾠCritical analysis of readings, theories and research severely lacking. ﾠWritten presentation extremely poor. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Lack of engagement with assessment requirements and literature. ﾠPoor critical analysis of readings, theories and research with substandard written presentation. |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Satisfies all of the basic requirements for the course, such as some use of fundamental concepts, some use of references, basically keeping to the topic; some elaboration of ideas and arguments, some degree of coherence and organisation and appropriate length; demonstrates sufficient quality of performance to be considered satisfactory or adequate or competent or capable with respect to explaining the significance and implications of the topic. |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrates ability to use and apply fundamental concepts of the course, going beyond mere replication of ideas from source materials to show understanding of key ideas, awareness of relevance, analysis of implications and drawing of conclusions. |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrates awareness and understanding of deeper and subtler aspects of the course, such as identifying and debating critical issues or problems, applying ideas to practical situations in schools, and offering insightful commentary, implications and conclusions. |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrates imagination, originality or flair, based on comprehensive and complex understanding of the course. Assessment is interesting or surprising or exciting or challenging or erudite. |
Additional course grading information
Assignment Submission: Written assignments must be submitted electronically. Assignments must be submitted by the due date.
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.ﾠ
Exemplar to show calculation of final grade:
All three assignments in this course will be provided a grade out of 7. ﾠThe final grade will be calculated using the weighting and the individual assignment grade as follows. ﾠFor example if a student receives the following three grades:
Assignment 1: Grade of 4 at 30% weighting
Assignment 2: Grade of 6 at 50% weighting
Assignment 3: Grade of 6 at 20% weighting
The final grade for this student taking into account the weighting of each assignment would be:
ﾠ (A1) ﾠ ﾠ + ﾠ ﾠ ﾠ (A2) ﾠ ﾠ + ﾠ ﾠ ﾠ (A3) ﾠ ﾠﾠ ﾠﾠ
ﾠ(0.30 x 4) + (0.50 x 6) ﾠ+ (0.20 x 6) = 1.2 + 3 + 1.2 = 5.4
The final grade would be rounded to the nearest whole number; in the above case the overall grade for the course would be 5.
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. 4.5 would become 5). 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. 4.49 would become 4).
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 Policy, 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.
Own copy required
You'll need to have your own copy of the following reading resources. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Document |
Psychology General Senior Syllabus 2019 v1.4
by Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority - 2019 Publisher: Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority (QCAA) |
Additional learning resources information
Students will also be required to be familiar with all aspects of the Queensland Senior Psychology syllabus document. This is publicly accessible via the QCAA website, however a direct link will also be made available to students in Blackboard.
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) |
Lecture |
Introduction to teaching Psychology Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 2 (03 Mar - 09 Mar) |
Lecture |
Psychology as a science Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 3 (10 Mar - 16 Mar) |
Lecture |
Design thinking for Psychology Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Week 4 (17 Mar - 23 Mar) |
Lecture |
Psychology content Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 5 (24 Mar - 30 Mar) |
Lecture |
Leveraging Learning Design for Student Engagement Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 6 (31 Mar - 06 Apr) |
Lecture |
Connecting theory to practice - ICT Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
|
Week 7 (07 Apr - 13 Apr) |
Lecture |
Literacy and numeracy strategies Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 8 (14 Apr - 20 Apr) |
Lecture |
Inclusive teaching and differentiation strategies Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Mid-sem break (21 Apr - 27 Apr) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Mid-semester break Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 9 (28 Apr - 04 May) |
Lecture |
Inclusive teaching and differentiation strategies Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 10 (05 May - 11 May) |
Lecture |
Developing Critical and Creative Thinking in the Psychology Classroom Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Additional learning activity information
Lecture and Tutorial/Workshop Approach each week:
- Headlines, snapshots and memes as tools for checking for understanding
- The role of reflection in teaching practice
- Developing our 'teacher identity'
- Leading reflective practice and connections to the APST
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.