ED5921 - Raising Expectations: Professional Practices, Diverse Learners and Communities

Credit points:	03
Year:	2009
Student Contribution Band:	Band 4
Administered by:	School of Education

The aim of this subject is to generate knowledge-of-practice specifically focused on effectively and equitably meeting the learning needs and aspirations of the diverse learners and communities served by public education. It is based one two assumptions: (1) that equity and rigor are mutually reinforcing principles underlying the work of teachers within quality public education; and (2) that the knowledge educators need to enact these principles comes from systematic enquiries about learners, pedagogy and curriculum, underpinned by high expectations of achievement for all students. Selected education policies and recent research will be used as a basis for reviewing the current professional practices of students and for generating possible questions and issues for enquiry. A specific focus will be on searching for common threads across policy documents and the specific contexts and needs of students. Thus, students are expected to develop projects which embed principles from several policy documents (e.g., Literacy the Key to Learning, Embedding Indigenous Perspectives, Productive Pedagogies)

Learning Outcomes

• appreciation of the value of high expectations as the basis of professional practice as a means of meeting individual, community and national aspirations for educational equity;
• ability to use evidence from research literature and current policy to inform their ongoing development as professional learners and practitioners;
• use their own developing professional practice to inform their readings of current policy and research;
• use knowledge generated within and among learners in the subject to develop and implement projects that focus on raising expectations of and with diverse learners;
• use data gathered through project implementation to further generate knowledge within and among learners in the subject.

Graduate Qualities

• The ability to appraise information critically;
• The ability to use independent judgment to synthesise information to make intellectual and/or creative advances;
• The ability to place their research in a broader (preferably international)theoretical, practical and policy context.;
• The ability to think laterally and be original;
• The ability to conceptualise problems;
• The ability to conceptualise and evaluate a range of potential solutions to relevant problems;
• The ability to encompass and use methods and conceptual advances in areas of knowledge cognate to their central area(s) of expertise.

Availabilities
External, Study Period 2
Census Date 28-Aug-2009
Coordinator:	Ms Helen McDonald, Assoc. Professor Angela Hill
Method of Delivery:	WWW - LearnJCU
Assessment:	discussion board participation (40%); portfolio of evidence (60%).

Note: Minor variations might occur due to the continuous Subject quality improvement process, and in case of minor variation(s) in assessment details, the Subject Outline represents the latest official information.