Unit rationale, description and aim
Senior secondary students navigate complex academic, social and wellbeing demands, including high-stakes assessment, diverse pathways and increasing responsibility for their own learning. Preservice teachers, therefore, require knowledge of senior curriculum structures, evidence-informed pedagogies, and the wellbeing frameworks that support resilience and academic buoyancy. This unit integrates curriculum and pedagogy with student wellbeing, enabling preservice teachers to understand how disciplinary learning, assessment expectations and wellbeing needs intersect in the senior years. The rationale reflects national priorities that emphasise both achievement and student wellbeing as foundations for successful transitions beyond school.
Learning experiences provide opportunities to analyse senior curriculum documents, explore subject-specific pedagogies, and engage with models such as the Student Wellbeing Framework and the 5Cs of resilience. Workshops, online modules and collaborative activities support preservice teachers to apply evidence-informed strategies, design wellbeing-oriented interventions, and evaluate the impact of pedagogical decisions on diverse learners. Case-based learning, guided inquiry and reflective activities strengthen their capacity to plan for learning, engagement and wellbeing concurrently.
The aim of this unit is to develop pre?service teachers’ capability to apply and evaluate curriculum, pedagogical and wellbeing principles that enhance senior secondary students’ learning, engagement, resilience and achievement within their second teaching area.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from 糖心原创 with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Analyse?key theories, concepts and factors influen...
Learning Outcome 01
Apply?evidence-based strategies to support resilie...
Learning Outcome 02
Evaluate?the effectiveness of resilience-building ...
Learning Outcome 03
Apply evidence-informed pedagogical principles and...
Learning Outcome 04
Evaluate the effectiveness of pedagogical approach...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
Module B: Student Wellbeing and Resilience in Senior Secondary
- Introduction to resilience?
- Psychological, social, and environmental factors??
- Policy, ethics, and wellbeing frameworks
- Differentiating resilience and?academic?buoyancy; the 5Cs model?
- Designing interventions for diverse learners
Module C: Senior Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment in Second Teaching Area
- Overview of senior secondary curriculum for second teaching area
- Auditing knowledge and skills against the senior curriculum
- Professional Associations for second teaching area, including opportunities for professional learning and development
- Assessment tasks, tools and practices for second teaching area
- Subject-specific pedagogies and approaches to learning for senior students
- Developing senior students’ subject-specific literacy and numeracy capabilities
- Subject-specific differentiation, including adjustments and modifications in alignment with senior curriculum and assessment expectations
- Evidence-informed teaching and learning of content and skills in second teaching area, e.g. teacher-led instruction, clear and explicit instruction, effective questioning, scaffolded to independent practice, spacing and retrieval practice, worked examples and modelling, reducing cognitive load and feedback
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment in this unit integrates curriculum, pedagogy and wellbeing to ensure preservice teachers can apply research-informed and ethical approaches in senior secondary contexts. Formative discussion activities support academic writing, critical analysis and professional communication. Both tasks explicitly scaffold the ethical and appropriate use of generative AI for brainstorming, comparing documents, improving clarity and organising ideas, with clear expectations for originality, transparency and correct attribution.
Task 1 is an evidence-based intervention report that requires preservice teachers to analyse student resilience and academic buoyancy challenges in senior secondary settings and design a comprehensive intervention aligned with wellbeing frameworks and APST expectations. This task assesses the application of pedagogical principles, the integration of wellbeing strategies, and the justification of practice using scholarly and policy evidence. Task 2 is a portfolio in an open lane format, enabling preservice teachers to demonstrate their capacity to apply evidence-informed pedagogical principles, justify planning and assessment decisions, and evaluate teaching approaches for senior learners. The portfolio encourages authentic engagement with professional artefacts and the creation of classroom-ready resources.
To pass this unit, preservice teachers need to complete and pass both assessment tasks and receive a passing grade of 50% overall.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1 Resilience Report and Interven...
Assessment Task 1
Resilience Report and Intervention Plan
Write a report?outlining and?analysing?a scenario or issue in?senior secondary contexts that presents potential challenges to student resilience. Consider the efficacy of current practices, frameworks and/or interventions in supporting senior students. Propose an evidence-based intervention plan that responds to the scenario or issue. Reference national frameworks, scholarly literature, and practical guides
50%
Assessment Task 2 Develop a multimedia portfolio...
Assessment Task 2
Develop a multimedia portfolio demonstrating evidence informed pedagogical strategies for senior secondary in your first teaching area. Include teaching materials, exemplars, plans or resources across a range of senior level topics. Critically analyse how these artefacts support diverse learners, including the development of subject specific knowledge and skills, and literacy, numeracy and ICT capabilities. Justify pedagogical choices using contemporary research and curriculum requirements and informed pedagogical strategies for senior secondary learning in the selected teaching area.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Teaching and learning approaches in this unit draw on adult learning principles, constructivist pedagogy and evidence-informed practice. Preservice teachers engage in interactive workshops that model senior-year pedagogies such as explicit instruction, worked examples, scaffolded practice, and subject-specific strategies. These are complemented by online modules introducing wellbeing theories, enabling flexible participation while supporting deep conceptual engagement. Collaborative tasks, case-based learning and simulated scenarios allow preservice teachers to analyse curriculum requirements, apply wellbeing frameworks, and explore how pedagogical decisions influence senior students’ learning and resilience.
Teaching strategies prioritise reflective practice, learner agency and iterative resource development. Activities such as micro?teaching, peer critique and design challenges help preservice teachers trial approaches that integrate curriculum, pedagogy and wellbeing. Scaffolding supports preservice teachers with limited prior knowledge to access complex curriculum and wellbeing concepts, while optional supports, accessible materials and clear expectations ensure equitable participation for learners with disability or diverse needs. Asynchronous forums and reflective tasks foster ongoing engagement and the development of professional judgement.
The unit also models responsible use of generative AI for idea generation, policy interpretation and refining written communication, with explicit instruction on critical evaluation, academic integrity and transparency.
Representative texts and references
Recommended texts and documents
Senior syllabus/curriculum documents as per local jurisdiction.
Recommended references
Archer, A. L., & Hughes, C. A. (2018). Explicit instruction: Effective and efficient teaching. Guilford Press.
Australian Government Department of Education. (2024).?Student resilience and wellbeing resources.?
Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2019, December 15).?Longitudinal Study of Australian Children: Annual statistical report 2018.?
Beyond Blue. (2018).?A guide to what works for depression in young people?(BL0790).?
Cahill, H.,?Dadvand, B., Schlezinger, K., Romel, K., & Farrelly, A. (2020).?Natural disasters and pandemics: Supporting student and teacher wellbeing after a crisis. Melbourne Youth Research Centre.??
Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Positive emotions broaden and build.?Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 1–53.?
Hattie, J. (2023). Visible learning: The sequel. Routledge.
Kendrick, A. H. (2019). To help students overcome setbacks, they need to develop ‘academic buoyancy’.?The Conversation.?
Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2018). The case for explicit instruction. Educational Psychologist, 53(3), 169–184.
Malmberg, L.-E., Hall, J., & Martin, A. J. (2013). Academic buoyancy in secondary school: Exploring patterns of convergence.?Learning and Individual Differences, 23, 262–266.?
Martin, A. J., & Marsh, H. W. (2009). Academic resilience and academic buoyancy: Multidimensional and hierarchical conceptual framing of causes,?correlates?and cognate constructs.?Oxford Review of Education, 35(3), 353–370.?
Martin, A. J., Colmar, S. H., Davey, L. A., & Marsh, H. W. (2010). Longitudinal modelling of academic buoyancy and motivation: Do the 5Cs hold up over time??British Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(3), 473–496.?
Monypenny, A. (2021). Between vulnerability and resilience: A contextualist picture of protective epistemic character traits.?Journal of Philosophy of Education, 55(2), 358–370.?
Rosenshine, B. (2017). Principles of instruction. International Academy of Education.
Student Wellbeing Hub. (n.d.).?Student Wellbeing Framework. ?
Trask-Kerr, K., & Lewis, S. (2025). Year 12 are about to start their final exams:?Here’s?how to keep calm and stay positive.?The Conversation.?
Ungar, M., Connelly, G., Liebenberg, L.?et al.?How Schools Enhance the Development of Young People’s Resilience.?Soc Indic Res?145, 615–627 (2019).?
Van der Kleij, F., & Adie, L. (2022). Feedback practices in upper secondary education. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 29(5), 599–617.