Unit rationale, description and aim
Junior secondary English plays a critical role in building adolescents’ disciplinary literacy, language awareness, and capacity to engage with increasingly complex texts across modes. Preservice teachers therefore require deep knowledge of the Years 7–10 English curriculum, including its underpinning theories of language and literacy, and evidence-informed approaches to reading, writing, speaking, listening and viewing. This unit responds to national requirements for knowledge-rich, explicit instruction, developmental progression, culturally responsive practice, and effective assessment, ensuring preservice teachers can support diverse learners.
Learning experiences engage preservice teachers with the Australian Curriculum: English and jurisdictional documentation, alongside historical and contemporary models of English pedagogy. Through collaborative workshops, analysis of texts, and guided inquiry, preservice teachers examine disciplinary approaches to reading and writing instruction, multimodal literacy, dialogic classroom talk, and differentiated learning. Activities include designing lesson and unit plans, evaluating assessment strategies, and curating resources for diverse learning needs. Online modules and structured tasks support the development of curriculum knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and assessment literacy.
The aim of this unit is to develop preservice teachers’ capability to teach English effectively in Years 7–10 by integrating curriculum knowledge, evidence-informed pedagogy, and purposeful assessment practices.
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.
Describe the structure, intent and key features of...
Learning Outcome 01
Apply evidence-informed approaches to teaching and...
Learning Outcome 02
Analyse texts, pedagogical models and classroom re...
Learning Outcome 03
Design coherent lesson and unit sequences in Engli...
Learning Outcome 04
Evaluate assessment strategies and feedback practi...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Reflecting on prior experiences of teaching and learning in Years 7-10 English
- Australian Curriculum for English, including Cross-Curriculum Priorities and General Capabilities and local curriculum documentation
- Theories of learning relevant to teaching English
- Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) for English, including pedagogical frameworks, English-specific, inclusive and culturally responsive pedagogies, collaborative learning, and explicit instruction
- Designing units of work and related summative assessments for English in Years 7-10
- Teaching the language modes of English; reading and writing, listening and speaking, viewing and creating
- Teaching strategies and approaches for Years 7–10 English, including learning through explicit instruction of skills and techniques, analysis and critique, and reflection
- Strategies for monitoring and differentiating student learning in English, including observations, process documentation, feedback and conferencing
- Developing strategies for maximising effective oral language non-verbal communication for English, including the Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) model, different levels of questioning, visual thinking strategies, think-aloud modelling, metacognitive reflection and guided critique
- Ethical and professional resource selection and development for English, including the use of written, multimodal, oral, and digital texts, including emergent technologies such as generative AI
- Digital technologies in the English classroom including emergent technologies such as generative AI and considerations for ethical, critical and creative engagement
- Roles and responsibilities of a contemporary English teacher including curriculum interpretation, assessment integrity, student safety and wellbeing in online digital environments and appropriate use of generative AI
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment in this unit is designed to support preservice teachers’ development of curriculum knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and assessment capability for teaching English in Years 7–10. The two tasks are sequenced to enable formative feedback and refinement of planning and instructional skills. Together, they reflect authentic school-based responsibilities that preservice teachers will undertake during professional experience and early-career teaching. Both tasks include instruction on the ethical and appropriate use of generative AI for brainstorming, drafting and editing, with requirements regarding attribution, transparency and originality.
Task 1 requires preservice teachers to design a coherent unit of work aligned to the Years 7–10 English curriculum. This task assesses their ability to interpret curriculum documents, apply evidence-informed pedagogical strategies, incorporate instruction and differentiation, and justify decisions using scholarly and policy evidence. Task 2 is a resource folio that develops preservice teachers’ capability to select, analyse and justify texts and learning resources for junior secondary English. It assesses their ability to evaluate multimodal and literary texts, annotate language and visual features, and plan a lesson.
To pass this unit, preservice teachers need to complete all assessment tasks and receive a passing grade of 50% overall.
Overview of assessments
Task 1 Description: Planning a Unit of Work Desi...
Task 1 Description: Planning a Unit of Work
Design a coherent Year 7–10 English unit of work that aligns with curriculum requirements and leads to a selected summative assessment task. evidence informed approaches to (1) develop reading, writing, speaking, listening and viewing; (2) incorporate explicit instruction, differentiation and inclusive practices; and (3) justify curriculum, pedagogical and assessment decisions using relevant scholarly and policy evidence.
50%
Task 2 Description: Resource Folio Design,...
Task 2 Description: Resource Folio
Design, purposefully select, and curate eight resources to support teaching, learning, and assessment in Years 7 to10 English. The Resource Folio should enable the acquisition of disciplinary knowledge and skills, including for diverse learner needs. The eight resources should include: at least one video produced by you and to be used as a teacher or student resource; resources and strategies to enable diagnostic, formative and summative assessment; and analysis of and feedback on an authentic student work sample.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The teaching approach in this unit is grounded in social constructivist and adult learning principles that promote active engagement, collaboration and reflective practice. Preservice teachers learn through a combination of modelling, critical reading, discussion and hands-on activities that make pedagogical concepts visible. Tutorials introduce evidence-informed strategies relevant to English, including explicit instruction, worked examples, gradual release, dialogic teaching and structured approaches to reading and writing. Throughout the unit, preservice teachers gather and evaluate evidence of their developing pedagogical capabilities and reflect on their progress against the Graduate Teacher Standards and Core Content.
Tutorials and microteaching activities provide opportunities to trial strategies, analyse student needs, and practise professional communication in supportive environments. Online modules and self-regulated learning extend access to theoretical content and allow preservice teachers to consolidate understanding at their own pace. Given the complexity of curriculum documents and pedagogical models, scaffolding is used to support learners who may need explicit navigation of concepts, while optional supports, accessible materials and multiple means of engagement ensure equitable participation for preservice teachers with disability or diverse learning needs.