Unit rationale, description and aim
Digital Technologies in Years 7–10 equips young people with the ability to design, create and evaluate digital solutions that address real?world problems. Preservice teachers therefore require deep understanding of the Digital Technologies curriculum, including algorithms, data representation, digital systems and the processes of computational thinking. As adolescents increasingly interact with complex digital environments, teachers must also teach safe, ethical and responsible digital practices. This unit builds preservice teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and supports them to engage diverse learners.
Learning experiences introduce preservice teachers to the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies and jurisdictional documentation, focusing on the progression of key concepts across Years 7–10. Tutorials model evidence?informed pedagogies suitable for Digital Technologies, including explicit instruction, project?based learning, inquiry and design thinking. Preservice teachers examine common misconceptions, analyse digital systems and tools, design algorithms, and evaluate technological resources, including emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). Collaborative learning, hands?on problem?solving and critical analysis strengthen their ability to integrate curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.
The aim of this unit is to develop preservice teachers’ curriculum knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and assessment capability for effective teaching of Digital Technologies in Years 7–10.
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
Examine how students learn Digital Technologies us...
Learning Outcome 02
Critically analyse pedagogical models and classroo...
Learning Outcome 03
Design coherent lesson and unit sequences in Digit...
Learning Outcome 04
Appraise assessment strategies and feedback practi...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Reflecting on prior experiences of teaching and learning in Years 7-10 Digital Technologies
- Australian Curriculum and local curriculum iterations for Digital Technologies, including Cross-Curriculum Priorities and General Capabilities, including emergent technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI)
- Theories of learning relevant to digital technologies education
- Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) for Digital Technologies, including the design process, and their philosophical, theoretical, curricular and pedagogical implications
- Designing units of work and related summative assessments for Digital Technologies in Years 7-10
- Teaching strategies and approaches for Years 7-10 Digital Technologies, including explicit instruction, project-based learning, experiential learning, and cooperative learning
- Managing practical classes, including classroom movement, and safe and ethical use of resources
- Strategies for monitoring and differentiating student learning in Digital Technologies, including for students with disability, diverse prior experience and advanced knowledge in the field
- Ethical and professional resource selection and development for Digital Technologies, including the use of generative AI
- Classroom verbal and non-verbal communication for Digital Technologies, including the Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) model, descriptive questioning, scaffolding, think-aloud modelling, metacognitive reflection and guided critique
- Professional responsibilities in teaching Digital Technologies, including student safety and wellbeing in relation to online digital environments and responsibilities associated with ethical engagement with generative AI.
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment in this unit is designed to strengthen preservice teachers’ capability to plan, teach and assess Digital Technologies in Years 7–10. The two tasks reflect authentic school-based responsibilities associated with teaching Digital Technologies, including designing learning programs, analysing digital resources and considering safety and ethical requirements in online environments. Both tasks include explicit guidance on the ethical use of generative AI for brainstorming, drafting and refinement, with clear expectations for transparency and originality.
Task 1 requires preservice teachers to design a coherent Digital Technologies unit of work aligned to curriculum requirements. This task assesses their ability to interpret curriculum documents, apply evidence informed pedagogical approaches such as design thinking and explicit instruction, incorporate differentiation and address digital safety and ethics. Task 2 involves a critical oral presentation analysing a digital learning tool or resource. Preservice teachers evaluate the tool’s pedagogical design, demonstrate its application and necessary adaptations for junior secondary contexts, consider safety and ethical implications, and justify its educational value using curriculum, policy and research.
To pass this unit, preservice teachers must complete all assessment tasks and receive a passing grade of 50% overall.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Planning a Unit of Work Desig...
Assessment Task 1: Planning a Unit of Work
Design a coherent Year 7–10 Digital Technologies unit of work that aligns with curriculum requirements and leads to a selected summative assessment task. Integrate evidence informed approaches to (1) develop Digital Technologies content and skills, including problem-solving; (2) incorporate explicit instruction, differentiation and inclusive practices; and (3) Critique the curriculum, pedagogical and assessment decisions using relevant scholarly and policy evidence.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Critique of a Digital Learning...
Assessment Task 2: Critique of a Digital Learning Tool
Select a digital learning tool or resource that is designed to support Year 7-10 students learning in Digital Technologies. Conduct a critical analysis of the tool and its pedagogical design using relevant pedagogical frameworks. Develop an oral presentation with multimodal supports that: (1) introduces the tool or resource, (2) demonstrates its use and any modifications that are required for junior secondary classroom contexts, (3) outlines safety and ethical considerations in light of curriculum and legislative requirements, and (4) justifies its use including links curriculum, policy and research literature.
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, exploration and reflective practice. Preservice teachers experience a range of evidence informed Digital Technologies pedagogies, including explicit instruction, design thinking cycles, algorithmic problem-solving and project-based learning. Workshops model how complex concepts such as data representation, system architecture and algorithmic logic can be scaffolded through worked examples, decomposition and multiple representations.
Hands-on activities support preservice teachers to explore digital systems, evaluate tools, trial coding environments and practise modelling safe and ethical digital behaviours. Tutorials, asynchronous learning experiences, and microteaching opportunities enable preservice teachers to apply pedagogical strategies, examine student misconceptions and practise professional communication. Online modules extend theoretical understanding and allow flexible engagement with content such as the design process, curriculum requirements and digital safety frameworks.
Given the technical nature of Digital Technologies, scaffolding is intentionally embedded to support preservice teachers to build their technological and pedagogical knowledge and experience. Multiple means of engagement, optional supports, accessible materials and explicit navigation of unfamiliar tools ensure equitable participation, particularly for preservice teachers with disability or diverse learning needs.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level
In connection to the learning outcomes, on successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the :
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2
Relating toDemonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Relating toOrganise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toUse curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3, LO4, LO5
Relating toDemonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toKnow and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
Relating toImplement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
Relating toSet learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toPlan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toInclude a range of teaching strategies.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
Relating toIdentify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
Relating toDemonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and the strategies available to support the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
Relating toDemonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO5
Relating toDemonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO5
Relating toDemonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO5
Relating toDemonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO5
Relating toDemonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating toUnderstand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating toDemonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learning.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating toUnderstand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Core Content
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the AITSL Core Content:
Relating toThe difference in the process of knowledge acquisition in the brain of a novice vs the brain of an expert. This should be taught with reference to the development of mental models and schemas.?
Relevant learningLO1, LO2
Relating toWhy teaching practices must adapt as a student’s familiarity with the knowledge of a subject increases, including when to move from scaffolded practice to independent practice, and why this is important.?
Relevant learningLO1, LO2
Relating toHow to develop and use worked examples for students who are unfamiliar with a subject, followed by more challenging problem-solving activities as students become more familiar with the knowledge of a subject.?
Relevant learningLO3, LO4
Relating toThe key features of coherent and deliberate planning and sequencing of tasks and lessons including curriculum-aligned learning objectives, clear descriptions of how students will show evidence of mastery, the common progression of learning in a subject area and the critical curriculum knowledge needed for students to progress.?
Relevant learningLO1, LO3, LO4
Relating toHow to plan a sequence of lessons that incorporate spacing and retrieval practice, build upon each other, meet students where they are in their learning and help students retrieve past learning and consolidate it in long-term memory.?
Relevant learningLO1, LO2, LO4
Relating toHow to sequence tasks within a lesson that build upon each other, meet students where they are in their learning and help them understand the progression of skills needed to attain mastery.?
Relevant learningLO1, LO2, LO4
Relating toHow to explicitly model new skills and content through ‘worked examples’ that clearly demonstrate how to complete the task, followed by a progressive removal of scaffolding as students become more proficient.
Relevant learningLO2, LO5
Relating toHow to pitch an introductory lesson at an appropriate level, before starting a new unit of work, by identifying where a student is in their learning through assessing what they know, or think they know.?
Relevant learningLO1, LO2
Relating toHow to design summative assessment to assess students against a standard or benchmark to gain an understanding of the level of mastery attained.?
Relevant learningLO5
Relating toHow to produce and use developmental rubrics with criteria tailored to the specific task and/or work samples so that students understand what is expected.?
Relevant learningLO5
Relating toThe research that shows explicit reading, and writing comprehension instruction tailored to discipline-specific content improves students’ academic understanding and engagement with material, as well as their overall academic performance.??
Relevant learningLO1, LO2
Relating toHow to explicitly deliver reading and writing instruction through discipline and discipline-specific curriculum and pedagogical studies as outlined in standard 4.2.
Relevant learningLO1, LO2
Relating toThe research that shows numeracy is a fundamental component of learning, discourse, and critique across all areas of the curriculum and improves students’ understanding of and engagement with material within and beyond the mathematics curriculum.??
Relevant learningLO1, LO2
Relating toThe research evidence that shows the relationship between effective pedagogical practices and increased positive behaviour including why specific practices are particularly effective in preventing undesired behaviour.?
Relevant learningLO2, LO5
Relating toThe content covered in the Australian Curriculum Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority across stages and subjects.??
Relevant learningLO1, LO3, LO4
Relating toAbout the cultural diversity within classrooms and communities in Australia, and in the local context, to understand and value the perspectives of diverse groups including EAL/D and First Nations students.?
Relevant learningLO4, LO5
Representative texts and references
Recommended texts and documents
Australian Curriculum
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)
Relevant jurisdictional curriculum documents
ACT Education Directorate: .
New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA): .
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA): .
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA): .
Recommended references
Alfarwan, A. A. (2025). Generative AI use in K–12 education: A systematic review. Frontiers in Education, 10, Article 1647573. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1647573
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Bocconi, S., Chioccariello, A., & Earp, J. (2020). The Nordic approach to introducing computational thinking and programming in compulsory education. Smart Learning Environments, 7(1), 1–14.
Brennan, K., & Resnick, M. (2017). New frameworks for studying and assessing the development of computational thinking. Computer Science Education, 27(3–4), 1–24.*
Calder, N., & Murphy, C. (2018). Computational thinking in the middle years: An exploration of student learning. Australian Educational Computing, 33(1), 1–14.
Fock, A., & Siller, H.-S. (2025). Generative artificial intelligence in secondary STEM education in the light of human flourishing: A scoping literature review. International Journal of STEM Education, 12, Article 67. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-025-00589-5
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