Unit rationale, description and aim
Intending secondary Humanities and Social Science teachers require a strong understanding of curriculum expectations, pedagogical approaches, and assessment practices to plan and deliver effective learning in Years 7–10. Junior secondary learners bring diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences to their learning. Teachers therefore need knowledge and skills to design learning that is coherent, engaging, and responsive to varied learner needs. This unit provides foundational disciplinary understanding and introduces key principles that underpin pedagogies in HASS.
In this unit preservice teachers will build knowledge of curriculum structures, concepts, and terminology for HASS Years 7–10, while engaging with evidence-based approaches to learning and teaching. Through modelling, practice, and collaborative activities, preservice teachers explore HASS-specific pedagogies, including inquiry-based learning, experiential learning, explicit teaching approaches, and inclusive strategies for practical classes. They design sequenced learning and assessment experiences, engage in microteaching, and use diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to evaluate learning. These experiences support development as a reflective, informed, and capable beginning teacher.
The aim of this unit is to develop preservice teachers’ disciplinary and pedagogical content knowledge to plan, teach, and assess HASS effectively in junior secondary contexts, and make informed decisions that promote equitable participation, engagement, and achievement for diverse learners.
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
Explain how students learn in HASS and apply evide...
Learning Outcome 02
Analyse texts, pedagogical models and classroom re...
Learning Outcome 03
Design coherent lesson and unit sequences in HASS ...
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 Humanities and Social Science (HASS), considering areas of strength and those for development
- Australian Curriculum for Years 7-10 HASS, including Cross-Curriculum Priorities, General Capabilities and local curriculum documentation
- Theories of learning relevant to music classroom education
- Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in HASS, including current and relevant pedagogical frameworks in:
- History
- Geography
- Commerce
- Economics
- Discipline-specific pedagogies inclusive of culturally responsive pedagogy methods, collaborative learning and explicit instruction in HASS subjects
- Designing units of work and related summative assessments for HASS in Years 7-10
- Teaching strategies and approaches for Years 7–10 HASS, including constructivist / inquiry-based learning, experiential, and explicit instruction of discipline-specific skills and concepts
- Strategies for monitoring and differentiating student learning in HASS, including observations, process documentation, feedback and conferencing
- Classroom verbal and non-verbal communication for HASS, including the Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) model, higher order thinking, descriptive questioning, scaffolding, visual thinking strategies, thick-aloud modelling, metacognitive reflection and guided critique
- Ethical and professional resource selection and development for HASS, including the use of generative AI
- Roles and professional responsibilities of a contemporary teacher of HASS, including curriculum alignment, assessment integrity, and student safety and wellbeing in physical and digital environments
- Digital technologies in the HASS classroom including emergent technologies such as generative AI and considerations for ethical, critical and creative engagement
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 HASS in Years 7–10. The weighted tasks build on a hurdle task and include explicit instruction on the ethical and appropriate use of generative AI with clear requirements regarding attribution, transparency and originality.
Task 1 requires preservice teachers to design a unit of work aligned to Years 7–10 HASS curriculum in a content area that is related to their personal teaching area expertise. This task assesses their ability to interpret curriculum documents, apply evidence?informed pedagogical strategies, incorporate explicit instruction and differentiation, and justify decisions using scholarly and policy evidence. Task 2 involves developing capability to purposefully design an educational podcast to progress their students’ discipline knowledge via experiential learning. A critical rationale supports understanding of the nexus of learning theory, pedagogical design and HASS disciplinary knowledge. Preservice teachers will explore resources and strategies for content areas in HASS that are underpinned by relevant curriculum/syllabus.
To pass this unit, preservice teachers need to complete all assessment tasks and receive a passing grade of 50% overall.
Overview of assessments
Hurdle Task: HASS Self-Audit Complete a kno...
Hurdle Task: HASS Self-Audit
Complete a knowledge and skills audit based on your jurisdictional documentation to identify personal strengths and four (4) areas for development in teaching junior secondary HASS.
Pass/Fail
Assessment Task 1: Planning a Unit of Work ...
Assessment Task 1: Planning a Unit of Work
Design a coherent Year 7–10 HASS unit of work that aligns with curriculum requirements and leads to a selected summative assessment task. The content area for this task should align with your nominated teaching area/s. Apply evidence informed approaches to (1) develop HASS discipline skills and concepts, historical and geographical literacy and analysis, higher order thinking and communication skills; (2) incorporate constructivist, explicit instruction, experiential learning, differentiation and inclusive practices; and (3) justify curriculum, pedagogical and assessment decisions using relevant scholarly and policy evidence.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Resource Folio Design and pro...
Assessment Task 2: Resource Folio
Design and produce an educational podcast episode (10-15 minutes) for your nominated teaching area that explores a significant historical, geographical, business, economic or social issue relevant to your discipline. The content should align with your respective 7-10 curriculum area for your state/jurisdiction. The podcast should communicate disciplinary knowledge to a secondary school audience using engaging, inquiry-based approaches, and develop student knowledge and understanding. Write a critical pedagogical rationale explaining how your design supports authentic humanities learning experiences with reference to your nominated teaching area/s, curriculum frameworks and academic journals/texts.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is grounded in a social constructivist approach, emphasising active engagement, dialogue, and purposeful collaboration as ways for adult learners to build knowledge and professional capability. Learning activities support preservice teachers to connect theoretical perspectives with practical classroom application through modelling, guided practice, peer feedback, and structured reflection. Online lectures and readings provide key concepts and disciplinary foundations, while tutorials offer opportunities to trial and refine teaching strategies in supportive, interactive settings.
Because HASS teachers have varied experiences with the content areas within, teaching approaches are designed to be flexible, transparent, and scaffolded. Strategies such as worked examples, explicit modelling, guided rehearsal, and structured peer collaboration help preservice teachers to build confidence when tasks involve content beyond their selected teaching areas. The unit prioritises inclusive learning design, ensuring that teaching approaches are accessible to students with disability and neurodiverse learners through multimodal content, repeated practice opportunities, and options for differentiated participation in practical activities.
By engaging in planning, teaching demonstrations, and microteaching, preservice teachers build the communication, problem solving, and reflective skills required for junior secondary teaching. These strategies promote professional dialogue, ethical practice, and the ability to adapt teaching to meet diverse student needs in real classroom contexts.