Unit rationale, description and aim
This unit extends preservice teachers’ knowledge and practice in Humanities and Social Sciences by foregrounding the Australian Curriculum cross curriculum priorities, with particular emphasis on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures and Sustainability. The unit positions Indigenous perspectives of Country, place and pedagogy as essential to culturally safe teaching, reconciliation and ethical professional practice. Sustainability is explored as a complex, future-focused priority requiring informed pedagogical decision-making and ongoing professional learning.
The unit builds on core curriculum and pedagogical studies by engaging preservice teachers in inquiry-based, place responsive and project-oriented approaches to HASS teaching across primary and secondary contexts. Through critical analysis of curriculum and policy, collaborative planning, and reflective professional learning, preservice teachers develop the capacity to design inclusive learning experiences that integrate explicit teaching strategies with inquiry and student agency.
The aim of this unit is to prepare preservice teachers to design, justify and reflect on Humanities and Social Sciences pedagogy that meaningfully integrates cross-curriculum priorities, supports Indigenous perspectives, and responds to sustainability as a professional responsibility and ongoing area for teacher growth.
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.
Critically analyse the Australian Curriculum cross...
Learning Outcome 01
Evaluate Indigenous perspectives of Country, place...
Learning Outcome 02
Apply inquiry based, project oriented and explicit...
Learning Outcome 03
Critically reflect on personal disciplinary knowle...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
Topics will include:
- Cross?curriculum priorities in teaching and learning in Humanities and Social Sciences, including implications for curriculum design, pedagogy and assessment
- Indigenous perspectives of Country, place and knowledge for engaging with
- Culturally safe pedagogy and reconciliation in HASS
- Place?based pedagogies and their role in HASS, engaging local contexts and communities
- Inquiry?based and project?based learning as pedagogical approaches to complex issues
- Sustainability concepts, futures thinking and ethical responsibility and implications on teaching and learning in HASS
- Ethical and sustainable implications of digital technologies to support learning and assessment
- Integrating explicit teaching strategies within inquiry and project based pedagogical frameworks
- Professional learning, reflexivity and ethical practice in HASS.
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment in this unit is designed to support progressive development of preservice teachers’ capacity to integrate cross?curriculum priorities into Humanities and Social Sciences pedagogy. The tasks balance collaborative and individual work reflecting authentic professional practice.
Task 1 focuses on collaborative design of a place?based learning sequence that foregrounds Indigenous perspectives of Country, place and pedagogy. This task assesses curriculum knowledge, ethical and culturally safe practice, inquiry?based pedagogy and collaborative professional skills. Task 2 focuses on sustainability as a cross?curriculum priority and emphasises individual reflection, pedagogical reasoning and professional learning. Preservice teachers critically examine sustainability education, consider the integration of inquiry and explicit teaching strategies, and develop a targeted professional learning plan to support ongoing growth.
To pass this unit, students must submit all assessment tasks and achieve an overall Pass grade.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Place-based HASS Learning Sequ...
Assessment Task 1: Place-based HASS Learning Sequence
Design a sequence of five connected Humanities and Social Sciences lessons for a nominated year level (Years 7–10) that foreground Indigenous perspectives of Country, place and pedagogy. Anchor the learning sequence in a specific place and demonstrate inquiry?based pedagogy, integration of cross?curriculum priorities, culturally safe practice, and appropriate assessment strategies.
50%
Assessment Task 2: Sustainability, Inquiry and Pr...
Assessment Task 2: Sustainability, Inquiry and Professional Learning in HASS
Critically examine sustainability as a cross?curriculum priority and its implications for teaching Humanities and Social Sciences in your chosen HASS teaching area. Analyse curriculum and policy expectations for sustainability education and examine how project?based or inquiry?oriented learning can be integrated with explicit teaching strategies to support student understanding, knowledge and skill development towards sustainable futures.
Critically reflect on personal disciplinary knowledge, assumptions and confidence in teaching sustainability, and develop a targeted professional learning plan that identifies priorities for growth, evaluates appropriate professional learning sources, and articulates strategies for embedding sustainability in ethical, inclusive and future?focused HASS practice.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Learning and teaching in this unit are structured around inquiry, collaboration and critical reflection, consistent with adult learning principles and graduate teacher expectations. Workshops, seminars and guided learning activities model inquiry?based, place?responsive and project?oriented pedagogies appropriate for teaching Humanities and Social Sciences across the middle years in primary and secondary contexts. Explicit teaching strategies are demonstrated, including modelling, scaffolding and structured discussion, to support conceptual understanding of their use across a diverse range of pedagogical approaches.
Preservice teachers engage with curriculum and policy documents, case studies, digital resources and collaborative planning tasks that foreground Indigenous perspectives and sustainability. Opportunities for reflection are deliberately embedded to support examination of personal assumptions, disciplinary strengths and areas for professional growth. Digital technologies are used ethically to support inquiry, representation of multiple perspectives and engagement with place?based contexts. Generative AI will be explored and critiqued to consider implications for teaching and learning emphasising social and environmental impact and sustainability.
These strategies ensure coherence between theory, practice and assessment, enabling preservice teachers to experience and critically evaluate the pedagogies they are expected to enact in professional contexts.
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 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, LO3
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 OutcomeLO2
Relating toDemonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO1, LO3
Relating toOrganise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating toDemonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2
Relating toImplement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating toPlan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating toInclude a range of teaching strategies.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO3
Relating toDemonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toUnderstand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO4
Relating toUnderstand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession.
Relevant Learning OutcomeLO2, LO4
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 most effective teaching practices to reduce cognitive overload, including explicit instruction, scaffolding, and clearly structured content that connects new information to prior learning.?
Relevant learningLO3
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
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 learningLO3
Relating toHow to effectively begin instruction of a task through using a clear explanation of what students are expected to learn, chunked into small, manageable tasks with well-defined goals.?
Relevant learningLO3
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 learningLO3
Relating toHow to use formative assessment practices to gather and interpret information about student learning as learning is taking place – for example, use of simple, low-key assessments such as exit slips, quick quizzes or targeted oral questioning to prompt students to articulate their reasoning and identify common student misconceptions.?
Relevant learningLO3
Relating toHow to provide feedback as learning is taking place that is specific, honest, constructive, and clear, and uses explicit teaching strategies to re-teach concepts, scaffold, or correct misconceptions as necessary.
Relevant learningLO3
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, LO2
Relating toThe diversity within and across First Nations people including culture, perspective, language, history and varied impact of colonisation on different groups.??
Relevant learningLO2
Relating toExplicitly teach the concept of cultural safety and explore practical examples of what it can look like in a classroom context.?
Relevant learningLO2, LO3
Relating toThe concept of positionality through engagement in critical self-inquiry for both academic writing and as a core mechanism of effective ongoing professional teaching practice.?
Relevant learningLO4
Relating toThe concept of ongoing intercultural development and the importance of self-reflection and reflexivity as ever-evolving career practices.?
Relevant learningLO4
Representative texts and references
Recommended texts and documents
Australian Curriculum?
Australian Curriculum – Humanities and Social Science?
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA)?
Relevant State and Territory curriculum documents.?
Recommended references
Allender, T., Clark, A., & Parkes, R. (eds). (2019). Historical Thinking for History Teachers. Allen & Unwin.
Davies, I (Ed). (2017). Debates in History Teaching (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Georgopoulou, M.S. et al (2025) Approaches to Digital Humanities Pedagogy: a systematic literature review within educational practice, Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, Volume 40, Issue 1, April 2025, Pages 121–137, https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqae054
Green, D., & Price, D. (eds). (2025). Making Humanities and Social Sciences Come Alive: Early Years and Primary Education (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Harrison, N., & Sellwood, J. (2021). Learning and Teaching in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education (4th ed.). Oxford.
Kidman, G., & Schmeinck, D. (2022). Teaching Primary Geography: Setting the Foundation. Springer.
Price, K. (2019). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education: An Introduction for the Teaching Profession (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Tudball, L., Brett, P., & Gilbert, R. (eds). (2025). Teaching Humanities & Social Sciences: Teaching & Learning across Australia (8th ed.). Cengage.
Yemini, M., Engel, L., & Ben Simon, A. (2025). Place-based education – a systematic review of literature. Educational Review, 77(2), 640–660. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2023.2177260
Wineburg, S. (2018). Why learn history (When it’s already on your phone). University of Chicago Press.