The focus of this unit is to develop understanding of the importance and purposes of assessment and evaluation and their relationship to learning. An historical overview of assessment and evaluation is essential to the understanding of current contexts of assessment and learning in schools. There is ongoing debate about assessment and student teachers need to have an informed understanding of the principles, practices and processes of assessment as well as engage in discussions about assessment issues. Assessment of student learning is integral to the teaching and learning process and significant developments and implications for teaching, learning and curriculum need to be understood by student teachers. The course focuses on concepts and principles of assessment and aims to increase knowledge and understanding of current assessment practices to promote fairness and equity in assessment and evaluation. Students will learn to identify, prepare and use practical assessment strategies to promote more effective assessment practices in schools and engage in discussion about in current issues in assessment.

This unit of study introduces Stages 4, 5 and 6 Aboriginal Studies, which are Board of Studies approved electives in the secondary curriculum. These courses are based on standard Board of Studies designs and, as such, provide students with an excellent firsthand experience of the syllabus continuum in the secondary school. Outcomes-based teaching and learning is a feature and students learn to translate this approach into practical teaching, planning and implementation. Students also consider an holistic approach to Aboriginal Studies where the needs of the students, school and community directly influence the nature of program development and content. Consultation, protocols, ethical research practices and a local community focus feature as they do in both syllabuses. Cross curriculum content and skills with a focus on literacy and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is part of the ongoing development of students becoming multi-skilled, adaptable and pro-active educators in the field of Aboriginal Studies.

This unit is designed to focus on student skills as emerging teachers and in particular, develop and refine skills in reflection and communication. Students will focus on understanding learner diversity needs in the classroom with particular focus on multicultural, gender, and Aboriginal students' learning diversity. In preparation for the Professional Experience which is a component of this unit; students will practice questioning, listening and responding techniques and will build knowledge of a range of theoretical perspectives on classroom management to be practiced in the classroom. Students will investigate a range of policies that contribute to quality outcomes for students, including; multicultural, anti-racism, student welfare and discipline policies. The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers will be discussed in relation to the requirements of this Professional Experience. Students will also consider ways to engage parents and the wider community in the education process and plan for ongoing professional growth and development.

This unit of study aims to introduce students to selected content areas in the Stage 6 Modern History Syllabus currently taught in NSW secondary schools and aims to prepare students to teach Stage 6 Modern History. This unit of study aims to assist students in understanding the realities of teaching content and subject specific skills to senior high school students. Particular emphasis is placed on developing in students the importance of thoroughly researching specific content areas relevant to teaching senior modern history. This unit provides an introduction to material for selected topics within the framework of the Stage 6 Syllabus.

The unit of study traces Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander relationships to country and place, and the continuities and dynamism of contemporary Indigenous Australian cultures. It will celebrate the fact that, despite the impact of colonisation, Indigenous Australian peoples have maintained unique identities and connections to land and sea. Through the themes of Indigenous Sydney, Connections to Place, and Cultural Continuity, this unit of study examines Indigenous activism, material culture and cultural heritage, Indigenous people and tourism, art, festivals and performance and film. Excursions to relevant exhibitions around Sydney will also be undertaken.

The unit of study will encourage students to ponder the ways in which they themselves are the product of historical developments over the last eighty years. They will be encouraged to interrogate the society around them from an historical perspective, to see the vestiges of the past in the present, to talk to people about their memories, to critique and perceive the present as a product of the past. The course will also seek to develop independent research skills through extensive use of primary source materials.

The aim of this unit of study is to introduce students to Australian Indigenous literature. It presents students with a range of foundational and contemporary Indigenous authors and their work in the genres of poetry, fiction and autobiographical writing. It develops students' capacities to identify and reflectively engage with such genres by addressing central critical texts and the social, historical and political contexts of Indigenous writing practice. The unit will build generic skills in literary reading, genre identification, critical and theoretical analysis and historical research, and will encourage students to develop an informed and independent assessment of contemporary Indigenous literature.

This unit of study extends the knowledge and understanding students gained in Teaching and Learning: History Curriculum, and looks at key concerns in the teaching and learning of history. This unit recognises the centrality of the 7-10 syllabus and extends students knowledge and understanding towards issues which are central to the development of strategies to improve the engagement of students in 7-10 history. In this unit of study students will be introduced to a range of issues and ideas to utilise in the classroom, including historical literacy, historical empathy, history as narrative, and civics and citizenship.

This aim of this unit of study is to explore the philosophical, legal and cultural foundations of international and national Indigenous rights. It critically examines the formation of categories of Indigeniety in the ancient, colonial and modern eras, and how such discourses have contributed to systematic denials of Indigenous rights in Australia and other colonised countries. It explores the subsequent evolution of Indigenous rights agendas in modern and postcolonial Australia, and contextualises these developments by investigating various international precedents. The unit will build generic skills in philosophical and historical research and theoretical analysis, encouraging students to develop an informed and independent assessment of contemporary issues in Australian and international Indigenous Rights.

This aim of this unit of study is to explore the philosophical, legal and cultural foundations of international and national Indigenous rights. It critically examines the formation of categories of Indigeneity in the ancient, colonial and modern eras, and how such discourses have contributed to systematic denials of Indigenous rights in Australia and other colonised countries. It explores the subsequent evolution of Indigenous rights agendas in modern and postcolonial Australia, and contextualises these developments by investigating various international precedents. The unit will build generic skills in philosophical and historical research and theoretical analysis, encouraging students to develop an informed and independent assessment of contemporary issues in Australian and international Indigenous Rights.

This unit of study aims to prepare undergraduates in the theory and practice of teaching and education with particular reference to the Board of Studies Stage 6 Society and Culture syllabus. The unit draws on research findings to assist students develop competencies and skills in teaching Society and Culture. These findings provide the theoretical and practical framework for the unit of study. The unit provides students with an opportunity to reflect on their practicum experiences, and to develop pedagogic skills in lesson and unit planning, programming, and teaching and learning strategies. In addition, the unit examines literacy and numeracy strategies for teaching across a range of age and ability groups and takes an applied approach to the use of ICT in the HSIE classroom. Particular emphasis will be placed on Board of Studies Assessment procedures, appropriate teaching and learning strategies for Stage 6 learners, and assessment of learning.

This subject focuses on the refinement of students' professional practices, and involves them in practical and theoretical learning, in preparation for their engagement in the profession. For final year students, this subject focuses the issues and challenges facing teachers; reflection as professional practice; dealing with change; and, beginning teachers' concerns and support systems. Students will also become familiar with accreditation process when entering the teaching profession.

Australian Aboriginal languages have been spoken and learned for millennia. Despite devastating losses from the effects of invasion, many have survived into the present and others that fell out of use are now being revitalised. Since the implementation of the NSW Aboriginal Languages K-10 syllabus in 2005 there has been a substantial increase in programs in schools in this state and this shows every sign of continued growth. This unit aims to equip graduates with sufficient practical understanding of the syllabus and the field of languages education that they might support initiatives in their schools or consider adding languages as a teaching subject in their professional future. Note that students will not be assessed on their ability to speak a specific language as part of this unit.

This unit has two main purposes. The first is to introduce students to the study of the integration and inclusion of students with special needs, in accordance with the mandatory requirements of the NSW Department of Education & Communities (DEC) for pre-service teacher education. Secondly, it is designed to provide an understanding of the theoretical models and social issues underpinning the education of students with disabilities in a range of settings.

This unit of study is designed to provide students with a critical overview of the key concepts 'knowledge', and 'self' as they have been articulated in major educational discourses. The unit is philosophically based but draws upon sociological and psychological insights. Building on earlier units in the Education strand of the program it explores ideas about the nature of self in relation to learning, and raises significant questions about claims regarding knowledge as constitutive of self. It problematises inherited notions of rationality, experience, 'discourse' and the dimension of the social in knowledge-generation, its dissemination and institutionalisation. Major philosophical theories of knowledge are examined, notably those of, rationalism and varieties of constructivism, empiricism, post-structuralism pragmatism and certain approaches in phenomenology. The relationship of these theories to contemporary curriculum knowledge (that is, the 'knowledge base' of each subject area) is explored. An important objective of the Unit is to provide opportunities for developing skills that will enable students to more usefully analyse the kinds of epistemological assumptions underlying the school curriculum.

This subject provides students with knowledge and understanding about literacy and literate practices in History and Aboriginal Studies. It will enable students to understand the literacy demands of the History and Aboriginal Studies syllabus areas as well as equipping them with a repertoire of effective teaching and learning strategies to meet the needs of a diverse range of students. The subject is also designed to build the personal literacy capacities of pre-service teachers, enabling them to be more effective teachers of History or Aboriginal Studies.