Unit rationale, description and aim
The aim of this unit is to assist Pre-service teachers to develop advanced understanding of the inclusion of students with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream schools. The unit will assist pre-service teachers to develop an in depth understanding of a range of prevalent disabilities including diagnostic criteria and differential diagnoses. The unit will also help pre-service teachers to understand the ethical, legal and professional issues in relation to assessment and develop familiarity with a range of assessment tools. Pre-service teachers will learn to read reports from other professionals and to develop intervention strategies based on their own assessments and other professionals' reports.
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 ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Analyse the inclusion movement and factors influen...
Learning Outcome 01
Demonstrate a broad understanding of a range of di...
Learning Outcome 02
Choose, administer, interpret and report on a rang...
Learning Outcome 03
Use a range of resources to develop data driven, e...
Learning Outcome 04
Exercise critical thinking and judgements through ...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- The rights of students with disabilities
- Person first language
- Ethical, legal and professional issues in assessment
- Cultural considerations relating to assessment tasks
- Useful statistical and measurement concepts
- Assessment processes
- Assessment tools
- Interpreting assessment results
- Learning disabilities
- Cognitive disabilities
- Sensory disabilities
- Physical disabilities
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Speech and language disabilities
- Behavioural disabilities
- Giftedness
- Reading assessment reports
- Designing interventions based on assessments
- Response to intervention
- Adjusting teaching and assessment
- Differentiating classroom programs (e.g., using Universal Design for Learning)
- Data driven evidence based evaluation of classroom programs.
Assessment strategy and rationale
A range of assessment procedures will be used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements and the development of Australian Graduate Teacher Standards. Such procedures may include, but are not limited to, essays, reports, examinations, online activities, student presentations and case studies. This unit requires that two or three assessment tasks be completed one of which is the common assessment task. The total of assessment tasks will amount to the equivalent of 5,000 words.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1 Case study – assessment of a ...
Assessment Task 1
Case study – assessment of a student including any ethical considerations, observations, choice of an assessment tool, reasons for choice, interpretation of results and development of an intervention which could be incorporated in the student’s current classroom program.
50%
Assessment Task 2 Essay – Factors influencing ...
Assessment Task 2
Essay –
- Factors influencing the inclusion movement or
- Analysis of a popular intervention program such as Reading Recovery. or
- Ethical, legal and professional issues. <
50%
OR Exam of short answers and extended responses...
OR
Exam of short answers and extended responses that demonstrates achievement of the unit outcomes and addresses the key content of lectures and tutorials.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The unit will consist of the equivalent of 150 hours of study. This could include any combination of lectures, workshops, tutorials, school visits, case study development, classroom simulations and other online activities.