Unit rationale, description and aim
Educators play a vital role in advocating for and supporting the educational and social development of all students, particularly those with complex needs, unique attributes, and challenging behaviours.
This unit recognises that professionals in their work with all children and young people play a significant role in advocating on their behalf, assuring their safety and supporting their educational and social development. Through exploring the legal and ethical considerations of inclusive education, students will gain a deeper understanding of their responsibilities as educators and the impact of their actions on the students. They will examine learning best practices for creating inclusive curriculum, instruction, and assessment, to design learning experiences that are accessible and meaningful for all students. Focus is given to inclusive practices which specifically address the contexts and needs of First Nations peoples.
The aim of this unit is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to address the social and emotional needs of their students and to develop strategies and design learning experiences that create positive and supportive classroom environments for all students.
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.
Articulate an understanding of the characteristics...
Learning Outcome 01
Demonstrate skill in creating positive and proacti...
Learning Outcome 02
Recognise the legal and ethical considerations rel...
Learning Outcome 03
Explain the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres ...
Learning Outcome 04
Apply practices that recognise the importance of c...
Learning Outcome 05
Content
Topics will include:
- Understanding the characteristics and needs of students with complex needs and recognizing how they may be affected by mental health and other conditions, including
- Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
- gifted students
- gender diversity
- student with disabilities
- Creating positive and proactive behaviour supports and interventions, recognising the impact of trauma, poverty, and cultural diversity when considering behaviour supports..
- Legal and ethical considerations related to students with complex needs and challenging behaviours, including issues related to privacy, consent, and information sharing.
- Understanding the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and the impact of colonialism, discrimination, and marginalization on their inclusion in the classroom.
- Strategies for creating culturally responsive and inclusive classrooms.
- Collaboration and communication strategies for working with families, community members, and other stakeholders, including school counsellors, social workers, and mental health professionals, to support students who have experienced or are at risk of child abuse and neglect.
- Insights from professionals and educators working with students with complex needs in the field.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks are used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes and professional standards and criteria consistent with University assessment requirements.
The assessment will relate directly to the achievement of the outcomes above. Some flexibility may be exercised in the assessment tasks to align with the needs of the students; for example, some students may be working in schools or other educational contexts, in an administrative role or currently on leave from teaching in a school. In order to pass this unit, students are required to submit all assessment tasks and achieve an overall mark above 50%.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1 Literature Review Choose a...
Assessment Task 1
Literature Review
Choose a specific student population for focus (e.g. students with autism spectrum disorder, gifted students, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students etc.). Critically analyse current understanding of this focus group’s characteristics and needs with relation to contemporary strategies for supporting them in the classroom. How do the recommended strategies support or challenge the methods recommended for teaching in inclusive settings?
50%
Assessment Task 2 Support Plan Create a behavi...
Assessment Task 2
Support Plan
Create a behaviour support plan for a hypothetical student with challenging behaviours. The plan should include positive and proactive strategies for addressing the behaviour, as well as a plan for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the interventions. The plan should include strategies for collaborating and communicating with families, community members, and other stakeholders.
50%
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit is offered fully online and uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of the essential knowledge associated with the enactment of a rights respecting framework for supporting children and young people in inclusive settings. Students will explore key issues and develop a deeper contextualised understanding of child rights, voice and agency through online asynchronous activities. Other activities may include lectures and reading, self-directed learning, participant critical reflection against relevant professional standards with particular reference to case studies, engagement with the literature, dialogue and interrogation of concepts, theories and practices, and the application to their current professional contexts.
This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the semester.