Pre-requisites

None.

Co-requisites

None.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

• Analyse student’s physical, social, emotional and spiritual stages of development and diversities in abilities and contexts

• Explain the work of learning and developmental theorists and research on learning and how they apply to learning and teaching, including a range of associated teaching strategies

• Explain how learning occurs and how a variety of factors, such as motivation, physical, social and intellectual development, spiritual development and social influences may impact on learning

• Evaluate themselves as learners, examining their own learning profiles and how that might impact their teaching practices

Unit Description

This unit will explore the Human learning process from 4 distinct perspectives.

Each lens provides a unique way to reflect on the process. One lens is theories about learning that have been generated through the disciplines of philosophy, psychology and sociology. Specifically, 10 learning theorists will be studied. You will be required to compare and contrast these, particularly in relation to the foundational Christian beliefs about what it means to a fully educated human (goals of education) and the nature of knowledge.

A second lens will be the current research around the brain and cognition and memory.

A third lens will be the school-based research around specific contexts and practices that have led to improving learning progress such as metacognition.

A fourth lens is the literature on the stages of development and styles of learning exploring the diversity of humans and what this means for diversity in processing and the reformulation of knowledge for students at various stages of development.

You will be required to synthesise the information you have acquired about learning and apply this to begin to connect a range of teaching methods to theories of learning. You will also be required to reflect on your own experiences of learning and how these may hinder or help in your development of teaching practices.

As the first education unit of the Bachelor of Education, it will also introduce you to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) at the Graduate level and the importance of working with the framework in your course to identify the range of knowledge and skills that you will need to become a graduate teacher.

Topics

1. The three strands and key areas of the APST

2. Exploring the unity of learning through various theorists

3. Exploring the diversity of learners: Stages of physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development

4. Brain research and learning

5. Psychology of learning: Motivation, Learned helplessness

6. Implications for Rhythms/phases of learning and teaching practices and strategies

7. Celebrating learning

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Unit offerings

Face to face: Semester 1, 2025 and Semester 1, 2026 (Every Year, Semester 1)

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.