Teaching the Humanities

Overview

This unit focuses on preparing pre-service teachers to plan, teach and assess the Humanities and Social Science learning areas of History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business within in the primary classroom. Pre-service teachers will gain knowledge of the principles, practices and curriculum content and key concepts of teaching Humanities and Social Sciences. Contemporary issues when teaching Humanities will also be considered. An emphasis will be placed on the use of ICT to support Humanities teaching and learning.

Unit learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

1. Teach, plan and assess key Humanities and Social Science (history, geography, civics and citizenship, and economics and business) concepts and curriculum content appropriate for primary school environments
2. Analyse pedagogical approaches in teaching and learning of Humanities in the Primary classroom, including collaborative planning, and single subject and cross-disciplinary approaches
3. Evaluate and generate learning experiences (including informal humanities learning) that reflect relevant National and/or State or Territory curriculum documentation and reflect contemporary inquiry pedagogical approaches
4. Evaluate digital humanities resources with a focus on student engagement
5. Evaluate a range of assessment and reporting strategies and record keeping instruments within the Humanities and Social Sciences in terms of their purpose, benefits, limitations and implementation constraints
6. Reflect upon how the broader theoretical and societal context impacts upon the teaching of Humanities

Teaching methods

Hawthorn

Assessment

Content

• Curriculum
• Contemporary pedagogical approaches and methods of teaching Humanities and Social sciences, including the use of ICT
• Humanities concepts
• Principles of teaching, planning, assessing and reporting within the humanities
• Resources in Humanities
• Strategies for assessing student learning, including the importance and functions of moderation and providing feedback to enhance learning
• Contemporary issues in Humanities teaching
• Informal learning experiences
• Inquiry learning
• Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Verbal communication
• Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Communicating using different media
• Graduate Attribute – Teamwork Skills: Collaboration and negotiation
• Graduate Attribute – Teamwork Skills: Teamwork roles and processes
• Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Information literacy