Humanities in Primary School

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. In this unit 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. Critically analyse pedagogical approaches in teaching and learning of Humanities in the Primary classroom, including single subject and cross-disciplinary approaches.
3. Analyse resources and plan learning experiences (including informal humanities learning) that reflect relevant current curriculum documentation and reflect contemporary inquiry pedagogical approaches.
4. Evaluate digital humanities resources with a focus on student engagement.
5. Analyse and evaluate a range of assessment strategies and record keeping instruments within the Humanities and Social Sciences in terms of their purpose, benefits, limitations and implementation constraints.
6. Critically analyse how the broader theoretical and societal context impacts on the teaching of Humanities.