Course Title: Understanding Diversity and Difference

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Understanding Diversity and Difference

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
TCHE2304	Brunswick Campus	Undergraduate	360H Education	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2011, Sem 2 2012, Sem 2 2013, Sem 2 2014, Sem 2 2015
TCHE2331	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	360H Education	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2011, Sem 2 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 2 2012, Sem 1 2013, Sem 2 2013, Sem 2 2014, Sem 2 2015

Course Coordinator: Dr Emily Gray

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7660

Course Coordinator Email: emily.gray@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 220.04.11

Course Coordinator Availability: Please email for appointment

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Non listed

Course Description

This is a core course that focuses on questions of diversity and education. The course is informed by principles of social justice, human (and children’s) rights and equal opportunity and anti-discrimination legislative frameworks. The course links strongly with the Victorian Charter of Rights and Responsibilities 2006. The course aims to introduce students to the idea that ‘socially just spaces’ are created by teachers and learners and supports students to become reflective about the ways that difference is experienced within educational contexts. Students will be introduced to broad models and policies, including national and state policies for Indigenous education, that support them in constructing learning and teaching opportunities that take into consideration diversity and difference.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course is designed to assist students to:
• Develop reflective practitioner skills.
• Recognise and be familiar with disadvantage and advantage within contemporary Australian society.
• Develop knowledge and analytic skills drawing on social theory frameworks with which to examine diversity and difference.
• Develop responses that support diversity and difference across the school.
• Explore the role of education in the reconciliation process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia.
• Build an informed viewpoint regarding appropriate practices in Indigenous education.

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:
• Use an evidence based approach to discuss the nature of advantage and disadvantage in contemporary Australian society.
• Discuss principles of social justice including, human (and children’s) rights; equal opportunity and anti-discrimination; and implement these in educative contexts.
• Apply analytic skills informed by social theory to learning and teaching.
• Identify models and policies that support the construction of ‘socially just’ pedagogies of difference.
• Respond appropriately to community goals for Indigenous students.
• Act competently in culturally diverse, inclusive, and egalitarian educational environments.

ICT Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course students will have demonstrated and/or acquired the following ICT capabilities:
• Awareness of contemporary ICT resources suitable to the classroom.
• Skills in using ICT for communication, presentation, work preparation and implementation.
• Personal proficiency in using ICT.

VIT Standards
This course is aligned with the following standards:
• Teachers know their students.
• Teachers create and maintain safe and challenging learning environments.
• Teachers reflect on, evaluate and improve their professional knowledge and practice.
• Teachers are active members of their profession.

Overview of Learning Activities

Students’ learning in this course will involve a range of activities including but not limited to lectures, workshops, group work , excursions, peer teaching, discussion, close reading, discourse analysis, project writing and design, web-based teaching and learning resources.

Overview of Learning Resources

See part B

Overview of Assessment

Assessment tasks are directly linked to the stated objectives and outcomes. Assessment in the course will be both theoretical and practical in nature. A range of formative and summative assessment types will be incorporated into the course (for example, written, oral or performance based assessment).

Students should refer to Part B of the course guide for further information on assessment.