University of Technology Sydney

59711 Natural Australia

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

UTS: International Studies: Initial Teacher Education
Credit points: 8 cp

Subject level: Undergraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.
Anti-requisite(s): 59716 Academic English: Australian Environment AND 59718 Developing English: Studies of the Australian Natural Environment

Requisite elaboration/waiver: Non-English-speaking background international, exchange or study abroad students who meet the requisite English proficiency score (IELTS: 5.0-6.0 overall with a writing score of 5.0; TOEFL: paper based: 510-550 overall with TWE of 3.0, internet based: 35-78 overall with a writing score of 14)

Description

This subject is designed for international students as part of an Australian Language and Culture Studies program. The subject focuses on the development of students' written and oral academic literacies, and introduces a range of texts that are appropriate for participation in an English language tertiary context. In this subject, academic literacies are approached through topics that relate to Australia's natural environment. These may include meanings attached to land, landscape, beach and bush; concepts of native, introduced, companion and feral species; patterns of population, consumption and waste; and the ways in which Australians participate in green cultures and organisations.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

a. develop academic reading, listening, speaking and writing skills
b. develop accuracy in use of English in academic contexts
c. develop research skills

Contribution to the development of graduate attributes

As this is a stand-alone subject and not part of a specific degree program, the subject engages with the following Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Graduate Attributes:

1. Professional Readiness

2. Critical and Creative Inquiry

3. International and Intercultural Engagement

5. Active Citizenship

6. Effective Communication

Teaching and learning strategies

The subject features the following teaching and learning strategies:

1. Flipped learning, through use of UTS Online to provide pre-class readings and preview tasks, and post-lesson readings and reflection tasks.

2. Active learning experiences, through scaffolded independent and group work activities that involve guided discovery of language choices in academic texts and monitored practice of academic language skills.

3. Assessment for learning, through teacher-class dialogue about the learning goals of each assessment task and the assessment criteria that will apply, the use of exemplars, peer dialogue before submission about developing ideas on the content and organisation of each assessment task, and detailed teacher feedback on task achievement.

Content (topics)

This subject develops academic literacies by exploring themes and issues related to Australia’s natural environment.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Essay plan and annotated reference list

Objective(s):

a, b and c

Weight: 20%
Length:

700 words (Essay plan 100 words; Annotated bibliography 600 words)
Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Clarity of argument 25 a
Coherence of structure 20 a
Clarity of written expression 25 b
Relevance of annotated reference list 10 c
Accuracy of in-text referencing and list of references 20 a, c
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Seminar presentation

Objective(s):

a and c

Weight: 40%
Length:

15 minutes
Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Coherence of structure 20 a
Relevance and clarity of reporting on research 30 a, c
Suitability and management of group discussion task 20 a
Effectiveness of presentation skills (voice projection and variation, eye contact, use of visuals) 30 a
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 3: Essay

Objective(s):

a, b and c

Weight: 40%
Length:

1000 words
Criteria linkages:
Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs
Clarity of argument 30 a
Coherence of structure 20 a
Clarity and accuracy of written expression 30 b
Accuracy of in-text referencing and list of references 20 a, c
SLOs: subject learning objectives
CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Minimum requirements

Attendance at weekly classes is important for this subject because it is based on the interchange of ideas with other students and with the lecturer.