EDFX521 - Effective Teaching and Graduate Professional Experience (Primary) 1

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit is designed to provide pre-service teachers with a comprehensive understanding of theories and practices that underpin teaching and learning environments. Pre-service teachers will critically address the complexities of teachers' roles and practice, communication and interpersonal skills, classroom management strategies, planning processes and a range of teaching and assessment strategies to support the needs of diverse learners. Pre-service teachers will describe, analyse and reflect upon current pedagogical approaches through engagement in web enhanced environments, tutorials and assessment activities.

Observations in classroom and school contexts will be deconstructed to examine theoretical foundations introduced with critical reflection upon how they inform their developing professional roles as a confident and effective teacher that can be aligned with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate.

Pre-service teachers will develop their understanding of codes of ethics and conduct, and will be required to complete online modules in legal and professional requirements, including Duty of Care, Child Protection and Mandatory Reporting. This includes a module on working with children and young people that will focus on responding to concerns and strategies to keep ourselves and others safe and support children, young people and vulnerable adults.

This unit aims to assist pre-service teachers to develop a critical approach to teaching and learning through engaging with research, scholarship and school- based professional experience that links theory and practice in a coherent manner.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Articulate a comprehensive understanding of the complexities of the teacher’s role and the implications for practice, including: Professional Standards; policies and processes; codes of ethics and conduct; legal and professional responsibilities; and the broader contexts of schooling (GA5, GA10; APST 6.1, 7.1, 7.2)

LO2 - Demonstrate a critical understanding of a range of effective verbal and non-verbal communication and interpersonal skills and strategies to support learner engagement, to be employed during teaching episodes (GA5; APST 3.5, 4.1, 4.2)

LO3 - Critically examine the nexus between theories and practices of classroom teaching and learning (GA4; APST 2.3, 3.2, 3.6, 4.3)

LO4 - Critically analyse, develop and implement appropriate teaching strategies for differentiating curriculum and teaching, to meet the needs of diverse learners and to support inclusive student engagement in learning (GA1, GA4, GA5; APST 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3)

LO5 - Plan, implement and evaluate learning, teaching, assessment and feedback strategies, with reference to multiple sources of evidence (GA5, GA8; APST 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 5.1, 5.2, 6.3) 

LO6 - Critically analyse, synthesise and develop a range of classroom management strategies to be applied during teaching (GA1, GA5, GA8; APST 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 7.2)

LO7 - Explore and contrast the broader context of the profession of teaching, make connections with social contexts and key principles described in codes of ethics and consider ways to involve parents/carers in the educative process to inform learning environments (GA1; APST 3.7,7.1)

LO8 - Critically analyse, create and implement ICT based learning activities and resources (GA10; APST 2.6, 3.4, 4.5)

LO9 - Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of legislation, policies and strategies for building safe and supportive environments for working with children and young people (GA1, GA5; APST 4.4, 7.1, 7.2).

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL

On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:

Content

Topics will include:

• The complexities of the teacher’s role and the implications for practice, including: Australian Professional Standards for teachers; organisational policies and processes; principles and codes of ethics and conduct; legal and professional responsibilities including Duty of Care, Child Protection and Mandatory reporting
• An overview of the National and State curriculum and key learning areas
• Communication and interpersonal skills in the classroom, school, and other education contexts, including providing clear directions
• A range of teaching strategies that may include:
• Questioning and discussion processes
• Explanations and Demonstrations
• Group investigations
• Structured inquiry
• Inductive Thinking
• Concept-attainment
• Direct Instruction
• Problem solving
• Role play
• Advanced organisers
• Strategies to foster reflective and self-auditing practices to improve learning and teaching
• Planning for teaching using the content in the other KLAs being studied in this semester to:
• Plan, structure and implement within a lesson plan format, specific teaching skills and learning sequence for small groups of students
• Identify strategies for critiquing the implementation of learning activities
• Interpret curriculum documents to set learning outcomes and content
• Cater for the learning needs of students from a diverse range of social and cultural backgrounds
• Micro-teaching to practice a repertoire of skills for effective teaching such as small group instruction, introduction, closure, questioning and responding, demonstration, discussion
• Strategies and frameworks such as the Quality Teaching Model to structure observations for critiquing learning / teaching practices and contexts, using collation of data and analysis of specific teaching skills to reflect upon and inform future professional practice
• Strategies for promoting effective learning and behaviour management such as attention gaining techniques, voice projection and variability, use of verbal and non-verbal communication and proximity reinforcement
• Differentiation of content, teaching and assessment strategies to engage diverse learners including
• Learners from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds
• Learners across a full range of abilities
• EAL/D learners
• Learners from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
• Theories and practices of classroom management, with particular emphasis on preventing, responding and maintaining classroom behaviour for teaching and learning, including involving parents in the educative process
• Management of class and school routines for effective lesson transitions and student movement both within the class and school context eg morning meet and greet, packing up for home, moving to and from the playground, notes/lunches/homework, early finishers/incomplete work, distributing materials, strategies for safety and wellbeing (toilets, scissors, putdown behaviours)
• Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to enhance teaching and learning such as the effective use of interactive whiteboards, mobile devices and programs to engage learning
• Communicating with students and colleagues as a professional in the field, especially to gain feedback for current and future practice
• The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate - their purpose, structure and role in identifying professional learning needs
• Creating a Digital Portfolio of Professional Practice – for evidence of self- auditing to identify strengths and areas for development
• The legal and professional responsibilities of teachers eg professional conduct, duty of care.
• Building safe and supportive environments for working with children, young people and vulnerable adults.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

The unit will consist of three contact hours or equivalent each week and is embedded within the professional experience program. This unit is organised through web enhanced lecture and tutorial modes. It will integrate content and micro-skills developed and practiced in ‘on campus’ and ‘in school’ experiences, discussions, readings, individual study and critical reflections. A variety of learning-teaching strategies will be used including:

• Face-to-face lectures, supported through some online delivery of content
• Workshop/tutorials where micro-teaching skills are modelled, practiced and analysed
• Immersion in the field as a pre-service teacher in order to participate and engage as a community of learners with peers, colleague teachers and mentors, in structured observation, small group teaching leading to whole class teaching in classrooms
• Strategies to inform the self-auditing process to determine professional and personal achievement and progress
• Completion of all specified preparation and legal modules is compulsory prior to commencement of the professional experience placement.
• The Working with Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults module is an online module that will take approximately 2 hours to complete. Successful participants will be given a record of completion.

Integral to the unit will be the undertaking a minimum of 20 days in a primary school setting. A suggested five single days will be taken in the first half of the 12 week semester followed by a minimum 15 day block in the same school and classroom. This experience will involve:

• Exposure to the many aspects of the role and responsibilities of a primary school teacher
• Assisted immersion in school and class contexts to begin to experience aspects of the primary school teacher’s role and responsibilities.
• Structured observation and analysis of high quality teaching episodes particularly in Literacy, Mathematics and The Arts and analysis of the impact on student learning outcomes
• Practicing the skills of micro-teaching in small groups situations in university and school
• Developmental teaching practice from observation, to small groups and individual student teaching to whole class teaching
• Learning and practicing daily class routines such as transitions from playground to classroom, morning meet and greet, early finishers/incomplete work, distributing materials, strategies for safety and wellbeing (toilets, scissors, putdown behaviours), movement within the class, lunches, end of school day to home (packing up, homework, notes, bus duties, etc).

Professional Experience: Teaching Requirements

Through school-based experiences, pre-service teachers will examine the nexus between theory and practice in a coherent manner as they research, analyse and reflect upon current practices, develop communication, planning and organisational skills and relate their observations to the theoretical foundations introduced through lectures and tutorials at university and then actioned through experience in the field. The professional experience components of this unit are designed to allow pre-service teachers to become immersed in the life of the school community through participation in a minimum of 5 days during the semester and a block practicum of a minimum of 15 days. Pre-service teachers remain in the same classroom for a total of 20 minimum days. The professional experience component, in partnership with the teachers and school communities, will develop the content and skills explicitly addressed within lectures and tutorials to develop an understanding of productive pedagogies and the importance of creating quality learning environments.

Suggested arrangement of the Professional Experience

5 Single Days - Proposed Teaching Expectation

Days 1 - 3: Observation and small group teaching; assisting the class teacher in the teaching and learning process, plus managing class routines

Days 3 - 5: One – two lessons/learning experiences per day with a focus on skills developed through micro-teaching opportunities

Block Practicum: 15 days - Proposed Teaching Expectations

Day 6: Preparation and small group teaching

Days 7 - 8: Two lessons/learning experiences per day

Days 9 - 10: Three lessons/learning experiences per day – experiencing morning and afternoon teaching and learning contexts, plus taking responsibility for class routines

Days 11 - 20: Half day continuous teaching including management of transitions. Reflection, self-auditing and evaluation.

Assessment strategy and rationale

A variety of assessment procedures will be used to ascertain the extent to which students achieve stated outcomes.

Minimum Achievement Standards

All assessment tasks must be completed. Pre-service teachers must achieve a pass in the professional experience component of the unit in order to satisfactorily complete this unit. If a fail grade is determined in professional experience, regardless of the marks achieved in the other assessment tasks, this will result in a fail for the entire unit. The student will also fail the unit if the grade for the combination of the other assessment tasks is a fail. Pre-service teachers who fail this unit will be asked to ‘show cause’ and will be terminated from enrolment in their course if the unit is failed twice.

Overview of assessments

Details of Assessment Task 2:

Part A – Lesson Plan 20%

Each pre-service teacher is to submit:

• A full lesson plan using the ACU Lesson Plan Format to prepare and develop a 30 – 50min lesson using content and ideas from a KLA area and stage of your choice and the micro-skill allocated. Be sure to include:
• the lesson plan with content and micro-skill to be developed and assessed
• provisions for the sequential development of the content and ideas of the lesson
• teaching aids and resources in the development and application of the content. For example, texts, handouts, PowerPoint presentations, visuals, movies, etc.
• critical reflection relating to the processes and practices of planning and implementing lessons for engaging and improving student learning
• plans should be approximately 3 pages, including: 1 title/outcomes page, 2 pages of content/strategies.

Part B - Teaching Performance 30%

In pairs, students are to deliver a 10-minute micro-lesson with the tutorial group acting as the audience. The lesson should focus on the micro-skill allocated and strategies that will involve the tutorial group as active participants.

Assessment 3: Class On-line Site: Australian Professional Standards for Teachers

(Please note: it is recognised that a variety of software could be used to complete this task as software is constantly evolving for educational purposes. Therefore the software used can be changed but the task must remain focused on communicating with parents and students with the same outcomes and APST identified in assessment task 2).

Context

Google Apps software or similar, as a service platform, has been deployed to students, teachers and administrative staff at both Catholic and government schools across Australia. The rationale behind this deployment was to move forward in terms of messaging and collaboration. But more importantly, it was a solution aligned with a virtual learning environment paradigm that would evolve to support the learning initiatives of our teachers and accommodate the expectations of the highly tech savvy generation Y and Z students who expect the same level of technology access in the classroom as they have at home (Gregory, 2012, http://delimiter.com.au/2012/08/13/330k-users-google-apps-hits-catholic-schools/). The development and maintenance of a Google Site for your class will enable the demonstration of new methods of communication and messaging with their peers, colleagues and the wider community, along with a demonstration of integration of ICT with theoretical content of the unit and the day-a-week school visits. 

Task Requirements

Part A: Class Google Site (20%)

Design and develop your own class Google Site. The size of the site should be a minimum of three web pages.

1. A welcome page – This page will serve as an introduction and will describe the purpose of the site; why you have created the content being housed. Welcome your colleagues, students and their parents to your site and tell them a little bit about why you have created the site and what type of information they will be able to find here.
2. eNews – you must include examples of ICT based teaching and learning activities, and may wish to also include student work samples, class news, school events, etc.
3. Resources – provide links (with an explanation) to sources and sites that are related to the content you are covering in class or that would be helpful for your students.

The class eNewsletter will need to include the following ICT content:

• Use of graphics and images
• Use of multimedia, e.g. video, audio
• Effective hyperlinks and descriptions
• Quality design and ease of navigation
• Site URL uploaded to the Google doc in LEO

Part B: Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (30%)

Download the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate level (http:// http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers). You are to select and identify a National Focus Area you have demonstrated through the site. You are encouraged to include material from the weekly-recommended readings, journal articles and texts to support your analysis (1200 words maximum).

1. Place your Google site URL at the top of this document.
2. Select one Focus Areas from the Australian Professional Teaching Standards for Teachers. Identify the Focus Area and the descriptor, for example: Focus Area - 1.2 Understand how students learn Graduate Descriptor – Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
3.  In detail, describe element(s) of your Google site and how they fulfill the focus area and descriptor identified. For example, in your newsletter you may upload an interactive whiteboard resource you created that demonstrates multimodality; in particular the resource focuses on integrating visual and audio cues.
4. Using research, from texts and scholarly journals, consider how the evidence identified meets the Focus Area and descriptor. You may insert screenshots of the evidence, be certain to highlight or annotate the relevant parts of the evidence that relate specifically to the Focus Area. 

Representative texts and references

Relevant national, state and territory curriculum documents and study designs.

Charles, C. (2014). Building classroom discipline (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon

Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.

Fleer, M., & Jane, B. (2011). Design and technology for children (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Press.

Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2015). Teaching: Challenges and dilemmas (5th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia.

Joyce, B., Weil, M., & Calhoun, E. (2014). Models of teaching (9th ed.). Boston/London: Pearson.

Killen, R. (2013). Effective teaching strategies: Lessons from research and practice (6th ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia.

Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011). Classroom management: Creating positive learning environments (3rd ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning.

McDonald, T. (2013). Classroom management: Engaging students in learning. Ebook (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

Price, K. (Ed.) (2012). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An introduction for the teaching profession. Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press.

Queensland Government. (2011). Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in schools: A guide for school learning communities. Accessed 12 August, 2014, from http://deta.qld.gov.au/indigenous/pdfs/eatsips_2011.pdf

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. D. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6th ed.). Boston, MA; Sydney, NSW: Pearson Education Inc.

Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., & Nanlohy, P. (2010). Learning for teaching, teaching for learning (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia.