EDFX532 - Graduate Professional Practice 2

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

EDFX531 Graduate Professional Practice 1 , LNTE111 Literacy and Numeracy Test

Unit rationale, description and aim

This professional experience comprises a minimum of 30 days placement and supervised teaching in a school context.

This second professional experience focuses on the identification of the professional role of the teacher as one of reflector and learner within a particular classroom context and as an integral member of a school community. The unit allows supervising teachers and pre-service teachers to work collaboratively with the University to assess, challenge, and extend the abilities of pre-service teachers. This school based professional experience enables pre-service teachers to reinforce and expand their competency in providing for and challenging student learning. This unit provides pre-service teachers with a block of extended reflective professional experience that extends their repertoire of pedagogical skills in the planning and delivery of appropriate teaching and learning programs. It further provides opportunities for school-based study and the development of closer links between theoretical considerations and the teaching and learning experiences encountered in schools.

The aim of this professional experience is to provide a minimum of 30 days placement and supervised teaching in a school context for the purpose of demonstrating readiness for the profession.

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 sophisticated understanding of the role of government and education system expectations, and school philosophies or mission statements in the development of school policies, curriculum, and procedures (GA5; APST 4.4)

LO2 -  analyse the role of, and where possible engage with, school community, parents/carers and other external professionals in the educational process (GA7; APST 3.7, 7.3, 7.4)

LO3 - apply a range of verbal and non-verbal classroom communication and effective interpersonal skills during teaching episodes that support student engagement in learning (GA5, GA10; APST 3.5, 4.1, 4.2)

LO4 - critique, contrast and synthesise a range of strategies to manage behaviour within classrooms and school contexts to ensure students’ wellbeing and safety, including involving parents/carers in the educative process (GA5, GA8; APST 3.7, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4)

LO5 - evaluate, construct and implement of a variety of teaching strategies and learning activities that utilise engaging resources (including ICT), challenge students intellectually, and support diverse abilities and learning needs (GA8, GA10; APST 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.5)

LO6 -  critique and apply current principles and practices of assessment including feedback, moderation, and reporting procedures, and demonstrate the capacity to interpret student data to evaluate learning and modify teaching practice, (GA5, GA8; APST 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5)

LO7 -  reflect critically upon teaching processes and classroom management strategies, employing a range of sources of evidence, as a means to develop and refine professional practice and identify professional learning needs (GA4, GA5, GA7, GA8; APST 3.6, 5.4, 6.1, 6.3, 7.4).

Graduate attributes

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

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

GA7 - work both autonomously and collaboratively 

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:

• Identification and analysis of school charters/mission statements and school policies
• Professional roles and responsibilities as a member of the school and wider community, professional ethics, and the collegial nature of schools
• Relationship building and communication skills (oral, written, electronic) with students, colleagues, parents/carers, and school community
• Creating effective class and school learning environments
• Lesson, unit and program planning including sequencing of appropriate, effective teaching strategies and learning activities which cater for different learning needs and contexts
• Assessment techniques/processes and appropriate reporting procedures for effective learning
• The role and impact of assessment and feedback for improved student learning outcomes and modification of teaching practices
• Classroom management skills appropriate for creating and maintaining positive, safe and challenging learning environments
• The importance of parents/carers as partners in the educative process
• Reporting to parents, school community, and educational authorities the role of reflective practice in evaluating learning and modifying teaching practice.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Refer to Professional Experience Handbook for detailed guidelines regarding teaching and other requirements.

Pre-service teachers in this phase of the Professional and Community Experience undertake a minimum of 30 days of supervised teaching in schools, comprising a combination of five to ten single days throughout semester, followed by a continuous 20 – 25 day block in the same school. This experience will involve:

• Taking on aspects of the secondary school teacher’s role and responsibilities as appropriate
• Engaging in professional reflective conversations with peers, mentor/supervising teacher and university staff
• Learning to work collaboratively with colleagues, including supervising teacher and teacher aides, and parents/carers where appropriate
• Structured observation and analysis of high quality teaching episodes in both the major and the minor teaching areas
• Developing and implementing lesson plans and sequences
• Guided reflective practice, aligned with collecting and annotating appropriate artefacts for GTPA requirements against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers framework and inclusion in the digital portfolio of professional practice commenced in EDFD528 - Effective Teaching and Professional Practice.

A variety of learning-teaching strategies may be used including:

• Face-to-face lectures for briefing and debriefing

1. Attendance at all Professional Experience briefing and debriefing meetings is a unit requirement.

• Seminars, tutorials, or workshops, which include pre-service teacher-led discussions and group work, provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to reflect on and build on their experiences in the field.
• Information and communication technologies may be utilised to deliver content and facilitate an understanding of an educational community of practice. 

Professional Experience: Teaching Requirements

Through school-based experiences, pre-service teachers will examine the nexus between theory and practice as they analyse and reflect upon current practices, develop communication, planning and teaching skills and relate their experiences to the theoretical foundations introduced through lectures and tutorials at university. In partnership with the teachers and school communities, they will practice and develop the content and skills explicitly addressed in on-campus units.

Suggested arrangement of the Professional Experience

5 Single Days - Proposed Teaching Expectation

Days 1 – 3

• Structured observation and small group/team teaching Assisting the class teacher in the teaching and learning process
• Self-auditing and evaluation

Days 3 – 5

• Structured observation and small group/team teaching
• Assisting the class teacher in the teaching and learning process
• One - two lessons/learning experiences per day, leading to whole class teaching
• Self-auditing and evaluation

Days 6 – 10 (Single days or incorporated into the block) - Proposed Teaching Expectation

Days 6 – 10

• Two whole class lessons/learning experiences per day plus managing class routines
• Self-auditing and evaluation

Block Practicum: Days 11 – 30 - Proposed Teaching Expectation

Weeks 3 – 4

• Half days of teaching, plus managing class routines
• Self-auditing and evaluation

Weeks 5 – 6

• 0.8 of fulltime teaching load
• Practicum reflection, self-auditing and evaluation.

Assessment strategy and rationale

Pre-service teachers must achieve a pass for the professional experience to satisfactorily complete this unit. The professional experience is assessed by the two assessments described below. These comprise two alternate perspectives on the pre-service teacher’s professional practice within the selected placement classroom designed to assess readiness for independent teaching practice.

A pass or fail grade will be awarded for the completion of the professional experience completed for this unit. The University will award the final grade based on two pieces of assessment evidence collated about the student’s attainment of the Australian Professional Standards of Teachers: Graduate. As described in the table below, this evidence is: i) the final report of Professional Experience Assessment; and ii) the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA). Students must meet the graduate level requirements for both tasks/pieces of evidence to pass this unit. If a fail grade is determined for either task this will result in a fail for the entire unit. Pre-service teachers who fail this unit will be asked to ‘show cause’ and will be terminated if the unit is failed twice.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Good, T. L., & Lavigne, A.L (2017). Looking in classrooms (11th ed.). Boca Raton, FL: Routledge.

Henniger, M. L. (2009). The teaching experience: An introduction to reflective practice (3rd ed.). New York: Pearson Custo Publishing.

Kennedy, M. (1996). Teachers conducting research. East Lansing, MI: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning.

Kronowitz, E. L. (2004). Your first year of teaching and beyond (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Moore, A. (2012). Teaching and learning: Pedagogy, curriculum and culture (2nd ed.). Milton Park, England: Routledge.

Overall, L., & Sangster, M. (2005). The secondary teacher's handbook. London, England: Continuum

Pollard, A. (2008). Reflective teaching: Effective and evidence-informed professional practice (3rd ed.). London, England: Continuum.

Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Humphries, J., & Sinclair, C. (2016). Learning for teaching, teaching for learning (3rd ed.). Southbank, Vic: Cengage Learning Australia.

Wilen, W. W., Hutchisen, J., & Ischler, M. (2008). Dynamics of effective secondary teaching (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Zeichner, K., & Liston, D. (2014). Reflective teaching: An introduction (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.