Unit rationale, description and aim
This unit facilitates the pre-service teacher’s induction into the profession and provides opportunities for school-based critical inquiry. It enables pre-service teachers to reinforce and expand their professional knowledge and practice of the different roles of a teacher and their capacity to transform student learning. Pre-service teachers will use a critical enquiry framework to further develop capacities in the alignment of curriculum, assessment, learning and teaching. They will collect data on their own teaching, to support quality teaching practices.
This unit aims to provide pre-service teachers with a substantial block of extended reflective professional experience that approximates the realities of everyday teaching; extends pre-service teachers’ repertoire of pedagogical skills in the planning, delivery and assessment of appropriate teaching and learning programs; and develops pre-service teacher’s understanding of the teachers’ role within the school and broader educational community.
This unit includes the GTPA as a capstone experience drawing on all components of the course culminating in a final, sustained and embedded professional experience of a minimum of 45 continuous days.
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.
Profile achievement of the Australian Teacher Prof...
Learning Outcome 01
Design and implement a critical enquiry, applying ...
Learning Outcome 02
Collect, examine and interpret multiple sources of...
Learning Outcome 03
Self-reflect on the enquiry process and the collec...
Learning Outcome 04
Understand and critique the role of education syst...
Learning Outcome 05
Demonstrate effective teaching that promotes learn...
Learning Outcome 06
Content
Topics will include:
- Knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
- Broad knowledge and understanding of legislative requirements and teaching strategies that support participation and learning of students with disability
- Knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
- Organisation of content into an effective learning and teaching sequence
- Setting learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics
- Planning lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies
- Identifying a range of inclusive teaching strategies
- Broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning.
- Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.
- Knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour
- Understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
- Strategies for interpreting student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice.
- Ethical professional practice for engaging with data and evidence for enquiry into and critical reflection of teaching and learning in school contexts.
- Critical reflection and collaborative interaction with other teachers and other professionals to improve teaching, assessment and professional judgement.
- Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers.
- Ways of seeking and applying constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices.
- Understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learning.
- The writing and presentation of an enquiry-based capstone report.
- Reflective practices and their place in life-long learning and development of teachers.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The professional experience included in this unit represents the culmination of the pre-service teacher’s development towards readiness for the profession. The assessment comprises two culminating pieces of evidence of professional readiness; i) the final report of Professional Experience Assessment; and ii) the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA). Pre-service teachers must achieve a pass in both assessments to satisfactorily complete this unit.
An ungraded pass or fail grade will be awarded for the completion of this unit. The University will award the final grade based on the two pieces of evidence collated about the student’s attainment of the Australian Professional Standards of Teachers: Graduate. 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 assessment requirement, regardless of the outcome of the other, this will result in a fail for the entire unit. Pre-service teachers who fail this unit will be asked to ‘show cause’ and their enrolment in the course will be terminated if the unit is failed twice.
Overview of assessments
Assessment Task 1: Assessment (GTPA) Learning o...
Assessment Task 1:
Assessment (GTPA)
Learning outcomes for this unit will also be demonstrated by completion of the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA). The GTPA asks pre-service teachers to reflect critically on a teaching, learning and assessment cycle and its impact on student learning. It must be accompanied by documentary evidence of the teaching, learning and assessment cycle and of student learning.
The GTPA is a common, culminating assessment used across multiple ITE programs and providers. Information about the specific requirements of the GTPA is detailed in the guideline materials supplied via the Canvas site of this unit.
Pass/Fail
Assessment Task 2: Professional Experience Asses...
Assessment Task 2:
Professional Experience Assessment
The summative Professional Experience is assessed in consultation with a supervising teacher and a university academic over the placement. The pre-service teacher must demonstrate attainment of the Australian Professional Standards of Teachers: Graduate within the context of classroom/school setting practices. Refer to the Unit Professional Experience Guidebook for interim and final reports.
Pass/Fail
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The key genre of this unit will be enquiry-based. The pre-service teacher engages in the GTPA as a capstone experience in the school context/
The enactment of this unit will be predominantly classroom/industry focussed as the pre-service teacher engages in the sustained role of teacher (0.8) in a classroom/school setting undertaking the diverse duties of a practising teacher, including: planning, teaching, assessment, differentiated engagement with students, department/year-level/school meetings, collaborative team planning sessions, supervision, moderation of learning, and other duties required within the setting. Further, the pre-service teacher will engage in a capstone experience of significance in the class/school setting and complete of the GTPA. The pre-service teacher will engage in the activities collegially with a mentor teacher and will spend one day per week (0.2) formally engaging in feedback discussions and proactive planning with both the mentor teacher and the university academic. The unit will close with an individual presentation of the e-portfolio and the findings of the action research project.
This unit will be enacted in a workplace learning context. Student cohorts will network either face to face or online during the semester.
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to: