Collaborative learning project

Embedded in this course is the Extended Practicum for final year Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) as an 'immersion' type placement. This Professional Experience placement builds on previous practicum experience, and provides further grounding for the development of teaching knowledge and practice for classroom readiness. The placement presents opportunities for PSTs to engage in ideas and theoretical frames within education, to connect these with practice and reflect on the implications of such connections. By the end of this placement, the PSTs should apply knowledge and skills as set out below and in consideration of the Professional Teaching Standards and in line with the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment (GTPA). All evidence will support the Round Table Conference which occurs in Term 4 and is the opportunity for PSTs to present their growth and learning. As the placement progresses, PSTs take on the role similar to that expected of beginning 'classroom ready' teachers.

This course will develop the basic principles of inquiry-based learning and how to apply these in a professional context. Incorporated into this will be frameworks for the initiation and execution of professional learning including reflective practice and self-directed learning as part of the GTPA tasks. Students will negotiate and review goals for evaluating and improving professional practice whilst establishing processes for professional learning that account for existing collegial networks, contexts and policy frameworks. Methods of recording and monitoring processes of evaluation and engagement, including reflexive writing, journaling and responding to comments from critical friends, will be developed to monitor progress and serve as a basis to recommend changes.