Engaging Professionally 2 Early Childhood

Unit Outline (Higher Education)

Level of Unit in Course

AQF Level(s) of Course

Level of Unit in Course

Introductory

Intermediate

Effective Term:

2024/20

Institute / School :

Institute of Education, Arts & Community

Unit Title:

Engaging Professionally 2 Early Childhood

Unit ID:

EDMAS6130

Credit Points:

15.00

Prerequisite(s):

Nil

Co-requisite(s):

Nil

Exclusion(s):

(EDMAS6125)

ASCED:

070105

Other Change:

Brief description of the Unit

This unit is designed to enable student teachers (STs) to continue to develop their understanding of the professional work of early childhood teachers and includes a professional experience to be able to apply their learning. Once again, STs create and experience a professional learning community where learning is enhanced through social processes, dialogue and personal reflection. Guided by a learning mentor STs will understand and critically examine professional teaching standards, roles and expectations and legal and ethical responsibilities. Using narrative writing and dialogue, they will make increasingly complex connections between theory and practice and their observations in early childhood settings and will begin to conceptualise the sort of teacher they want to become.

Grade Scheme:

Graded (HD, D, C, P, MF, F, XF)

Work Experience Indicator:

No work experience

Placement Component:

Yes - days

Supplementary Assessment:No

Supplementary assessment is not available to students who gain a fail in this Unit.

Course Level:

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of the course the students are expected to be able to:

Knowledge:

K1.	Examine the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, National Quality Standards and relevant curriculum (EYLF and VEYLDF) and understand how they can be used to enhance professional practice.

K2.	Reflect on relevant Codes of Ethics (Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics) for teachers and the impact on practice.

K3.	Understand the legal responsibilities of teachers including Duty of Care.

K4.	Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process.

K5.	Examine the role of professional associations and unions in education.

K6.	Investigate the responsibilities and roles associated with being a member of a professional learning community.

K7.	Conceptualise what matters most in our personal evolving professional identity.

K8.	Transfer knowledge created across the program to professional practice.

Skills:

S1.	Critically reflect on links between theory, professional practice and personal experiences; share personal thoughts, opinions and experiences; and listen actively to others.

S2.	Demonstrate and develop teaching knowledge and skills through a 20 day professional placement, reflect critically on practice and actively seek and understand feedback.

S3.	Develop teaching and learning goals based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers; National Quality Standards; EYLF and VEYLDF, collect evidence, identify what has been achieved and consider next steps for professional learning.

S4.	Communicate effectively with colleagues in the University setting and in education and community contexts.

S5.	Manage, organise and use documentation including professional readings and resources.

S6.	Use online forums to share resources and strategies.

Application of knowledge and skills:

A1.	Participate in a 20 day professional experience in an early childhood setting. Receive report from classroom mentor teacher on identified Graduate Level Standards.

A2.

Present evidence of development towards professional readiness. STs will use multiple forms of evidence (including mentor teachers classroom observations, curriculum documentation, child/parent/carer feedback, personal journals and classroom artefacts) to demonstrate effective professional learning and classroom practice.

A3.	Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process.

Unit Content:

Topics include

Critical analysis of knowledge, skills and capacities related to effective teaching including an understanding of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, National Quality Standard (NQS), EYLF and VEYLDF.
Further examination of legal responsibilities, duty of care and moral purpose.
Communicating with and involving parents/carers in the educative process.
Examining the notion of evidence-based practice in the context of professional practice.
Personal agency, autonomy and conducting personal needs analyses to inform goal setting.
Extending inquiries into professional practice and developing critical, creative and reflective thinking capacities as well as interpersonal skills.
Using narrative to identify, examine and understand key roles associated with professional practice.
Making connections between different aspects of the Master of Teaching program and developing a personal philosophy related to teaching and learning.

Graduate Attributes:

	Learning Outcomes Assessed	Assessment Tasks	Assessment Type	Weighting
1.	K1, K2, K3, K4, K8 S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 A1 APST 1.2, 1.3 2.2, 2.3, 2.5 3.1, 3..2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5 6.1, 6.3 7.1, 7.2, 7.3	Participate in a 20 day professional experience in an early childhood setting. Receive report, Form A Professional Experience Assessment Report, from classroom mentor teacher on identified Professional Standards.	Professional Practice	S/N
2.	K1, K2, K3, K5, K6, K7, K8 S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 A1, APST 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3..2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.1, 2.2, 5.4, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.1, 7.2,	Present evidence of development towards professional readiness. STs will use multiple forms of evidence (including mentor teacher classroom observations, curriculum documentation, child/parent/carer feedback, personal journals and classroom artefacts, and evidence drawn from Form B Student Teacher Learning Log, and Form C Reflective Self-Evaluation Report to demonstrate effective professional learning and classroom practice.	Teacher performance portfolio	70-80%
3.	K1, K4, S6, A2, A3 APST 2.6, 3.7, 4.5, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3 7.3, 7.4	Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process.	Online Forum	20-30%

Adopted Reference Style:

APA

Professional Standards / Competencies:

Standard / Competency

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL) - Graduate Teacher: Initial

Attribute			Assessed	Level
Professional Knowledge
	1. Know students and how they learn
		1.2 Understand how students learn Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.	Yes	Intermediate
		1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.	Yes	Intermediate
	2. Know the content and how to teach it
		2.2 Content selection and organisation Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.	Yes	Intermediate
		2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.	Yes	Intermediate
		2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas.	Yes	Intermediate
Professional Practice
	3. Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
		3.1 Establish challenging learning goals Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics.	Yes	Intermediate
		3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies.	Yes	Intermediate
		3.3 Use teaching strategies Include a range of teaching strategies.	Yes	Intermediate
		3.4 Select and use resources Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.	Yes	Intermediate
		3.5 Use effective classroom communication Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement.	Yes	Intermediate
		3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning.	Yes	Intermediate
		3.7 Engage parents/ carers in the educative process Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process.	Yes	Intermediate
	4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
		4.1 Support student participation Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.	Yes	Intermediate
		4.2 Manage classroom activities Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions.	Yes	Intermediate
		4.3 Manage challenging behaviour Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour.	Yes	Intermediate
		4.4 Maintain student safety Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.	Yes	Intermediate
	5. Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
		5.1 Assess student learning Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.	Yes	Intermediate
		5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning.	Yes	Intermediate
		5.4 Interpret student data Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice.	Yes	Intermediate
		5.5 Report on student achievement Demonstrate understanding of a range of strategies for reporting to students and parents/carers and the purpose of keeping accurate and reliable records of student achievement.	Yes	Intermediate
Professional Engagement
	6. Engage in professional learning
		6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs.	Yes	Intermediate
		6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice Seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices.	Yes	Intermediate
	7. Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community
		7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilities Understand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession.	Yes	Intermediate
		7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements Understand the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage.	Yes	Intermediate
		7.3 Engage with the parents/carers Understand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers.	Yes	Intermediate