EDET211 - Effective Teaching 3 Positive Environments to Engage Young Learners

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

(EDET101 Effective Teaching 2: Curriculum, Planning and Pedagogy AND LNTE111 Literacy and Numeracy Test ) OR (LNTE100 LANTITE - Literacy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students AND LNTE101 LANTITE - Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students ) OR EDET111 Effective Teaching 2: Curriculum Planning and Pedagogy

Incompatible

EDFX343 Education Studies and Professional Experience 3: Creating Quality Learning Environments , EDET200 Effective Teaching 3: Engaging Learners and Managing Learning Environments

Teaching organisation

Includes: 15 days placement in an educational setting

Unit rationale, description and aim

Well–designed learning environments that are engaging, inclusive and safe promote the achievement of learning outcomes. Teachers must be able to apply effective practices to create positive and nurturing learning environments that respectfully meet learners’ needs and foster the holistic growth of very young children.

This unit develops the professional communication, management and organisational skills that are needed to create positive learning environments that nurture and engage very young children in learning, guide learner behaviour and promote positive physical, social and emotional wellbeing. Pre–service teachers will examine contemporary research, policies and key theories on understanding and positively guiding the behaviour of very young children within education settings. They will explore a range of strategies to create positive and engaging learning environments that will support a healthy and holistic start to life and manage behaviours that alert teachers to unmet needs, including physical arrangement of the classroom and communicating clear expectations for behaviour, participation, learning and development. Pre–service teachers will apply these to the critical analysis of real–world case studies. They will synthesise theories, policy and practice to develop a holistic approach to building positive learning environments that nurture the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of very young children, positively guide learner behaviour and manage challenging behaviours that are alerting teachers to unmet learner needs.

The aim of this unit is to enable pre–service teachers to acquire and develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to effectively promote positive behaviours and wellbeing and ensure meaningful engagement in learning. These skills will be applied during a 15–day professional experience placement.

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.

ACECQA Curriculum Specifications

On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) standards:

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level

On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following industry specific knowledge based on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level standards:

Content

• Students will have the opportunity to study some or all of the content of this unit in the particular context of their teaching specialisation (refer to the section on ‘Professional Experience: Teaching Requirements’, below)
• Current research informed contemporary perspectives relevant to social competence – neuroscience, attachment, temperament, self-concept, self-regulation, pro-social behaviours, atypical development and behaviours, imagination, social and emotional literacy
• Contemporary research and theories relating to effective management of a diverse range of learning settings, e.g.:    
• Cognitive and Behaviourist models
• Psychological or needs-based models: Dreikurs, Glasser’s Choice Theory
• Bill Rogers’ Decisive Discipline
• Canter and Canter’s Assertive Discipline
• Ford’s Responsible Thinking
• Kounin’s Engagement Model and Basic Skills
• Marzano’s Teaching Effectiveness
• Developing proactive engagement and management plans, that include very young children as participants and/or decision-makers in matters concerning their social and emotional competence
• Strategies for creating safe and positive learning environments and promoting physical, psychological and social well-being:
• Establishing positive teacher-learner relationships
• Communicating expectations in the learning environment- establishing routines, self-regulation strategies
• Engaging learners in setting shared rules and procedures to help develop learner ownership of their own behaviour
• Strategies for promoting cohesion in the learning environment
• Meaningful interaction through verbal and non-verbal communication with very young children
• Responsive and nurturing learning environment for effective peer interactions
• The physical environment: effective layouts, sense of belonging
• Practical strategies for transition, settling down in new environment,  emotion-regulation 
• Strategies and techniques applicable to diverse learners
• Intentional teaching
• Factors contributing to undesired behaviours:
• Learner related variables
• Home and social group variables
• Learning environment and teacher variables
• The impact of changing technologies and social media in the life of very young children
• A range of practical strategies for responding to low-level undesired behaviours:
• Providing appropriate and timely feedback: Positive reinforcement
• Unobtrusive, non-threatening environments
• A range of practical strategies for managing challenging behaviours that are alerting the teacher to unmet needs:
• Learner-teacher effective communication
• Learning and behaviour management plan/strategies
• Moving beyond the classroom
• Educational system policies and practices
• Engaging with professional colleagues
• Engaging sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers
• Re-building relationships
• Cracking the challenging learner group
• Analysis of real-world case studies involving critical incidents of learner behaviours and teacher/education-setting responses
• Engaging parents and caregivers in the educational process
• Policy, curriculum and legislative requirements that underpin learner wellbeing and safety
• Maintaining safe online environments: safe learning environment for very young learners
• Strategies for protecting teacher safety and well-being: building resilience and self-care.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the semester. This includes direct teaching, reading and preparation of assessments, and a professional experience placement.

This unit applies a social constructivist approach to develop pre-service teachers’ understanding of planning and assessment and skills in applying effective pedagogies. They will have the opportunity to build on their understanding of teaching strategies through critical reading, lecturer modelling, active engagement, rehearsing and discussion in tutorials. Skills of professional communication and the ability to work collaboratively will be practised through group activities, culminating in presentations to the class. This provides opportunities for pre-service teachers to continue to build their communication and teaching skills, and to build their confidence in managing groups, in a safe and supportive environment prior to applying these skills in a relevant educational setting. Teaching skills of positively engaging learners and managing behaviour, and the ability to locate and synthesise information, will be developed through designing engagement and management plans appropriate for a specific context. The placement will enable engagement with experienced practitioners and to make links between theory and its application to the learning environment.

To support this strategy teaching and learning approaches may include, but are not limited to:

• Weekly face-to-face lectures and / or online lectures (synchronous and asynchronous)
• Hands-on tutorials and discussions that promote peer learning;
• Self-directed reading and research
• Collaborative learning opportunities.

Differentiated instruction will be provided, through tutorial arrangements, so that students will have the opportunity to study some or all of the content of this unit in the particular context of their teaching specialisation.

Professional Experience: teaching requirements

Within this Effective Teaching unit pre-service teachers will undertake, individually, a professional experience placement comprising 15 days in an educational setting.

• Each Early Childhood and Primary (ECP) teacher will undertake this professional experience in an Early Childhood centre (B-35 months).
• Each pre-service Early Childhood Teacher will undertake this professional experience in an Early Childhood centre (B-35 months)

Pre-service teachers will develop the habit of critically reflective practice through guided reflection upon their observations of class and educational setting. In collaboration with supervising teachers and other professional colleagues, they will further develop teaching skills through assisting in the delivery of high-quality teaching episodes and taking responsibility for teaching whole classes or learner groups. They will critically reflect upon their teaching, and self-audit their progression and attainment of key teaching skills and standards.

The recommended arrangement of the 15 days is:

• Maximum of 5 days prior to the commencement of the block, for example one day a week, by negotiation with the education provider
• Minimum of two weeks (10 days) of continuous engagement. (The “Block”).

Recommended Teaching Experiences

Pre-service teachers should complete the Professional Experience Placement requirements for EDEC211 (5 days) before the completion of the Professional Experience Placement requirements for EDEC211 (15 days) during the same semester (i.e., 20 days in total for the two units).

Days 1 – 5 (Single days or incorporated into the block for EDEC211): Proposed Teaching Expectations

Days 1 – 2: Orientation, observation and assisting the supervising teacher/s

Days 2 – 5: Observation and assisting the supervising teacher/s, plus planning and implementation of two teaching episodes per day.

Block Practicum: Days 6 – 20 (for EDET211) : Proposed Teaching Expectations

Days 6 – 20:

1. Plan, prepare and implement learning experiences informed by observations that support young children’s interests
2. Plan, prepare, implement and reflect on two learning experiences per day
3. Take responsibility for managing some individual and whole group routines
4. Engage in half day continuous teaching including management of transitions and whole group routines.
5. Conduct observations of the practices of the supervising teacher and room leader.
6. Reflection, self-reflection and evaluation

Assessment strategy and rationale

The assessment load and weighting of the assessments in this unit have been designed to incorporate the professional experience. The written assessment load in this unit has been adjusted accordingly.

A range of assessment procedures are designed to allow pre-service teachers to progressively demonstrate achievement of the unit learning outcomes and to develop graduate attributes consistent with University assessment requirements. The Education Studies units in this course focus on developing understanding of, and skills across the professional knowledge, practice and engagement domains needed to meet expectations of ACECQA criteria and the APST: Graduate level.

The two assessment tasks are sequenced to allow feedback and progressive development. Through completing Task 1 pre-service teachers have the opportunity to work collaboratively to demonstrate knowledge of theoretical models of behaviour management and the complexities of managing challenging behaviour, through a group critical analysis and presentation. In Task 2 pre-service teachers apply their knowledge of theories, policies and practical strategies in the development of a plan for engaging learners and managing behaviour in a specific educational context. The placement facilitates connections with the ‘real world’ of learning and teaching, thereby preparing pre-service teachers for their role as teacher.

Minimum Achievement Standards

The assessment tasks and their weighting for this unit are designed to demonstrate the achievement of each learning outcome. In order to pass this unit, students are required to submit all assessment tasks, meet the learning outcomes of the unit and achieve a minimum overall passing grade of 50%.

In addition, Pre-service teachers must attain a Pass in the two hurdle tasks. These are the preparation for the Professional Experience Placement (PEP) and the Professional Experience Assessment (PEA).

Assessment in EDET211 includes a Critical Task Assessment Task 3 Rationale and plan for engaging learners, fostering positive behaviour and managing alerting behaviour that is challenging for the teacher. This task is core to the demonstration of a number of Australian Professional Teacher Standards.  Pre-service teachers must demonstrate mastery of every summative Graduate Teacher Standard identified and attain a score of at least 50% in this Critical Task in order to pass this unit.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Required text(s)

Australian Curriculum https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) www.acara.edu.au

Early Years Learning Framework

Relevant State and Territory curriculum documents. 

Recommended references

Blatchford, P., & Russell, A. (2019). Class size, grouping practices and classroom management. International Journal of Educational Research, 96, 154-163. 

Bullard. J. (2017). Creating environments for learning: Birth to age eight (3rd ed.). Pearson.

Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh's becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Pearson Education Australia.

Ewing, R., Glass, C., Kervin, L., Gobby, B., & Le Cornu, R. (2019). Teaching: Dilemmas, Challenges and Opportunities. Cengage Learning Australia.

Gonzalez-Mena, J., & Eyer, D. (2018). Infants, toddlers, and caregivers : A curriculum of respectful, responsive, relationship-based care and education (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Johnson, L. (2019). Going to scale: Exploring implementation of positive behaviour intervention and supports within and across different types of early childhood programmes. Early Child Development and Care, 189(4), 523-540.

Kaiser, B., & Rasminsky, J. (2017). Challenging behavior in young children : Understanding, preventing, and responding effectively (4th ed). Pearson

Little, H., Elliott, S., & Wyver, S. (2017). Outdoor learning environments : Spaces for exploration, discovery and risk-taking in the early years. Allen and Unwin

Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Slee, J. (2014). Classroom management: Creating positive learning environments (4th ed.). Cengage Learning.

Porter, L. (2016). Young children’s behaviour: Guidance approaches for early childhood educators (4th ed.). Allen & Unwin

Stronge, J. H. (2018). Qualities of effective teachers. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

White, E. Jayne ; Dalli, Carmen. (2017). Under-three Year Olds in Policy and Practice (Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three Year Olds: Cross-disciplinary Insights and Innovations). Springer Singapore.