Year
2024Credit points
20Campus offering
Prerequisites
EDFD480 Professional Practicum Induction and EDFX420 Advanced Professional Practicum (Birth-5)
Unit rationale, description and aim
This unit is the second of the work-integrated components of the professional practicum suite of units which is undertaken in the final year of the course. It incorporates 20 days block placement in a supervised early childhood setting. The unit provides pre-service teachers with the opportunity to work collaboratively with Directors, Educational Leaders, early childhood educators, families and community members, and University staff to assess, challenge, develop and extend their professional abilities. It provides opportunities to extend their developing capacity to engage in teaching and learning experiences encountered in an early learning centre with an increasing level of independence. This unit aims to provide pre-service teachers with an opportunity to extend their experience by building on their skills and knowledge with opportunities for leading learning in early learning settings. They will have the opportunity to refine their repertoire of pedagogical skills in the planning and delivery of appropriate teaching and learning programs. This experience allows the pre-service teacher to demonstrate their capabilities as a teacher and educational leader within the centre and broader educational community through taking responsibility similar to that of an early childhood teacher.
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.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Make and professionally reflect upon effective decisions regarding teaching and management approaches that facilitate effective learning (APST 2.3, 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, 7.1, 7.2; ACECQA C4, E3) | GC1 |
| LO2 | Utilise self-evaluation critiques and reflection to refine professional practice ( AGTS 5.4, 6.1, 6.3; ACECQA C4, E3, F3) | GC7 |
| LO3 | Implement and justify a variety of organisational procedures and leadership practices in their centre based practice (APST 7.1, 7.2; ACECQA E3, F1, F2 ) | GC6 |
| LO4 | Demonstrate a strong knowledge of and ability to plan, implement and evaluate the key learning and teaching elements of relevant early childhood curriculum frameworks (APST 1.3, 1.5, 3.1, 4.2, 5.4, 5.5;ACECQA B1, B2, B9, C1, C2, C4,) demonstrate a strong knowledge of and ability to plan, implement and evaluate the key learning and teaching elements of relevant early childhood curriculum frameworks (APST 1.3, 1.5, 3.1, 4.2, 5.4, 5.5;ACECQA B1, B2, B9, C1, C2, C4,) | GC8 |
| LO5 | Effectively and reflectively engage in communicate with members of the centre community and, where appropriate, with the broader educational community (APST 7.1, 7.4; ACECQA D1, E3, F1, F2, F4) | GC4 |
| LO6 | Incorporate into practice the multiple policy and legislative requirements in early childhood education and care provision. (APST 7.1, 7.2; ACECQA E3, F1, F2) | GC2 |
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
1.1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning. |
1.2 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching. |
1.3 Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. |
1.4 Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. |
1.5 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. |
1.6 Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of legislative requirements and teaching strategies that support participation and learning of students with disability. |
2.1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area. |
2.2 Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence. |
2.3 Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans. |
2.4 Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages. |
2.5 Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas. |
2.6 Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students. |
3.1 Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics. |
3.2 Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies. |
3.3 Include a range of teaching strategies. |
3.4 Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning. |
3.5 Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement. |
3.6 Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning. |
3.7 Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process. |
4.1 Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities. |
4.2 Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions. |
4.3 Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour. |
4.4 Describe strategies that support students’ well-being and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements. |
4.5 Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and the strategies available to support the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching. |
5.1 Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning. |
5.2 Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning. |
5.3 Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning. |
5.4 Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice. |
5.5 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. |
6.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs. |
6.2 Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers. |
6.3 Seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices. |
6.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learnings. |
7.1 Understand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession. |
7.2 Understand the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage. |
7.3 Understand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers. |
7.4 Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice. |
ACECQA CRITERIA
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should have developed the following specific knowledge and practices of relevant ACECQA Criteria. Your capability against these criteria will be assessed through the assessment tasks. This unit provides opportunities to learn about, demonstrate and reflect on the following:
B. Education and curriculum studies B1. Early Years Learning Framework B2. The Australian curriculum B9. Curriculum planning, programming and evaluation |
C. Early childhood pedagogies C1. Alternative pedagogies and curriculum approaches C2. Play based pedagogies C4. Teaching methods and strategies |
D. Families and community partnerships D1. Developing family and community partnerships |
E. History and philosophy of early childhood E3. Ethics and professional practice |
F. Early childhood professional practice F1. Leadership F2. Management and administration F3. Identity F4. Development advocacy |
Content
The following scope the content areas for this unit:
- Curriculum planning, programming and evaluation
- Early childhood pedagogies
- Families and community partnerships
- Ethics and professional practice
- Early childhood professional practice
- Leadership and reflective practice
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Students should anticipate undertaking supported learning, individual study, and a maximum of 20 days of full time Professional Experience in an allocated early learning centre (attendance may include individual and, or block placement components with at least a two-week block. Students on placement will be supported and supervised by an appropriately qualified and experienced educator.
This unit will embrace a range of learning and teaching strategies that support pre-service teachers’ praxis-oriented work-integrated learning. Pre-service teachers will build conceptual and theoretical understandings of leadership and teaching practice within early learning contexts during on-campus and online directed study. Opportunities for pre-service teachers to apply, exercise, realise and practise knowledges and skills will occur during professional experience placement.
Types of engagement could include:
- lectures, tutorials, webinars, podcasts etc. in face-to-face or online modes
- discussions, readings, individual study and critical reflections
- practice and analysis of and reflection on teaching pedagogies
Assessment strategy and rationale
This unit represents the culminating professional placement in the Bachelor of Education (B-5). It builds upon prior professional placement units where pre-service teachers have had formative opportunities to develop towards readiness for entering the profession.
The assessment is designed to facilitate the demonstration of professional teaching performance in alignment with ACECQA’s requirements for early childhood teachers. Additionally, pre-service teachers are provided opportunities to reflect on the application of the APST: Graduate level in preparation for seeking teacher registration, where applicable.
To ensure the readiness of graduates, pre-service teachers are required to successfully:
- complete a 20-day practicum, which is fully supervised by an appropriately qualified and experienced educator
- submit a final placement report, which is completed by an appropriately qualified and experienced educator and assessed by the Lecturer-in-Charge, and
- complete a capstone assessment, which is directly related to their documentation and reflection on the placement experience.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Hurdle Task Professional Experience Assessment Successful completion of practicum component of this unit. Submission of the Final Professional Experience Report from the supervising teacher/s | Pass/Fail | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6 |
Assessment Task 1 Analysis of the National Quality Standard Analysis and written professional reflection on the relevance of the National Quality Standard(ACECQA, 2018) to professional practice as presented in the literature for this unit. The reflection provides a statement on how each of the seven areas of the NQS is relevant to teaching, management and leadership in an early learning setting. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6 |
Assessment Task 2 Capstone Assessment: Professional practice project Pre-service teachers will submit a report on one area of professional practice, within the National Quality Standards (NQS). The report should be based upon data gathered during the practicum experience, and demonstrate how the pre-service teacher may respond to the data in order to enhance their own practice, and the early learning setting. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5, LO6 |
Representative texts and references
Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2018). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (7th ed.). Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia.
Carr, M., & Lee, W. (2012). Learning stories. Constructing learner identities in early childhood education. London: Sage Publications.
Fleer, M., Edwards, S., Hammer, M., Kennedy, A., Ridgway, A., Robbins, J., & Surman, L. (2006) Early childhood learning communities. Sociocultural research in practice.
Fleet, A., Patterson, C., & Robertson. J., (2006). Insights: Behind early childhood pedagogical documentation, Castle Hill: Pademelon Press.
Gibbs, C. (2006). To be a teacher. Journeys towards authenticity. New Zealand: Pearson Education.
Keesing-Styles, L., & Hedges, H. (Eds.). (2007). Theorising early childhood practice: Emerging dialogues. Baulkham Hills, N.S.W: Pademelon Press.
McLachlan, C., Fleer, M., & Edwards, S. (2013). Early childhood curriculum: Planning, assessment and implementation (2 ed.). Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press.
Newman, L. & Pollnitz, L. (2005). Working with children and families – Professional, legal and ethical issues. French’s Forest: Pearson.
Papatheodorou, T. (Ed.). (2012). Debates on early childhood policies and practices. Global snapshots of pedagogical thinking and encounters. New York: Routledge.
Rodd, J., (2013). Leadership in early childhood: The pathway to professionalism (4th ed.). Crows Nest NSW: Allen & Unwin
Waniganayake, M.,Cheeseman, S., Fenech, M., Hadley, F. & Shepherd, W. (2012). Leadership: Contexts and complexities in early childhood education. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press