Engaging with the Profession

Unit code:EED7004Study level:Postgraduate

Credit points

24
(Generally, 1 credit = 10 hours of classes and independent study.)

Location

City Campus
Footscray Nicholson
Online Real Time
VU Online

Prerequisites

Successful completion of the Literacy and Numeracy Test (LANTITE) for Initial Education students. Satisfactory completion of 40 days of practicum for EMES students and 45 days practicum for EMPE students.
(Or equivalent to be determined by unit coordinator)
Co-requisites
(Corequisite units must be studied concurrently with this unit)

Overview

Change to this final unit in the course allows postgraduate students to consolidate and reflect on their work in the Master of Teaching (Secondary Education) and the Master of Teaching (Primary Education) program. The unit enables students to work with lecturers, colleagues, principals, other school leaders and teachers in meeting National Standards in order to comply with registration requirements. Students will undertake a critical overview of teachers’ professional roles and responsibilities and will develop an awareness of the organisational and legal conditions of teachers’ work, informing relationships with and teaching students, planning and managing curriculum and pedagogy, working with colleagues in leadership teams, and engaging with the school and wider community.

Students will engage in professional experience in Secondary school, where they will refine their ability to organise content into effective teaching sequences, set achievable goals for students and demonstrate their ability to effectively use a range of resources. Students will also demonstrate the capacity to gather and interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice.

This unit connects with the course intentions of guaranteeing that graduate teachers have deep and connected understandings of the content they are teaching and the pedagogical approaches for implementing the curriculum, in addition to engaging professionally with colleagues, parents, carers and the community. This unit also connects to the course learning outcomes of displaying competence and sophistication in a range of oral and written communication techniques, including in the use of Information and Communication Technologies, to engage and connect with students, their parents/carers and the wider community, as well as recognition of the importance of fostering students’ creative skills, and problem solving strategies to prepare them to confront and pro-actively solve 21st Century challenges. Students will apply their critical understandings of the changing nature of society to the development of educational policies, curriculum, pedagogy and assessment processes relevant to school students’ needs.

Students will develop skills needed to seek employment, including preparing job applications, responding to selection criteria, interview techniques and awareness of professional networks and professional learning opportunities.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

Contextualise and articulate their understandings of the legislative, administrative and organisational requirements of teachers’ work, including policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage, and the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession, including understanding strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers;
Analyse and demonstrate an understanding of how students learn, including a personal and social commitment to students and the enhancement of learning outcomes
Develop a broad knowledge of educational practices, including: the ability to organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequences, seeking and applying constructive feedback from mentors and teachers to improve teaching practices, managing curriculum and pedagogy, demonstrating the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions, and capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice;
Demonstrate and enhance their educational research skills as part of the graduate teacher’s readiness to join the profession within the context of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers – Graduate Career Stage including the gathering and reporting of evidence of their knowledge of curriculum, content, assessment and teaching strategies.

Assessment

For Melbourne campuses

Assessment type: Portfolio | Grade: 30%

Presentation of a suite of evidence teaching artefacts that demonstrate a readiness to teach as summarised in the APTS – Graduate

Assessment type: Report | Grade: 70%

Critical review of professional understanding through a response to education practice, analysis of teaching and the review of assessment processes.

Satisfactory completion of 20 days of teaching practicum and mentor teacher report, plus students must demonstrate attainment of all AITSL graduating standards through the satisfactory submission of the AfGT and the suite of evidence to address the listed AITSL standards.

The Report is an externally agreed Assessment for Graduating Teachers (AfGT) Element 1,2,3,4.

Hurdle: Students must demonstrate attainment of all AITSL graduating standards through completion of both assessments (all 4 Elements and the Portfolio).

*The AfGT Element 1,2,3 assessment must be linked to a satisfactory final placement Report.