Professional Practice 1

In this unit preservice teachers will undertake a period of professional experience that expose them to working with children and families in Long Day Care settings. Preservice teachers will undertake 15 days professional experience with children aged from 3 - 5 years, working collaboratively with staff, families and the community. Preservice teachers will begin to articulate and connect their philosophical and theoretical standpoints to view children as capable and competent learners. Preservice teachers will also learn how to utilise the Documentation of Planning Cycle when programming for children aged 3 – 5 years. Preservice teachers will critically engage with and respond to challenging behaviour in early childhood education and care settings through the integration of theory and practice. Students will analyse a real or scenario-based behaviour incident drawn from placement experiences or lecturer-provided case studies, demonstrating their understanding of behaviour as communication and its connection to children’s social, emotional, and developmental needs.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Critically articulate theories regarding children and childhoods aged 3 to 5 years.
2. Substantiate documentation of planning cycle as a means to generate curriculum.
3. Critically apply and adapt oral and written communication strategies to respond to and guide children’s challenging behaviours that will help build respectful partnerships with families, educators, and the wider community.