Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 2 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

This unit continues your engagement with the concept of reflective practitioners and you complete the systematic classroom-based inquiry begun in first semester. It builds on your understanding of professional practice and continues your professional development in designing, enacting and assessing appropriate learning experiences for primary school students. The process of inducting you into the teaching profession also continues, with further monitoring of your professional growth using the Professional Standards for Teachers.

EDP453: Reflective Practitioners 2 is the second field studies unit in the course. It provides a combination of university-based professional learning and school-based supervised field experience, which includes opportunities to further enhance your abilities to plan, enact, and evaluate dynamic and inclusive teaching and learning programs.

Designated Unit
This is a designated unit. Designated units are field experience units deemed to be critical to progress in your course. At the end of each semester, if you fail to achieve a satisfactory level of performance in a designated unit you may be eligible for a period of probation or exclusion.

Aims

The major aims of the unit are to continue to develop your skills as reflective practitioners, and to build your professional confidence and practical capacities as primary educators. This involves continued experience with inquiry based approaches and problem posing; and critical reflection on ideas, your own learning and the learning of others. The goal is the development of practice based research strategies, provoked by meaningful questions, which can improve learning and teaching across your career.

Objectives

1. Design and implement engaging, intellectually challenging and flexible learning experiences that promote the active construction of personal knowledge and support students' personal development and social participation by contributing to co-curricular school programs through participation in planned activities (QCT standards 1, 3, 6, 8).

2. Create and maintain, through effective use of teaching time, materials, resources and physical space, safe, supportive and inclusive learning environments characterised by clear expectations for student learning and behaviour (QCT Standard 7).

3. Outline and establish learning goals and learning plans that reflect relevant curriculum frameworks and plan for the establishment of learning environments in which individual and group differences are valued and respected and all students are treated equitably (QCT standards 1, 4).

4. Reflect critically on professional practice and use professional standards to analyse professional strengths and weaknesses, set personal professional goals, and assess your capacity to meet Queensland College of Teachers' professional and ethical requirements (QCT standard 10).

5. Demonstrate acceptable standards of communication and professional responsibility (QCT standards 2, 9).

Content

Topic 1: Reflective practitioners
This unit continues the focus on reflective practitioner research through the development of classroom-based research strategies. You continue to work on your reflective practitioner project begun in Semester 1 through gathering and analysing data and presenting findings. Time will be spent in tutorials and workshops discussing, problem-posing and problem solving issues from practice.

Topic 2: Synthesising Professional Practice
This topic initially audits your developing skills and understandings against the QCT Professional Standards. It then seeks to build your ability to synthesise the elements of pedagogy, curriculum planning and aspects of assessment through a focus on critical reflection. This unit will build your confidence and skills in using critical reflection to improve the quality and effectiveness of your day to day teaching.

Topic 3: Professional learning in the field
In this site-based module, you will observe, design, enact and evaluate particular teaching strategies and programs that respond to the diverse nature of primary years' learners. To maximise learning outcomes for all students, you will participate in professional and collaborative relationships with primary students and the broader educational community associated with your school. Further, you will be required to demonstrate personal/professional orientations to curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices that offer all primary students access to quality educational experiences.

The Professional Standards for Teachers will again be used as a tool to reflect on your professional knowledge, philosophy, understanding and practice. The unit content contributes to your developing Professional Learning Profile.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit involves a mix of lectures, tutorials and workshops, and a supervised experience in the field. The program is structured to scaffold your learning and teaching in field experience. The two assessment tasks are designed to demonstrate and reflect your developing professional knowledge, philosophy, understanding and practice.

Assessment

This unit comprises three assessment items that are linked to the content and underlying principles of the unit. All items need to be completed satisfactorily in order to receive a passing grade in the unit.Formative assessment is provided through oral feedback in lectures, tutorials and workshops, and by supervising teachers on field experience placements.

Assessment name: Demonstration
Description: Supervised field experience in appropriate educational setting.
Length: 3 single days + 6 week block (30 consecutive days) of supervised field experience (33 days in total).
Relates to objectives: 1 - 5
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: End-Field Studies

Assessment name: Reflective Journal (PLP)
Description: The Professional Learning Profile (Phase 2) provides evidence of your developing philosophy, values and beliefs about teaching as well as demonstrating your current learning across the QCTs' Professional Standards for Queensland Teachers You will need to select 3 pieces of evidence to submit to substantiate the written statements within your PLP.
Relates to objectives: 1 - 5
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Mid-Semester

Assessment name: Reflective Journal (Poster)
Description: A poster presentation at the conference in the week after Field Studies. The poster will report the implementation and findings of your research project. It should include 1) issue researched and the context; 2) research question(s); 3) overview of literature relating to the project; 4) design and data collection methods; challenges experienced or changes in plans; 5) findings; 6) a "so what" section (describe what you know now, what the implications for your practice are, and what further questions this inquiry has provoked).
Relates to objectives: 1-5
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week following FS

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Text
Marsh, C. (2008). Becoming a Teacher. (4th ed.) Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson.

References
Dana, N.F. & Yendol-Silva, D. (2009). The reflective educator's guide to classroom research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2004). A handbook for teacher research: From design to implementation. Buckingham: Open University Press.


A key resource for this unit is the Field Studies Handbook. Each supervising teacher and pre-service teacher will have access to the Handbook.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with the general conduct of this unit. Workplace health and safety protocols in relation to computer use will apply.

Blue Card Requirement Before undertaking any field studies activities involving contact with young children you will be required to hold a Blue Card issued by the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 31-Oct-2012