Course Title: Professional Experience: Planning for Learning and Teaching

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Professional Experience: Planning for Learning and Teaching

Credit Points: 24.00

Flexible Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
TCHE2696	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	360H Education	Face-to-Face	UGRDFlex24 (PR24), UGRDFlex24 (All)

Course Coordinator: Allison Byth

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 99257807

Course Coordinator Email: allison.byth@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Bundoora

Course Coordinator Availability: By appointment

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None

Course Description

In this year-long course, you will begin to develop your foundational skills in contemporary learning and teaching practices and build your reflective practice as a teacher. You will explore how students learn, theories of learning and the implications for teaching. A range of pedagogical approaches and strategies will be studied. You will also consider the social, technological, and cultural influences on children and how these may shape learning and teaching experiences. This course links theory with practice through a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experience.  

The first part of the professional experience includes a distributed placement of 5 days (e.g., a day a week over five weeks) to get to know your education setting, the teachers, and the students and to actively observe, reflect, and collect data and evidence to inform your professional practice. You will then immerse yourself in the school for a 2-week block and increase your responsibility in the setting as your professional competence develops. You will extend your skills in planning and teaching engaging learning activities and use student performance data to identify areas for future planning and learning. You will review your own teaching and develop goals for your professional experience, linked to the AITSL Professional Standards for Teachers. 

This course includes a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) professional experience (PX) in which your knowledge and skills will be applied and assessed in a real or simulated workplace context and where feedback from industry and/or community is integral to your experience. 

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the following BP320P24 Bachelor of Education (Primary) and BP320PEC24 Bachelor of Education (Primary and Early Childhood Education) Program Learning Outcomes: 

PLO1. Develop and demonstrate broad and coherent theoretical and practical knowledge through one or more of the following practices: planning using data; teaching and learning; assessing; feedback and professional judgement; and appraising impact of teaching across a range of disciplines.  

PLO6. Apply initiative, judgement, creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which may include the use of new technologies and teaching tools, to enhance your practice and to provide growth opportunities for students. 

PLO7. Engage with school communities and professional networks and communicate with diverse stakeholders in a range of contexts.  

PLO8. Draw on evidence-based theory and reflective practice to adapt to the changing needs of the profession and to identify professional learning needs to improve student learning outcomes. 

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:  

		Graduate APST
1.	Identify and critically discuss the theoretical underpinnings of children's physical, social and cognitive development, and how these may affect learning at different stages of growth	1.1, 1.2
2.	Critically review contemporary theories of learning and pedagogical approaches and identify how these are applied in contemporary education environments	1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 4.1
3.	Apply a range of teaching strategies to engage students in their learning	1.3, 3.3, 6.3
4.	Plan and implement a lesson plan/sequence of learning using student data/performance to inform your plans	3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6
6.	Engage professional ethics and responsibilities in an education setting with students, colleagues and peers	3.5, 7.1, 7.4
7.	Reflect critically on your learning and teaching practice to identify strengths, areas for improvement and professional learning needs	6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4

Overview of Learning Activities

This course begins at the RMIT Campus where you will prepare for your first teaching experience. At the end of the first half of the course, you will undertake 5 days of placement over 5 weeks. You are expected to view/read/do a combination of tasks and activities each week to apply in your placement setting in relation to these placement days. 

The second half of the course includes a 2-week block placement. You will be expected to attend the professional experience every working day during this period from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.  

You will then reflect on your placement experience at the RMIT Campus, unpacking your learning and reflecting on yourself as a teacher. 

You are required to be proactive and self-directed in your learning, asking questions of your lecturer and/or peers and seeking out information as required, especially from the numerous sources available through the RMIT library, and through links and material specific to this course that is available through myRMIT Studies Course Site. 

You will also be required to actively and effectively engage with peers in collaborative problem-solving activities and other forms of group work. 

Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems. 

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal. 

Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course’s learning outcomes (CLO) and on your development against the program learning outcomes. The assessment is also mapped against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST).  

Assessment Tasks 

	Title	Weighting	CLOs	APSTs
AT 1	Professional Learning Journal	40%	1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7	1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 3.3, 3.5,  4.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.1, 7.4
AT 2	Theory to Practice Group Presentation	30%	1, 2 3	1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 3.3, 4.1, 6.3
AT 3	Lesson Plans	30%	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7	1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6,    3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 4.1, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.1, 7.4

Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks. 

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more. 

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.