Unit Outline

This unit introduces you to the study of teaching as a profession and provides opportunities for you to critically examine the nature of teachers’ work. Through reflecting on your past educational experiences and dispositions (that is, your attitudes and beliefs) about teaching and teachers, you will establish a sound base to develop your knowledge and understanding of contemporary teaching practice. Content explored in this unit includes the pragmatics of teachers’ work such as establishing positive and supportive learning environments, understanding student learning, motivation and engagement, developing ambitious and achievable student learning goals, and collaborating with students to realise those goals. You will have the opportunity to further explore each of these topics and to develop your professional knowledge through observation of educational contexts. You will be introduced to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level) and reflect on these in relation to your engagement in this unit and thus, your own development as a teacher or education support specialist.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Reflect on your knowledge of educators’ work and yourself as a developing teacher/education support worker.
2	Articulate your informed understanding of learners and learning.
3	Examine the key principles of effective planning and how it supports students’ success.
4	Communicate in writing for an academic audience.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	You as an Educator: Beliefs and Aspirations	Week 5	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Establishing Effective Learning Environments for all Students	Week 10	35 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Planning for Student Success	Week 13	45 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: You as an Educator: Beliefs and Aspirations

Task Description:

In this unit you will begin the process of preparing for study toward a professional teaching or education support career, and for life-long learning in general.

This task involves two distinct steps:
First, you are required to draft a brief statement (written in an academic style) based on your current knowledge and understanding of teaching/education support, and the attributes that you bring to teaching/education support. Specifically, the statement will address:
a) your reasons for becoming a teacher/education support specialist; and
b) the attributes of an effective educator that you currently possess and how those attributes will enable you to carry out the roles and responsibilities of your chosen profession.

Note that you should focus on just one or two attributes and reflect on them in light of just one or two roles/responsibilities.
You must submit your draft paper to Studiosity for feedback on written expression and content. You should do this by the end of Week 3 of semester, to ensure you receive feedback in a timely manner.

Next, you must refine your draft paper based on the feedback report that you receive from Studiosity and upload both your Studiosity report and final draft to MyLO (as separate documents)

To achieve at least a pass for this assignment your final draft must:
• address both (a) and (b) above, and
• refer to at least two readings written by two different authors.

An assessment brief for this task will be provided in MyLO.

Task Length:

800 words

Due Date:

Week 5

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Capacity to reflect on your reasons for becoming a teacher/education support specialist and the attributes you have that make you suited to teaching/education support (20%)	LO2, LO3
2	Identification of professional roles/responsibilities of a teacher/education support specialist and the external influences on their work (20%)	LO2, LO3
3	Examination and communication of your developing beliefs and attitudes about teaching and yourself as a teacher/education support specialist (20%)	LO2, LO3
4	Communication of ideas through appropriate use of scholarly writing conventions and information literacy skills (20%)	LO4
5	Use of Studiosity feedback for strengthening your written expression and content (20%)	LO1, LO4

Assessment Task 2: Establishing Effective Learning Environments for all Students

Task Description:

One key aim of this and the remaining tasks is to help you deepen your knowledge and understanding of the foundations of teaching. A second aim is for you to further develop your capacity for reflective thinking; an important skill for all teachers and education support specialists.
To that end, you are required to complete a series of reflective written responses, as follows:

Part A: Each week throughout Module 2: Learners and Learning (commences Week 4 of semester), a ‘Pause & Think’ activity will be provided in MyLO. Each activity will include 2-3 prompts related to the corresponding weeks learning focus. You are to record your responses in the Pebble Pad workbook provided.

Part B: You are required to complete a reflective journal entry which will focus on your first observation experience (video footage provided in MyLO), and will be written in light of your learning in relation to:
- Establishing effective learning environments for all students
- The related literature of the field
- The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
- Your future teaching/education support aspirations related to the topic. This should include planning for any professional learning you may need to undertake to improve your future teaching/education support practice relating to student learning or student motivation/engagement.

An assessment brief for this task is provided in MyLO.

Task Length:

1400 words (Part A: 600 words, Part B: 800 words)

Due Date:

Week 10

Weight:

35 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Examination and communication of key aspects of the teachers’ work in shaping the learning environment (25%).	LO1, LO2
2	Demonstrated understanding of learners and learning (25%).	LO2, LO3
3	In-depth examination and communication of your own beliefs and attitudes about teaching and yourself as a teacher/education support specialist (20%).	LO1, LO2, LO3
4	Planning for your learning about the teaching/education support profession and your development as a teacher/education support specialist (20%).	LO1, LO2, LO3
5	Communication of ideas through appropriate use of scholarly writing conventions and information literacy skills (20%).	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Planning for Student Success

Task Description:

Your final task focuses on developing your ability to sequence lesson tasks that support student progress and skill mastery. The task is comprised of two parts, (a) a practical activity, and (b) a reflective journal entry.

Part A: For this task you are required to develop a lesson plan for a small group of students, including an evaluation of the effectiveness of your plan (trialled with a support person). You will develop your plan over the course of Module 3: Educators’ work (commences in Week 9 of semester) based on your predetermined student learning goals and in alignment with ‘The Teaching Cycle’ introduced in MyLO. You are to share each stage of the planning in your Pebble Pad workbook where formative feedback will be provided.
- Stage one focus: developing a sound learning outcome and assessment task that addresses student learning need and relevant curricula
- Stage two focus: developing a hook for the lesson and sequencing tasks within the lesson to effectively build on each other
- Stage three focus: considering resources and developing student/teacher evaluation/reflection opportunities

Part B: This part of the task is much the same as for AT2 - only the focus topic has changed.
For this task you are required to complete a written reflective journal entry which will focus on your second observation experience (video footage provided in MyLO), and will be written in light of your learning in relation to:
Planning for successful student learning
- The related literature of the field
- The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
- Your future teaching/education support aspirations related to the topic. This should include planning for any - professional learning you may need to undertake to improve your future teaching/education support practice relating to planning for successful student learning.

An assessment brief for this task is provided in MyLO.

Task Length:

1800 words (Part A: 1000 words, Part B: 800 words)

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

45 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Examination and communication of key aspects of the foundations of teachers’ work in guiding learning (25%).	LO1, LO2, LO3
2	Demonstrated understanding of how task sequencing supports student learning and skill development (25%).	LO2, LO3
3	In-depth examination and communication of your own beliefs and attitudes about teaching and yourself as a teacher/education support specialist (20%).	LO1, LO2, LO3
4	Planning for your learning about the teaching/education support profession and your development as a teacher/education support specialist (20%).	LO1, LO2, LO3
5	Communication of ideas through appropriate use of scholarly writing conventions and information literacy skills (10%).	LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Required Readings are set by the Unit Coordinator as readings that are essential for this Unit. Students need to buy these texts as they will be a useful resource throughout your study and your future teaching practice.

Churchill et al., (2024). Teaching: Making a difference (6th ed.). Wiley

Reading Lists provide direct access to all material on unit reading lists in one place. This includes eReadings and items in Reserve. You can access the Reading List for this unit from the link in MyLO, or by going to the Reading Lists page on the University Library website.