| Semester 1, 2020 External | |
| Short Description: | Preparing for the Profession |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts |
| School or Department : | School of Education |
| Student contribution band : | National Priority - Teaching |
| ASCED code : | 070100 - Teacher Education |
| Grading basis : | Graded |
Staffing
Examiner:
Requisites
Pre-requisite: ECP4100 or EDE4103 or EDP4130 or EDS4401 and Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: BEDU or BEED or BPED or BSED
Other requisites
This course should be taken in the final semester of enrolment in the intern’s pre-service teacher education program and must be taken after or in conjunction with any other required courses in their program.
Students must have successfully completed the entire previous year’s Professional Experience courses in order to enrol in this course. Students must be available for a prescribed period of time to undertake a placement in a school or other approved site as required in this course.
1. For the semester 3 offer, early enrolment is required to secure your placement for the commencement of the school year (which may include pupil free days).
2. Enrolment is required by the end of the first week of November the previous year.
3. Your Blue Card needs to be current and have an expiry date beyond the semester of offer, or your full and complete application for Blue Card renewal has been submitted to USQ prior to your enrolment.
4. You must contact your mentor and negotiate your attendance prior to the completion of the previous school year.
Students must have successfully completed the entire previous year’s Professional Experience courses in order to enrol in this course. Students must be available for a prescribed period of time to undertake a placement in a school or other approved site as required in this course.
Before commencing this course students will be assumed to have read the full details of Professional Experience particulars and familiarised themselves with the requirements. Please see the Education Placement Professional Experience website and the Professional Experience Book for full details.
State law in Queensland (Australia) requires that all adults working/undertaking professional experience/researching with children under the age of 18, in the state of Queensland must hold a valid Blue Card OR Exemption Card
Provided a blue card renewal application has been submitted at least 30 days before expiry of the current card, the blue card will remain active while the renewal application is processed. Details available at
Blue Card Services cannot process a form dated more than 16 weeks prior to lodgement. In addition, a representative of USQ or a Justice of the Peace, must sight the applicant’s identification documents and check the information on the form, before signing and dating the USQ declaration. Please refer to
Where a student is denied approval for a blue card, enrolment in any initial teacher education program will be withdrawn. Please refer to
If undertaking Professional Experience outside of Queensland, students are advised to check the Working with Children requirements of the state within which Professional Experience will be undertaken. Please refer to
Rationale
Pre-service teachers must meet the Graduate Australian Professional Standards for Teachers prior to gaining registration. This requires them to demonstrate a readiness for the profession, based on evidence of practice. Pre-service teachers, as learners themselves, interact with their learners and school staff to develop professionally through and with others. They must also reflect deeply upon the personal strengths and challenges they will face as beginning teachers. This capstone course affords pre-service teachers the opportunity to autonomously connect to real-world teaching contexts and demonstrate their capabilities as graduate teachers. In the final year, 'Preparing for the Profession' transitions pre-service teachers to beginning teachers, as evidenced by their capabilities measured against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers - Graduate Level.
Synopsis
This fourth-year second semester capstone course requires pre-service teachers to undertake a 20-days unsupervised professional placement. The unsupervised nature of this placement allows the pre-service teacher the opportunity to autonomously conduct the work of a teacher across the full gamut of Australian Professional Standards. It is also an opportunity to hone their skills and gain valuable feedback from their mentors and other education professionals to round out their other supervised professional experiences. Pre-service teachers are also expected to create an electronic portfolio which showcases examples of their practice, highlighting their competence against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate Level. By doing this they must also demonstrate how theory underpins and guides their actions in the classroom. Other sector-specific modules based on Career Readiness and Professional Engagement are situated within the course, requiring development of a strong understanding of key policy and practice within the Queensland education setting.
Objectives
The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course in accordance with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s (AITSL) Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST). On successful completion of this course pre-service teachers should be able to:
- apply principles of reflection to identify and analyse examples of practice to create an electronic portfolio highlighting competence against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate Level, linking theory to practice and identifying opportunities for professional growth (APST 6.1);
- develop, in consultation with their supervising teacher, a plan of action to communicate effectively, sensitively and confidentially with Parents/Caregivers during their final unsupervised professional experience (APST 3.7, 7.3);
- engage with sector specific professional teaching networks to broaden knowledge, improve practice and prepare for the profession (APST 6.4, 7.4);
- review and apply ethical and professional responsibilities, including legislative, administrative and organisational requirements (including APSTs) (APST 7.1, 7.2);
- demonstrate professionalism during pre-service teacher placements through the ongoing practice and assessment of pre-service teacher professional practice. (1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 2.6, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 6.3).
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | The teacher I am | 5.00 |
| 2. | Demonstrating readiness for the profession (identifying and analysing examples of practice) | 20.00 |
| 3. | Applied reflective practice (implications for future professional growth) | 10.00 |
| 4. | Effective engagement with parents and caregivers | 10.00 |
| 5. | Career readiness - planning for a career in education (context specific) | 15.00 |
| 6. | Professional engagement - professional conduct, ethical behaviour, legal and legislative requirements | 15.00 |
| 7. | Becoming an autonomous practitioner | 25.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=EDC4000)
Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)
Reference materials
Student workload expectations
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app | 80.00 |
| Independent ¾«¶«´«Ã½app | 85.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE | 1 | 1 | 25 Feb 2020 | (see note 1) |
| ASSIGNMENT 1 | 44 | 44 | 22 Apr 2020 | |
| ASSIGNMENT 2 | 25 | 25 | 11 May 2020 | |
| ASSIGNMENT 3 | 30 | 30 | 14 May 2020 |
Notes
- Students must successfully complete the Professional Experience to be eligible for a passing grade for this course. A mark of one (1) indicates you have passed the Professional Experience component. A mark of zero (0) indicates you have not passed the Professional Experience component. Professional Experience should be conducted as per the Professional Experience Calendar unless approval has been granted by the Program Coordinator.
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities scheduled for them including discussion fora, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To complete assessment items satisfactorily, students must obtain at least 50% of the marks available for each item in addition to the successful completion of the Professional Experience component. Failure of the Professional Experience component will result in a Fail grade for this course. -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4) -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must successfully complete the Professional Experience component and must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. Failure of the Professional Experience component will result in a Fail grade for this course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course. -
Examination information:
There is no examination in this course. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations. -
¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
Assessment notes
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Referencing in assignments: Referencing in assignments must comply with the APA referencing system. This system should be used by students to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA style to be used is defined by the USQ library's referencing guide. This guide can be found at .
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Students are required to demonstrate competence in and appropriate use of academic language and literacy, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and referencing in all assessment responses. Marks allocated to the aforementioned criteria will be specified in the criteria for assessment of all assessment items.
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Students are required to submit ALL assignments to evidence meeting or exceeding the mandatory requirements of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APSTs).
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Professional Experience is a compulsory component of this course and integral to completion of the assessment tasks. Dates for each Professional Experience course are selected to support students’ capacity to apply the theory of the coursework in the Professional Experience placement. Students are advised not to select a course that includes Professional Experience in a semester where they are unable to meet the specified requirements of Professional Experience as outlined in the Professional Experience Booklet. Any application for a ‘change of dates’ for Professional Experience placement must qualify for consideration under the conditions of the USQ Assessment Extension Policy. An unsupported application will delay program completion.
Evaluation and benchmarking
In meeting the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app’s aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course:
1. conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement
2. forms part of the Bachelor of Education and is benchmarked against the:
- internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review
- Queensland College of Teachers
- Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).
Other requirements
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Participation: Students can expect it will be necessary to participate in and contribute to a range of learning opportunities in this course including online study activities, lectures, tutorials, seminar presentations, group discussions and self-directed study activities in order to apply the coursework that will enable quality assessment tasks to be submitted as evidence of professional development.