Professional Practice and Seminar Prim 2

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

Parkville, On Campus

31 days.

100 per cent attendance is mandatory in all practicum subjects.

A current Working With Children Check (WWCC).

You must take the following subject in the same study period

None

None

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the HDisability Liaison Unit websiteH: Hhttp://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/H

This subject further deepens Teacher Candidates’ developing understandings of professional knowledge, professional practice and professional engagement in the primary school. The focus of this placement is on assessment of individual students and how to track student learning more closely. Teacher Candidates continue to be mentored by experienced teachers who, together with Clinical Specialists from the university, monitor and support their work in the school. The professional practice seminars are designed to support Teacher Candidates’ ongoing learning about students and their learning needs and include presentations and analysis of student learning characteristics and in-depth reflection on theory and research and implications for practising for teachers. Teacher Candidates will provide further evidence of their ability to collect and interpret data to meet the learning needs of individuals and small groups of children during the Clinical Praxis Examination.

On completion of this subject Teacher Candidates should be able to:

• Know how to identify the prior knowledge, learning strengths and weaknesses of students and factors that impact on learning;
• Make adjustments to instruction and program design to more closely meet the needs of individual students;
• Expand their knowledge of theoretical and practical understandings of assessment and its role in informing teaching;
• Know how to report on student learning to other professionals, to parents and provide effective feedback to children.

There are 2 assessment tasks:

• Professional Practice (during all days of practicum, 70 per cent)
• Clinical Praxis Exam (end of semester, 30 per cent)

Teacher Candidates must pass both components.

There are 3 hurdle requirements:

• Attendance on all days of placement;
• Attendance at all practicum seminar sessions;
• Satisfactory completion of all Professional Portfolio Artifacts.

Pianta,R. C., La Paro, K. M., & Hamre, B. K. (2011). K-3 CLASS Dimensions Guide. Teachstone: Charlottesville.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject, Teacher Candidates will have the knowledge, skills and understanding to enable them to:

• Be skilled communicators who can effectively articulate and justify the role of assessment in teaching;
• Be flexible and able to adapt to change through knowing how to learn;
• Understand the significance of developing their practice on the basis of research evidence;
• Work in teams with skills in cooperation, communication and negotiation;
• Be independent of mind, responsible, resilient, self-regulating;
• Have a conscious personal and social values base that is evident in their teaching.