Professional Portfolio

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

340 hours

100% attendance is mandatory in all practicum subjects.

150 points of study in the Master of Teaching (Early Childhood) or Master of Teaching (Secondary).

A minimum 0.8 EFT contract of employment as a classroom teacher.

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 Overview, Learning Outcomes 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 Disability Liaison website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

This subject develops graduate teachers’ reflective dialogue through the use of evidence informed practice in teaching. Graduate teachers will take an inquiry based approach to investigate the effectiveness of their own practice, improve student learning outcomes, enhance student experience of the classroom and be relevant to the context in which they are teaching. Graduate teachers will be supported to define a question for inquiry, to develop skills to implement the investigation and to gather supportive evidence of their practice in the form of a professional portfolio. This teacher inquiry articulates with the VIT process for full registration and in many school contexts will parallel the induction process for supporting provisionally registered teachers. With assistance from a designated faculty mentor, graduate teachers select and gather evidence of practice against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the proficient teacher level.

On completion of this subject graduate teachers will be able to:

• demonstrate a deep understanding of their practice in relation to the Australian Professional Standards for teaching at the proficient teacher level;
• develop questions for teacher inquiry;
• implement an inquiry-based approach to improve a defined area of student learning;
• reflect upon the effectiveness of their inquiry to identify implications for their practice;
• provide evidence of their professional practice against each of the professional standards;
• articulate key issues and concepts that have influenced their initial phase of teaching;
• approach teaching with increased confidence;
• Reflect critically on their own transition to teaching and identify areas for future professional growth.

There will be 3 assessment tasks:

• Development of an inquiry-based investigation of practice. (Equivalent to 2000 words). Due end of April, 25%
• Development of a unit plan to support implementation of the inquiry (equivalent to 2000 words). Due end of June, 25%
• Submission of a professional portfolio (equivalent to 4000 words). Due end of year, 50%

There will be two hurdle requirements:

• Satisfactory submission of four reflective responses to discussion forum (blog) topics;
• Evidence of satisfactory completion of statutory process for full registration (Victorian Institute of Teaching).

100% attendance is mandatory in all practicum subjects.

Attendance at all classes (tutorial/seminars/practical classes/lectures/labs/online classes) is obligatory. Failure to attend 80% of classes will normally result in failure in the subject.

Churchill et al. (2011) Teaching: Making a Difference. Milton, Wiley

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

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

• Be skilled communicators who can effectively articulate and justify relationships between theory, research and teaching;
• Be flexible and able to adapt to change through knowing how to learn using research processes;
• Understand the significance of developing their practice on the basis of research evidence and the standards for teaching;
• Work in teams with skills in cooperation, communication and negotiation to engage in reflective and critical discussion of research in education and teaching;
• Be independent of mind, responsible, resilient, self-regulating;
• Have a conscious personal and social values base that is applied to their teaching.