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Unit of study_

EDSE4051: Pedagogy and Professional Practice 3

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This unit of study focuses on practice, theory and research for beginning teachers in classrooms, schools and the wider educational community. It critically explores the relationship with the mandated professional standards of teaching, the practice of teachers, and and the importance of evidence-based teaching for individual and collective change and improvement. This unit of study is integrated with professional experience and explores issues, dilemmas and challenges for beginning teachers.

Unit details and rules

Unit code EDSE4051
Academic unit Education
Credit points 4
Prohibitions
? 
EDSE4042
Prerequisites
? 
138 credit points including EDSE3082 or EDSE3072 and EDSE3073
Corequisites
? 
EDSE4043
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Alison Grove O'Grady, alison.ogrady@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Alison Grove O'Grady, alison.ogrady@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s) Rebekah Palmer, rebekah.palmer@sydney.edu.au
Natasha Beaumont, natasha.beaumont@sydney.edu.au
Thomas De Angelis, thomas.deangelis@sydney.edu.au
Angelica Panopoulos, angelica.panopoulos@sydney.edu.au
Zoe Cassim, zoe.cassim@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Presentation group assignment Peer teaching portfolio and individual reflection
n/a
40% -
Due date: 02 May 2020 at 23:00

Closing date: 02 May 2020
1000 words equivalent
Outcomes assessed: LO4 LO5
Assignment Case study response
n/a
25% -
Due date: 18 Apr 2020 at 23:00

Closing date: 18 Apr 2020
1000 words
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO3
Assignment group assignment Podcast
n/a
35% -
Due date: 20 Jun 2020 at 23:00

Closing date: 20 Jun 2020
1000 words equivalent
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
group assignment = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

  • Case study response: Students will be given three case study scenarios to respond to. The scenarios will focus on issues related to the legal and ethical responsibilities of teachers and may include instances of bullying, parent-teacher interaction, injury or incident, or the legal responsibilities of teachers. Referring to resources such as the readings, including current DEC policies and the code of conduct, students will be required to provide a reflection for two of the three case studies. The reflection should outline the key details of this incident and strategies for response. Responses should articulate and reference current policy and/or research.
  • Peer teaching portfolio and individual reflection:  In week one students will be placed in groups of 5. Each student will be responsible for facilitating a 40-45 minute tutorial for the other group members based on the weekly readings and lectures of that week. The tutorial may include discussion but must also include at least one planned teaching activity. The group will submit a portfolio that includes all lesson plans and examples of work from each tutorial. Students will be required to reflect on their lesson to their peers. A scaffold similar to the current TPA will be made available on the Canvas.
  • Report: This report should focus on the issue: Working with parents and others. Describe how these issues reflect a growing appreciation and understanding of teachers’ roles within the school, classroom, and community. The Proficient Professional Teaching Standards that relate to the responsibility should be identified. The type of evidence that could be collected as a beginning teacher to demonstrate that the relevant standards have been addressed should be outlined. Relevant research in the area integrated with professional reading, theory and examples drawn from schools must be included.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a High distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a Distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name

Mark range

Description

High distinction

85 - 100

 

Distinction

75 - 84

 

Credit

65 - 74

 

Pass

50 - 64

 

Fail

0 - 49

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website  provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.  

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 Beginning Teaching: The Realities Of Teaching In The Context Of Schools Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
Week 02 Transforming Schools: The 'who', 'what' and 'why'. Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3
Week 03 The Responsibilities Of Teachers Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 04 Working With Colleagues Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5
Week 05 Designing, Writing and Assessing Tasks Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5
Week 06 Interpreting Data to Make Informed Decisions About Student Needs Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO1 LO4 LO5
Week 07 Education Policy Perspectives Lecture and tutorial (3 hr) LO3 LO4
Week 14 (STUVAC) CONFERENCE: Career Paths; Professional Teaching Standards; What Makes a Good Early Career Teacher; Professional Experience Debrief Seminar (3 hr) LO1 LO2 LO3 LO4 LO5

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: The Sydney School of Education and Social Work requires attendance of at least 90 percent of all seminars, workshops or lectures.

Where a student is unable to attend at the required rate evidence of illness or misadventure may be required and the student may be required to undertake extra work.

Students should discuss the circumstances of their absence(s) with the co-ordinator of the unit of study. Further details are provided in the School canvas site: https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/13426

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 4 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 80-100 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Please note, all readings are available on Canvas in the Modules Page:

WEEK 1: 

  • Churchill et al (2016) Teaching: Making a Difference, Chapter 2: Historical insights into teaching

WEEK 2: 

  • Jefferson & Anderson (2017) Transforming Schools, Chapter 1

WEEK 3: 

  • Churchill et al (2016) Teaching: Making a Difference. Chapter 15: Professional, ethical and legal issues for teachers
  • Department Of Education Code of Conduct

WEEK 4:

  • Palmer, P. (1998) Learning in community: The conversation of colleagues. In The Courage to Teach. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass

WEEK 5:

Churchill et al (2016) Teaching: Making a Difference. Chapter 12: Assessment, feedback and reporting

WEEK 6:

WEEK 7:

  • Churchill et al (2016) Teaching: Making a Difference, Chapter 16: The future of teaching

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. demonstrate critical understanding of teaching as a profession – including legal and ethical issues pertinent to the teaching profession, the influence of mandated professional standards, teacher responsibilities, and fostering productive relationships with the education community
  • LO2. engage in and explore issues, dilemmas and challenges in beginning teaching, including the importance of mentoring, professional development avenues, the profession in the media, and strategies for creating a supportive and productive workplace
  • LO3. understand the nexus between policy, practice, theory and research in education
  • LO4. appreciate and understand teachers’ roles within the school, classroom, and community. Explore and develop strategies for building supportive learning environments within the classroom and the school more broadly
  • LO5. demonstrate a knowledge of a range of literacy and assessment strategies, and the use of assessment data, to meet the needs of all students.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

Alignment with Competency standards

Outcomes Competency standards
LO1
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - AITSL
4.4.1. (Graduate) Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.
7.1.1. (Graduate) Understand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession.
7.2.1. (Graduate) Understand the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage.
7.4.1. (Graduate) Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice.
LO2
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - AITSL
4.1.1. (Graduate) Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.
6.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs.
6.2.1. (Graduate) Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers.
6.4.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learning.
LO3
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - AITSL
1.2.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
LO4
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - AITSL
3.5.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement.
4.1.1. (Graduate) Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.
4.4.1. (Graduate) Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.
7.3.1. (Graduate) Understand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers.
7.4.1. (Graduate) Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice.
LO5
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) - AITSL
1.3.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.
3.3.1. (Graduate) Include a range of teaching strategies.
5.1.1. (Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level – UG and MTeach) -
Competency code Taught, Practiced or Assessed Competency standard
1.1.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning.
1.2.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
1.3.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.
1.4.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.
1.5.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
1.6.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of legislative requirements and teaching strategies that support participation and learning of students with disability.
2.1.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area.
2.2.1 P A (Graduate) Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.
2.3.1 P A (Graduate) Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.
2.4.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.
2.5.1 P A (Graduate) Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas.
2.6.1 P A (Graduate) Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students.
3.1.1 P A (Graduate) Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics.
3.2.1 P A (Graduate) Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies.
3.3.1 P A (Graduate) Include a range of teaching strategies.
3.4.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning.
3.5.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement.
3.6.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning.
3.7.1 P A (Graduate) Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process.
4.1.1 P A (Graduate) Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.
4.2.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions.
4.3.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour.
4.4.1 P A (Graduate) Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.
4.5.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and the strategies available to support the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching.
5.1.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
5.2.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning.
5.3.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning.
5.4.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice.
5.5.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate understanding of a range of strategies for reporting to students and parents/carers and the purpose of keeping accurate and reliable records of student achievement.
6.1.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs.
6.2.1 P A (Graduate) Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers.
6.3.1 P A (Graduate) Seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices.
6.4.1 P A (Graduate) Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learning.
7.1.1 P A (Graduate) Understand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession.
7.2.1 P A (Graduate) Understand the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage.
7.3.1 P A (Graduate) Understand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers.
7.4.1 P A (Graduate) Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice.

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

n/a

Site visit guidelines

If you are undertaking professional experience/field education placement as part of your enrolment in this unit of study, please assess your specific needs and requirements for the safe and successful completion of an external placement within a host organisation. You will be given the opportunity to disclose any health issues that have a work health and safety significance before arranging a placement so that your safety, and the safety of others, can be properly assessed. The Professional Experience Coordinator/Field Education Manager will work to ensure that the workplace assignment to you is appropriate for your needs and requirements. If you are experiencing disability, and require reasonable adjustments to be arranged, please contact Disability Services as early as possible prior to commencing the internship. Please note, in all cases, and for the purpose of organising reasonable adjustments, only the impact and not the nature, of your disability will be disclosed to the host organisation.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.