Early Childhood Professional Experience and Reflection (Inquiry into Practice)

Course aim

To extend preservice teachers’ capabilities to work as a preschool team member, engaging with teachers/educators, children and families in cycles of planning, teaching, assessing, reflecting and appraising that align with early childhood curriculum frameworks.

Course content

Preservice teachers (PSTs) will explore the role of the teacher in a preschool context looking at global and local influences on practice. PSTs will apply their knowledge of forms of data, such as pedagogical documentation, to make children’s learning and development visible and inform planning. PSTs will explore how early childhood forms of documentation can be used to support children’s learning and meet the GTPA requirements that diagnostic, formative and summative assessments inform planning prior to and during learning experiences. PSTs will use the Early Years Learning Framework, the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, and refer to other relevant materials, to inform planning and to backmap principles, outcomes and practices. PSTs will make connections between the EYLF and Australian Curriculum to understand learning progression. PSTs will use early childhood pedagogies to build on the strengths of children and to maintain safe and inclusive learning environments. They will demonstrate the capacity to engage collegially with the teaching team, children and families to create strengths-based learning environments. They will differentiate their teaching to meet the needs of all learners and to use assessment data to analyse learners’ needs and to modify teaching during learning experiences. They will use pedagogical documentation as assessment data to provide feedback to learners and to support learners to have input into their learning. PSTs will analyse pedagogical documentation to reflect critically on and re-design their pedagogy and practice in ways that support children’s learning and development in positive ways. PSTs will evaluate data choices for teaching and learning and articulate the reasons for their pedagogical decisions. Appraisals will be made of why certain decisions did or did not progress learning. Literature and theory will be applied as the PSTs reflect on and appraise past practices, and plan future learning experiences.

Textbook(s)

Nil

Prerequisite(s)

Preservice teachers must have successfully completed all courses within their program schedule to be eligible to undertake this placement course. Preservice teachers must also successfully achieve both the literacy and numeracy components of LANTITE by no later than test window 4 (November) the year prior for study period 2 enrolment and test window 2 (May) for study period 6 enrolment to be eligible to enrol in this course. Any variation will need the approval of the Program Director.

Corequisite(s)

Nil

Teaching method

Note: These components may or may not be scheduled in every study period. Please refer to the timetable for further details.

Assessment

Placement, Professional plan, Project

Note: This is a non-graded course and your result will be a pass or fail.

Fees

EFTSL*: 0.375
Commonwealth Supported program (Band 1)
To determine the fee for this course as part of a Commonwealth Supported program, go to:
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Fee-paying program for domestic and international students
International students and students undertaking this course as part of a postgraduate fee paying program must refer to the relevant program home page to determine the cost for undertaking this course.

Non-award enrolment
Non-award tuition fees are set by the university. To determine the cost of this course, go to:
How to determine the relevant non award tuition fee. (Opens new window)

Not all courses are available on all of the above bases, and students must check to ensure that they are permitted to enrol in a particular course.

* Equivalent Full Time Study Load. Please note: all EFTSL values are published and calculated at ten decimal places. Values are displayed to three decimal places for ease of interpretation.