ETP320 -Week by week suggested guideline

Professional experience in schools and early childhood settings helps to develop the professional knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for beginning teachers. The professional experience promotes learning about professional contexts, educational settings and practices, schools and other learning settings and, most importantly, about teaching and learning strategies that foster students’ growth and development.

During this professional experience pre-service teachers are expected to plan, teach and assess continuously for a minimum of eight weeks. The teaching role should approximate that of a regular classroom teacher with enough classes to give the pre-service teacher the experience of being a full time teacher. This is to be negotiated with the Professional Learning Leader, theschool practicum coordinator,or the CDU Director of Professional Experience. During the remaining professional experience, the pre-service teacher will extend their experience, work as a co-professional with the mentor teacher gaining as much teaching practice as possible. It is very important that pre-service teachers receive written and verbal feedback that will assist them to improve the quality of their teaching.

TIMELINE / PRE-SERVICE TEACHER / MENTOR TEACHER
Before the Professional Experience /
  • Make sure your criminal history check has been completed
  • Ensure your CDU Student ID Card is current
  • Make contact with your mentor teacher to establish a relationship and provide the details they will need (a visit is preferable)
  • If possible, clarify details and initial expectations of placement
  • Prepare yourself for the school day commitment: 20 minutes before the students start school in the morning and at least one hour after school finishes, possibly more, depending upon activities that the school has organised for staff
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  • Organise a timetable of days of attendance for the pre-service teacher
  • Familiarise yourself with the requirements of the professional experience and with the assessment forms

Week 1 of the Professional Experience /
  • Introduce yourself to the class/es you will be teaching, develop familiarity with the school, class and students
  • Discuss assessment requirements that are related to the professional experience
  • Establish with your mentor teacher what your goals are for this period
  • Discuss reflective journal entries with mentor teacher. Begin making entries for later discussions
  • Be as active in the class as possible: support, individuals and small groups of students and team teach with mentor teacher
  • Attend all staff meetings and professional learning organised for staff
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  • Where necessary introduce or re-introduce pre-service teacher to the class/es he or she will be teaching.
  • Introduce pre-service teacher to the principal and appropriate staff
  • Check with your pre-service teacher about the specific requirements of the professional experience
  • Inform pre-service teacher of school routines, e.g. staff meetings, yard duties etc.
  • Discuss the goals that the pre-service teacher has for this period and plan how you can help to best achieve these goals. This may mean organising for them to observe or work with other staff in the school
  • Discuss the reflective journal with pre-service teacher and what processes you will use to respond to the feedback. Give feedback on sections he or she wishes to share
  • Outline the allocated teaching tasks to help students feel confident with full time 8-week continuous teaching
  • Provide an outline of expectations and protocols for continuous teaching
  • Highlight one formal focus learning area weekly in order to identify strengths and areas requiring improvement, e.g. teacher voice, group work, strategies to enhance student engagement, questioning techniques
  • Give written feedback in a formal feedback and critical reflection session once weekly (ongoing)

Week 2 of the Professional Experience
Week 2 of the Professional Experience
continues /
  • Take notes or copies of appropriate sections of mentor teacher programs and assessment resources
  • Complete a teaching plan using a ‘learning management plan’ and/or other planning approach as relevant to the school for the relevant learning experience sequence/sequences within the 8-week continuous teaching period
  • Work as a co professional with the mentor teacher as determined by the classroom context/s
  • Continue a daily reflective journal
  • Continue Teaching Portfolio development
  • Discuss and consider assessment and reporting regimes to be used
  • Undertake all class routines that would typically be undertaken by the mentor teacher. Make notes of classroom management strategies used by mentor teacher. Research other strategies
  • Participate in all meetings/professional situations that would typically be undertaken by the mentor, with mentor support
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  • Provide access to your program, examples of student profiles and assessment resources
  • Provide an overview of the class including the data from the previous round of reporting to parents, cultural and linguistic background of students and other relevant information
  • Develop a time table with the pre-service teacher that outlines what they will be teaching during their professional experience and the location of relevant resources
  • Discuss the reflective journal with pre-service teacher. Give feedback on sections he or she is willing to share
  • Establish a process for written feedback. Examples of this include:
  • Emailing feedback
  • Use of a feedback template
  • A feedback book
  • Hand written feedback on lesson or unit plan
  • Invite the pre-service teacher to all meetings and professional learning opportunities

Week 3-5 of the Professional Experience /
  • Teach prepared lesson/s and units and ask mentor teacher for verbal and written feedback. Evaluate your planning and teaching in your reflective journal. Make this a practice after each teaching opportunity
  • Undertake assessments and progress evaluations as relevant
  • Refine the summary of the teaching and learning sequence/s in consultation with mentor teacher/s to reflect progress towards planned outcomes. Note any modifications to programme and why and include in reflective journal
  • Plan in collaboration with the mentor teacher the teaching tasks that will be undertaken in the classroom
Planning could include:
  • A ‘learning management plan’ as the chief organiser for each Key Learning Area/Subject
  • Lesson plans for each lesson/unit or series of classroom activities. Have these plans ready for the mentor teacher two days before you are going to teach the lesson so they can assist you with ideas and location of resources
  • An assessment plan for each subject area where relevant
  • Maintain the reflective journal. Use this daily journal as a reference during weekly formal feedback/critical reflection sessions
  • Complete the Theory to Practice Interim report (Form A) with your mentor teacher
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  • Provide written and verbal feedback on pre-service teacher planning, teaching and assessment. Templates for feedback are available at
  • Inform the pre-service teacher of his or her progress with respect to the Professional Standards
  • Provide support in the area of classroom management to maximise their effectiveness as teachers
  • Assist the pre-service teachers to use relevant reporting and assessment tools in the school
  • Week 5 of the 10-week placement
  • Mentor teacher and pre-service teacher complete the Theory to Practice Interim Report (Form A) as a mid-point check
  • Pre-service teachers who are found unsatisfactory at this checkpoint should be deemed ‘At Risk’ and a Developmental Strategy developed. Where an ‘At Risk’ process is initiated, the relevant documentation found in InSchool (mentor section) should be completed and the CDU Professional Experience Office consulted
  • Discuss the reflective journal with pre-service teacher. The focus of reflection for this unit is the complex nature of teaching and the role of the teacher in the school and society
  • Submit the Theory to Practice Interim Report (Form A) by email and providethe pre-service teacher with a copy for their records.

Week 6-10 of the Professional Experience /
  • Continue continuous planning, teaching and assessment
  • Ensure that your mentor teacher has lesson plans at least two days before they are to be taught and unit plans a week ahead
  • Attend all school and unit meetings
  • Contact the Teacher Registration Board in your State or Territory to determine their requirements for registration
  • Continue collecting and responding to feedback/critical reflection with mentor teacher
  • Maintain the reflective journal and select pieces you can use as evidence in your electronic portfolio
  • Participate in a panel interview at your host school where you share your Teaching Portfolio and demonstrate competency against Australian Professional Standards Teachers (Graduate).
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  • Review lesson and unit plans and provide feedback that will help with construction, location of resources and suggestions for management of the class before the pre-service teacher teaches the lesson/unit
  • Provide verbal and written feedback on lessons taught by pre-service teacher
  • Arrange a time to look at the evidence that the pre-service teacher has collected for their electronic portfolio and provide feedback and guidance
  • Organise the composition of the exit interview panel
  • Invite pre-service teacher to be part of any additional professional learning opportunities they may find useful
  • Discuss the reflective journal with pre-service teacher
  • Complete Forms A, B & C with the pre-service teacher and email to the Professional Experience . (Indicate student name, number and unit code in subject line) Supply a copy of Forms A, B & C to the pre-service teacher for their records.
  • Have a conversation with the pre-service teacher that allows you both to reflect on the professional experience and reflect on your experiences and skills as a mentor teacher

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