This assessment task includes a written assessment AND a mandatory pre-placement component. The mandatory component is designed to ensure you are registered for a placement and that you are familiar with all requirements for participation in this unit. You will complete an electronic form in Sonia for this part of the task. Please read the details and instructions provided below carefully and complete this mandatory component prior to Census date. The task description for the written assessment for Assessment Task 1 follows directly below these instructions.

Mandatory pre-placement component

The university’s Work Integrated Learning Policy and Procedure requires all students to complete a Student Placement and Confidentiality Agreement on an annual basis. The Agreement outlines expectations for the appropriate conduct of students when representing the university in professional workplaces and requires your acknowledgement of these expectations. You are required to complete the 2024 Agreement prior to Census Date for this unit. You will access the electronic agreement called “Student Placement and Confidentiality Agreement 2024” under the Forms tab in Sonia. You should respond to all statements and submit the form by the due date (Friday, 26th July, 2024). You will be able to save a copy of the completed form to your desktop by clicking on the printer icon at the top of the form and selecting “Save as pdf”. A copy of the completed form should be added as an appendix to Assessment Task 1 and uploaded to the Moodle site for EDFE12043 Professional Practice 2 through the link for submission of Assessment Task 1.

WRITTEN ASSESSMENT

Part A - Learning Experience Plan

You are to design a detailed lesson plan for Year 7, 8 or 9 in the teaching area that is the focus of your forthcoming Professional Placement 2. The lesson plan, with 2 associated resources, will demonstrate a clear connection to the relevant content descriptor(s) from the Australian Curriculum in your teaching area. The detailed lesson will be designed for one of the profiled class data sets for Years 7, 8 or 9.

The lesson plan must have the following characteristics:

1. It will reflect the intentions of the curriculum and will allow students to work towards demonstrating at least one relevant content descriptor from the Australian Curriculum in the teaching area.

2. It will include the design and the use of 2 original (or significantly adapted ) resources that reflects curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge. One of these resources must be an ICT resource.

3. It will include a range of teaching strategies that are appropriate to the teaching area, support inclusion and engagement, and effectively scaffold the use of the 2 resources to assist students to meet the content descriptor(s).

4. It will specifically describe how the resources will be used to meet the needs of identified diverse learners to assist them to achieve the outcomes of the lesson.

5. It will provide sufficient detail that it could be used by another teacher.

Part B Professional planning conversation

You are to present and discuss your lesson plan with your peers during your scheduled week 5 tutorial. This presentation is to be 15 minutes in duration, comprising 10 minutes to present your plan and 5 minutes to receive peer feedback.

In the presentation, you are to discuss:

1. The unit topic your lesson would be taught within
2. The learning intentions of the lesson and how this relates to the content descriptor(s) of the relevant ACARA curriculum
3. The main teaching strategies and approaches to differentiation evident in each phase of the lesson: introduction, lesson body, conclusion.
4. The resources you have designed to use in this lesson, including the ICT resource
5. How the resources will be used to support teaching and learning.

Part C Critical Appraisal

You are to write a critical appraisal (1200 words) of your lesson plan and your planning processes, including how the lesson and resources are informed by peer feedback. This critical reflection must address the following points:

• How did you refine your lesson plan and/or resources in response to peer feedback?

Please note: you are required to utilise the set readings for this unit to support your critical appraisal.

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is as follows: 

•  No Gen AI use at any point during this assessment

Word count: 1200 words maximum [Part C]. No maximum word count for PART A

WORD COUNT for written assignments: The word count is considered from the first word of the Introduction to the last word of the Conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.

1. Plan, and apply constructive feedback, to design effective learning sequences appropriate to the teaching area.

2.  Use knowledge of student learning and teaching strategies to promote student engagement and inclusion.

3. Apply knowledge and understanding of the pedagogies, concepts, substance, and structure of the content, appropriate to the teaching area and curriculum framework.

Undertake a supervised placement in a secondary school setting as detailed below and complete all tasks outlined in the Information and Guidelines for the Supervision and Assessment of Pre-Service Teachers booklet. The placement will be organised by the relevant University Professional Practice staff member on each campus and consist of:

• 15 day assessable block (7th - 25th October 2024).

During the block placements, pre-service teachers are expected to build on their level of engagement in the day-to-day organisation and management of teaching and learning.

There are weekly tutorials conducted during weeks 1-12. Attendance is required at 80% of the scheduled classes. Failure to attend may result in discontinuation through to the assessable block placement.

An up-to-date working portfolio must be maintained throughout the placement to record all planning, teaching, assessment, evaluation and reflection undertaken. Daily critical reflection should focus on new professional learning in relation to the teacher's professional role and responsibilities; discipline-specific teaching and learning strategies and classroom practices; and identify links to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Career Stage). At the end of week one of the block placement students should synthesise feedback and self-evaluation to construct a detailed plan for professional development through the remainder of the placement. This plan must be submitted to the supervising teacher for feedback and negotiation of the student's professional learning experiences for the remainder of the placement.

Assessment for this task will be completed by supervising teachers using the formats for reporting included in the Information and Guidelines for the Supervision and Assessment of Pre-Service Teachers booklet.

Full details of specific tasks for this placement are outlined in the Information and Guidelines for the Supervision and Assessment of Pre-Service Teachers booklet.

As per the Information and Guidelines for the Supervision and Assessment of Pre-Service Teachers booklet.

This task will further develop the learnings from the Portfolio you began in Professional Practice 1.

This assessment is to be submitted no later than one week after the conclusion of your placement for Professional Practice 2. For most students (unless a variation of dates for PP2 has been approved by the Professional Experience Office) the AT3 Portfolio submission due date is: Friday November 1st 2024, 11:45pm.

The focus for the Portfolio for PP2 is on the work you have done in this unit and in the classroom, and your development of the skills and knowledge featured in Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Standards 2 and 3). Standard 2 refers to how you demonstrate that you know the content and how to use it, while Standard 3 focuses on your understanding of the roles and responsibilities of teachers in planning for an implementing effective learning and teaching. You are going to reflect on the work you did in your 15 day assessable block placement in planning and implementing a sequence of lessons in one of your two focus classes.

Part A: Artefacts from a sequence of lessons

From the artefacts you prepared for this sequence of lessons, add to your Portfolio the following:

a) A copy of at least 3 sequential lessons that you planned and implemented in one class. Choose lessons that scaffolded knowledge and understanding students needed to demonstrate their learning either in a formative task, or in a final summative task (these 3 lessons might not constitute the full range of lessons used to prepare the task).

b) The range of resources that you produced to use in the three lessons.

c) Your own evaluations of the implemented lessons (these will include annotations and notes recorded after the lesson).

d) Copies of classroom observations for these lessons completed by the supervising teacher.

e) A sample of student profiles and a copy of the classroom management plan.

f) Samples of student work that provide evidence of how you scaffolded students’ knowledge and understanding.

Note: You must ensure that all details of the learners and the school are removed, therefore, learner profiles and work samples must be de-identified prior to submission.

PART B: Evaluation

Referring to the artefacts you have included in your Portfolio, write an evaluation of your teaching practice. Make explicit links between the evidence of your practice as shown in your portfolio and your engagement with Professional Standards.

Your evaluation should be 1000-1200 words in length and should include a reflection on the following questions:

· How did your understanding of the curriculum demands of your teaching area determine the types of teaching strategies you employed in your classroom?

· How did your understanding of the nature and characteristics of middle phase learners influence the approaches you took to classroom management? In turn, how did your classroom management techniques influence your pedagogy? Use the profile and the classroom management plan as evidence in your discussion. Describe the model/s of discipline that most informed your work.

· How did you go about planning to meet the needs of diverse learners in your classroom? How did you identify their needs, and then adjust your teaching strategies and resources to suit?

· What impact did you have on student achievement during your block placement? Discuss how your selection of curriculum and teaching strategies has made an impact on student achievement.

· How did your lesson evaluations and supervising teacher feedback influence your planning of subsequent lessons? Provide specific examples of how you improved your practice during PP2.

· Describe the growth that has occurred in your practice from PP1 to PP2 and identify at least 3 goals for future teaching practicums in relation to each of Standards 2 and 3.

The Portfolio is to be uploaded as a word document by the submission due date.

1. Identify and plan professional learning needs to implement effective classroom teaching and learning

2. Engage in professional learning, and with colleagues, to evaluate and improve teaching practice and classroom management

3. Apply knowledge of curriculum demands, characteristics of learners, resources and appropriate pedagogies to impact student learning

4. Personal and academic literacy