013450 Professional Experience: The Primary School Child

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.

Description

In this subject, pre-service teachers focus on developing a learner-centred approach to teaching, which considers the unique needs and characteristics of developing children and pre-adolescents. Through a multidisciplinary approach, exploring key theories, empirical research, and practical applications, the subject develops theoretical perspectives on human development and applies them to the primary school context to inform the development of practice in diverse educational settings and learner needs, with a focus on inclusive, effective, and developmentally appropriate learning environments.?A key part of this subject is a four-week placement where pre-service teachers work in a school with support and mentoring from their UTS tertiary supervisor and supervising classroom teacher. During their placement, pre-service teachers are closely supervised and begin learning practice capabilities in lesson planning, teaching, assessment, Indigenous truth telling and knowledge, equity and inclusion, classroom management, digital supported learning, and school-community building. Pre-service teachers receive feedback and the opportunity to reflect on their experiences and learning after lesson observations with their classroom supervisor and UTS Tertiary Supervisor. Feedback is supported by appropriate strategies and lesson modelling. Satisfactory completion of the placement is a minimum requirement for this subject so pre-service teachers must pass their placement in order to pass the subject overall. The placement is pass/fail. The coursework component of the subject is graded and is designed to help?pre-service teachers?develop a better understanding of themselves as educators, gaining insight into the psychological principles that underpin effective teaching practices.