013454 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.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject engages with the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), which are tailored to the Graduate Attributes set for all graduates of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

• Apply scholarly knowledge of the needs of primary school students and how they learn. (1.1)
• Create and maintain inclusive,supportive and safe learning environments founded on contemporary psychological and sociological perspectives of learning. (1.4)
• Assess, provide feedback & report on student learning in schools based on contemporary theories of learning, teaching and assessment. (1.5)
• Critically reflect on Indigenous contexts to inform professional capabilities to work effectively with and for Indigenous peoples across education contexts. (4.1)
• Contribute scholarly knowledge and practice to workplace and public debates about educational issues. (5.1)
• Communicate effectively in academic, professional& community contexts. (6.1)

Teaching and learning strategies

Subject content is delivered with a combination of asynchronous online lectures and curated study resources. In weekly synchronous seminars, pre-service teachers discuss, problem-solve, demonstrate and practice theories and methods relevant to the primary school student. The seminar-workshops have clearly defined learning intentions and goals. The sequenced lesson structure scaffolds learning through a series of activities, building knowledge of key theories and research in psychology and sociology of education. Pre-service teachers critically examine and apply these theories using a case-based or authentic scenario approach to place emphasis on the practical evaluation and application of relevant theories. They are provided with opportunities to see explicit links between class work and the assessment criteria.?A range of activities are used to support learning, including explicit teaching of theoretical concepts, case studies, videos, discussion of readings, short presentations, interest-based investigations and collaborative writing. Pre-service teachers undertake group work in relation to authentic case-based scenarios. Learning takes place individually and collaboratively in small groups. Collaborative learning develops skills in negotiating roles and outcomes and provides a model for team teaching. Throughout the subject, students develop their skills in cross-disciplinary thinking, analysis and synthesis.??

During the session the lecturer and peers provide feedback so that pre-service teachers understand their transition through the learning process to achieve learning goals. Weekly seminar-workshops employ formative feedback and detailed feedback is provided on summative assessment tasks. This feedback enables pre-service teachers to identify areas of their professional learning that require further study.?Through active participation in class, pre-service teachers develop knowledge and skills to teach primary school students effectively. They are encouraged to reflect on their own learning experiences to understand metacognitive processes and how these may vary from those of their future primary school students and what this means for their teaching and learning.??

A key part of this subject is a four-week placement as a pre-service teacher, receiving support and mentoring during this period 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 and school-community building. Under the guidance of an experienced teacher, the students develop teaching, learning and assessment resources, and implement these to translate theories of human development into teaching and learning practice. Pre-service teachers receive feedback and the opportunity to reflect on their experience 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 principles that underpin effective teaching practices.?

Content (topics)

• Key theories of child development and their implications for teaching and learning.
• Cognitive development theories that align to the primary school child
• Social-emotional & moral development of children aged 5-12
• Communication strategies and concepts of power, identity, equality and disadvantage
• School visits prior to professional experience placements focusing on:
  • Cognitive development and relevance to teaching and learning
  • Communication strategies to support effective teaching & learning
  • Constructive feedback for teaching & learning
• The school community and environment
• The school day & teacher responsibilities
• NSW primary curriculum
• Legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes for NSW teachers

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Critical reflection on school visits and communication strategies; research into how students learn and the development of the primary school child

Assessment task 2: Learning Walk Reflections

Minimum requirements

Students are required to successfully complete a placement to pass this subject overall. Success in the placement is determined by both the external and internal supervisors.

Required texts

There are no required texts for this subject. Please see the reading list in Canvas for each module to check for required reading/viewing for each session.

References

Australian Institute of Health and welfare: Australia’s Children – the Transition to Primary School https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-children/contents/education/transition-primary-school??

Collie, R. J. (2020). The development of social and emotional competence at school: An integrated model.?International Journal of Behavioral Development,?44(1), 76-87 https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025419851864?

Duchesne S, McMaugh A. (2015).?Educational psychology for learning and teaching. Cengage Learning Australia. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uts/detail.action?docID=4770960?

Engaging Students: Creating Classrooms that Matter https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Engaging-students-creating-classrooms-that-improve-learning.pdf?

Malik F, Marwaha R.(2022) Developmental Stages of Social Emotional Development in Children StatPearls Publishing;? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534819/?

McDevitt, T. M., Ormrod, J. E., Cupit, G., Chandler, M., & Aloa, V. (2019).?Child development and education. Pearson Higher Education AU. (p 4-21)?

NSW Education Standards Authority: Primary Curriculum https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/curriculum-syllabuses-NSW?

Siegler, R. S., Saffran, J., Gershoff, E. T., Eisenberg, N., & DeLoache, J. S. (2020).?How children develop?(Sixth edition). Macmillan International Higher Education (p 96 – 137)??

Teacher Expertise and Professional Vision: Examining Knowledge-Based Reasoning of Pre-Service Teachers, In-Service Teachers, and School Principals: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2020.00059/full?

Wood, P.?(2020)?Emotional Intelligence and Social and Emotional Learning: (Mis)Interpretation of Theory and Its Influence on Practice,?Journal of Research in Childhood Education,?34:1,?153-166,?DOI:?10.1080/02568543.2019.1692104?