PRI4002 The Beginning Professional

PRI	4002	96247	3, 2009	ONC	The Beginning Professional	1.00	Springfield
Subject	Cat-nbr	Class	Term	Mode	Description	Units	Campus

Academic group:	FOEDU
Academic org:	FOE002
Student contribution band:	National Priority Teaching
ASCED code:	070103

Staffing
Other requisites
Rationale
Synopsis
Objectives
Topics
Texts
Reference materials
Student workload
Assessment details
Important assessment information
Other requirements
Production date
PDF version

STAFFING

Examiner: Agli Zavros
Moderator: Alison Mander

OTHER REQUISITES

State law in Queensland (Australia) requires that all adults working/undertaking professional experience/researching with children under the age of 18, in the state of Queensland are required to possess a current suitability card (Blue Card). (See "Other Requirements" for further information.) Also see: http://www.childcomm.qld.gov.au/employment/bluecard/informationSheets.html. PRE-REQUISITE: In order to be admitted to the Internship, pre-service teachers must have successfully completed all components of the first seven semesters of study. This specifically includes the completion of the full 80 days of supervised professional experience associated with the six courses PRT2201, PRT2202,PRT3201 PRT3202, PRT4201, and PRT4202, or their equivalent.

RATIONALE

This course is one of three courses in the final semester of the BPMU which together provide a capstone to a four year degree. The process of transition from identifying as a student to that of a professionla practitioner will be assisted by the organisation of the whole semester offering. The delivery of all three courses (PRT4000, PRI4001 and PRI4002) is intended as an interlinking suite to be undertaken in the final semester to develop praxis and support the learning of the emerging practitioner as a reflective, knowledgeable and responsible professional. The literature proposes that the construction of teacher identity is informed by many factors including personal experiences, socio-cultural discourses and teacher education programs. These and many other factors impact on the individual's philosophical beliefs and subsequently their self efficacy and pedagogical approaches that they will employ in the classroom. In recent times reflective practice has played a significant role in the development of teacher professional identities and professional development. This course provides opportunities for critical discussion and reflection that enable the pre-service teacher's transition to that of the beginning teacher professional. A central component of this is an engagement with professional standards for teachers. The development of a comprehensive and critically positioned account of their understandings about self, teaching and learning enables and begins the process of "becoming" an effective member of any given educative community.

SYNOPSIS

The Beginning Professional course aims to bring together the pre-service teachers' understandings gained through their personal engagement with the BPMU courses. Pre-service teachers will be engaged in preparing for entry into complex and varied education contexts. The course will require each individual to produce and submit a professional portfolio that may include items from learning portfolios, learning journals and assignments from their various learning experiences throughtout the BPMU degree that account for THEIR learning as pre-service teachers. The course requires pre-service teachers to think about HOW this learning has shaped their beginning professional identity. Each item within their professional portfolio (to be submitted in electronic format) needs to be positioned within the context of their reflective personal philosophy framework. The work completed in this portfolio will be used to inform their work in PRT4000 and PRI4001.

OBJECTIVES

The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course. The assessment item(s) that may be used to assess student achievement of an objective are shown in parenthesis. On completion of this course students will be able to:

1.: articulate a comprehensive understanding of professional standards, policy and literature that informs the teacher role-identity (Internship, Professional Portfolio and Conference Paper)
2.: analyse relevant literature to illustrate comprehensive understanding of the pedagogical possibilities and constraints on the development of the teacher role-identity (Professional Portfolio and Conference Paper)
3.: demonstrate effective communication skills and presentation of knowledge and understanding through various modalities within a community of practice (Professional Portfolio and Conference Paper)
4.: demonstrate competence in and appropriate use of language and literacy, including spelling, grammar, punctuation and bibliographic referencing (Professional Portfolio and Conference Paper).

TOPICS

	Description	Weighting (%)
1.	Teaching and learning in all three courses (PRT4000, PRI4001 and PRI4002) will require students to be actively engaged in the development of their learning within learning communities. Teaching of course specific topics will be explicitly linked across the three courses and students will be required to demonstrate their understanding and application of these topics in their learning communities. These learning experiences will support the emergent practitioner in their commitment to reflective practice, professional growth, and demonstration of professional standards for teachers (e.g. QCT) and USQ graduate attributes. The main focus for PRI4002 is: 1.1. Exploration of past learning in the BPMU and its relationship to the beginning professional's teacher identity. 1.2. A review of relevant literature relating to teacher professional standards, teachers' work and teacher professional identity. 1.3. A critical analysis (using a student identified critical analysis model) of the relevant literature relating to teacher professional standards, teachers' work and teacher professional identity. 1.4. Examination and discussion of professional literacy. 1.5. Examination and discussion about representations of professional identity. 1.6. Development of a personal philosophy framework reflecting past, present learning and future directions.	100.00

TEXT and MATERIALS required to be PURCHASED or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials are available for purchase from USQ BOOKSHOP (unless otherwise stated). Orders may be placed via secure internet, free fax 1800642453, phone 07 46312742 (within Australia), or mail. Overseas students should fax +61 7 46311743, or phone +61 7 46312742. For costs, further details, and internet ordering, use the 'Textbook Search' facility at http://bookshop.usq.edu.au click 'Semester', then enter your 'Course Code' (no spaces).

Professional Internship book of readings

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.

Whether you are on, or off campus, the USQ Library is an excellent source of information http://www.usq.edu.au/library/. The gateway to education resources is here... http://www.usq.edu.au/library/faculties/education/default.htm

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS

ACTIVITY	HOURS
Directed Study	70.00
Independent Study	70.00

ASSESSMENT DETAILS

Description		Marks out of	Wtg(%)	Due date	Notes
ANALYTIC CASE STUDY		30.00	30.00	18 Dec 2009	(see note 1)
PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO		70.00	70.00	22 Jan 2010	(see note 2)

NOTES

1.: APA style is the referencing system required in this course. Students should use APA style in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The USQ library provides advice on how to format information sources using this system. http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/ehelp/ref_guides/apastyle/default.htm
2.: Your assessment will include the satisfactory completion of the submission of a professional portfolio and Analytic Case Study. Elements from the interlinking courses will be evaluated within each of these assesment items. Note: only ONE Professional Portfolio and ONE Analytic Case Study will be required for the two courses (PRI4001, PRI4002).

IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks available. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.)
Penalties for late submission of required work:
If students submit assignments after the due date without (prior) approval of the examiner then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded. No assignments will be accepted after model answers have been posted.
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
Examination information:
There is no examination in this course.
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
There will be no Deferred or Supplementary examinations in this course.
University Regulations:
Students should read USQ Regulations 5.1 Definitions, 5.6. Assessment, and 5.10 Academic Misconduct for further information and to avoid actions which might contravene University Regulations. These regulations can be found at the URL http://www.usq.edu.au/corporateservices/calendar/part5.htm or in the current USQ Handbook.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

IMPORTANT NOTE: Working with Children: State law in Queensland requires that all adults (including university students, pre-service educators, trainers, vocational teachers, industry educators) working with children under the age of 18, in the state of Queensland*, obtain approval before commencing such work. Many education courses include a practical component (professional experience, project work, research, assessment etc.) that may require engagement with children under the age of 18. It is your responsibility to ensure that you possess a current suitability card (Blue Card) before commencing any practical components of this course. DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE WITH CHILDREN UNDER 18 UNLESS YOU POSSESS A CURRENT 'BLUE CARD'. For further information: http://www.childcomm.qld.gov.au/employment/bluecard/informationSheets.html. *If you are undertaking practical experience outside the state of Queensland, Australia you should check local requirements.
Student will require access to email and Internet access to UConnect for this course.

This version produced 11 Dec 2009.