Pre-requisites

ES626 Literacy and Numeracy Across the Curriculum: Professional Experience 1B OR
ES712 Primary Specialist: English & Professional Experience 1B OR
ES713 Primary Specialist: Mathematics & Professional Experience 1B

Co-requisites

For Bachelor of Education (Primary)
ES614 Primary Humanities
ES615 Primary Science
ED722 Students with Additional Needs: Professional Experience 2B

For Bachelor of Education (Secondary)
ES622 Secondary Specialisation 2 - Curriculum and Pedagogy
ES623 Secondary Specialisation 2 - Assessment and Reporting
ED722 Students with Additional Needs: Professional Experience 2B

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

• Analyse and apply knowledge of culture, cultural identity, spirituality and linguistic backgrounds of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds and the impact of these contexts on their education and apply strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

• Demonstrate broad and coherent knowledge and understanding of, and respect for, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

• Identify strengths and learning needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds and plan and apply teaching strategies in response that will support their learning

• Demonstrate and apply knowledge and understanding of a broad range of strategies for involving and working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds in educative processes

• Critically review the roles of external professionals and community representatives in extending professional knowledge and teaching practice to support the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds

• Apply a Christian worldview to critically reflect on your role as a teacher in meeting the learning and educational needs of students from diverse backgrounds and responding compassionately to social needs and injustice in planning, problem-solving and decision-making in learning contexts

• In the context of a placement apply knowledge of students, learning theory, curriculum and content, to plan and implement effective lesson sequences in response to the learning strengths and needs of diverse students (including challenging but achievable learning goals, a range of differentiated teaching, assessment, recording and feedback strategies, and appropriate resources, including ICT); organise classroom activities, providing clear directions and using a range of communication and classroom management strategies that support the engagement, safety and well-being of diverse students

• In the context of a placement critically reflect on your own and others’ teaching practices; seek, evaluate, and apply advice and feedback from experienced teachers in order to evaluate and improve your teaching practice; and demonstrate an increasing knowledge and understanding of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and The Victorian Teaching Profession Code of Conduct, and their application to professional practice and identity

Unit Description

This unit focuses on developing your knowledge, understanding and respect for students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, particularly including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their histories, cultures, cultural identity and languages. Through the unit, you will develop knowledge and understanding of students’ social contexts and how they impact on learning. This respectful response to diversity will be addressed from a Christian worldview perspective including from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian communities.

As this unit is attached to a professional experience placement, you will not only learn about how to respond to students’ diverse strengths and learning needs, but you will also develop and apply strategies to support and improve their learning in classroom contexts. You will also develop and apply strategies that promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through educational contexts.

A further component of this unit is to develop your understanding of the need for and approaches to engaging and working with parents/carers, and the role of external professionals and community members for broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice in order to support the engagement and learning of diverse students.

The professional experience component of this unit entails a block of 15 consecutive school days in a placement school (primary or secondary respective of the course being completed). Under the supervision of an experienced teacher you will plan for and teach the full class for a substantial part of the time, beginning with a week’s orientation, assisting and team teaching. You will progress to taking a half-day load for the second week and gradually increasing to a full-day load by the end of the subsequent week as negotiated with your supervising teacher based on your progress and performance.

You will attend preparation classes prior to the professional experience placement and a debrief class after its completion. During the placement, your supervising teacher will provide you with advice, support and feedback to support your progress and improve your practices, and will assess your teaching against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the graduate level. You are required to incorporate digital technologies into your teaching, learning, preparation and assessment practices displaying improving personal proficiency. As you progress through the Professional Experience, you are expected to demonstrate increasing competence and professional growth and become well immersed in school life.

This unit and its professional experience must be undertaken in the same semester as ED722.

Topics

• Diverse student contexts and the Christian response
• Diversity in the classroom - exploring cultural, linguistic, religious and socioeconomic contexts
• Identifying and responding to diverse students learning strengths and needs
• Teaching strategies for the diverse classroom
• Knowing and understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, cultural identity and languages, spirituality, impacts, protocols and teachers’ responses
• Accessing and engaging with significant resources – parents/carers, teachers, peers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, and websites (e.g. Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc.; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awareness; Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australian Government; Koorie Teaching Resources, Victorian State Government; Indigenous Education Resources, Koorie Heritage Trust - Indigenous Perspectives ‘Tuckerbag’, Aussie Educator)
• Engaging with stakeholders: school personnel, external professionals and the wider community
• Preparing for Professional Experience in school
• Reflecting, evaluating feedback and modifying practice
• Reflecting and debriefing on your professional experience in school

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Unit offerings

Face to face: Semester 1, 2025 and Semester 1, 2026 (Every Year, Semester 1)

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.