Planning, Teaching and Learning for Infants: Practicum 3E

Overview

Pre-service teachers will develop knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to teach infants and toddlers effectively. Within the allocated timeframe, pre-service teachers will undertake 15 days of professional experience in an approved early childhood setting, with children aged birth to two years. Major emphasis is given to respectful relationships, the potential for learning opportunities throughout the child’s total experience in early learning settings and the critical importance of knowing children in the context of family, community and culture. These knowledge, skills and dispositions will be used and extended under the supervision of an experienced mentor/qualified EC teacher.

Unit learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:

1. Plan, implement, and evaluate learning experiences using early childhood frameworks and governing documents that demonstrate the ability to articulate aims, objectives, procedures, outcomes, and evaluation practices appropriate for babies and toddlers
2. Plan and construct rich learning environments indoors and outdoors and use a range of teaching practices and resources that engage infants and toddlers in learning appropriate to their interests, abilities and needs
3. Model respectful and sensitive interaction with very young children (birth to two years) in ways that lead to establishing and strengthening relationships that support learning
4. Apply pedagogical approaches to promote children’s learning and wellbeing in ways that are responsive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, doing and being as well as of all diverse learners

Teaching methods

Swinburne Online

Assessment

It is a requirement that students achieve an overall pass grade for the Professional Experience Portfolio assessment task.

This task is designed to evidence attainment of various Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and National Program Standards in line with external accreditation by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

Students who do not achieve an overall pass grade will, if feasible, be granted one additional opportunity to evidence their attainment of unmet requirements. This requirement is aligned to the National Program Standard 5.4 that ensures providers work collaboratively with placement schools and systems to rigorously assess pre-service teachers against the Graduate Teacher Standards.

Content

• Infant learning and development, including early brain and physical development.
• Self-assessment of teaching performance
• Planning and assessing infant learning
• Recognising individual differences and supporting learning accordingly
• Engaging collaboratively with colleagues and families
• Creating and maintaining healthy, safe and rich learning environments that support learning
• Helping infants begin to learn to guide their own behaviour
• Strategies for evaluating learning and teaching programs to improve learning
• Teaching strategies and resources for supporting and assessing infant learning
• Routines and transitions, including safe sleeping practices
• Sensorial play
• Attachment theory and its implications for practice
• Code of Ethics and professional standards
• Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Verbal communication
• Graduate Attribute – Communication Skills: Communicating using different media
• Graduate Attribute – Teamwork Skills: Collaboration and negotiation
• Graduate Attribute – Teamwork Skills: Teamwork roles and processes
• Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Information literacy
• Graduate Attribute – Digital Literacies: Technical literacy