Required texts

Throughout the unit you will be asked to complete a range of readings from the Reading List on Canvas.  We have kept the reading list minimal so you have time to engage with them, using them as a lens to reflect upon and interpret your story as well as to contemplate the future of school-based teaching and learning. Additional documents to be read will occasionally be included in the Modules.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the unit convener.

All assessment items required to be submitted online must be submitted via the appropriate Canvas drop box. It is the student's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant canvas site. If the unit convener and/or tutor are unable to access a submission, a standard late penalty of 5% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day until the assignment is made accessible.

Special assessment requirements

Normally, an aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass this unit. This unit also requires succesful completion of the professional experience component.

Provision of valid documentation

Please note that the University takes student conduct very seriously. All documentation provided to University staff must be valid and the provision of fraudulent documentation carries with it potentially serious consequences, including suspension and/or exclusion from the University. Note that all allegations of student misconduct will be referred to the Associate Dean for Education (ADE) as a prescribed authority for investigation.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and 91Porn (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

Here's an approximate semester breakdown.

Lectures (10 hours)

Tutorials (20 hours)

'Relating with Country' sessions and journaling (15 hours)

Readings, viewings and Assessment 1  (25 hours)

School Placement: (60 hours)

 Readings and reflections on school placement and Assessment 2 (20 hours)

Inclusion and engagement

Students who need assistance in undertaking the unit because of disability or other circumstances should inform their Unit Convener or as soon as possible so the necessary arrangements can be made.

Participation requirements

Attendance at all scheduled sessions in this unit is compulsory and absences could result in a fail. All absences need to be supported by appropriate documentation (e.g. medical certificate).

Successful engagement with all learning activities in this accredited Initial Teacher Education course is necessary to demonstrate that you have met the Graduate career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011).

It is recognised that sometimes absence is unavoidable. If you are absent for more than two sessions (tutorials), however, your engagement with the unit could be considered unsatisfactory. 

In the event that you cannot attend your assigned class due to illness or unavoidable commitments, contact the Unit Convener as soon as possible to negotiate an alternate class later in the week (if available) or alternative task.

Successful completion of the professional experience component is critical to success in the whole unit.  Refer to assessment (5a) on the Canvas site for further details. Students must make themselves familiar with the processes and policies of professional experience.

Required IT skills

UC Entry level skills. Students participaing in online synchronous tutorials must ensure you have the equipment (laptop with camera and audio, headphones etc) and. the connectivity to fully engage.

Work placement, internships or practicums

A successful school placement (work integrated learning WIL) of 10 days is a requirement to Pass this unit.  All observational placements attached to 10450 will be undertaken in the Capital Region that includes Canberra, Queanbeyan, Bungendore, Jerrabomberra, Googong etc.

Students must adhere to UC policy during WIL activities, including the Student Conduct Rules (2018), the WIL policy and WIL procedures, the Assessment policy and Assessment procedures.  With a professional experience practicum this unit therefore involves additional student responsibilities that are required in addition to those described in section 6. Work-place learning requires strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. This includes always maintaining school, staff, teacher, student, and/or research participant confidentiality for assessment items like reflection portfolios, reports, essays and short or extended responses in tests.

For teaching degrees, there are a number of certifications and registrations that students must have uploaded onto InPlace or 10450 Canvas site (before commencing placement), including for this first observational placement including:

1. Working With Vulnerable People (WWVP) certification

2. Working with Children Check (WWCC)

3. Pre Service Teacher Registration (PSTR)

4. Acceptable use of ICT resources form

5. UC Placement Agreement form

6. Keeping Children and Young People Safe course completion certificate.

Students must also complete a number of Pre-Place Modules

To complete all these requirements students need to access the 'NO STRESS PLACEMENT PLANNER' available on the ATES Canvas site and the 10450 Canvas site, and work their way through each Step.

These requirements will be discussed in the first few weeks of semester and links provided. Please refer to the professional experience section on the All Teacher Education Students (ATES) site for full information on the Professional Experience requirements.

Additional information

Provision of information to the group

Notifications through the Canvas Announcements Forum or the Canvas Discussion Forums are deemed to be made to the whole class.  It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they check for announcements on the Unit's Canvas website (forum messages are also emailed to student email addresses only).  Students should ensure they check their student email regularly.  The Canvas discussion forums will be checked by staff regularly.

Use of student email account

The University Email policy states that "students wishing to contact the University via email regarding administrative or academic matters need to send the email from the University account for identity verification purposes".  Therefore all unit enquiries should be emailed using a student university email account. Students should contact servicedesk@canberra.edu.au if they have any issues accessing their university email account.

Foundation of the Unit - This unit has been designed to facilitate your engagement with and reflection on a wide array of ways of knowing, being and doing, and their associated teaching and learning processes, that have been enacted in Australia for tens of thousands of years.  The unit includes the first in a sequence of professional experience placements. It has been developed by Indigenous academics who are both researchers and teachers. Some of the research is included in the Readings. You are expected to strongly engage with the activities and conversations and deeply reflect upon their purpose and your own experiences of schooling and the professional placement.

UC Work Integrated Learning Policy - Introduction

Work integrated learning (WIL) is deliberate and intentional learning in work supported by appropriate induction of students and supervisors and imaginatively embedded assessment. The University supports access to WIL programs for students enrolled in its courses as an integral part of their studies.    

UC Work Integrated Learning Policy - Principles

WIL at UC recognises the breadth of the relationship between learning and work including: (a) learning at work; (b) learning for work; (c) learning to work; and (d) learning through work.

WIL programs accord with the University's strategic values and mission to prepare professional people professionally through work-based learning and collaborative teaching with external agencies.

Student absences

In all cases of absence, sickness or personal problems it is the student's responsibility to ensure that the unit Convener is informed. The minimum participation requirement must be met in order to pass the unit (regardless of supporting documentation).

• Semester 1, 2023, Flexible, UC - Canberra, Bruce (215668)
• Semester 1, 2023, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (211806)
• Semester 1, 2022, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (206355)
• Semester 1, 2021, On-campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (198663)