Teachers as Professionals (9918.2)

Please note these are the 2027 details for this unit
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Teachers as Professionals
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods Placement
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.25 6 Faculty Of Education
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
School Of Teacher Education Level 4 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit Band 1 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 1 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
This unit builds on prior learning within the degree course. It focuses on what it means to be a professional teacher and how to develop the requisite skills, knowledge and practices. This includes teachers' capacity to:
- identify own learning needs,
- work individually and collegially to meet those needs, and
- demonstrate respect and professionalism in their interactions with the school community.

Equally important is managing one's health and well-being through good life management skills.

Knowledge of the National Graduate Teacher Standards is required in addition to an understanding that this represents a beginning phase in one's professional growth.

The unit is the culmination of this course's Professional Experience and involves a 30 day placement. Upon completion, pre-service teachers need to demonstrate the level of teaching proficiency required of a Graduate teacher.

Evidence of passing both components of LANTITE must be provided before this unit can be passed.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the unit, students will demonstrate:
1. Skills in identifying their own professional learning needs;
2. Learning about the benefits of professional learning and the identification of sources of development in the wider learning community;
3. Understanding of their legal and ethical responsibilities as a teacher;
4. Strategies for balancing their school/home responsibilities in productive ways; and
5. Understanding of professional engagement with colleagues, students and the wider community.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - use creativity, critical thinking, analysis and research skills to solve theoretical and real-world problems
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
2. UC graduates are global citizens - adopt an informed and balanced approach across professional and international boundaries
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - be self-aware
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas


Prerequisites

Students must have passed 72 credit points AND 10453 Engaging with LANTITE.

Students must also be taking this unit as the FINAL professional experience placement unit in their course of study.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2027 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 Placement Mrs Gem Clutton
2027 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 15 February 2027 Placement Mrs Gem Clutton
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

All required weekly readings can be accessed via the Reading List on the unit Canvas site. 

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, or if no submission has been made by the due date and time, a standard late penalty of 10% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day, for three days, after which the submission will receive a score of ‘0' in keeping with UC's Assessment Policy.

Artificial Intelligence

Students may use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as indicated in the assessment instructions for this unit.
 
GenAI may only be used in authorised ways when completing assessments at UC. This means that GenAI can only be used for an assessment when:
  1. The Unit Convener has authorised its use for that assessment;
  2. The student uses it in the way that the assessment instructions allow for;
  3. The student fully acknowledges its use, with appropriate citations and references. Each referencing guide provided by the Library provides advice on how to appropriately reference the use of GenAI in-text.
Where the assessment instructions do not specifically state that GenAI may be used and how, then its use is not allowed for that assessment. If students are unsure, they should seek advice from the Unit Convener.
 
Students should be aware that the University of Canberra utilises GenAI detection software. Suspected instances of unauthorised GenAI use may lead to a Learning Validation Conversation' designed to provide assurance that a student is able to demonstrate relevant knowledge and skills to meet required learning outcomes. Students who are suspected of having misused GenAI in assessment may be required to attend a summary inquiry for suspected misconduct.
 
It is strongly recommended that students keep records of the development process for all works submitted for assessment, or drafts of work submitted for a work-in-progress review, in a learning portfolio or equivalent. Failure to provide evidence of the development process for assessment may influence a suspicion of GenAI misuse or other forms of academic misconduct. 

Special assessment requirements

Due to the professional nature of this unit, a pass grade requires an aggregate mark of 50% for the coursework components and passes in both placement and the TPA. 

Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA)

All preservice teachers are required to pass all four elements of the AfGT to demonstrate that the Australian Professional Standards for Graduate Teachers are met. Meeting the Graduate Teacher Standards enables the preservice teacher to graduate from the respective accredited programs of learning. The preservice teacher cannot graduate unless they have satisfactorily completed the AfGT and all other course assessment tasks.

It may be necessary for academics to make ‘on balance' judgements about whether each Element has been passed – that is, judgements about whether the preservice teacher has achieved below, at or above the Standard. To make on-balance judgements, assessors draw on assessment data to make defensible judgements about the preservice teacher's learning (Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority, 2019; Australian Curriculum Assessment & Reporting Authority, 2019; AITSL, 2017)

If, on balance, preservice teachers do not meet the Graduate Standard for any or all Elements of the TPA, following moderation, they will be given one chance to resubmit requested elements to demonstrate their achievement of the Standards required. After this, if the Graduate Standards have not been satisfactorily met on balance, preservice teachers will receive a ‘fail' grade for the TPA and be referred to the Program Director and/or the ADE for guidance as to next steps.

Submission of assessment items: All assessment items must be uploaded to Canvas.

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 Academic Integrity Module 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 University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

You can expect to be engaged in the following (approximate hours):

Tutorials and workshops: 20 hours

Professional experience placement: approximately 180 hours (30 days, based on full-time placement expectations in schools)

Personal study, tutorial preparation and assessment: approximately 100 hours

Total workload: approximately 300 hours

Participation requirements

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

This unit involves online lectures and tutorials in real time using the Virtual Room in your UCLearn teaching site. The Virtual Room allows you to communicate in real time with your lecturer and other students. To participate verbally, rather than just typing, you will need a microphone. For best audio quality we recommend a microphone and speaker headset. For more information and to test your computer, go to the Virtual Room in your UCLearn site and 'Join Course Room'. This will trigger a tutorial to help familiarise you with the functionality of the virtual room.

Students will need to be recorded during two teaching episodes whilst on placement and then upload this as part of the TPA assessment task. Therefore, access to a recording device of some description is required.

Artificial intelligence services must not to be used for assessment or assessment preparation by students unless explicitly allowed in the assessment instructions for an assessment task published with the assessment task and/or in the unit outline.
 
That is, an artificial intelligence services may only be used if:
  • its use is authorised by the unit convener as part of a specified assessment task, and
  • it is used in the way allowed in the assessment instructions and/or unit outline, and 
  • its use is appropriately referenced, meaning that students must reference the use of AI in their assessment in the same way as they reference other source material.

In-unit costs

N/A

Work placement, internships or practicums

This unit includes a 30-day professional experience placement. Students must adhere to UC policies including the Student Conduct Rules (2018), WIL Policy and Procedure, and Assessment Policy and Procedure. All information regarding placements is available on the All Teacher Education Students (ATES) canvas page and it is the responsibility of the student to check for any updates.  

Students are advised to review InPlace regularly to check the status of their pre-placement requirements and to ensure that all contact details are up-to-date and will be for the during of the placement period. This information must include an emergency point of contact or next of kin.  

The Placement Team requires evidence of the following before a placement can be organised:  
 

Pre-placement Requirements (ALL must be uploaded to InPlace):  

  • Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) card  
  • Working with Children Check (WWCC)  
  • TQI Preservice Teacher Registration  
  • Completion of Pre-Place module  
  • Early Childhood (EC) – Current First Aid, CPR and Anaphylaxis  
     

Student needs to upload this information to InPlace and ensure it is verified (green status) by the due date stipulated by the placement team. All compliance tasks must be valid for the duration of the placement blocks. It is a student responsibility to ensure that previously submitted compliance documentation is valid for subsequent placement blocks.  
 

Pre-placement Requirements (must be uploaded to Unit Canvas Page for first professional experience):  

  • Acceptable Use of ICT form  
  • UC Student Acknowledgement form  
     

Failure to complete required pre-placement requirements by the due date will result in the cancellation of placement and may result in a fail (NC) grade for the unit.  
 

When students are allocated a placement it is their responsibility to contact the school/service to determine any additional pre-placement requirements specific for that location that need to be completed prior to the placement start date. Failure to do this may result in withdrawal from the placement and potential fail (NC) grade for the unit.  
 

Students who currently have a UC Reasonable Adjustment Plan (RAP) may be eligible for a Placement Support Letter (PSL). It is the student's responsibility to work with UC Wellbeing to determine any adjustment needed for Placement.  
 

Eligibility for placement is dependent on satisfactory academic progression at the time placement is scheduled.  
 

All placements must occur according to the published placement calendar on the ATES site. Students experiencing extenuating circumstances may request a date change; approval, however, is at the discretion of the Faculty. All placement blocks must be completed within 12 months of the associated unit's teaching and learning start date. Delays beyond this timeframe may result in a fail (NC) grade for the unit.  
 

Intervention and Support  
 

Students who demonstrate unsatisfactory progress towards the expected standard of practice at any point throughout their placement will be provided with Intervention and Support. This support process is tailored to meet the needs of the individuals. If sufficient improvements are not evident, a fail grade (NC) for the unit is the likely outcome. If the student's conduct or practice constitutes a significant risk to public safety, a student's placement may be terminated immediately without the Intervention and Support process being enacted. The student will meet with their Unit Convenor/Faculty member and discuss their progress in the unit and provided opportunities to reflect on their practice, setting goals for improvement.  


Assessment Requirement  
Placement must be successfully passed to pass the Unit  

Generalised Support  
For placement queries, contact placement@canberra.edu.au.  

Additional information

Theoretical foundations:  This unit is based on constructivist principles (Piaget 1937, Glaserfeld 2005, Dykstra 2005), on the assumption that students learn best when encouraged to actively create meaning from practical and theoretical experience.

Research led Units: This unit involves research-led education and work-integrated learning. There are active researchers delivering this unit who are able to engage students in deep and active learning and transmit to students their passion for the research they are carrying out.

Next step

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