Course Title: Teaching as Community

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Teaching as Community

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
TCHE2297	Bundoora Campus	Postgraduate	360H Education	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2009, Sem 2 2011, Sem 2 2012, Sem 2 2013, Sem 2 2014

Course Coordinator: Dr Rachel Patrick

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7912

Course Coordinator Email: rachel.patrick@rmit.edu.au

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None

Course Description

This is a core course that focuses on the concept of communities of practice and builds on the idea that educators have expert knowledge of the social and cultural dimensions of learning contexts, as well as having expert knowledge of the content they teach. This course will focus on communities of practice as spaces were change and innovations germinate. Using this foundation, students will be encouraged to think about creativity in their professional identities as teachers and agents of change. The course will also introduce students to how the links between learning and wellbeing inform their engagement with learners, colleagues and the wider community that can be applied as part of work integrated learning.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course is designed to assist students to:
Analyse the social and cultural meanings and relations in the classroom.
Plan for full participation by every learner.
Reflect on how to create rules and procedures for a sense of shared responsibility.
Design programs to enhance learning and wellbeing across the school.
Plan for effective assessment and reporting practices.
Understand the legal and ethical responsibilities of professional practice.

Upon completion of this course students will be able to:
Analyse the social and cultural meanings and relations of the classroom. 
Plan for full participation by every learner. 
Encourage a sense of shared control in the classroom. 
Create rules and procedures for a sense of shared responsibility and ethical practice. 
Articulate best practices for ongoing and summative assessment. 
Understand the basic tools for skilful reporting.

ICT Outcomes
At the conclusion of this course, students will have demonstrated and/or acquired the following ICT capabilities: 
Understandings of the role of ICT in learning and implications for the classroom. 
Awareness of a range of contemporary ICT resources suitable for the classroom. 
Skills in using ICT for communication, presentation, work preparation and implementation.

VIT Standards
This course is aligned with the following standards: 
Teachers know how students learn and how to teach them effectively. 
Teachers know their students. 
Teachers use a range of teaching strategies and resources to engage students in effective learning. 
Teachers reflect on, evaluate and improve their professional knowledge and practice. 
Teachers are active members of their profession 
 

Overview of Learning Activities

Students’ learning in this course will involve a range of activities including lectures, tutorials, workshops, on-line discussions, curriculum design and readings in order to support the development of the learning outcomes of this course.
 

Overview of Learning Resources

See Part B

Overview of Assessment

Assessment tasks are directly linked to the stated objectives and outcomes. Assessment in the course will be both theoretical and practical in nature. A range of formative and summative assessment types will be incorporated into the course (for example, written, oral or performance based assessment).

Students should refer to Part B of the course guide for further information on assessment.