Course Title: Becoming an Early Years Professional

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Becoming an Early Years Professional

Credit Points: 24.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

TCHE2687

Bundoora Campus

Postgraduate

360H Education

Face-to-Face

Sem 2 2020

TCHE2687

Bundoora Campus

Postgraduate

360H Education

Face-to-Face or Internet

Sem 1 2022,
Sem 2 2022,
Sem 1 2023,
Sem 2 2023

Flexible Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

TCHE2687

Bundoora Campus

Postgraduate

360H Education

Face-to-Face

PGRDFlex21 (FF2),

PGRDFlex21 (ONL2),

PGRDFlex21 (All)

TCHE2687

Bundoora Campus

Postgraduate

360H Education

Face-to-Face or Internet

PGRDFlex24 (FF),

PGRDFlex24 (ONL)

Course Coordinator: Anamika Devi

Course Coordinator Phone: by Appointment

Course Coordinator Email: anamika.devi@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Bundoora Campus

Course Coordinator Availability: By email


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Enforced Pre-Requisite Courses 
Successful completion of course 053580 TCHE2684 Belonging Early Years: Praxis

Note: it is a condition of enrolment at RMIT that you accept responsibility for ensuring that you have completed the prerequisite/s and agree to concurrently enrol in co-requisite courses before enrolling in a course. 

For your information go to RMIT Course Requisites webpage. 


Course Description

This course will build on your work-integrated learning experiences in TCHE2684 and TCHE2686. In this course you will undertake your third and final placement in which you will demonstrate your developing competencies as an early childhood professional teacher. You will engage with in a self-review on an aspect of your pedagogical practice.   Drawing on your understandings of positive guidance strategies you will research and create a positive guidance policy for an early childhood setting.   Your learning will culminate in a ‘becoming video’ that you will prepare for an imaginary employer. In the video you will reflect on and present your developing professional identity as a teacher.   This course is delivered in weeks six to twelve of semester. The course includes a work integrated learning experience in which your knowledge and skills will be applied and assessed in a real or simulated workplace context and where feedback from industry and/ or community is integral to your experience. During a 25 day placement you will plan, implement and assess a curriculum based on your in-depth knowledge of the child and community. This will require you to take responsibility for curriculum implementation in the early childhood setting and to be accountable as a becoming professional. 


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

Program Learning Outcomes

In this course you will develop the following program learning outcomes:

  • Critically reflect on and apply effective pedagogical and assessment approaches that enable infants, toddlers, and young children’s ‘belonging, being and becoming’ as curriculum partners
  • Effectively plan, implement and evaluate an early years curriculum that is inclusive of all learners from diverse backgrounds, and which responds to their individual interests, learning priorities and abilities
  • Examine the role of play in a holistic early childhood curriculum located within a post-digital world, with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) and sustainable futures
  • Articulate the importance of developing a professional identity and demonstrate leadership strategies that ethically engage with all stakeholders and advocate for learners
  • Apply knowledge and skills as a teacher researcher, using self-review methodologies, to critically explore and assess a targeted aspect of pedagogy


Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  1. Enact principles of becoming in pedagogical practices that underpin learning for children, with an emphasis on transition and social inclusion
  2. Undertake a self-review of practice, which takes into account ethical accountabilities and pedagogies
  3. Develop and articulate a personal and professional philosophy for EC education and critically analyse your professional identity including management and administration accountabilities
  4. Implement and plan for all children using teaching methods and strategies that incorporate socially inclusive practices, applying your knowledge of transition and continuity of learning.
  5. Investigate and analyse effective leadership styles in theory and practice and apply to your own professional identity and practice


Overview of Learning Activities

You will be engaged in learning that involves a range of activities such as online lectures, group discussion, group activities, readings, critical analysis, reflection, and individual research and development of professional portfolio and work integrated learning (WIL) experiences.

In this WIL designed course you will be required to spend 25 days in an early years educational setting, where you will refine your pedagogical practice through leading the curriculum and room.


Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through our online systems. You will be provided with recommended learning resources including, books, journal articles, web resources. You are expected to seek further resources that are relevant to assist in your own learning. 

In addition, the University Library has extensive resources for Early Childhood Education students. The Library has produced a number of subject guides that includes quality online and print resources for your studies in Education. Please access these Library Guides to assist you in your studies. The Library also provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help.


Overview of Assessment

You will be assessed on how well you meet the course learning outcomes and on your development against the program learning outcomes. In order to pass the course, you are required to receive a satisfactory assessment on your professional experience, in accordance with expectations outlined in the PX Handbook for the course. If you fail to meet this requirement, for reasons other than those approved by special considerations, you will not pass the course. If granted Special Consideration, you may become eligible to complete alternative professional experience to pass the course.

This course is the final course in this program and is your opportunity to develop and refine your teaching practice making you work ready. This will be achieved by assessment of the following tasks.

Task 1: WIL Self-Review (25%)

Linked course learning outcome: 2

Task 2: WIL Curriculum Implementation (30%)

Linked course learning outcomes: 1, 4

Task 3: Becoming a Professional (Video) (25%)

Linked course learning outcomes: 3, 5

Task 4: Positive Guidance Policy (20%)

Linked course learning outcomes: 4

Assessment in this course is directly connected to your successful participation in professional experience. The end-of-placement report from your supervising teacher(s) on your professional development and participation in professional experience is an important component of your assessment. It will provide evidence of your ability to demonstrate the relevant professional practices and course learning outcomes specifically associated with the assessment tasks in the course.

Feedback will be given on all assessment tasks.

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equity Learning Services if you would like to find out more.

Your course assessment conforms to RMIT assessment principles, regulations, policies, procedures and instructions.