University of Tasmania, Australia

Stage	Associated unit	Context of placement	Length of placement
PE1	EAL112 Foundations of Applied Learning	Traditional school setting (7-12)	10 days
PE2	EAL211 Inclusive Practices in Educational Settings	VET school setting (i.e. Polytechnic)	20 days
PE3	EAL302 Literacy strategy within contexts	Traditional school setting Own teaching context	10 days 10 days
PE4	EAL324 Engagement with Standards:Elements A & B EAL334 Engagement with Standards:Elements C & D	VET school setting Own teaching context	15 days 15 days

Use of terms

Traditional school setting
Refers to a school setting (7-12) with traditional curriculum (i.e., not VET).

VET school setting
Refers to a school setting (including, in Tasmania, the Polytechnic) or other approved educational institution[1], where VET is a formal component of the curriculum (for example, VET in Schools).

Non-traditional setting
Refers to an educational site that is not a traditional or VET school setting, but does deliver VET as part or all of its educational mission. In this document, they could include the Skills Institute (Tasmania) or TAFE institutes, dual-sector universities, private registered training organisations (RTOs), enterprise registered training organisations (ERTOs), or Adult or Community Education (ACE) providers.

Own teaching context
Refers to an educational site where the in-service teacher is employed, and could be a traditional school setting, a VET school setting or a non-traditional setting. PE is an active process of connecting theory and practice, and integrating a proportion of PE in the students’ own teaching context facilitates this process.

Your placement will be coordinated by the Professional Experience Office. You have the option of organising your own placement or having the PE office allocate you to a school in your region. If you would like to organise your own placement you should make arrangements to do this as soon as possible.

All students will be required to submit an application on SPMS (Student Placement Management System), selecting the region they would like to complete the placement in and advising any preferences or arrangements that have been made in the comments section.

You will receive an email from the Professional Experience Officer advising you when and how to apply for your placement.

If you have any questions regarding the application process please contact Sarah Reaburn Sarah.Reaburn@utas.edu.au

Professional experience 1 (PE1)

Professional Experience 1 is the first stage of the Bachelor of Education (Applied Learning) practicum program. It is conducted over the course of two consecutive weeks on a full-time basis in weeks 6 and 7 of the semester (10 days / 60 hours). It is linked with the Unit EAL112 Foundations of Applied Learning. You will only do PE1 if you are enrolled in that unit.

Within this ten day placement, you will observe teaching practice within a traditional school environment (7-12), map and analyse lesson planning and delivery against an established lesson planning framework and the Tasmanian Professional Teaching Standards, focusing on the application of generic professional skills to applied learning programs. In addition, you will be expected to participate in any professional, extra-curricular, and administrative duties of the school and to compare and contrast these with similar professional responsibilities and duties within your VET environment. All observations, experiences, resources, and other relevant pieces of evidence will be embedded with justifications in a reflective professional journal within your ePortfolio.

Assessment for PE1 will be completed by your Colleague Teacher (CT) using the PE1 assessment document.

Professional experience 2 (PE2)

PE2 is embedded in EAL211 Inclusive Practices in Education Settings. PE2 is conducted in a VET school context over the course of 4 weeks (20 days) on a full-time basis. The first 2 weeks are undertaken in weeks 4 and 5 of the semester. Weeks 3 and 4 of PE are undertaken in weeks 8 and 9 of the semester.

PE2 is structured as action research where you will identify the inclusioni issues within your student cohorts, establish what mechanisms are available to support learning, and devise and implement specific classroom measures and procedures to be maintained, modified, and reported on later as part of professional standards certification.
Assessment for PE2 will be completed by your Colleague Teacher or the UTAS PE Mentor using the PE2 assessment document. The associated Unit (EAL211) will integrate the focus and outcomes of PE2 with unit content.

Professional experience 3 (PE3)

PE3 is embedded in EAL302 Literacy Strategies within Discipline and is conducted within a secondary school setting. Having established theoretical foundations for the development of literacy, you will identify how literacy is embedded explicitly across the curriculum in unit and lesson planning. Through collegial planning and teaching with a school secondary colleague, you will focus on how literacy [and by inference numeracy in EAL311 Numeracy Strategies within Discipline] is inherent in all learning and may be drawn out and applied in the classroom setting.

PE3 is conducted over the course of 4 weeks (20 days) on a full-time basis. The first 2 weeks are undertaken in weeks 6 and 7 of the semester. Weeks 3 and 4 of PE are undertaken during weeks 10 and 11 of the semester.

Assessment for PE3 will be completed by both your CT during the school-based placement and also the PE Partner/UTAS PE Mentor during the in-context placement, using the PE3 assessment document. The associated Unit (EAL302) will integrate the focus and outcomes of PE3 outcomes with unit content.

Professional experience 4 (PE4)

PE4 is embedded equally within two units: EAL323 Engagement with Professional Standards: Elements A & B, and EAL334 Engagement with Professional Standards: Elements C & D. Structured around reflective and deliberative sustainable learning and teaching practice, these units are designed to consolidate and re-examine justifications and evidence of learning and Standards outcomes within your ePortfolio. PE4 totals 30 days and is conducted over the course of 3 weeks (15 days) within each unit on a full-time basis. Within EAL323, PE will be conducted in a VET School environment, and in EAL324, PE will be conducted in your own teaching context. The timing of the PE is to be negotiated with the Unit Coordinator and the CT/PE Partner, but is to be continuous and to conclude with one of the formative assessment periods (Weeks 7 and 10).

The structure of PE4 is focused on addressing teacher learning needs within the professional standards area of each unit. In accordance with the principles of teacher leadership you will be expected to take ownership and develop a professional learning plan based on previous PE outcomes, theoretical knowledge, and their achievement of teacher professional standards.

Assessment for PE4 will be completed by the CT/University PE Mentor/PE Partner using the PE4 assessment document. The associated Units (EAL323 and EAL334) will integrate the focus and outcomes of PE4 outcomes with unit content.

The PE component of the Bachelor of Education will involve supervised, structured experiences in up to three different contexts; a traditional secondary (7-12) school setting, a VET school setting (i.e. the Polytechnic) and, if employed in such, a private training provider. Traditionally in teacher preparation courses, students undertaking PE must be appropriately supervised by a person who is eligible for teacher registration in Tasmania, referred to in the school setting as the Colleague Teacher. This model of supervision will apply for you when you are in the school setting and a VET school setting.

If you teach in a private educational setting (such as an RTO) there may not be such people on staff. If this is the case, you will need to find someone to be your PE Partner. If you have trouble finding someone to be your PE Partner, then we will assist you. To be a PE Partner, the person needs be able to show evidence of the following:

• A minimum of 5 years teaching experience
• A minimum of 5 years in a supervisory or managerial role
• Experience in vocational education and training and in industry
• A training or teaching qualification (minimum of Certificate IV in Training and Assessment TAE40110 or its equivalent)

In these contexts, UTAS will employ a qualified teacher (either the UTAS PE Mentor or a Visiting Colleague Teacher) to work directly with you and your PE Partner as you undertake each of the professional experience stages.

Each of the four stages of PE will be assessed, and will measure your development towards the graduate level of teaching ability as described in the professional standards of Tasmanian Teachers Registration Board (to be superseded by AITSL standards in the future). To successfully complete this course, you must be assessed as having achieved all of the graduate standards, and have successfully completed four PE assessments.

For the assessment at each PE stage the relevant PE assessment form will be completed and signed by you, your PE Partner/CT and the UTAS PE Mentor. Any areas identified for development or improvement will be documented in the relevant section of your ePortfolio. You will then plan, as part of the associated Unit, how you might develop in these areas in the following period and review progress at the next PE assessment.

The grade awarded for a PE will be either: Satisfactory, Not Complete or Fail. As with all units offered at UTAS, your academic award is finalised by the unit coordinator with due consideration being given to all evidence provided. If you fail a Professional Experience stage assessment, then you will be required to re-enrol in the unit linked to that PE stage and be re-assessed later in the course. Please see the Faculty PE website for more information and advice.

All students undertaking a Professional Experience in a school setting must adhere to all requirements, including: undertaking a Good Character Check; following the approved procedures in the case of an accident or injury on placement; and adhering to the Code of Conduct when on school placement.

To be eligible to undertake your professional experience you are required to obtain a Good Character Check clearance from the Teachers Registration Board (TRB) or state equivalent. You must complete an online application on the website. www.trb.tas.gov.au

If you are registered with the Tasmanian Teachers’ Registration Board as a Specialist VET Teacher, you will not need to complete the Good Character Check in addition to the process you have complied with as part of that Specialist VET Teacher registration.

If you have any questions regarding this please call the TRB on 03 6233 5992.

The Department of Education's Good Character Check is not valid for undertaking professional experience placements – it is the TRB Good Character Check that is required.

N.B. You cannot commence your Professional Experience placement until confirmation has been received that you have obtained the relevant clearance. You should allow 4-6 weeks for applications to be processed.

* Inclusion refers to educational measures taken to redress the intellectual, physical, racial, social, and economic factors that hinder educational and, in the VET context, employment success.

Please direct all Bachelor of Education (Applied Learning) enquiries to:

Course Support Officer - Lauren Stevenson
Email: Lauren.Stevenson@utas.edu.au
Telephone: +61 3 6226 8517
Fax: +61 3 6226 2569
Location: Sandy Bay Campus, Hytten Hall, H465