EDUC4740 Professional Experience: Final Assessment for Registration (Early Childhood)

This topic occurs in the final year of the Early Childhood courses. Five preliminary day visits are followed by a six consecutive week block (total 35 days), spent in a metropolitan or country early childhood setting. Emphasis is placed on the planning, implementation and evaluation of teaching programs. Close links are established between curriculum studies at Flinders and centre/school curricula, with students designing, evaluating, implementing, analysing and theorising about their placement site's curriculum inquiry focus in light of contemporary Australian and international Early Childhood research and practice. At the conclusion of this teaching experience, judgements are made about the pre-service teacher's readiness to be registered to teach in the early childhood teaching profession.

This professional learning experience requires pre-service teachers to work in a different Birth-8 context than experienced in EDUC3640 and in this placement:

• Make a meaningful contribution to children's learning and the setting's curriculum goals and priorities that draws from contemporary Australian and international research and practice
• Deepen their understandings of how children learn and develop through a process of praxis, in which they research, inquire, test and use the theoretical knowledge that they have acquired and are acquiring
• Use a variety of observation techniques to gain insight into the types of experiences, activities and ideas that engage young children
• Document children's involvement and engagement in the curriculum and assess their learning over an extended period of time
• Recognise the importance of families in children's lives and learning and begin to explore ways to connect with family members
• Work as a constructive, collaborative and cooperative team member
• Document and organise evidence of their developing professional knowledge, professional practice and professional relationships

1. Competently observe children's learning and development
2. Plan, implement and evaluate experiences/activities that are responsive to the observed needs and interests of young children
3. Take an increasing degree of responsibility for planning, implementing and evaluating a curriculum that engages individual children and groups of children in deep and meaningful learning
4. Demonstrate awareness of the factors that lead to high levels of involvement and engagement in curriculum experience/activities
5. Make teaching decisions and adopt teaching approaches that are theoretically informed
6. Document and assess children's learning in ways that capture complexity and competence
7. Investigate ways of communicating effectively with families about children's learning
8. Reflect on the impact and effectiveness of their approach to teaching on children's learning
9. Collaborate respectfully, honestly and openly with children, families and other educators in order to achieve shared goals for children's learning