Overview
In Professional Practice 3 (Catholic School Placement), you will prepare for and complete an assessable professional experience placement in a Catholic school as a required component of your acceptance into the Catholic Education strand of your course. You will participate in tutorials, practical workshops and your school placement which comprises a four week continuous block. Your learning in this unit is designed around two integrated modules. In the first module, you will enhance your ability to design, adapt, implement and assess teaching sequences that cater for the diverse needs of learners in mainstream classrooms. You will develop knowledge of the purposes of using assessment for learning and practices for interpreting student data that inform differentiation practices. In addition, you will learn and apply teaching practices for setting learning goals, modifying lessons plans and learning sequences, adapting pedagogical approaches and using feedback techniques that are responsive to students’ learning needs. In the second module of this unit, you will build your knowledge and understanding of the particular strategies, rituals, traditions and resources that characterise the Christian belief practices of Catholic school communities. You will use this knowledge to reflect on the responsibilities of teachers within the Catholic schooling system and the nature of partnerships with parents / carers and the school community in supporting engagement and participation in the important personal and communal faith rituals of the Catholic tradition.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Students must have successfully completed RELG13001 and either EDFE12042 or EDFE11039 or equivalent to enrol in this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 3 - 2024
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Student emails
Excellent support from the tutor
Maintain high quality of support and teaching approach
- Use assessment strategies to monitor and make judgments on student achievement and modify strategies and resources to promote learning
- Select and apply teaching methods that effectively scaffold learning for students of varying ability levels and needs
- Write explicit learning goals and task-specific standards for the purpose of analysing work samples and assessment data to provide timely feedback on progress and design interventions to address specific learning issues
- Investigate theological, liturgical, pastoral and practical principles underpinning Christian belief systems and teachings, communal rituals and classroom prayer practices characteristic of Catholic school communities
- Reflect on the strategies, practices and responsibilities of teachers in Catholic schools for engaging with stakeholders to support the purposes of Catholic education
- Reflect critically on all aspects of professional learning and practice using professional knowledge, feedback, self-evaluation and evidence for Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
Successful completion of this unit provides opportunities for students to engage with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Career Stage) focus areas of:
1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students
1.2 Understand how students learn
1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities
2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
2.2 Content selection and organisation
2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting
2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies
2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
3.1 Establish challenging learning goals
3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
3.3 Use teaching strategies
3.4 Select and use resources
3.5 Use effective classroom communication
3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs
3.7 Engage parents/carers in the educative process
4.1 Support student participation
4.2 Manage classroom activities
4.4 Maintain student safety
4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically
5.1 Assess student learning
5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning
5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements
5.4 Interpret student data
5.5 Report on student achievement
6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs
6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice
6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice
6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning
7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilities
7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements
7.3 Engage with the parents/carers
7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities
Outcomes combine these standards with the knowledge and understanding required to be eligible for accreditation to teach in a Catholic school.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 0% | ||||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment - 0% | ||||||
| 3 - Professional Practice Placement - 0% | ||||||
| 4 - Portfolio - 0% | ||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
k.aprile@cqu.edu.au
k.honeyball@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Placement
Setting the scene: What is differentiation?
Religion
Exploring the territory: The Context, the language and the people.
Chapter
Haynes, D. (2013). Young people and school.
Tomlinson & Eidson, (2003). A brief primer on differentiation
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Placement
Developing whole class profiles: differentiation and knowing your learners
Religion
What is prayer?
Chapter
Howell, J. (2014).
Chapter 9 - Understanding your students (pp. 273 - 313).
Rubie-Davies (2015) Chapter 3: Teacher differential behaviour and student outcomes
The 10 characteristics of prayer (ECSI Project)
Prayer, liturgy and sacraments website (online).
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Placement
Planning to incorporate differentiation into teaching
Religion
Forms of Christian prayer
Chapter
Howell, J. (2014).
Chapter 12 - Planning for effective learning and teaching (pp. 394 - 423).
Hammond & Gibbons (2001). What is scaffolding?
Catechism of the Catholic Church (online).
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Placement
A range of teaching methods and strategies that support differentiation
Religion
Defining features of Catholic schools
Chapter
Howell, J. (2014).
Chapter 2 - Developing effective pedagogies (pp. 40 - 81)
Churchill et al. (2019). Chapter 8: Pedagogy: The agency that connects teaching with learning
The Charter for the Catholic Education Office (online).
Defining features of Catholic Schools (Catholic Education Diocese of Rockhampton, 2024)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Student Placement Declaration and Confidentiality Agreement due on Tuesday 26th November - upload through the link for Assessment Task 3 Professional Practice Placement.
Module/Topic
Placement
Explicit direct instruction and differentiation
Religion
The defining features of Catholic schools - Goals
Chapter
Archer & Hughes (2011). Chapter 1: The foundations of explicit instruction; Chapter 2: Designing lessons: Skills and strategies
So, You're working for Catholic Education
Faller, P. Self and sunshine.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment Task 1 due: Friday, 6th December, 11.45pm
Inquiry and reflection on prayer practices in Catholic schools Due: Week 5 Friday (6 Dec 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Placement
Linking differentiation and assessment for learning
Religion
Sacramentality
Chapter
Howell (2014)
Chapter 13: Assessment and reporting
Brady & Kennedy (2012). Principles of assessment for learning
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
No tutorial this week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
No tutorial this week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
No tutorial this week
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Placement
Assessment types and formats
Religion
Theological, practical and pastoral principles
Chapter
Brady & Kennedy (2012). Principles of assessment for learning
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Placement
Differentiation through assessment
Interpreting and using data
Religion
Sacraments of initiation: Baptism and Confirmation
Chapter
Howell (2014)
Chapter 12 - Planning for effective learning and teaching (pp.394 - 423)
Timperley (2009). Using assessment data to improve practice
Griffin (2014). Interpreting data to evaluate progress
Just, F.: The seven sacraments.
Together at One Altar (website)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Placement
The art of unit planning
Religion
Sacraments of initiation: Eucharist
Chapter
Churchill et al. (2022). Chapter 7: Planning for practice: connecting pedagogy, assessment and curriculum
Whelan, M. A responsible body: The Eucharistic community.
Together at One Altar (website)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Placement
Examining your practice
The four week block requirements
Religion
Sacraments (cont'd)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment Task 2 due Thursday, 30th January at 11.45pm
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Commencement of four week assessable block
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2 of the assessable block
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
The Enhancing Catholic Schools Identity Prayer Renewal Project refers to 10 characteristics of prayer in Catholic schools.
Part (a): Using the 10 characteristics of prayer, record specific examples of classroom and school practices that show how these 10 characteristics could be expressed through prayer at a Catholic primary school site.
You must provide at least one example for each of the 10 identified characteristics. (Maximum length for this section: 500 words.)
Part (b): Using selected information from your examples from Part (a) and your knowledge of spirituality and Christian prayer gained from unit readings, tutorials and resources provided, describe and explain the role of prayer in Catholic schools. Reflect on the responsibilities that teachers in the Catholic system have for modelling, teaching and building learners’ understandings of various expressions of prayer. (Length: 750 words)
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is as follows:
• No Gen AI use at any point during this assessment.
Week 5 Friday (6 Dec 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Due Date and Time: Friday, 6th December, 2024 at 11.45pm
Feedback on this assessment task will be provided following moderation and in sufficient time to inform the submission of Assessment Task 2 for the unit. Assessment return will take account of the two week vacation period and university closure for Christmas.
Knowledge and understanding of the role of prayer in Catholic schools
Critical application, interpretation and synthesis of understanding of the responsibilities of teachers in the Catholic system in relation to expressions of prayer
Independent research and accurate use of relevant sources to support analysis and reflection
Use of accurate academic conventions and written expression
- Investigate theological, liturgical, pastoral and practical principles underpinning Christian belief systems and teachings, communal rituals and classroom prayer practices characteristic of Catholic school communities
- Reflect on the strategies, practices and responsibilities of teachers in Catholic schools for engaging with stakeholders to support the purposes of Catholic education
2 Practical Assessment
Using unit materials, readings and resources, create a resource that would be suitable for an information session for adults (e.g. parents and carers, colleagues, etc) on one of the sacraments that comprise Christian rituals of initiation.
Your resource can be created in a form of your choice, such as a web page, PowerPoint presentation with notes pages, a video, information booklet or article but should consider the needs of an audience involved in preparing school-aged students for participation in the ritual (e.g. parents and carers, colleagues, etc). The resource should clearly explain and illustrate your understanding of the interrelationship between the origins of the ritual, its underpinning theology and structure, and contemporary pastoral and practical issues related to the preparation of students for participation in the sacrament. (Note that word limits do not apply to this section of the assessment task due to the variety of modes suitable for creation of the resource.)
The resource should be accompanied by a brief written reflection of approximately 250 words on the understandings you have gained through the design process about strategies for working effectively, sensitively and professionally with parents and carers and broader school communities in Catholic Education.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is as follows:
• No Gen AI use at any point during this assessment.
Due Date/Time: Thursday, 30th January at 11.45pm
Feedback on this final assessment task for the Religion module of the unit will be provided following moderation and in line with university policy on certification of grades.
Knowledge and understanding of historical, theological and ritual dimensions of a Sacrament of initiation in the Catholic Church
Analysis and synthesis of concepts and issues related to the selected Sacrament
Consideration of audience and communication methods in the design of the resource
Critical reflection on strategies for working sensitively and professionally with parents and carers and the broader school community in Catholic Education
- Investigate theological, liturgical, pastoral and practical principles underpinning Christian belief systems and teachings, communal rituals and classroom prayer practices characteristic of Catholic school communities
- Reflect on the strategies, practices and responsibilities of teachers in Catholic schools for engaging with stakeholders to support the purposes of Catholic education
3 Professional Practice Placement
This task has 2 parts. Please read the information carefully and complete Part A by the due date of November 26, 2024
Part A: Mandatory Pre-placement Requirement
The university’s Work Integrated Learning Policy and Procedure requires all students to complete a Student Placement Declaration and Confidentiality Agreement on an annual basis. The Agreement outlines expectations for your participation in this unit and for the appropriate conduct of students when representing the university in professional workplaces. The form requires your acknowledgement of these expectations.
You are required to complete the 2025 Agreement prior to Census Date for this unit. You will access the electronic agreement called “Student Placement Declaration and Confidentiality Agreement” from the drop-down menu under the Forms tab in Sonia. Click add to commence your response to the form. You should respond to all statements and submit the form by the due date (Tuesday, 26th November, 2024). Failure to submit the form by this date may result in cancellation of your enrolment in this unit.
You will be able to save a copy of the completed form to your desktop by clicking on the printer icon at the top of the form and selecting “Save as pdf”. A copy of the completed form should be uploaded to the Moodle site for EDFE12044 Professional Practice 3 through the link for submission of Assessment Task 2.
Part B: Placement (Assessable Block)
You are required to undertake a 4-week (20-day) supervised block placement in a school setting as detailed below.
During your placement, you will complete all tasks outlined in the Professional Practice 3 Information and Guidelines Booklet. These tasks include the development of a class profile to be used for modifying lessons and learning sequences (units of work) to cater for the identified needs of all learners in the class group and the design and application of assessment strategies for monitoring student learning and making judgements on the quality of learners' work.
Application of your curriculum, pedagogical and technological knowledge across a range of learning areas will also be key features of the professional experience block where you will be expected to engage in observation, team teaching and some continuous teaching as the placement progresses.
The placement is scheduled as per the 2025 Professional Practice calendar.
An up-to-date hard copy working portfolio must be maintained throughout the placement. The working portfolio should document your practice throughout the placement and include all observation, planning and teaching tasks, assessment instruments and records, a full class profile and evaluation and reflection on teaching and classroom practice. Refer to the Professional Practice 3 Information and Guidelines Booklet (Table of PP3 tasks and activities) for further detail regarding the records to be maintained in the working portfolio.
Assessment for the placement will be completed by the Supervising Teacher using the electronic final summative report. The electronic report uses the same standards and descriptors as the sample report included in the Professional Practice 3 Information and Guidelines Booklet. Your WILL NOT be required to upload a copy of your report through Moodle. Your grade for the placement will be extracted from Sonia.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is as follows:
• No Gen AI use at any point during this assessment.
Part A of this assessment task is due on Tuesday 26th November, 2024. The electronic report for the placement will be submitted via Sonia on completion of the four-week assessable block.
Feedback on this assessment task will be provided by the supervising teacher on CQUniversity's electronic report. Final signed copies of the report will be available to students via Sonia Online.
Assessment criteria are outlined in detail in the Professional Practice 3 Information and Guidelines Booklet. Assessment criteria are drawn from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Career Stage).
- Use assessment strategies to monitor and make judgments on student achievement and modify strategies and resources to promote learning
- Select and apply teaching methods that effectively scaffold learning for students of varying ability levels and needs
- Write explicit learning goals and task-specific standards for the purpose of analysing work samples and assessment data to provide timely feedback on progress and design interventions to address specific learning issues
- Reflect on the strategies, practices and responsibilities of teachers in Catholic schools for engaging with stakeholders to support the purposes of Catholic education
- Reflect critically on all aspects of professional learning and practice using professional knowledge, feedback, self-evaluation and evidence for Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
4 Portfolio
You are required to submit evidence of your practice in Professional Practice 3 in the form of a specified collection of evidence. The evidence will focus on a a lesson sequence related to knowledge and skills in a specific learning area that you planned, taught and assessed during the placement.
The evidence should comprise the sections outlined in Parts 1 - 4 below. The collection of evidence should form the reference point for a 1000 word reflective statement that describes, evaluates and reflects on the decisions underpinning the teaching, planning and assessment cycle you implemented. (See further details and questions to guide the formation of this statement under the heading “Reflection statement” in the steps outlined below.
Part 1- Data and evidence
Provide samples of profiling data and evidence for two (2) learners representative of the range of ability levels in the class group (that is, one learner achieving beyond year level expectations and one learner achieving a standard below year level expectations). The data and evidence should clearly relate to the focus knowledge and skills for the planned learning sequence and establish the learning needs within the classroom that informed planning and the selection of differentiated teaching strategies.
Part 2 – Planning and teaching
Provide copies of your lesson planning that show how you have scaffolded the target knowledge and skills that were the focus of the assessment task. The planning should span a minimum of 3-5 lessons and show how the lesson sequence leads to demonstration of learning in the assessment task planned for the end of the sequence. Your planning must include explicit links to the Australian Curriculum, and each lesson plan must contain considerable detail that outlines the resources, pedagogy (methods and strategies) used, as well as how different needs are being catered for (differentiation). Formative assessment strategies must also be well detailed within the lesson plans.
Part 3 - Feedback and judgement
Provide annotated samples of student work (from the 2 learners) in response to formative assessment embedded throughout the lesson sequence. The samples should also illustrate the feedback that you provided to students and show how the information collected informed adjustments to your planning and decisions about strategies that would improve/enhance student learning in subsequent lessons in the sequence.
Part 4 – Final assessment
Provide annotated samples of the final assessment task (from your 2 learners) undertaken at the conclusion of your series of lessons. It is anticipated that this final task will assess knowledge, understanding or skills for the concept/topic/curriculum descriptor that you have taught during your lessons.
Reflective Statement (1000 words maximum)
Your reflective statement should describe and explain the learning focus in the series of lessons that you have designed and implemented during your placement; and secondly, evaluate and reflect upon the impact of your practice on student learning throughout the teaching, planning and assessment cycle. Use the following questions to guide you in formulating your statement:
- How did the data and evidence you collected inform your planning and teaching, particularly with regards to differentiation for learners requiring support or extension?
- How did the ongoing formative assessment in each lesson inform modifications to your teaching and planning?
- What differentiation strategies were/were not effective in meeting the needs of your learners? Why were these strategies effective/not effective?
- What outcomes were achieved by the learners? Justify your judgement by referring to your evidence from the ongoing formative assessment and annotated samples of student work.
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI)
Within this assessment, the use of Gen AI agents is as follows:
• No Gen AI use at any point during this assessment.
This assessment task is due one week after the completion of the assessable block component of the placement.
Feedback on this task will be provided following moderation.
Demonstrated ability to profile learners and interpret data to develop differentiated teaching and learning.
Demonstrated capacity to plan for and implement teaching and assessment strategies that are responsive to identified learning needs.
Demonstrated ability to design a valid and 'fit for purpose' assessment task that aligns with curriculum, teaching and learning.
Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of how students learn.
Demonstrated ability to interpret formative assessment data to provide appropriate feedback to students on their learning.
- Reflect on the strategies, practices and responsibilities of teachers in Catholic schools for engaging with stakeholders to support the purposes of Catholic education
- Reflect critically on all aspects of professional learning and practice using professional knowledge, feedback, self-evaluation and evidence for Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
