EDU112 Professional Experience: Communities and Partnerships

The goal of this task is to participate and contribute to learning experiences in active, cooperative and meaningful ways

* Please refer to the Canvas site for this course for more detail.
* This task must receive a pass grade to enable progression to Task 5 (PEx) and to successfully complete course requirements. 

Activity participation involves contributing to tutorial/Canvas activities and discussions every week, with focused participation tasks also occurring in some weeks. 

Following your PEx you will attend a debrief tutorial (refer to Course announcements for date/time). At the EDU112 debrief you will share your PEx experiences, especially focusing on:
- Reflecting on the attachment relationships, play, wellbeing, safety, caregiving needs, interests and potentials of very young children, and the strategies you implemented to support children during the PEx 
- Reflecting on the insights you gained about creating positive and safe learning environments; facilitating connectedness, and how staff build responsive relationships and partnerships with children, families and communities 
- Reflecting on the APSTs you have gathered documentation for and are seeking to evidence in your Early Childhood APST Portfolio to show how you are meeting relevant standards
- Creating a plan of action for your own professional learning and development, based on the professional learning needs identified during your EDU112 PEx.

The goal of this task is to identify the key components of the Code of Conduct for the School of Education and Tertiary Access and work within its guidelines during a work integrated learning (WIL) placement.

* Please refer to the Canvas site for this course for more detail.
* This task is also connected to Task 5 (PEx).
* Your signed Code of Conducted is required to successfully complete course requirements. 

After studying the Code of Conduct in class and independently, please sign it and upload the signed form to Canvas by the due date. To be eligible to pass this course, you are required to complete this Professional Experience satisfactorily according to the criteria for this task. 

The PEx Coordinator, the Course Coordinator and the Professional Learning Liaison will evaluate your performance and the quality of your work and make an assessment against the criteria for this task.

The goal of this task is to create a professional development plan

* Please refer to the Canvas site for this course for more detail.
* This task must receive a pass grade to enable progression to Task 5 (PEx) and to successfully complete course requirements. 

This task invites you to identify personal and future learning goals and commitments with regard to building your capacity to initiate and maintain community partnerships. Use your plan to consider professional development opportunities of interest (such as those offered through the Employability Backpack Program and related online workshops) which you can action over the longer term to support the development of community partnerships in early years' contexts.

Use your plan to outline your valuing of community partnerships in the early years and explain how community partnerships support children and families and enhance children's learning and wellbeing. Use your plan to consider the importance of your educator role in developing child, family, community partnerships and make connection with ACECQA Quality Area 6 when you describe the personal/professional goals that you have for building collaborative partnerships with families and communities.

Make use of the Employability Backpack program, other PD opportunities, and your particular passions and interests when you identify community projects linked to the early years that interest you (E.g. nature play or gardening program, Smith Family reading buddy, Queensland Health Programs, other). Use your plan to describe future learning goals for your professional development that will build relationships and engagement with organisations and services supporting children and families in the local community.

The goal of this task is to work collaboratively to gather information about a young child's development, and family and community contexts and to reflect on the role early childhood educators play in supporting children and families and developing family and community partnerships.

* Please refer to the Canvas site for this course for more detail.
* This task must receive a pass grade to enable progression to Task 5 (PEx) and to successfully complete course requirements.
 
Working in a small group, choose one child from the ABC 'Life At' Series (use the videos available from links in the course Canvas site) and follow the physical, social and intellectual development of this child from birth to age 7. Focusing on the influence of the first three years of life and how this connects to later learning,  engage in ‘scholarly conversations’ with your peers and discuss this child’s development, characteristics, relationships and life circumstances. Taking inspiration from your textbook, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework, attachment research, The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), and Quality Area 6, discuss the critical importance of the early years, the need for young children to experience health, wellbeing and safety through strong attachment relationships, playful and responsive caregiving and interactions, and supportive social and cultural contexts.  As a group engage with ‘information creation as a process’ and collaboratively document what you have discussed. Showcase your shared understandings using a range of forms and formats. 

After thinking about what your group has gathered and created together, take some time to reflect on your personal learning about your educator role in terms of developing family and community partnerships, fostering inclusion, and supporting the holistic development and wellbeing of young children. Identify the observations, frameworks, theories, values, readings and research that have supported your understanding of early development and learning, health and wellbeing.

The goal of this task is to develop skills and strategies that support responsive implementation of early childhood curriculum and pedagogy, and the development of respectful and ethical relationships with children, caregivers and staff.

* All coursework requirements must be completed and passed to enable progression to this task (PEx).

* Please refer to the PEx calendar and course information on Canvas for the scheduled dates of your 10 days of PEx/15 days of PEx.

To meet Program requirements for the number of PEx days completed in prior to school contexts, you will complete either 10 days of PEx or 15 days of PEx, as required and negotiated with the EDU112 Course Coordinator. This PEx is focused on engaging with children (birth - under three years), their care-givers/families, and their educators. It is an expectation that you will engage fully at the PEx site for 7.25 hours each day. Your site Supervisor is eligible for QCT teacher registration. 

During this PEx you will participate in all aspects of the children's care, routines, play and learning under the guidance and supervision of a professional educator. Guidelines to support you during your PEx for EDU112 can be found in the Early Childhood PEx Handbook. A copy of the EDU112 Final Report is found in the Early Childhood PEx Handbook. 

You are required to successfully complete your PEx, reflect on your developing knowledge, skills and strategies, and demonstrate awareness and responsiveness to the individual needs, interests, capabilities and potentials of young children. You will maintain up-to-date professional written work in your PEx folder and upload quality reflections and APST Portfolio evidence to your APST Portfolio.

This task will be assessed by your Supervising Teacher using the EDU112 Professional Experience Report Form. Refer to the SONIA PEx site for the EDU112 PEx Handbook and EDU112 PEx Final Report form information. You will also be required to use the Early Childhood APST Portfolio to document and evidence meeting relevant APST. You will need to demonstrate successful completion of your PEx with children aged birth - under 3 years (including exemplary code of conduct, overall attainment of the APST, completion of the required components identified in the PEx Handbook, including maintenance of up-to-date professional written work: Observations, Planning/Teaching/Assessment documentation, Reflections).

Following your PEx you will attend a debrief tutorial (refer to Course Announcements for date/time). At the EDU112 debrief you will share your PEx experiences, especially focusing on:
- Reflecting on the attachment relationships, play, wellbeing, safety, caregiving needs, interests and potentials of very young children, and the strategies you implemented to support children during the PEx 
- Reflecting on the insights you gained about creating positive and safe learning environments; facilitating connectedness, and how staff build responsive relationships and partnerships with children, families and communities 
- Reflecting on the APST you have gathered documentation for and are evidencing in your Early Childhood APST Portfolio to show how you are evidencing the APST
- Creating an updated plan of action for your professional learning and development, based on professional learning needs identified during your EDU112 PEx.