EDU30027 - Planning, Teaching and Learning for Infants

Assignment Details

This assessment aims to create a Portfolio that showcases your professional growth and development throughout the EDU30027 professional experience. Through this assessment, you will make a Professional Experience Portfolio showcasing your progression towards fulfilling the National Quality Standards (NQS) drawing on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate) by specifically addressing the following 18 focus areas listed:

18 Focus Areas

NQS Quality Area 1: Educational program and practice
APST focus areas: 1.3, 1.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 5.1

NQS Quality Area 2: Children’s health and safety
APST focus area: 4.4

NQS Quality Area 3: Physical environment
APST focus areas: 3.4, 4.1

NQS Quality Area 4: Staffing arrangements
APST focus area: 7.1

NQS Quality Area 5: Relationships with children
APST focus areas: 1.1, 1.2

NQS Quality Area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities
APST focus areas: 2.4, 7.3

NQS Quality Area 7: Governance and leadership
APST focus areas: 6.1, 6.3, 7.2

The 18 focus areas (2024) were created by Swinburne Online.

Please note:
To view the full focus area titles and descriptors, refer to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards) (Graduate) (AITSL, 2017) web page.
It is imperative that you include the titles and descriptors in your portfolio to ensure that you address all aspects of the focus area descriptors in your reflective statements.

This assignment supports unit learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

For each individual focus area (18 in total), you are required to provide the following three components:

1. Evidence

2. Annotation

3. Reflective statement

Details of each component have been provided:

Evidence may include, but is not limited to:

• Observations you have made while on placement

• Planning you have undertaken for placement

• Teaching and learning resources you have created or collected

• Images of practice (with permission and following confidentiality/ethics codes)

• Reflections and self-assessment from placement

• Actions you have taken regarding mentor feedback

Please note:
Some evidence may overlap across different focus areas. However, each focus area must still have its own individual reflective statement.

Key Information

• Evidence that must be included:
  At least five observations (individuals and/or groups) must be included as evidence for focus area 1.1.
  Based on your five observations, plan one set of two sequences of learning plans (focus area 3.2) for a small group.
  An appendix item must include a sequence of plans (2 or more sequential learning experiences). The plans must be based on your observations of the children.
  You must use the Swinburne Online Early Childhood Lesson Plan (DOCX 39 KB) in its entirety, including the completed supervising teacher and pre-service teacher (PST) comment sections.
  Your supervising teacher must comment on, sign, and date your plans.
  You may find it helpful to view the 0.6 Activity: Lesson planning interactive example page for guidance on completing this plan.
  This is the only piece of evidence to be included in your appendix.

• A SMART goal plan must be included as part of the evidence for focus area 6.1.

Reflective Statements

You are required to include an individual reflective statement for each focus area (18 in total) that moves beyond description and explains how you have met the Graduate stage through your evidence.

Within each reflective statement:

• Clear connections must be made between the evidence and the focus area that explain the importance and value of the evidence you have included.

• Your reflective statements also must make explicit links to the NQS and, where applicable, the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and other key guiding documents and policies within the Australian early childhood contexts.

Additionally, your reflective statements must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Your reflective statements should be one paragraph (200–250 words).

• Each reflection must be supported by at least one reference to relevant scholarly literature.

• A minimum of 10 academic references demonstrating links between theory and practice (excluding government websites/webpages) must be used.

• The literature selected must first include the prescribed text/readings of the unit.

Your reflective statements need to provide insight and move beyond description. To assist you in doing this, you may consider questions such as:

• How does this practice align with the NQS and other key guiding documents and policies within the Australian early childhood contexts (e.g., EYLF, VEYLDF, ECA Code of Ethics, NQF, etc.)?

• What have you learnt, and how may it have changed your professional, intellectual, personal, and ethical development?

• What have you learnt about yourself as a beginning teacher and the teaching profession that you may not have been aware of before?

• What would you do differently if you had to do this again, and why?

• What was the impact on children’s learning?

• How do you know this?

1. Child/Children’s Background Knowledge:
   What is your starting point – what does the child/children already know, what have they done before, how does this experience connect to or build on their existing knowledge/interests?

2. Learning Objectives:
   What will the child/children learn? (These should be measurable and achievable in the time frame)

3. Teaching Strategies:
   What areas will you concentrate on? E.g., teaching strategies, EYLF practice principles, interests, equity?

4. Environment and Resources:
   What resources and materials will you need to have collected? Where will the experience take place?
   Considerations for time, space, and teacher support?
   How will the environment be prepared?

5. Assessment Strategies:
   How will you identify what the child/children have learnt and how will you record this?

6. Stage – Plan for all stages of the experience:
   Approximate Time (full day? Morning? Specific time? E.g., 12–1pm)

Pre-Service Teacher’s Actions:
What will you do during this time?
How will you invite and support learning?
How might you assess and record learning?
How will you cater for individual differences?

Child Actions/Tasks

What do you expect the children will be doing during this time?

1. Stage 1 – Introduction:
   How will you introduce the experience/concept(s) and engage the interest of the child/children?

2. Stage 2 – Main Body:
   Describe the experience; what do you expect children will be doing?
   How will concepts/issues be explored?
   List at least three focus questions and key words relating to the learning objectives.

3. Stage 3 – Conclusion:
   How will you conclude the experience?
   How will you reflect on learning with children?
   How will you encourage a smooth transition to the next experience?

4. Evaluation and Self Reflection:
   Did your experience meet your learning objectives? Why/why not?
   What aspects of the experience worked most effectively?
   What aspects could be improved and how could they be improved? (e.g., flow, resources, teaching strategies, environment, assessment of learning)

5. Follow-up:
   Are there any areas that you would like to follow up on?
   Emerging interests/concepts to explore further?

6. Supervising Teacher Comments

7. Pre-service Teacher Final Reflection

Brief Summary of Assessment Requirements

The purpose of this assessment is to develop a Professional Experience Portfolio that demonstrates the student's professional growth during the EDU30027 professional experience. The portfolio must show progression toward meeting the National Quality Standards (NQS), aligned with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate level).

Students must address 18 focus areas covering educational program and practice, children's health and safety, physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, collaborative partnerships, and governance and leadership.

For each of the 18 focus areas, students are required to provide:

1. Evidence – such as observations, lesson plans, teaching resources, reflections, or images.

2. Annotation – explaining the context of the evidence.

3. Reflective Statement – (200–250 words) demonstrating how they achieved the Graduate stage, linked to scholarly literature, NQS, EYLF, and other key frameworks.

Additionally, the following must be included:

• At least five observations for focus area 1.1.

• A sequence of two learning plans based on these observations (in the appendix), signed and dated by the supervising teacher.

• A SMART goal plan for focus area 6.1.

Reflective statements must move beyond description to critical reflection and include at least 10 academic references.

Step-by-Step Approach Guided by the Academic Mentor

Step 1: Understanding the Requirements

The Academic Mentor began by thoroughly reviewing the assignment brief with the student, ensuring they understood the purpose of developing a portfolio focused on the 18 specific focus areas. The mentor emphasized the importance of linking practice to theory, especially referencing NQS, EYLF, and academic literature.

Step 2: Collecting Evidence

The mentor guided the student to:

• Conduct systematic observations of individual children and groups during placement.

• Record detailed notes focusing on the children’s behavior, learning interactions, and developmental stages.

• Collect relevant materials such as planning documents, teaching resources, and images while ensuring confidentiality and ethical compliance.

• Create a SMART goal plan related to a collaborative partnership focus area.

Step 3: Planning Learning Sequences

Based on the five key observations, the mentor directed the student to design two sequential learning experiences targeting a small group. The student was provided with the official Swinburne Online Early Childhood Lesson Plan template, and guidance was provided on completing each section, including objectives, teaching strategies, resources, and assessment strategies.

• The supervising teacher reviewed, signed, and dated the plans.

Step 4: Developing Reflective Statements

The mentor advised the student to:

• Link evidence to the focus area descriptors explicitly.

• Reflect critically on how the practice aligns with NQS, EYLF, and professional standards.

• Integrate at least one scholarly reference per reflection, drawn from the prescribed readings and other academic sources.

The student was encouraged to answer guiding reflective questions, such as:

• How did the experience influence professional development?

• What improvements would they make next time?

• How did the learning impact the children, and how was this assessed?

Step 5: Completing the Experience Plan

For each learning experience, the mentor supported the student in structuring:

• Child’s background knowledge

• Learning objectives (measurable and achievable)

• Teaching strategies (including EYLF practice principles)

• Environment and resources

• Assessment strategies

• Stage-wise planning (Introduction, Main Body, Conclusion), focusing on pre-service teacher and child actions.

Step 6: Final Evaluation and Reflection

The mentor guided the student to conduct a thorough self-evaluation of the learning experience, addressing:

• Whether the objectives were met

• What worked well

• What needed improvement

• How the flow, resources, and strategies could be enhanced

• Follow-up opportunities and emerging concepts.

Step 7: Supervising Teacher Comments and Final Reflection

The supervising teacher provided constructive comments, while the student’s final reflection summarized their growth as an educator, emphasizing personal and professional development during the process.

Outcome Achieved and Learning Objectives Covered

As a result of this structured process, the student successfully produced a comprehensive portfolio addressing all 18 focus areas.
Key outcomes achieved:

• Demonstrated ability to link practice to theory with critical reflection supported by scholarly references.

• Designed effective, sequential learning plans based on observations.

• Applied EYLF principles and NQS standards in planning, implementation, and assessment.

• Developed a SMART goal promoting professional growth and reflective practice.

• Practiced ethical and professional documentation, maintaining confidentiality and integrity.

The portfolio showcased the student’s progression toward fulfilling the Graduate level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, and practical alignment with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), National Quality Framework (NQF), and other guiding documents.

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