A prime prerequisite for award of the Teaching Practice Development Certificate includes the requirement for you to submit a portfolio to ACTDEC containing evidence of the following completed elements of the course in which you have to:
- observe teachers in the school where you are completing your portfolio scheme and carry out the tasks related to the observations.
- plan a sequence of 6 lessons for your class, teach them and complete self report feedback forms for each. The lesson plans for these lessons are included with the self report feedback forms on them.
- teach 4 lesson which should be observed by a senior member of the organisation where you are completing your practicum, who will give you oral feedback. These should be recorded and 2 of the recordings sent to the ACTDEC external teaching practice supervisor. A further 6 lessons will be taught, observed and graded by the school’s practicum supervising teacher. You will be required to submit a lesson plan for each of the lessons taught and observed. You will also choose any 4 of these lessons and self report.
- submit 6 completed tasks from the observation of experienced teachers.
- submit a piece of writing reflecting on the affect the procedure has had on your development as a teacher and drawing conclusions from this.
In order to ensure that the Principal of the organisation where you are completing the scheme is clear as to what is involved, it will be necessary to ask him or her to complete a signed undertaking which ACTDEC will supply. This will sensitise the principal to what is involved in the practicum, and also, what will be required of the staff and organisation in terms of observation, feedback and grading, and of you the participant, in terms of extra work and preparation.
On completion of the form it should be returned to the ACTDEC external teaching practice supervisor who will then provide:
- observation tasks to be used by participant when observing teachers
- lesson plan forms
- observation forms to be completed by the school’s practicum supervisor when observing the participant which will provide data for the oral feedback session
- observation forms to be used by the practicum supervising teacher
IMPORTANT: The ACTDEC Teaching Practice Portfolio Scheme is open only to holders of ACTDEC levels three, four and five certificates or level six diploma. When approaching a teaching institution potential participants should take their ACTDEC certificate or diploma with them.