Students

EDST8540 – Professional Practice 3: Succeeding in Primary Education

2026 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-infrequent, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Aysheh Ali
aysheh.ali@mq.edu.au
Contact via aysheh.ali@mq.edu.au
25BWW 515
Credit points Credit points
20
Prerequisites Prerequisites
80cps at 8000 level and EDST8999 and EDST8203 and EDST8204 and (EDST8351 or EDST8205)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit comprises Work Integrated Learning which integrates academic studies with quality experiences within a workplace or practice setting focused on the primary years of schooling. This unit is made up of learning cycles including a commitment to and active engagement with a community of practice. The unit affords an opportunity for students to iteratively analyse, synthesise, interpret, apply and critically reflect on data from classroom assessments with a focus on reflexivity to inform future practice. The unit also requires students to complete a Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA) as part of their accreditation as a primary teacher and to support their transition into the profession

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Analyse and synthesise classroom data, discipline content, and pedagogy to plan, assess, and report on student learning with evidence-informed professional judgement in a primary education setting.
  • ULO2: Implement and evaluate the impact of strategies that support productive learning environments in a range of contexts with focus on primary education.
  • ULO3: Collaborate in a reasoned and ethical manner with colleagues and other professionals within and beyond a primary education setting.
  • ULO4: Critically apply reflexive processes to consider implications of planned actions upon current and future teaching practice in primary education.
  • ULO5: Critically evaluate the impact of research-based pedagogies and knowledge that inform innovation and future directions in educational policy and practice for primary education.
  • ULO6: Provides reasoned evidence-informed judgement and strategy about working professionally in a primary school.

General Assessment Information

General Submission Information  

All written assessments must be submitted electronically. Please format assessments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing. Submissions must meet the required file type and formatting specifications outlined in the assessment guidelines. If you are unsure about the file format or have technical difficulties, it is your responsibility to seek assistance before the submission deadline. Students should be careful to check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file. It is not the responsibility of unit staff to contact students who have failed to submit assessments. If you have any missing items of assessment, it is your responsibility to contact the unit convenor.  

Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments. It is the responsibility of all students to ensure that their submitted work is in a format compatible with Turnitin software for plagiarism checking. Students can use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the unit.  

Word limits are strictly applied, with + or – 10% applicable. Work above the word limit will not be marked.   

 Academic Integrity 

Students should be aware of and apply the University policy on academic integrity (see: https://policies.mq.edu.au/document/view.php?id=3).  

 Artificial Intelligence 

 

Special Consideration / Late Penalties  

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day to late submissions, up until the 7th calendar day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.   

Important to note:  

Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs) will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.  

Students should not request an informal arrangement from their tutor, lecturer or Unit Convenor (or equivalent).  

Where an application for Special Consideration is approved and the outcome is an extension to the due date of a task, submissions that are received after the new due date will be subject to late penalties that are calculated from the new due date. This only applies where the outcome is an extension to the due date – see the Special Consideration Policy for a schedule of all possible outcomes. 

 A Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.  

Applications must be made via Service Connect.   

Quiz 

The quiz is an individual assessment task and must be completed by each student individually. Similarities in responses between students will be checked and investigated for possible collusion.   

University Policy on Grading   

Assignments will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading System and University Assessment Policy.   

To attain a pass or higher grade in Professional Experience a student must obtain a satisfactory in both the Professional Experience component and a pass or higher grade in the academic component. For Professional Experience units the Professional Experience Evaluation Report is marked as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. The Macquarie Teaching Performance Assessment (MQTPA - in final WIL/PEx units) is marked as Not met, Met or Exceeds.  

Results  

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed because they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit Service Connect.  

Withdrawing from this unit  

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice via Service Connect before doing so as this unit may be a co-requisite or prerequisite for units in the following sessions and may impact your course progression.  

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Active engagement with a community of practice 20% No 30/08/2026 Individual No Open
Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA) 80% Yes 04/11/2026 Individual Yes Open
Professional Experience Evaluation Report 0% Yes Week 13 Individual No Observed

Active engagement with a community of practice

Assessment Type 1: Experiential task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 30/08/2026
Weighting: 20%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

During their WIL placement, students complete a practice-based task focused on active engagement with and contribution to a community of practice contextualised around policy and practice. Students will be required to synthesise and evaluate views from the community of practice about the nature and implications of current issues in education policy and practice. Students will also interview an educational leader from the broader educational community, such as a learned member or leader from a professional association, and compare and contrast these views with the literature and views from the community of practice. Findings will be presented in a report.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Collaborate in a reasoned and ethical manner with colleagues and other professionals within and beyond a primary education setting.
  • Critically apply reflexive processes to consider implications of planned actions upon current and future teaching practice in primary education.
  • Critically evaluate the impact of research-based pedagogies and knowledge that inform innovation and future directions in educational policy and practice for primary education.
  • Provides reasoned evidence-informed judgement and strategy about working professionally in a primary school.

Teaching Performance Assessment (TPA)

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 100 hours
Due: 04/11/2026
Weighting: 80%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

A mandated assessment of students' abilities in planning, teaching, assessing and reflecting on practice. Students complete a portfolio during the WIL placement.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse and synthesise classroom data, discipline content, and pedagogy to plan, assess, and report on student learning with evidence-informed professional judgement in a primary education setting.
  • Implement and evaluate the impact of strategies that support productive learning environments in a range of contexts with focus on primary education.
  • Critically apply reflexive processes to consider implications of planned actions upon current and future teaching practice in primary education.
  • Critically evaluate the impact of research-based pedagogies and knowledge that inform innovation and future directions in educational policy and practice for primary education.
  • Provides reasoned evidence-informed judgement and strategy about working professionally in a primary school.

Professional Experience Evaluation Report

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 0%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

Final report evaluating teaching completed by the supervising teacher.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Collaborate in a reasoned and ethical manner with colleagues and other professionals within and beyond a primary education setting.
  • Provides reasoned evidence-informed judgement and strategy about working professionally in a primary school.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • Academic Success for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

Delivery

This unit is offered face-to-face infrequent & online. In this unit students will be taught via Community of Practice (CoP) workshops.These CoP will be their tutorial groups. The CoP groups meet four times across the semester in cycles of:

  1. Pre-CoP students will engage with the taught content
  2. Attend CoP session
  3. Implement tasks in WIL placement that are related to the module and Portfolio task
  4. Submit Portfolio task

Resources  

All required and recommended texts can be found here  Professional Practice 3: Succeeding in Primary Education. 

Information about the unit iLearn site    

This unit has a full web presence through iLearn. Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/index.php. You will need to enter your student username and password.   

Please do NOT contact the Unit Convenor regarding iLearn technical help. Assistance is available from IT Helpdesk: via email onehelp@mq.edu.au or Ph: 9850 4357 or 1800 67 4357. On Campus: Ground floor at 18 Wally’s Walk.  

Unit Schedule

Module

Timing

Tutorials

Content

Module 1

Weeks 1 – 8

Tutorial 1 – Week 2 (31)

Macquarie Teaching Performance Assessment

Tutorial 2 – Week 3 (32)

INF-F2F – Week 3 (32)

Saturday August 15

Module 2

Week 9 – 13

Tutorial 1 – Week 10 (41)

Transitioning into the teaching profession

Tutorial 2 – Week 11 (42)

Viva Voce – Week 12 (43)

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

School of Education Procedures  

In addition, the following policies and procedures for the Macquarie School of Education apply to this unit.  

Academic Progression Policy

This unit is a part of a professional course listed on Schedules 2 and 3 of the Academic Progression Policy. This course has additional requirements that are applicable for the full duration of the course, including course-specific Inherent Requirements, Fitness to Practice requirements and other compulsory course requirements. It also has rigorous academic progression standards. Inability to meet these requirements may result in a withdrawal of offer of admission and/or permanent exclusion from the course in accordance with the General Coursework Rules.  

Fitness to practice in a Professional Experience unit

Macquarie University operates under a ‘Fitness to Practice’ model as specified in the University's Academic Progression Policy.  For this unit, this means that, when undertaking a placement, a student is declaring that they are able to demonstrate professional competence, acceptable professional behaviour, freedom from impairment, and compliance with program specific requirements needed for a student to practice properly and safely throughout their Practical, Clinical or Professional program or unit. It is the responsibility of the student to determine whether they are fit to undertake a placement. Therefore, if a student is feeling unfit to undertake a placement, they should not do so. For more information see the Academic Progression Policy.  

Communication  

It is the student’s responsibility to check all electronic communication on a weekly basis.  Communication may occur via:  

  • Official MQ Student Email Address 
  • The Dialogue function on iLearn
  • Other iLearn communication functions

Attendance and Participation 

See the University timetable for information about when classes begin in this unit. Creating your timetable - Enrolling | Macquarie University, Sydney (mq.edu.au). Students are required to attend the tutorial in which they are enrolled. Any changes to tutorial enrolments must be completed officially through e-Student. Please do not contact the unit convenor to request a change.  

There is an attendance requirement in this unit. Initial Teacher Education (ITE) degrees must ensure that teacher education students meet unit learning outcomes, course learning outcomes and the Graduate level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Since units are within an accredited ITE degree, Macquarie School of Education is required to demonstrate these outcomes and standards have been taught, practised and assessed. To meet ‘taught, practiced and assessed’ accreditation requirements, ITE units have mandatory attendance, with an expectation of at least 80% attendance at tutorials. Please see your unit iLearn site for details of how to meet attendance requirements in this unit. 

Infrequent Attendance Students  

Information about the dates of the on-campus sessions can be found in the university timetable. Creating your timetable - Enrolling | Macquarie University, Sydney (mq.edu.au)  

The on-campus sessions are essential to student engagement and learning and attendance is expected.   

Prior to the on-campus sessions, students should have read the prescribed readings and listened to the lectures, summarise the main points, and make notes of the key terms and definitions. Prepare any discussion questions of your own that you wish to share.  

Please make effective use of the online component of the unit and access iLearn regularly. Keep up to date with listening to the lectures on a weekly basis.  

Further details and any updates about times and locations will be posted on iLearn as an Announcement during first half of the semester.  

Professional Experience Unit Expectations 

  • Important Professional Experience information can be found on Education Commons – see iLearn for details of how to self-enrol in Education Commons  

  • Students must have submitted written assessment tasks and/or completed associated unit requirements scheduled prior to the commencement of the block.  

  • Students who are completing a unit offered by another Department are expected to inform and negotiate with that unit convenor about their professional experience block dates and discuss how that unit's requirements can be met. For some situations it may mean that a student is enrolled externally for that unit so that attendance for tutorials for that unit is not impacted.   

  • Feedback from Placement Support Team and/or Tertiary Supervisors and/or Supervising Teachers is of a general nature. It is incumbent on the student to check the requirements of any assessments or Professional Experience written tasks prior to submission.  

  • Students may not be able to commence their placement until all alleged academic honesty breaches have been investigated and resolved.   

  • The timing of placements can vary. For placements early in the session, fail grades may be approved by the university prior to the end of session for students who do not meet the placement expectations of the unit.  

LANTITE Information   

 

To enrol in EDST8240/EDST8530/EDST8540 PEx Units you must have met the standard for both the Literacy and Numeracy tests prior to commencing a Year 2 PEx unit. Enrolling in EDST8240/8530/8540 while waiting for your results will not be accepted. You will be required to unenrol.  

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/service-desk. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
26/07/2026 There has been a change to the due date for Assignment 1.

Unit information based on version 2026.03 of the Handbook