Preservice teachers are introduced to the fundamental knowledge, skills and dispositions required to transition into the profession. The unit prepares preservice teachers' understanding of the Australian education legislative and policy context, including the Australian Professional Teaching standards, the Curriculum and the requirements of the Quality Teaching Performance Assessment within the final placement. The unit will support preservice teachers to unpack the concepts of self-efficacy and social-emotional learning to understand self-regulated learning strategies.
Preservice teachers explore the latest research on how the brain learns, including distinctions between novice and expert learners, schema development, and the implications of cognitive load theory. These concepts are practised and demonstrated through microteaching workshops, where preservice teachers design and deliver short, structured teaching episodes that apply explicit instruction, scaffolding, and retrieval practices to support both novice and more advanced (expert) learners. The microteaching focus is on analysing and adapting teaching moves to manage cognitive load, connect prior and new knowledge, and progressively develop learner independence. as well as novice learner to expert knowledge.
Preservice teachers will engage in micro-teaching activities to practise and demonstrate evidence-based teaching strategies, enabling them to apply cognitive science principles and core pedagogical practices in simulated classroom settings.
Additionally, Preservice teachers will explore the latest research on cognitive science to analyse quality teaching and learning practices, including how the brain learns, reading comprehension and working memory, the distinction between novice and expert, schema-bu
