Assessment item 1

Professional Practice Interview & Statement

Value: 50%
Due date: 07-Apr-2017
Return date: 03-May-2017
Length: 2000 words + interview
Submission method options
EASTS (online)
Task
Professional Practice Interview & Critical Reflection Statement
(Total 50 marks: Part 1 - 20 marks, Part 2 - 20 marks, Scholarly Work - 10 marks)

This assessment item has two parts that are to be submitted via EASTS. Part 1 of the
assessment item requires you to conduct a professional practice audio interview with an
accredited school teacher (a primary or secondary school teacher). Part 2 of the assessment
item requires you to prepare a critical reflection and analysis of the audio interview
responses.

Part 1: Professional Practice Audio Interview

(15 minutes maximum, 5-7 interview questions, 20 marks)

How do I prepare for the Audio Interview?

The Professional Practice Audio Interview with an accredited school teacher (primary or
secondary teacher) will be a 15 minutes maximum interview (10 minutes minimum and 15
minutes maximum) that will be recorded as an mp3 (or similar) digital file using a
smartphone device, a tablet device, a computer device or a digital recording device. The mp3
(or similar) digital file will be submitted via EASTS in a separate file as Part 1 of your
assessment item one package (Part 1 and Part 2).

The professional practice interview will be conducted using 5 to 7 questions in total (5

questions minimum and 7 questions maximum) that you prepare in advance about five areas
of professional practice. Your draft interview questions must be submitted to your subject
coordinator via email for formal endorsement prior to conducting the interview (and at least
seven days prior to the assessment item one due date).

Which professional practice areas will my audio interview questions focus on?
The interview questions you prepare for endorsement will provide you with one professional
teachers perspectives about the following five areas of professional practice:

1. the key roles and responsibilities of a professional teacher in the classroom and in the
profession
2. the distinguishing features of a successful teacher
3. how the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers are supporting teachers
professional teaching and learning
4. effective teaching and learning strategies that address the diversity of learners and
differentiated learning needs in the classroom
 5. the influences on teaching and learning of the Australian Curriculum and 21st century
teaching and learning approaches.

Who are the teachers I can interview?

The accredited professional teacher (primary or secondary school teacher) you invite for the
audio interview can be:
a teacher of one of your children or a friends children
a teacher you know socially or through another organisation
a family member or friend/neighbour who is an accredited teacher
a teacher at a school near your home or workplace
a teacher acquaintance of a mutual friend or family member
a teacher who taught you in school.

The teacher can be audio recorded in a live, face-to-face interview or interviewed and audio
recorded via phone or computer.

What do I need to tell the teacher I will be interviewing to obtain their permission?
You must obtain the accredited teachers permission to be interviewed and audio recorded. In
obtaining this permission you must inform the teacher:

the interview will NOT be used for any research or other purpose apart from the
specific assessment task preparation in the subject you are studying
the interview will be digitally recorded for analysis purposes by the interviewer only
the recording will not be accessed by anyone apart from the interviewer and the
appointed university markers/subject coordinator of the assessment task in this subject
the analysis of the recording will take the form of a reflection statement by the
interviewer in relation to studies undertaken by you in the professional teaching
subject at CSU titled: Successful Teaching.

This permission can be granted verbally prior to the interview (this permission does not need
to be included in the recording). If the teacher would like to see the assessment item then you
should show them the complete assessment item details.

What are key points and resources that will assist me in preparing the audio interview?
In preparing your draft professional interview questions and preparing for your professional
interview you should:

A. Read the sample professional teacher interviews presented in your prescribed text
(Marsh, 2014) on the following pages:

Name Years of teaching Year level taught Pages

Cheryl Schwab 2 Primary 2-3
Chris Lukins 7 Secondary 14-15
Rachel Keating 4 Secondary 72-73
Jason Millar 6 Secondary 166-167
Amanda Lyon 9 Primary 338-339

B. View a selection of relevant AITSL professional practice online video clips where teachers
discuss and explain their professional practice go to:
http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/illustrations-of-
practice/find-by-career-stage

C. Develop open-ended interview questions that allow the teacher to explain and illustrate
their perspectives in relation to the five areas of professional practice you are asking about.
Avoid closed questions that only require a limited yes or no response. Ensure the teacher
is aware of the questions you will be asking before the audio interview commences. You may
wish to provide the teacher with the interview questions well in advance of the audio
recording so they can reflect on the questions prior to the interview. Ensure the teacher is
aware of the 10-15 minutes timeframe for the complete audio interview.

D. During the audio recording interview you are free to ask supplementary/additional
clarification or elaboration questions specifically related to the endorsed interview questions
to solicit further information if required. These supplementary questions do not count towards
the 5-7 endorsed question limit as they specifically relate to the endorsed questions to obtain
complete responses, but they must not allow the maximum interview time limit of 15 minutes
to be exceeded. You are permitted to edit the audio recording after the interview to remove
repetition or delete unnecessary material to fit within the 15 minutes maximum interview
time, provided you do not alter the meaning of the interview responses.

E. Ensure the recording device is functioning correctly by first recording a sample interview
question and answer with the teacher prior to the actual audio interview recording. Play back
the sample recording to check that sound levels and sound quality are adequate, the device is
powered sufficiently and the teacher interviewee understands the meaning and purpose of the
questions you will be asking him/her, as well as the timeframe for their responses. At the end
of the interview play back parts of the recording to make sure that you have captured
everything required. You can conduct the audio interview recording via phone, computer or
live interview using a digital recording device.

Part 2: Critical Reflection Statement

(2000 words, 20 marks)
What is the purpose of the Critical Reflection Statement?
Your Critical Reflection Statement will allow you to analyse* and critically reflect* upon the
responses you have obtained through your audio interview with a professional teacher. You
will use your own professional studies in this subject to undertake this analysis and critical
reflection in a scholarly formal essay. You will submit the Critical Reflection Statement in a
separate Part 2 .doc or .docx word file (not in pdf or other format) to EASTS as part of the
Assessment Item 1 package (Part 1 and Part 2).

How do I plan my Critical Reflection Statement?

In planning the Critical Reflection Statement you will be analysing the interview responses
and preparing a critical reflection focusing on each of the five professional practice focus
areas. In your Critical Reflection Statement you will:

present a written analysis of the interview responses about each of the five
professional practice focus areas in relation to the perspectives you have examined
through your professional studies
 critically reflect upon the similarities and differences between the interview responses
about each of the five professional practice focus areas and your professional reading
and viewing in this subject
use scholarly writing and a formal essay structure to present your Critical Reflection
Statement.

What do I need to include in my Critical Reflection Statement?

In preparing your Critical Reflection Statement you must include:

a separate title page including subject name and code, assessment item title, your full
name and student number (not included in word count)
a separate contents page listing headings and subheadings and page numbers (not
included in word count)
a header or footer on each page with student full name and number, page number and
assessment item number (not included in word count)
headings and subheadings to indicate specific sections of your statement should be
included in your scholarly writing formal essay Critical Reflection Statement
(included in word count)
accurate APA in-text reference citations at all relevant points in the Critical Reflection
Statement to provide authoritative evidence to support your analysis and critical
reflection (included in word count)
references to research and critical studies that inform your analysis and critical
reflections - these sources are to be included in the References at the end of your
Critical Reflection Statement and using APA format requirements (References list is
not included in the word count)
a Turnitin Similarity Report for the critical reflection statement only (Part 2)
attached as a screenshot at the end of the critical reflection statement (not included in
word count). See the Turnitin Guide in the Subject Resources Assessment Item 1
folder for details and class ID and password information.

*Analyse: identify components and the relationship between them; draw out and relate
implications
*Critically reflect: provide an in-depth examination of the similarities and differences
between the ideas/perspectives presented in the interview and your professional studies,
supported by evidence

What are some key points and resources for preparing my Critical Reflection Statement?

Review the key readings, learning activities and resources within Module 1 Topics 1
to 5 on our Interact2 subject site.
Examine key resources and links located in the Subject Resources link on our
Interact2 subject site.
Review relevant chapters from your prescribed text, including additional resources in
the Reflecting and Exploring and References sections at the end of relevant
chapters.
On the AITSL website you will find useful resources on reviewing professional
practice first, view the short video at this
 link: http://www.toolkit.aitsl.edu.au/category/professional-learning/resource/15 and
then review other relevant AITSL links at: http://www.aitsl.edu.au/classroom-practice
Review the questions and responses in the Assessment Item 1 Discussion Forum on
our Interact2 subject site.
In referencing your audio interview, quotations from the interview and any other
sources, you must use APA citation and referencing formats for all audio, visual,
online and text extracts and sources

Scholarly Work

(10 marks)

How will the Scholarly Work mark be assessed?

The Scholarly Work mark is based upon the clear and accurate inclusion of the following
scholarly academic standards for referencing, presentation, expression, punctuation, spelling
and grammatical construction:
scholarly academic writing (Part 2)
scholarly and professional presentation and formatting (Part 1 & Part 2)
accurate in-text reference citations and References list (Part 2)
accurate APA formatting (Part 2)
inclusion of Turnitin Similarity Report screenshot (Part 2)

Rationale

The assessment item requires you to conduct a professional practice audio interview with an
accredited classroom school teacher (a primary or secondary school teacher) and to prepare a
critical reflection statement in order to analyse and critically reflect on the audio interview
responses.

This assessment item addresses the following Learning Outcomes:

Students should:

be able to know and apply a range of teaching strategies

be able to demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage
students in their learning
be able to understand ways in which core teaching practices can be adapted for varied
classroom settings and for varied curriculum
be able to build and apply skills that relate to research and reflection

These learning outcomes align with the specific assessment criteria in the marking
rubric for this assessment item.