Professional Experience

At UWS, we provide outstanding opportunities for students to develop well-informed, and well-guided practice through their professional placements.  Two types of placement are included in each program – school or centre placements, and community service placements. Both forms are very important to the professional learning of our students.

We have strong and enduring relations with schools across Sydney and in some rural areas, and we place students in a school or centre one or two times per year, depending upon their program and pattern of study.  Our school placements meet the rigorous requirements of the NSW Institute of Teachers and our centre placements, in the case of early childhood education, of the Department of Community Services. We provide contact with the school or centre early in the program, which leads into a full ‘block’ placement of three to four weeks, depending upon the program. Our colleague teachers in schools are highly supportive and professional, and our university ‘liaison’ staff are all highly experienced and supportive academics and senior teachers. School placements are highly valued and exciting experiences.

   
Each of our degree programs contains a mandatory community service placement, which is an accredited part of the program.  Students in our ‘Pathways into Teaching’ can even take a community placement in their undergraduate degree. The types of placement are extremely varied, and include:

• volunteering in international schools,
  
• in rural NSW,
  
• in indigenous communities working in Sydney 
• in after school homework centres,
  

as well as in a variety of other settings working with and supporting young people and their communities. We feel that these experiences help our students to become better teachers by seeing young people in a different light, as individuals rather than as ‘students’.  They also help our student teachers understand the communities and families in amongst which our schools are located, and the necessary, mutually supportive role that schools, communities and families should have with each other.

Some of the programs open to all UWS teaching students are:

The following areas also have specific placement programs:

Early Childhood

As part of the Bachelor of Social Science (Pathway to early childhood teaching) students will have the opportunity to complete 30 days of field experience in early childhood centres and pre-schools. In addition, students will be working with community and early childhood agencies on projects for the subjects, 'Connecting Communities in Early Childhood Education' and 'Organisations, Communities and Communication'.

For more information please contact Joanne Orlando.

Primary Community Placements - Classrooms without borders

This new unit of the Primary Teaching degrees at UWS gives students the opportunity to participate in a range of exciting community programs, both locally and in remote locations. Students prepare for their placements with a mix of face-to-face and online learning to develop the skills they will need before the practical component starts. Some of the initiatives include:

• Indigenous Mentoring (after-school study skills and literacy)
• collaborating with the charity One Laptop Per Child (NT)
• working with the Australian Literacy Foundation in Tenant Creek.

Contact Tania Ferfolja to find out more details about community service opportunities for Primary Teaching students.

Secondary Community Placements - Professional Experience Three

The PE3 unit of the Master of Teaching (Secondary) degree provides a unique opportunity to work in diverse community settings such as:

• refugee support programs
• mentoring programs
• remote indigenous communities
• overseas communities
• theatre & arts focused activities

   
Find out more about the many opportunities available in this award-winning program.

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