This unit focuses on developing your knowledge, understanding and respect for students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, particularly including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their histories, cultures, cultural identity and languages. Through the unit, you will develop knowledge and understanding of students’ social contexts and how they impact on learning. This respectful response to diversity will be addressed from a Christian worldview perspective including from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Christian communities. As this unit is attached to a professional experience placement, you will not only learn about how to respond to students’ diverse strengths and learning needs, but you will also develop and apply strategies to support and improve their learning in classroom contexts. You will also develop and apply strategies that promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through educational contexts. A further component of this unit is to develop your understanding of the need for and approaches to engaging and working with parents/carers, and the role of external professionals and community members for broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice in order to support the engagement and learning of diverse students. The professional experience component of this unit entails a block of 15 consecutive school days in a placement school (primary or secondary respective of the course being completed). Under the supervision of an experienced teacher you will plan for and teach the full class for a substantial part of the time, beginning with a week’s orientation, assisting and team teaching. You will progress to taking a half-day load for the second week and gradually increasing to a full-day load by the end of the subsequent week as negotiated with your supervising teacher based on your progress and performance. You will attend preparation classes prior to the professional experience placement and a debrief class after its completion. During the placement, your supervising teacher will provide you with advice, support and feedback to support your progress and improve your practices, and will assess your teaching against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the graduate level. You are required to incorporate digital technologies into your teaching, learning, preparation and assessment practices displaying improving personal proficiency. As you progress through the Professional Experience, you are expected to demonstrate increasing competence and professional growth and become well immersed in school life. This unit and its professional experience must be undertaken in the same semester as ED722. Topics: * Diverse student contexts and the Christian response * Diversity in the classroom – exploring cultural, linguistic, religious and socioeconomic contexts * Identifying and responding to diverse students learning strengths and needs * Teaching strategies for the diverse classroom * Knowing and understanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, cultural identity and languages, spirituality, impacts, protocols and teachers’ responses * Accessing and engaging with significant resources – parents/carers, teachers, peers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, and websites (e.g. Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc.; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awareness; Australian Institute of Family Studies, Australian Government; Koorie Teaching Resources, Victorian State Government; Indigenous Education Resources, Koorie Heritage Trust – Indigenous Perspectives ‘Tuckerbag’, Aussie Educator) * Engaging with stakeholders: school personnel, external professionals and the wider community * Preparing for Professional Experience in school * Reflecting, evaluating feedback and modifying practice * Reflecting and debriefing on your professional experience in school