Introduction to Education Knowledge, Practice, Engagement

Once you have finished university and are ready to teach in a classroom, have you finished learning? While you probably have immediate things to learn about – your new school or casual teaching, the syllabuses that you will be working with, the students you will be teaching, your colleagues and the realities of day-to-day behaviour management – there are other ways in which your learning does not stop once you have graduated. The expectation that teachers will not stop learning is realistic, as there will always be changes (social, economic, political and technological) that have to be accommodated. Developing technologies have led to changes not only in what teachers have to learn, but also in how they learn. Formal pathways for professional learning have been supplemented by informal methods. You now begin your journey from graduate to proficient, according to the roadmap through the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) provided by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. You have embarked on an exciting career that offers numerous options for development.