This module follows school placement and affords students the opportunity to critically reflect on their experiences to identify and question assumptions they hold about the nature of teaching, learning and schooling in cooperative groups that model collegial learning and cultivate research capacity. This context is explored in a conceptual framework of teacher professionalism that emphasises action, change and lifelong learning.

Locating school experience in the broader conceptual framework of the Foundation Disciplines; The concept of profession; Professionalism and professionalization; Models of teacher professionalism; Teaching as a profession; Teacher identity and values; Self-regulation; Teaching Council Codes and policies; Accountability; Teacher competences; Teacher quality; Duty of care; Moral role of the teacher; Teacher as civic and change agent; Teachers and research; Identifying and critically exploring Assumptions; The significance and influence of contextual factors; Reflective writing based on school experiences; Reflective portfolios; Representations of the teaching profession in the media; Continuum of teacher development; teacher induction and probation; Continuing professional development; Professional life cycles; Professional collaboration at local, regional and national levels; Membership of professional bodies; Identification of individual professional development needs; Development of career plans; Teacher as colleague and cooperative learner.

- Critically examine the professional role of the teacher in a changing society - Analyse the meaning of teacher professionalism in the light of the current literature and research and the changing socio-economic context - Consider recent policy developments of relevance to the professional role of the teacher in Ireland today - Reflect critically on their experiences of school placement and develop their research capacity as lifelong learners - Critically consider the influence of contextual factors on teaching, leaning and assessment with particular reference to schools as organisations

- Appreciate the multifaceted roles and responsibilities of members of the teaching profession - Develop capacities for critical reflection in appreciation of the impact of assumptions on teaching values and practice - Realise the importance of professional collaboration through cooperative learning experiences that promote positive mutual interdependence - Consider the role of teachers as civic agents

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Students work in small cooperative base groups to identify areas of professional concern which they develop together through Brookfield's reflective lenses. Formal cooperative learning experiences such as Jigsaw allow students to experience learning methodologies which they can apply in their professional practice and to engage deeply with theory that they can connect to their areas of professional concerns. Students identify their own "Living Educational Theory", recognising how their values mediate and influence decisions in their classroom.