Teaching Practice for Senior Phase (grade 7–9)
TPS3705
Year module
Department Curriculum and Instructional
Studies
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This tutorial letter contains important information regarding this module
Bar code
,TPS3705: Assignment 50
Unique number:
INTRODUCTION
Dear Student
This tutorial letter contains the portfolio template to be used to complete assignment 50 for TPS3705
(Teaching practice for SP (grades 7 - 9).
Please read the instructions and guidelines carefully and thoroughly before attempting to complete the
portfolio. This portfolio counts 80% of your final mark for TPS3705. Also, read the attachment for information
regarding lesson plans.
Your future and your career depend on quality teaching practice and timely submission of the
portfolio. You must submit the portfolio as soon as you finished your practical teaching period of 25 school
days. Since this is a non-venue-based examination, and you are expected to do it every day. In the interest
of quality assessment, we must stagger the submissions so that they do not all come to us for marking at
the end of the year. If you do not complete the portfolio during the Teaching Practice period and do not
submit it on the last day of your teaching practice you will be penalized in the following way: If it reaches
us two weeks late – minus 10%, three weeks late – minus 20%, four weeks late 30% and so on. IT IS
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE YOUR PORTFOLIO IS RECEIVED IN GOOD ORDER AND ON
TIME. You might think that these measures are harsh, but we work with huge numbers of portfolios
and expect you to take responsibility for your work and to make sure you follow the guidelines as you are
also expected to instill the same skills to learners.
PLEASE NOTE: The school visit is a very important part of your training as you get advice and support that
is valuable for your preparation as a teacher. The mark you receive for the school visit does however not
count towards your marks for this course, as at this stage we cannot yet guarantee that every student
can be visited. If it happens that you are not visited your marks will not be affected in any way.
If you have any queries regarding the portfolio (read your tutorial letters before you ask questions),
you can contact me at:
Ms Thabisile B. Maphumulo
012 4294450 (Work)
emaphutb@unisa.ac.za
,INSTRUCTIONS
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE STARTING WITH YOUR TEACHING PRACTICE
This is a non-venue-based exam called a portfolio. It must be completed each day you are at school (every
day). You should learn as much as possible from your mentor and other teachers as well as from the learners.
During Teaching Practice (TP), you are expected to comply with all the school rules and policies e.g. leave
policy, code of conduct, etc. Read this document thoroughly before you start your TP. For this module, you
can do TP at a school in grades 7-9.
This document is the teaching portfolio template and must please be completed fully and submitted as one
document with comprehensive evidence of each aspect inserted at the appropriate sections. PLEASE DO
NOT ATTACH ALL EVIDENCE AT THE END OR AS A SEPARATE SECTION.
This portfolio is a structured portfolio, and you must use the portfolio template we provided. All aspects of the
portfolio are compulsory except where it is indicated that something can be included for additional marks.
You are expected to complete all activities for each aspect of the portfolio that is compulsory.
Where applicable you must include documentary evidence. Attach the evidence at the appropriate section
in the portfolio. For instance, if you want to include a copy of the school’s disciplinary code you attach it
where the disciplinary code is discussed.
The portfolio also includes lesson plans that you must complete and present. You can present as many
lessons as you can by the school but at least five of these lessons need to be assessed by your mentor.
Mentors will give you a mark and feedback and will sign the assessments. You also need to get the assessed
lesson plans stamped with the official school stamp.
After completing the portfolio, you need to sign the declaration form at the end and you must also get it signed
by the mentor and the school principal. This also needs to be stamped with the official school stamp.
Complete your portfolio electronically and submit it online. The electronic template is available online. All
online assignments and online portfolios must be submitted as pdf documents. NO WORD DOCUMENTS
WILL BE ACCEPTED. After submitting it please check that everything was downloaded and that it appears
correctly on the system. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS IN THE PORTAL FOR THE
PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION. MAKE SURE ALL YOUR INFORMATION IS IN THE PORTFOLIO BEFORE
SUBMITTING IT. No additional information can be added later. DO NOT SUBMIT THE WRONG PORTFOLIO
IN THE PORTAL MEANT FOR ANOTHER PORTFOLIO.
Always keep a backup of your portfolio. I have heard all the hard luck stories (some true and some very
innovative inventions) about laptops being stolen from cars, homes, from ls and everywhere else you can think
of, and from crashed computers, viruses, etc. These things happen, and you should KEEP BACKUPS ALL
THE TIME. If you send a hard copy you must submit this whole document and evidence must be attached to
the pages where it is relevant. Send the portfolio by courier or registered mail. Shops and the postal service
are not reliable. ALWAYS KEEP A COPY. PORTFOLIOS CANNOT BE REMARKED OR PURCHASED.
If you do not receive an SMS that your portfolio has been received please contact assignments immediately
and make sure what the problem is. If your portfolio is submitted early, you will have an opportunity to attend
to problems.
If you add substantial amounts of colorful, interesting, and credible evidence you must please reduce the size
of your artifacts to keep within the maximum size of documents that can be submitted online.
, Mark will be taken away when sections of the portfolio are not complete. That goes for all sections not
completed fully and comprehensively in the portfolio. It is virtually impossible to make any changes or
additions after submission and we need enough time to do the quality assessment. If you do your bit and
follow the guidelines, I promise you that I will do anything in my power to assist you with challenges regarding
your teaching practice and your portfolios that might crop up.
The following could be reasons why students fail their practical teaching: Non-submission, late
submission or failure of assignments, late submission of portfolios, lack of credible evidence, poor
quality of lesson plans, poor quality of answers, failure to complete all sections of the portfolio
comprehensively (including meaningful reflections), cheating (with school stamps, signatures,
copying of the work of other students, submitting the work of teachers instead of your own, not
attending all practical teaching days).
Portfolios are examination equivalents and are not sent back to the students. The portfolio results are
released in December.
Make sure you view your assignment to confirm that the portfolio has been received by Unisa and is
registered on the assessment system. You can also check this on myUnisa on your student record. If
there are any challenges, contact the assignment section. Do not wait until late and enquire when the
results are out.
You cannot claim later that you did submit it if you did not receive this confirmation. If no
confirmation is received it means that your submission was not received by Unisa. It is highly
recommended to submit your portfolio online to avoid problems that can lead to resending
assignments.
Portfolios are submitted immediately after the TP period completion. This means your due date is based on
when you finish your teaching practice period. No portfolios received after 30 September 2023 will be
marked! All portfolios received after the due date will not be marked and you will have to re-register
your teaching practice module the following year. Ensure that you send the portfolio on time and that
should be received by Unisa on or before the due date.
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