The subject is only offered to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Education (Primary) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education program. Beginning a teacher education course requires students to orient themselves to learning and teaching in a variety of ways. This subject introduces a range of issues that are critical to effective teaching and learning. These issues centre on learning environments; the roles of teachers in schools and as life-long learners; and the responsibilities of teachers to observe and understand the children in their care, plan for individual children on the basis of diagnostic evaluations, employ teaching approaches which cater for the needs of individuals as well as the group, and employ assessment processes that empower rather than simply compare children.