Master of Teaching (Secondary) Internship

The Master of Teaching (Secondary) Internship is an employment-based stream of the Master of Teaching (Secondary). The course allows both recent graduates and experienced career-change professionals who have both the strong discipline knowledge and personal skills needed for a career in teaching to enter the profession in a highly structured and supported way. Interns are employed in schools as para-professionals with teaching responsibilities and have Permission to Teach from the Victorian Institute of Teaching. The qualification prepares interns to teach across the secondary years with specialist knowledge in two curriculum areas.

The course is structured around five campus-based Study Intensives supplemented by academic study conducted across the year online. The five intensives are held as follows:

• Study Intensive 1: Six weeks (Year 1, November to January)
• Study Intensive 2: One week (Year 1, July)
• Study Intensive 3: One week (Year 2, January)
• Study Intensive 4: One week (Year 2, July)
• Study Intensive 5: One week (Year 3, January/February).

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On the completion of this course graduates will have the knowledge, skills and understanding to enable them to:

• Use evidence to make sound clinical judgments about the nature and implementation of teaching interventions.
• Be highly-skilled teachers who demonstrate the professional capabilities to meet the individual needs of diverse learners using interventionist practices.
• Generate and analyse diverse sources of data that can effectively inform and assess student learning and development.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which theory and research informs practice.
• Plan and execute a substantial research-based project, capstone experience and/or piece of scholarship.
• Demonstrate strong subject and pedagogical content knowledge.
• Demonstrate the level of competency in literacy and numeracy expected of the teaching profession.
• Utilise diverse pedagogical strategies to provide rich and creative learning environments that empower learners.
• Utilise inclusive teaching practices that demonstrate an awareness of cultural diversity and its implications for society and education.
• Utilise digital technologies to expand learning opportunities for students.
• Develop in students the practices and attitudes required for critical thinking and the ability to work both independently and cooperatively.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the role of language as fundamental to education.
• Demonstrate the ability to maintain effective, ethical and respectful relationships with all involved in the learning community..
• Effectively engage students, parents, community members, and professional colleagues to support student learning and development.
• Understand the impact of legislation, policy and the global human rights principles on their roles and responsibilities as teachers.
• Demonstrate a capacity for leadership and advocacy in education.

This is a 200-point course:

• the first 150 points are completed over two years;
• the final 50 points are completed as either the Professional Development or the Research Option.

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3 Professional Development Option

EDUC90758 Researching Education Practice (SEC) 12.50 points, and
EDUC90759 Education Capstone Research Project 12.50 points

and

25 points of elective subjects from MGSE's postgraduate programs (subject to meeting prerequisites)

Year 3 Research Option

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:

• an undergraduate degree with appropriate prerequisites for two Learning Area study sequences, as required by the Victorian Institute of Teaching; and
• a selection test and interview (for shortlisted candidates) as determined by the Selection Committee.

Applicants must also have been accepted by an approved employing school for appointment to a teaching vacancy, in order to underake the course.

Applicants who already hold a recognised teacher qualification are not eligible for entry to this course.

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:

• prior academic performance; and
• the results of the selection test (and interview if relevant).

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.

4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for graduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 7+ is required.

Notes
(a) The Academic Board may prescribe minimum grade point averages for undergraduate studies that must be met by applicants eligible for Guaranteed Entry in a given year. Applicants not eligible for Guaranteed Entry will normally be required to have a grade point average for undergraduate studies at least as high as the prescribed minimum for Guaranteed Entry.
(b) All applicants must have Permission to Teach from the Victorian Institute of Teaching prior to the commencement of the Practicum subjects, and for the duration of the program
(c) Although applicants must meet the University’s English language requirements, higher standards may be needed for eligibility for Permission to Teach status and for Australian teacher registration on graduation.
(d) For students who have not completed undergraduate studies in a university where English is the language of instruction and assessment, a test of English language competency is required. Such applicants require an overall English language score of not less than IELTS (academic English Only) with a minimum test score of 7.0 (no band less than 7.0) or, a score in the American Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of 600 (TWE 5.0) or, TOEFL (internet-based test) 94 + Writing 27; Speaking 24; Reading 24; Listening 24 or, Pearson Test of English (Academic) 65 & no communicative skill below 65 or, Cambridge English: Advanced/ Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) 67 + no less than Good in each skill.

* Details of the selection test are available on the Melbourne Graduate School of Education’s TeacherSelector website.

The Melbourne Graduate School of Education welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and Graduate School policy to take reasonable steps to enable the participation of students with disabilities, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student’s participation in the Graduate School’s programs.
The core participation requirements for study in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education are:

In all courses

1. The ability to comprehend complex information related to education and the disciplines in which the student is teaching.
2. The ability to communicate clearly and independently in assessment tasks a knowledge of the content, principles and practices relating to education and other relevant disciplines.
3. Behavioural and social attributes that enable a student to participate in a complex learning environment. Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.
   
   In courses requiring students to undertake practicum placements
   
4. The ability to undertake professional practice placements independently, including:
   a. the ability based on personal maturity to establish a professional relationship with students and interact with them appropriately;
   b. the ability to communicate to students the subject matter being taught with clarity and in a way that is age-sensitive;
   c. the ability to model literacy and numeracy skills independently for students and in all their interactions meet community expectations of the literacy and numeracy skills teachers should have;
   d. the ability to demonstrate skilfully and safely activities required in particular discipline areas being taught (e.g. physical education activities, science laboratory techniques);
   e. the ability to create, monitor and maintain a safe physical environment, a stable and supportive psychological environment, and a productive learning environment in their classroom;
   f. the ability to establish effective relationships with all members of the school community, including colleagues, students, and caregivers;
   g. the ability based on mental and physical health to exercise sound judgment and respond promptly to the demands of classroom situations, and the personal resilience to cope and maintain their wellbeing under stress.

Students who feel a disability will prevent them from meeting the above academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit.

Graduates from this program are eligible to apply for entry to the Doctor of Education program or a PhD after completion of a 50-point Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Research, provided they meet the entry requirements and subject to achievement of an H2A grade average.

Those who complete the research option in their final semester are eligible to apply for entry to the Doctor of Education program or a PhD provided they meet the entry requirements and subject to achievement of an H2A grade average.

Please note also that graduates of an undergraduate Honours degree may already be eligible for doctoral studies, subject to the same entry and achievement requirements.

Interns entering this program will have appropriate undergraduate knowledge and analytical skills, and bring with them a diversity of educational and life experiences. The program emphasises the importance of research evidence and theory as a foundation for clinical educational practice. It will build interns’ skills in interventionist teaching practices aimed at supporting and extending individual student’s learning and development.

Underpinning the program is a strong partnership with early childhood settings and schools and with educational systems that will support the intellectual engagement in professional practice at an advanced level. Special emphasis will be placed on the interns’ capacity to teach the diverse range of students, and to promote equity in education. The program focuses on developing interns’ capacity for critical inquiry and professional reflection.

Interns will have the opportunity to develop their cultural awareness and expand their understanding of global education. They will understand the policy landscape and the processes for making policy at school and system level, so that they can intervene and justify producing change.

The Master of Teaching (Secondary) Internship will enable graduates to be eligible for full teacher registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.

• Understand Secondary education as part of a spectrum of learning and development, linked to primary schooling and to post-schooling outcomes of further study and/or employment.
• Develop in-depth knowledge of the complexity and diversity of students’ learning and development.
• Be expert in the disciplines they teach and committed to continual updating of their subject knowledge.
• Be able to intelligently and creatively plan, implement and critique mandated curriculum.
• Be able to use data to identify and address the learning needs and capacities of individual students.
• Be able to intentionally draw on a range of teaching practices to extend individual student’s learning and development.
• Shape and deliver responsive and inclusive curricula.
• Be a self-reflective teacher who can work constructively and innovatively through relationships with parents, colleagues and the community across a range of contexts.