Master of Teaching (Primary)

Course MC-TEACHPR (2011)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2011.

Year and Campus: 2011 - Parkville
CRICOS Code: 061226K
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Level: Graduate/Postgraduate
Duration & Credit Points: 200 credit points taken over 24 months full time.

Coordinator

Dr Vicki Steinle

Contact

Faculty of Education Student Centre
Course Overview:

The Master of Teaching (Primary) prepares graduates to teach across the primary years in all curriculum areas with additional specialist knowledge in literacy and numeracy education. Teacher candidates complete the full 200 points over 2 years. The first three semesters focus on teaching across all curriculum areas and preparation for independent teaching. The final semester provides specialised study of literacy and numeracy teaching, focussed on meeting individual needs, with a strong emphasis on practical teaching. It includes a number of electives that are designed to provide candidates with options to expand their professional knowledge in areas that are significant to schools today.


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

  • Be highly-skilled teachers, with the theoretical frameworks and practical ability to produce effective learning for each individual student.
  • Be engaged intelligently and passionately in the educational venture, and have the ability not only to adapt to, but also to lead change.
  • Articulate a coherent set of beliefs about learning and teaching, based soundly on leading-edge theory and evidence-based research.
  • Display a solid understanding of discipline knowledge and knowledge about education, and of how they interact in effective pedagogy.
  • Understand the links between planning, teaching and evaluating for learning.
  • Plan for students' teaching and learning bringing to bear an informed awareness of child and adolescent development.
  • Generate and interpret the classroom data to enable individualized programming of developmental learning for each student.
  • Respond flexibly in catering for the different learning needs of individual students, including those with special needs.
  • Utilise a range of teaching approaches that foster both independent and cooperative learning.
  • Structure their teaching to provide rich and creative learning environments.
  • Develop in their students the capacity for vigorous but respectful critique and for curiosity in learning.
  • Demonstrate an awareness of cultural diversity and its implications for society and education.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the significance of written and spoken language as fundamental to education.
  • Utilise a variety of technologies in the classroom to assist learning.
  • Function effectively across the various relationships involved in the professional life of a teacher.
  • Demonstrate the level of competency in literacy and numeracy expected of the teaching profession.
  • Be leaders and advocates in education, responsive to legislation, policy and the global human rights issues of participation, access and inclusion.
Course Structure & Available Subjects:

Students undertake 150 points of compulsory subjects over the first three semesters. In the final semester they take 37.5 points of compulsory subjects and one 12.5 point elective subject.

The first three semesters in the Primary stream are built on three strands:

  • Professional Practice
  • Theory and Practice of Education
  • Learning Area Studies
Subject Options: Subjects undertaken in first semester
Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:
Subjects undertaken in second semester
Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:
Subjects undertaken in third semester
Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:
Subjects undertaken in fourth semester plus an elective subject
Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:

Elective subjects

Subject
Study Period Commencement:
Credit Points:
Not offered in 2011
12.50
Not offered in 2011
12.50
Entry Requirements: For entry into the Master of Teaching (Primary Stream), an applicant must have:
  • An undergraduate degree
PLEASE NOTE: Students are required to have applied for a Working With Children Check (WWCC) before commencing the Professional Practice subjects.
Core Participation Requirements:

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.

Graduate Attributes:

The program is built on the premise that students coming into the program will have a firm foundation of disciplinary knowledge and analytical skills, and will bring with them a diversity of educational and life experiences. The program will emphasise the importance of the research evidence base as a foundation for excellent educational practice, as well as developing further the students' capacity for critical inquiry and professional reflection. Underpinning the program is a strong partnership with early childhood settings and schools and with educational systems that will support the intelligent engagement in professional practice at an advanced level. Special emphasis will be placed on the students' capacity to teach the diverse range of students, and to promote equity in education. Students will have the opportunity to undertake teaching practice in international settings, which will enhance 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.

Professional Accreditation: The primary stream of the Master of Teaching will provide graduates with provisional registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching
Generic Skills:
  • Understand Primary education as part of a spectrum of learning and development, linked to early childhood and to secondary schooling.
  • Have a thorough understanding of the particular needs of students in the middle years of schooling.
  • Be knowledgeable and confident generalist teachers across the range of disciplines taught in primary classrooms.
  • Be able intelligently and creatively to plan, implement and critique mandated curriculum.

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