This subject examines education policy and practice in social and historical context. The subject will provide students with an opportunity to examine key national and international debates in education policy and practice in relation to shifting social, political, economic and political relations. Through this subject students will analyse current education reforms, and the debates that surround them, through careful examination of the relevant research literature. Students will develop key professional skills in policy critical analysis. Through studying different case studies of debates and reform students will consider the variety of issues that underpin education practice, research and policies. This will include engaging with key debates surrounding education and equity, global competitiveness, indigenous rights, sexuality, gender, notions of deficit, and disability and ability.

This subject will introduce students to the ways in which literacy supports and empowers learning and social change in global contexts, and will explore the impact of literacy practices on learning in real world and virtual communities. Students will be introduced to key theories and approaches to 21 st century literacies and have the opportunity to draw on these to explore their own understanding of literacy and the impact of their personal literacies on their learning experiences. This subject will introduce students to the role of oral language in learning in different cultural traditions and understandings of education, and support them to build on these understandings in practice. Approaches to literacy which support diversity, inclusion and acknowledgement of place will be explored, and the application of these approaches to early childhood contexts, schools, workplaces and social settings will be investigated.

This subject focuses on the theoretical frameworks and evidence bases that educators use in understanding the development of their learners and in planning suitable instructional sequences that are responsive to the inherent variability of learners. It covers foundational concepts related to learning environments, learning processes and development across individual’s lifespans. It also provides opportunities to explore and discuss implications for teaching that are related to the consideration of learners’ profiles of capabilities and how teachers facilitate the quality, depth and active nature of their learning.

The subject will support participants to explore the development of educational policy and practice with regards to wellbeing. Students will learn to critically analyse research about creating supportive and safe learning environments at a classroom, institutional and systemic level. Current research is analysed to identify methods and trends in the study of wellbeing approaches such as social and emotional learning and positive education. Comparative and Evaluative tools are used to explore different contextual responses, including those developing in virtual and digital spaces, for fostering resilience and relationships across all partners in the education process.

This subject involves students undertaking a substantial project requiring an independent investigation of a topic that they regard as directly related to their own professional practice and/or within their area of specialisation. Students will draw on theory, knowledge and skills developed through their degree to design and complete their professional capstone project. The project can be a:

• workplace investigation negotiated by the student with the relevant host organisation;
• theoretical or explorative study; or
• research project involving secondary data analyses.

Note that students will not be allowed to undertake any project that involves the collection of primary data that requires Human Research Ethics Approval.

Students will demonstrate their ability to define a problem, review relevant theoretical and practical literature, design an approach and apply it to their defined problem. Students will present their scholarly findings in a conference presentation format (designed for the subject) that facilitates peer learning and fosters professional alliances and networks.

The family continues to be regarded as a private institution that should be immune to public scrutiny, despite the increasing intervention in the family by public institutions - notably, the law, education, medicine and social services. Towards the end of the 20th century, feminist thinkers challenged the view that the family is a private domain and there is now a growing tradition of using alternative perspectives, such as gender studies and childhood studies to examine the family as a site of contestation over members’ rights and responsibilities.

An indicative list of topics in this subject is as follows: the public/private divide; feminist perspectives on families; men’s contemporary roles and power in families in diverse cultural contexts; the roles and power in families of the ‘helping professions’; globalization, family diversity and the normalization of family life; the state regulation of families; the compatibility of parents’ and children’s rights.

This subject provides insights into professional knowledge, learning and expertise that will enhance students’ development in their chosen professions. The subject explores meta-frameworks for learning in all professions by distinguishing between different forms of knowledge, the relationships these have to practice across a broad array of fields, and the implications this has for learning. The focus is on the structures of knowledge and the way knowledge is produced in professions generally, rather than the content of knowledge in specific professions. It asks students to consider whether learning in academic disciplines and professions is the same, or whether differences in the structures of knowledge and the nature of practice require different approaches to learning. It distinguishes between professions that have emerged in the last fifty years and those that have an older lineage and queries whether they are different, and if so, how they are different. The subject considers debates about the relationship between theory and practice in the development of expertise in work by comparing and contrasting those that emphasise process and experiential accounts of learning with those that emphasise the intrinsic role knowledge plays in the development of expertise. The implications for debates about professional education are considered and students are asked to contemplate the significance of these debates for their own future career development.

This subject aims to engage students in the process of designing a proposal to lead change in a ‘real world’ problem. It looks at the role sport plays within society as an agency for change at the grassroots level. Students will have an opportunity to visit a range of sporting facilities and see first-hand how community programs are adapting to change and meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse population. They will hear from a range of speakers who are experts in their respective fields, discussing the wider role of sport as a tool for change. The subject will explore sport in community settings and examine the educative role it plays dealing with issues such as disability, homophobia and social inequity. Students will investigate what community sport facilities and programs are currently doing to address these issues, and the leadership roles they have taken on.

Areas covered include leadership, community development, teamwork, the design process and reflective practice. Processes include planning, reflective writing, teamwork and personal development.

Wakanda is a subject concentrated on pressing issues of our time and the future including Afrofuturisms and resilience, Black migration and/in education, living in diasporic spaces, memories and histories, surviving race and racism, African philosophies and modes of social engagement. The subject offers ways to build your knowledge capacity to understand, responsibly engage, act, and create within spaces of Blackness in schools, neighbourhoods, industries, and communities. Through its intensive delivery and conceptual and experiential depth of knowledge, you will have the opportunity to draw paths of action whether you are an undergraduate (e.g. planning on working alongside African Australian members of our society), an educator (e.g. through thinking or designing curriculum), or a community leader and organizer (e.g. intending to enrich your work and practice).

This dynamically designed subject will move through four portals of knowledge creation, 1) reading conceptually grounded texts and watching popular culture materials, 2) the oral tradition in the form of lectures delivered by world renown scholars/elders from the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa and Australia, 3) meditations, conversations, and discussion with local African Australian youth from our very communities, and 4) creating and making spaces for planning and producing action relevant to your degree, circumstances, and experiences.

This subject is designed for graduate and undergraduate students. It is available to study abroad/exchanges students, and members of the community can also take the subject as a Community Access Program enrolment.

This subject examines the role of thinking in teaching and learning. The aim is for students to gain both a theoretical understanding of the methods and strategies, as well as the practical ability to apply them. The subject aims to examine how thinking in schools articulates with the general capabilities in the curriculum, as well as asking how such capabilities affect educational equity and social justice. The background of a variety of educational approaches will be explored to clarify what teaching and learning thinking might mean. The approaches examined will be applicable across the disciplines and in different educational contexts. Beginning with the view that we teach thinking by teaching the skills and tools from various thinking skills programs the exploration moves on to more sophisticated and complex theories and approaches. Students will have the opportunity to participate in lessons based on these approaches and to apply them to individual educational contexts and interests. Students will leave with a deeper understanding of thinking, teaching and the education of thinking.

This subject develops understandings of the intentions and principles of curriculum and investigates specifics of curriculum design and implementation to improve and refine curriculum. The subject will focus on curriculum design and evaluation principles, as well as providing the tools for students to analyse and critique curriculum principles, policies and practices. This subject also creates opportunities for students to focus on a negotiated area of curriculum. For example: curriculum structures; new learning theories about ways of knowing and implications for curriculum; transition stages within schooling; innovative learning technologies; gender; indigenous studies; multiculturalism and Australia's role in a global environment; sustainability and environmental issues and/or another curriculum dimension that is of concern to the student within their own context. Students will explore their negotiated focus through presentation and assignment work.

The aim of this subject is to enable students to understand and apply the principles of design and analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) within the educational context. The subject provides a comprehensive introduction to trial design features used to limit bias, essential aspects of trial design, conduct, analysis and reporting, and challenges and solutions for conducting RCTs within the education context. At the end of the subject, it is expected that students will be able to contribute effectively to the planning, conduct and reporting of an RCT within an education context.

Throughout the subject, the emphasis will be on practical issues faced by researchers in the conduct of RCTs in education, and participants will be provided with skills to design and conduct rigorous RCTs in this research area. This subject covers: when is an RCT design appropriate, ethical considerations, principles and methods of randomisation in controlled trials, types of RCTs, allocation to groups, outcome measurements, understanding implementation and process measures, cost-analysis, statistical approaches, data interpretation and reporting.

Students will learn the theoretical underpinnings of environmental education through a study of the concept of environmentalism. The subject will combine an introduction to theory and practice in the field of environmental education. A particular focus will be on different understandings of nature and the environment and the implications of these for education. This will include the role that science has played and continues to play in our understanding of both the environment and education. The subject will provide students with some of the important strategies for the development of environmental education in a variety of sectors. It will also provide ideas for educational activities. In addition, the subject will deal with ways of actualising individuals or groups who wish to learn how to become involved in action for the environment and social change.

This subject will introduce students entering, or already in, the education sector to the many ways that evaluation is used in education. The subject will begin with an introduction to the origins and the political and social contexts of evaluation as well as the nature and logic of evaluation. Subsequent weeks will focus on the applied fields of evaluation set in the context of education. There are six applied fields of evaluation that will be covered: 1) performance evaluation (student assessment; teacher reflective practice); 2) product evaluation (curriculum effectiveness); 3) program evaluation (school accreditation; organisational/systems-level evaluation); 4) personnel evaluation (teacher performance appraisal; principal performance appraisal); 5) policy evaluation (policy to practice and practice to policy studies); 6) proposal evaluation (assessing grant-making applications for funding). The subject will culminate with a look at meta-evaluation (evaluating evaluations).

This subject provides students with an introduction to evaluation fundamentals, including: the nature and purposes of evaluation, the logic of evaluation, types of evaluations, values, and professional standards.

In this subject we examine the variability of human development and learning through theoretical perspectives and research evidence. We will explore the cultural, social, cognitive and emotional processes that support learning and factors that are associated with learning and learning difficulties. We will examine the implications for teaching learners experiencing learning difficulties.

International Issues in Arts Education is an online community based subject that provides an introduction and foundation to current issues in arts education. As a researcher, and collaborative and multidisciplinary educator, you will explore and examine contemporary issues that are explored to inform and develop a foundation for research in arts practice, learning and perception. The subject provides flexibility for students to investigate more deeply their areas of interest, including issues pertaining to art forms and disciplinary based learning. This online community is positioned in the arts pathway to allow flexibility to pursue your areas of professional interest and self-direct creative independent research. ​

This subject focuses on the importance of planning effective literacy approaches and strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners. It will highlight how teachers cater for diversity through drawing on clinical approaches to meeting the literacy learning needs of diverse learners. Informing this subject will be an examination of the interface between literacy and social context, taking into account considerations of gender, EAL/D, socio-economic status, Indigenous status. Attention will be given to interventionist approaches that address the needs of exceptional learners. Turn around pedagogies and the need to counter deficit discourses in relation to diverse learners will be addressed in this subject.

This subject will focus on educational research and practical issues related to the teaching and learning of mathematics through other school subjects in primary and secondary classrooms. In the current world we live in, to be numerate is no longer just about the ability to apply algorithms and procedures in mathematics classrooms; mathematical knowledge and skills are being applied in an increasingly wide range of familiar and unfamiliar situations.

Through engagement in learning activities, participants will experience the role that mathematics plays in STEM and HASS subjects in schools. Acknowledging and incorporating mathematics across the curriculum both enrich the study of other school subjects and contribute to the development of a broader and deeper understanding of mathematics itself. Through the provision of research-guided and practice-informed knowledge, skills, dispositions and mindsets, this subject helps participants and their non-mathematics teaching colleagues to:

• Identify the specific mathematical knowledge and skills embedded in different school subjects
• Provide learning experiences and opportunities that support the application of participants’ general mathematical knowledge and skills
• Use the language of mathematics in their teaching as appropriate.

This subject explores strategies for promoting positive learning for students, particularly those with disability, enrolled in early intervention and school settings. Structured online learning experiences, along with face-to-face sessions, focus on research-validated approaches for effective teaching and learning. Whole school curriculum approaches will be examined, alongside targeted interventions for students requiring intensive support for their learning.

Engagement in all face-to-face lectures is required.

This subject explores strategies for promoting positive behaviour for students, particularly those with disability, enrolled in early intervention and school settings. Structured online learning experiences, along with face-to-face sessions, focus on research-validated approaches for effective behaviour management. Whole school approaches will be examined, alongside targeted interventions for students requiring intensive interventions.

Engagement in all face-to-face lectures and online modules is required.

In this subject students will explore and understand the ideas that shape practice-based research in the contemporary arts education through the examination of practice and evaluation as artmaker and practitioner. Educators from a range of educational settings will engage in personal artful inquiry to develop a body of work as a method for exploring the identities and practices of artist, researcher, teacher and artist-teacher. These multiple perspectives and identities will be evaluated through ongoing reflective practice, collaborative discussion and associated readings in practice based research that explore beliefs concerning the relationship and associated tensions of being artmaker and being teacher. Artistry, artful inquiry and associated personal dialogue, will be documented, critiqued and analysed through critical reflective practice, and evaluated in an iterative cycle both within the class and through regular contributions to a discussion forum. Students will present and perform arts based research, and submit an accompanying exegesis that positions their practice in educational settings.

Communities of arts practices feature in arts based research internationally. These communities are multi, inter and cross disciplinary, existing in multiple spaces and places and offer openings to new thinking, ideas and collective learning. This subject provides a connection with the discourse of communities of arts practices, professional connections and openings into those communities yet to be encountered. You will identify and position yourself within communities of arts based practices from multidisciplinary and international sites. Through reflective practice, you will explore their own professional practices in relation to these communities of arts practices. This subject will allow professionals to explore, design and develop their own arts communities within contemporary arts educational practice.

Through critical reading, observation and close analysis of practice or another arts-based learning context, students will identify the integral connections between the arts, engagement and learning. Students will explore the conditions that enable engaging arts experiences for children and young people and investigate the distinctive forms of knowledge that characterise engagement in the arts. Through reflection and research, students will synthesise and articulate how these are interpreted and evidenced, as well as exploring strategies for implementation and advocacy.

This subject focuses on identity and young people with an emphasis on the diversity of young people's artistic expression. It explores engagement with popular and traditional cultures and focuses especially on the diverse ways in which different groups of young people appropriate, invent and re-invent cultural expressions through the arts. Flexible delivery will provide students with the conceptual tools for understanding the role the visual arts, music and drama and related cultural activities play in young people’s identity formation both in and out of school. It will examine creativity and engagement in the arts for, by, with and about young people in a range of educational and community contexts. Learning will be reinforced by fieldwork and assignments linked to cultural site visits. ​

This subject examines assessment of competency in a range of educational settings from Early Childhood to Tertiary. Various approaches to the collection of assessment data are examined including tests, observation, portfolios and the development and application of rubrics. Assessment design and management processes are discussed and critiqued with respect to validity and reliability perspectives, along with the influence of key policies and central debates in this field.

This subject examines the interpretation and use of assessment data in a range of settings from Early Childhood to Tertiary. Various approaches to the interpretation of assessment data are examined, including criterion and standards referenced methods, with an emphasis on the reliability of data and the improvement of assessment processes. The valid use of assessment data to improve learning at individual, school, and system level are explored, as well as processes and practices which support such uses.

An exciting collaboration between Architecture and Arts Education, this subject examines how we should design, inhabit and maximise the use of student-centred learning spaces in schools and other educational institutions. Schools are increasingly adopting ‘innovative’ designs that are deemed to better suit the collaborative, creative, critical thinking, communication-focused characteristics required of graduates into the future. What do (and will) these spaces look like, now and into the future? In what ways do, and should, designers and educators collaborate on their design, implementation and use? How can we evaluate the effectiveness of these spaces, and develop an ongoing dialogue between designers and teachers that builds a broad understanding of the educational and design professions’ languages and epistemologies? In finding ways of maximising use of flexible learning spaces, this interdisciplinary subject introduces students to the links that should exist between new pedagogies and space.

This unique subject is delivered jointly by the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. Classes are typically made up of architecture students and emerging teachers who work collaboratively on design and education scenarios, informed by field trips to exemplary schools and design facilities. The subject is informed by research from the University of Melbourne’s Learning Environment Applied Research Network (LEaRN), a research centre formed by Education, Architecture and Medicine in 2008, and its material is underpinned by research emerging from this world-leading group.

This subject investigates the nature of student engagement in order to support the creative work of teachers in bringing students and curriculum together in meaningful encounter. Special emphasis is placed on comprehending and building teacher’s knowledge of those they teach: who these people are (their ways of being), how they change/learn (becoming), and how this knowledge and experience, often downplayed, contributes to the creative task of teaching. Such knowledge is employed to inform the design task of unit planning as this articulates the broader expectations for who the students are asked to be through the unit, as well as the learning activities and content. Unit planning is also positioned as defining the educational ‘space’ which contextualizes the specific clinical interventions that a teacher designs and performs.

Leading ideas in contemporary education are introduced and critically examined. Concepts explored include intentional teaching, 21st century learning, transnational education, powerful knowledge, power and knowledge, educational privilege and equity and social identity. These concepts are set within the fields of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, policy and governance and current debates within these fields. A critical examination of the key concepts is made by juxtaposing local, national and global perspectives and demonstrating how these concepts are taken up in existing research projects. Students will draw on their own professional and educational experiences to investigate ideas and their application to practice. Negotiated, integrated learning via theory, case studies, simulation exercises and work based projects will then be developed.

This subject examines the implementation of programs and policies designed to promote social inclusion and equity. It considers how practices, across a range of educational settings, respond to social diversity, and it examines the barriers as well as the opportunities for achieving more equitable and inclusive educational participation and experiences. Structural categories and social patterns of difference are analysed alongside individual or group experiences of inclusion/exclusion. Students will be encouraged to draw on their own professional and educational experiences as an initial basis to investigate diversity and social inclusion. The subject combines overview of current research and policy with case studies of particular workplace and educational initiatives. Topics covered include: diversity and inclusion in the workplace, in higher education, in early childhood, in secondary and primary schooling; disability; social exclusion; race and ethnicity; gender; socio-economic leadership and institutional change; educational reform; international trends in diversity and inclusion policies.

The aim of this subject is an improved understanding of educational practice and theory, leading to deeper comprehension and innovative practice. Through an examination of their practice students will develop sophisticated conceptions of how teaching and learning support knowing and understanding. We begin by thinking through, writing about and sharing our personal experience of teaching and learning situations. These teaching and learning situations will be analysed and synthesised through an exploration of educational philosophies, particularly those concerned with experience but also those dealing with the relationship between knowledge and power. This process will enable interpretation and evaluation of the various ways our conceptions of teaching and learning support knowing and understanding. This will result in students’ increased capacity to improve teaching practice, leading to more effective learning, knowing and understanding in the interests of student equity.

This subject offers an overview and exploration of contemporary theories about difference, equality, social justice, identity and youth. It maps the recent history and development of these ideas, and situates them in relation to youth studies. The politics and processes of social change are examined, including what claims to social change and social justice involve and some of the central challenges and dilemmas this represents for young people. Students will gain an understanding of major and influential debates involving the above key concepts, and critically explore their relevance to educational research, theory and practice. Examples will be drawn from national and international settings. There will be opportunities for students to develop in-depth study of select concepts and issues. Topics covered include: feminist and postcolonial theories of identity and difference; diverse approaches to understanding subjectivity; new forms of gender and class analysis; anti-racism; social justice and human rights; and the impact of theories of difference and identity on social and educational practices.

This subject explores educational leadership, with a special focus on leadership for school and systemic transformation. The subject explores the notion of leadership for transformation. Transformation is considered to be significant, systematic and sustained change that results in high levels of achievement for all students in all settings taking account of the particular circumstances in different settings. Key topics covered include leadership for success, instructional leadership, transformational leadership, distributed leadership, and system leadership. Other topics include professional development of leaders and leading change. Students will apply these notions to their own leadership and research transformation in a context of their own interest.

This subject is concerned with building a framework of knowledge to gain an understanding of educational organisations. The structure, organisation and culture of educational organisations are critically explored through the conceptual tool of framing. Leadership frameworks are used as a lens to explore structural, human resource, political and symbolic dimensions of organisations, whilst organisational behaviour focuses on the individual, group and system levels of an organisation. Students apply these concepts to a situation of professional interest.

The subject focuses on the leadership and management issues focused on improving teaching and learning in schools. It provides a definition of curriculum leadership, explores contemporary ideas of teaching and learning, explores the key leadership role of capacity building, and considers the contexts in which schools exist and how these impact on schools.

This subject examines the leadership necessary for developing a learning community. Concepts such as learning organisation, learning community, professional learning community and communities of practice will be defined and explored. Students will be expected to understand, apply and critically evaluate the concept of a learning community within their own context. Students will explore processes for building personal, professional and organisational capacity to establish, enhance or maintain a learning community. Students will also understand and develop appropriate leadership skills to support the notion of learning communities.

This subject focuses on current and emerging issues in enhancing teacher quality and quality teaching in educational settings. It will investigate the leadership capabilities necessary to create an effective environment to enhance student learning and success through developing and improving the performance of teachers and leaders. It covers the personal and organisational issues of managing change, providing strategic interventions to enhance performance, and building personal, professional, and organisational capacity. It explores how leaders put into place the philosophy, policies, processes, and practices necessary to improve teacher quality and performance such as induction, talent management, professional learning, teacher performance, teacher motivation and job satisfaction. The subject reflects a national standards framework for teaching and learning and draws on national and international research concerning teacher quality. This subject aligns with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership National Professional Standard for Principals.

This subject examines how leaders in education are required take a broader view of their constituents to include not only students, teachers, parents, but also members of the educational community and other groups, agencies and organisations who may also have in interest in education or particular educational institutions. Educational leaders are required to respond to the changing needs and contexts by being strategic, innovative and providing appropriate programs through relevant and productive partnerships. The subject offers various lenses that leaders can use in order to respond effectively to context and people and provides the appropriate curriculum and additional offerings necessary to achieve appropriate student outcomes. Types of innovation such as incremental and disruptive innovation are explored in meeting the needs of educators and their communities.

This subject addresses development and understanding of self and others, interpersonal relationships, management of organisation and individual stress, assertive and non-assertive behaviour, conflict management, and negotiation skills from a leadership perspective. The subject is based on the assumption that leadership is distributed so that everyone is a leader.

This subject explores research into educational effectiveness and school improvement and examines the knowledge base of initiatives aimed at improving educational effectiveness and the role of leaders in improving learning outcomes. Students are given a significant opportunity to apply this knowledge through reviewing the effectiveness of a school, and then planning for improvement at either the whole school level, or for part of a school, such as a curriculum area.

This subject will examine changing definitions and conceptualisations of literacy in the 21st century. Candidates will explore literacy as a social practice, and the ways in which literacy is embedded in the construction of disciplines in institutions. Both in and out of school literacy practices will be investigated. Candidates will be introduced to key sociological and philosophical theorists in the fields of language and literacy and will critically engage with contemporary literacy and English curricula, and literacy and language policies.

This subject will focus on the nature and role of language as a meaning-making resource in literacy education and examine how language works at different levels of meaning. It will also address the range of language resources required to communicate and participate in diverse settings such as schools, alternative educational contexts and workplaces, and develop students’ knowledge about language and discourse analysis. Informing this subject will be an examination of a range of perspectives on language, including sociolinguistic and functional perspectives and current research on language and language learning theories.

This subject will explore theoretical perspectives on reading and what is required to be an effective reader in the 21st Century. The subject will highlight how teachers support students’ acquisition of reading skills, strategies and understandings through drawing on clinical approaches that address the diverse skill sets, abilities and needs of different learners. Research-informed classroom pedagogies for effective teaching of reading across the years of schooling will be emphasised. Topics will include: theories of how children learn to read; reading for engagement and comprehension; reading for learning; reading for pleasure; text selection; reading multimodal texts; reading and interpretation; gender and reading; responding to reading; and assessing reading.

This subject will examine the productive aspects of language and literacy through the composition of written, audio, visual, and multimodal texts, in spoken, print and/or digital forms. Intersections between theory and creating texts in practice will be explored. Participants will build the professional knowledge and skills required to teach students how to coherently express and develop ideas and communicate information for different purposes, through considered and deliberate choices about text structure and organisation, across a diverse range of text types, and modes. Participants will also reflect on and develop an understanding of themselves as writers/text creators; and of the role of teacher as writer in developing students as writers. Topics include: theory for teaching writing/text composition; writing and creating texts in the current Victorian/Australian Curriculum; social semiotics and designing meaning in different and multiple modes; composing multimodal print and digital texts; pedagogical models for teaching text composition; creativity and imagination in designing meaning; generating ideas; knowledge of function and form to enable students to creatively and purposefully shape meaning; teachers as writers/text composers; assessing student produced texts.

This subject will address quality teaching in mathematics and numeracy from theoretical, empirical and practical perspectives drawing on local and international studies such as TIMSS and The Learner’s Perspective Study. This subject will also provide participants with knowledge, skills and dispositions to build teacher capacity in their own school and thereby improve numeracy outcomes for all students. Participants will explore and use specific strategies, such as coaching, lesson study and instructional rounds.

This subject is concerned with improving the learning outcomes for students in primary and secondary schools in selected mathematical topics. Diagnostic assessments and common student misconceptions will be discussed. Pedagogical content knowledge and teaching strategies will be considered, drawing on a range of resources. Effective practices for differentiating instruction which meets the requirement to challenge and extend all students will be examined.

This subject will address how the teaching of mathematics in upper primary and secondary schools can be enhanced through the use of technologies that offer pedagogical opportunities. The impact on curriculum, teaching and assessment of mathematics will be considered. Participants will explore pedagogical content knowledge and teaching strategies for teaching mathematics with technology, drawing on a range of resources and research literature.

This subject examines the intersection between science and culture as it is experienced and communicated by individuals, groups and institutions, in particular, in settings such as museums, zoos and science education centres. Science communication is critical in these present times, for educators, media specialists, scientists, businesses and industries and for every citizen. At a time when there is increased participation in communication through personal, social and mobile technologies, an understanding of both your place and potential as an interpreter and communicator of science is essential. This subject will provide you with the benefits of skills that will assist you to interrogate our contemporary culture and the place of science within it. These skills would include the means by which to question and respond to the communication challenges inherent in such agendas as the promotion of science, the constructing of public awareness and knowledge of science and the developments of critical, scientifically literate citizens. These skills will be developed in settings that are set up to promote these agendas, that is, museums, zoos and science education centres, culminating in a personal understanding of your own capacities and opportunities in the field of science communication.

This subject focuses on the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary science education. It will provide the foundational knowledge needed to successfully teach, design and evaluate integrated curricula by focusing on research and best practice in interdisciplinary science education.

The subject will explore issues at the level of the curriculum in relation to national policies, and at the level of the classroom, pedagogies and assessment. Relations between the sciences, mathematics, engineering, technology and arts (STEM or STEAM) and the balance between disciplinary knowledge and (generic) skills will be discussed. Also the broader societal context will be addressed: how can interdisciplinary science education contribute to the preparation of all students for future studies and careers?

An important focus throughout the subject will be on what interdisciplinary science education might look like (units, projects, modules), and what purposes it might serve. The subject will take a particular focus on how to design, resource, implement, and assess STEM units.

This subject focuses on Science Communication with a particular focus on uses of (digital) technologies. Science communicators have different roles as teachers, journalists, museum curators, each playing a major role in promoting public understanding of science. This subject examines the skills and experiences that participants bring and works with them to further develop their abilities as communicators of science, focusing on opportunities and affordances of using digital technologies. Common practices, goals and outcomes in science communication will be explored, and the mediating influence of beliefs, values and understandings of and about science discussed. In particular, the importance of reflecting a humanistic perspective on science, as recently described in the national curriculum, in order to better engage various audiences (i.e. students, general public etc.) will be discussed.

This subject examines education policy reform in different national contexts, including Australia. Students will critically examine the main international trends in education reform and how they are manifested in a national context. These trends include: education as a tool of economic policy, approaches to regulation and quality, standardised testing, employability/21st century skills, and responding to changes in the labour market. Students will analyse the conceptual ideas underpinning education policy reform as well as the cultural, socio-economic and political forces shaping policy development and the politics of reform. Students will draw on a range of theories and approaches to examine policy responses to issues such as disengagement, youth unemployment and the relatively low status of vocational education.

This subject examines the processes of contemporary globalisation and the impact on policy directions at the national level. This includes the selection, development and monitoring of education policies. Through this subject, students will critically examine some of the key debates concerning notions of globalisation, how educational ideas circulate around the world, the role of global institutions (such as transnational corporations, intergovernmental organisations, NGOs and the media) in promoting a particular 'neo-liberal' view of education as a response to the demands of a global economy and a globally inter-connected world. Students will draw on the relevant theoretical and research literature to consider the impact on individuals, schools and communities, and how neo-liberal ideas are being resisted around the world.

This subject examines education policy in an international context. Students will examine the nature and role of education policy, the intersection with other social and economic policies, and the key conceptual ideas underpinning contemporary policy. Through this subject, students will analyse the cultural, socio-economic and political forces shaping policies in education, focussing mainly on schooling and tertiary education. Students will draw on a range of theories and approaches that inform critical policy analysis to examine issues such as the impact of privilege and disadvantage on educational outcomes, transitions through education and into employment, the structure of education systems, and the impact of national, regional and international factors. This will inform critical analysis of key contemporary policy debates and develop professional skills in policy analysis.

This subject examines the implementation of programs and policies designed to promote social inclusion and equity. It considers how practices, across a range of educational settings, respond to social diversity, and it examines the barriers as well as the opportunities for achieving more equitable and inclusive educational participation and experiences. Structural categories and social patterns of difference are analysed alongside individual or group experiences of inclusion/exclusion. Students will be encouraged to draw on their own professional and educational experiences as an initial basis to investigate diversity and social inclusion. The subject combines overview of current research and policy with case studies of particular workplace and educational initiatives. Topics covered include: diversity and inclusion in the workplace, in higher education, in early childhood, in secondary and primary schooling; disability; social exclusion; race and ethnicity; gender; socio-economic leadership and institutional change; educational reform; international trends in diversity and inclusion policies.

This subject provides students with the opportunity for a practical engagement with education policy issues through a placement in an approved organisation or through structured visits to a number of approved educational organisations. There is the potential to select pre-negotiated options or for students to develop an individualised program subject to the approval of the course coordinator. Students will examine education policy and policy reform issues in the context of policy development, implementation and/or evaluation. They will draw on the research literature to examine the key policy issues and debates relevant to their placement or series of visits.

This subject explores the educator’s role in the promotion of student wellbeing including contemporary issues in the delivery of wellbeing in educational settings and effective helping strategies in addressing young people’s wellbeing. Students will engage with and apply a psycho-educational model of helping for educators with a strong focus on skilled interpersonal communication and its role in effective helping. Personal values and professional accountability in helping in educational setting are also explored.

A study of the historical, social and political context within which student wellbeing is understood; and the concepts, theories and evidence-bases directing approaches to promoting wellbeing in school settings.

A study of theory and skills relevant to managing complex and challenging interactions in educational settings; research on effective conflict management models and skills and applications to formal and informal negotiation and problem solving; a study of group dynamics and group processes applicable to leading participatory approaches to curriculum development and education tasks. Applied exercises are used to enhance skills in leading collaborative and inclusive approaches to wellbeing.

This subject explores theories and models of leadership, change and school culture in relationship to student wellbeing. In this subject students will assess and recommend specific approaches to change related to student wellbeing based on current research and analysis of school context, structure, policy and other organizational factors.

This subject explores theories and models of school community partnerships in relationship to student wellbeing. In this subject students will examine how to improve parental engagement and working cross-sectorally with community agencies and organisations. A visit to a community based organisation will be required.

This subject engages students in a critical reflection on the promotion of student wellbeing in educational settings and the role of teachers and school staff in that process. The focus is on the application of advanced communication skills as part of a psycho-educational model of helping with a particular emphasis on goal-setting, strategy development and implementation in a range of educational contexts. The use of cognitive behavioural and solution focused approaches in educational settings are also explored.

This subject involves students undertaking a substantial project requiring an independent investigation of a topic that they regard as directly related to their own professional practice and/or within their area of specialisation. Students will draw on theory, knowledge and skills developed through their degree to design and complete their professional capstone project. The project can be a:

• workplace investigation negotiated by the student with the relevant host organisation;
• theoretical or explorative study; or
• research project involving secondary data analyses.

Note that students will not be allowed to undertake any project that involves the collection of primary data that requires Human Research Ethics Approval.

Students will demonstrate their ability to define a problem, review relevant theoretical and practical literature, design an approach and apply it to their defined problem. Students will present their scholarly findings in a conference presentation format (designed for the subject) that facilitates peer learning and fosters professional alliances and networks.

This subject examines the role of thinking in teaching and learning. The aim is for students to gain both a theoretical understanding of the methods and strategies, as well as the practical ability to apply them. The subject aims to examine how thinking in schools articulates with the general capabilities in the curriculum, as well as asking how such capabilities affect educational equity and social justice. The background of a variety of educational approaches will be explored to clarify what teaching and learning thinking might mean. The approaches examined will be applicable across the disciplines and in different educational contexts. Beginning with the view that we teach thinking by teaching the skills and tools from various thinking skills programs the exploration moves on to more sophisticated and complex theories and approaches. Students will have the opportunity to participate in lessons based on these approaches and to apply them to individual educational contexts and interests. Students will leave with a deeper understanding of thinking, teaching and the education of thinking.

This subject develops understandings of the intentions and principles of curriculum and investigates specifics of curriculum design and implementation to improve and refine curriculum. The subject will focus on curriculum design and evaluation principles, as well as providing the tools for students to analyse and critique curriculum principles, policies and practices. This subject also creates opportunities for students to focus on a negotiated area of curriculum. For example: curriculum structures; new learning theories about ways of knowing and implications for curriculum; transition stages within schooling; innovative learning technologies; gender; indigenous studies; multiculturalism and Australia's role in a global environment; sustainability and environmental issues and/or another curriculum dimension that is of concern to the student within their own context. Students will explore their negotiated focus through presentation and assignment work.

The aim of this subject is to enable students to understand and apply the principles of design and analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) within the educational context. The subject provides a comprehensive introduction to trial design features used to limit bias, essential aspects of trial design, conduct, analysis and reporting, and challenges and solutions for conducting RCTs within the education context. At the end of the subject, it is expected that students will be able to contribute effectively to the planning, conduct and reporting of an RCT within an education context.

Throughout the subject, the emphasis will be on practical issues faced by researchers in the conduct of RCTs in education, and participants will be provided with skills to design and conduct rigorous RCTs in this research area. This subject covers: when is an RCT design appropriate, ethical considerations, principles and methods of randomisation in controlled trials, types of RCTs, allocation to groups, outcome measurements, understanding implementation and process measures, cost-analysis, statistical approaches, data interpretation and reporting.

Students will learn the theoretical underpinnings of environmental education through a study of the concept of environmentalism. The subject will combine an introduction to theory and practice in the field of environmental education. A particular focus will be on different understandings of nature and the environment and the implications of these for education. This will include the role that science has played and continues to play in our understanding of both the environment and education. The subject will provide students with some of the important strategies for the development of environmental education in a variety of sectors. It will also provide ideas for educational activities. In addition, the subject will deal with ways of actualising individuals or groups who wish to learn how to become involved in action for the environment and social change.

This subject will introduce students entering, or already in, the education sector to the many ways that evaluation is used in education. The subject will begin with an introduction to the origins and the political and social contexts of evaluation as well as the nature and logic of evaluation. Subsequent weeks will focus on the applied fields of evaluation set in the context of education. There are six applied fields of evaluation that will be covered: 1) performance evaluation (student assessment; teacher reflective practice); 2) product evaluation (curriculum effectiveness); 3) program evaluation (school accreditation; organisational/systems-level evaluation); 4) personnel evaluation (teacher performance appraisal; principal performance appraisal); 5) policy evaluation (policy to practice and practice to policy studies); 6) proposal evaluation (assessing grant-making applications for funding). The subject will culminate with a look at meta-evaluation (evaluating evaluations).

This subject provides students with an introduction to evaluation fundamentals, including: the nature and purposes of evaluation, the logic of evaluation, types of evaluations, values, and professional standards.

In this subject we examine the variability of human development and learning through theoretical perspectives and research evidence. We will explore the cultural, social, cognitive and emotional processes that support learning and factors that are associated with learning and learning difficulties. We will examine the implications for teaching learners experiencing learning difficulties.

International Issues in Arts Education is an online community based subject that provides an introduction and foundation to current issues in arts education. As a researcher, and collaborative and multidisciplinary educator, you will explore and examine contemporary issues that are explored to inform and develop a foundation for research in arts practice, learning and perception. The subject provides flexibility for students to investigate more deeply their areas of interest, including issues pertaining to art forms and disciplinary based learning. This online community is positioned in the arts pathway to allow flexibility to pursue your areas of professional interest and self-direct creative independent research. ​

This subject focuses on the importance of planning effective literacy approaches and strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners. It will highlight how teachers cater for diversity through drawing on clinical approaches to meeting the literacy learning needs of diverse learners. Informing this subject will be an examination of the interface between literacy and social context, taking into account considerations of gender, EAL/D, socio-economic status, Indigenous status. Attention will be given to interventionist approaches that address the needs of exceptional learners. Turn around pedagogies and the need to counter deficit discourses in relation to diverse learners will be addressed in this subject.

This subject will focus on educational research and practical issues related to the teaching and learning of mathematics through other school subjects in primary and secondary classrooms. In the current world we live in, to be numerate is no longer just about the ability to apply algorithms and procedures in mathematics classrooms; mathematical knowledge and skills are being applied in an increasingly wide range of familiar and unfamiliar situations.

Through engagement in learning activities, participants will experience the role that mathematics plays in STEM and HASS subjects in schools. Acknowledging and incorporating mathematics across the curriculum both enrich the study of other school subjects and contribute to the development of a broader and deeper understanding of mathematics itself. Through the provision of research-guided and practice-informed knowledge, skills, dispositions and mindsets, this subject helps participants and their non-mathematics teaching colleagues to:

• Identify the specific mathematical knowledge and skills embedded in different school subjects
• Provide learning experiences and opportunities that support the application of participants’ general mathematical knowledge and skills
• Use the language of mathematics in their teaching as appropriate.

This subject explores strategies for promoting positive learning for students, particularly those with disability, enrolled in early intervention and school settings. Structured online learning experiences, along with face-to-face sessions, focus on research-validated approaches for effective teaching and learning. Whole school curriculum approaches will be examined, alongside targeted interventions for students requiring intensive support for their learning.

Engagement in all face-to-face lectures is required.

This subject explores strategies for promoting positive behaviour for students, particularly those with disability, enrolled in early intervention and school settings. Structured online learning experiences, along with face-to-face sessions, focus on research-validated approaches for effective behaviour management. Whole school approaches will be examined, alongside targeted interventions for students requiring intensive interventions.

Engagement in all face-to-face lectures and online modules is required.

In this subject students will explore and understand the ideas that shape practice-based research in the contemporary arts education through the examination of practice and evaluation as artmaker and practitioner. Educators from a range of educational settings will engage in personal artful inquiry to develop a body of work as a method for exploring the identities and practices of artist, researcher, teacher and artist-teacher. These multiple perspectives and identities will be evaluated through ongoing reflective practice, collaborative discussion and associated readings in practice based research that explore beliefs concerning the relationship and associated tensions of being artmaker and being teacher. Artistry, artful inquiry and associated personal dialogue, will be documented, critiqued and analysed through critical reflective practice, and evaluated in an iterative cycle both within the class and through regular contributions to a discussion forum. Students will present and perform arts based research, and submit an accompanying exegesis that positions their practice in educational settings.

Communities of arts practices feature in arts based research internationally. These communities are multi, inter and cross disciplinary, existing in multiple spaces and places and offer openings to new thinking, ideas and collective learning. This subject provides a connection with the discourse of communities of arts practices, professional connections and openings into those communities yet to be encountered. You will identify and position yourself within communities of arts based practices from multidisciplinary and international sites. Through reflective practice, you will explore their own professional practices in relation to these communities of arts practices. This subject will allow professionals to explore, design and develop their own arts communities within contemporary arts educational practice.

Through critical reading, observation and close analysis of practice or another arts-based learning context, students will identify the integral connections between the arts, engagement and learning. Students will explore the conditions that enable engaging arts experiences for children and young people and investigate the distinctive forms of knowledge that characterise engagement in the arts. Through reflection and research, students will synthesise and articulate how these are interpreted and evidenced, as well as exploring strategies for implementation and advocacy.

This subject focuses on identity and young people with an emphasis on the diversity of young people's artistic expression. It explores engagement with popular and traditional cultures and focuses especially on the diverse ways in which different groups of young people appropriate, invent and re-invent cultural expressions through the arts. Flexible delivery will provide students with the conceptual tools for understanding the role the visual arts, music and drama and related cultural activities play in young people’s identity formation both in and out of school. It will examine creativity and engagement in the arts for, by, with and about young people in a range of educational and community contexts. Learning will be reinforced by fieldwork and assignments linked to cultural site visits. ​

This subject examines assessment of competency in a range of educational settings from Early Childhood to Tertiary. Various approaches to the collection of assessment data are examined including tests, observation, portfolios and the development and application of rubrics. Assessment design and management processes are discussed and critiqued with respect to validity and reliability perspectives, along with the influence of key policies and central debates in this field.

This subject examines the interpretation and use of assessment data in a range of settings from Early Childhood to Tertiary. Various approaches to the interpretation of assessment data are examined, including criterion and standards referenced methods, with an emphasis on the reliability of data and the improvement of assessment processes. The valid use of assessment data to improve learning at individual, school, and system level are explored, as well as processes and practices which support such uses.

An exciting collaboration between Architecture and Arts Education, this subject examines how we should design, inhabit and maximise the use of student-centred learning spaces in schools and other educational institutions. Schools are increasingly adopting ‘innovative’ designs that are deemed to better suit the collaborative, creative, critical thinking, communication-focused characteristics required of graduates into the future. What do (and will) these spaces look like, now and into the future? In what ways do, and should, designers and educators collaborate on their design, implementation and use? How can we evaluate the effectiveness of these spaces, and develop an ongoing dialogue between designers and teachers that builds a broad understanding of the educational and design professions’ languages and epistemologies? In finding ways of maximising use of flexible learning spaces, this interdisciplinary subject introduces students to the links that should exist between new pedagogies and space.

This unique subject is delivered jointly by the Melbourne Graduate School of Education and the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning. Classes are typically made up of architecture students and emerging teachers who work collaboratively on design and education scenarios, informed by field trips to exemplary schools and design facilities. The subject is informed by research from the University of Melbourne’s Learning Environment Applied Research Network (LEaRN), a research centre formed by Education, Architecture and Medicine in 2008, and its material is underpinned by research emerging from this world-leading group.

This subject investigates the nature of student engagement in order to support the creative work of teachers in bringing students and curriculum together in meaningful encounter. Special emphasis is placed on comprehending and building teacher’s knowledge of those they teach: who these people are (their ways of being), how they change/learn (becoming), and how this knowledge and experience, often downplayed, contributes to the creative task of teaching. Such knowledge is employed to inform the design task of unit planning as this articulates the broader expectations for who the students are asked to be through the unit, as well as the learning activities and content. Unit planning is also positioned as defining the educational ‘space’ which contextualizes the specific clinical interventions that a teacher designs and performs.

Leading ideas in contemporary education are introduced and critically examined. Concepts explored include intentional teaching, 21st century learning, transnational education, powerful knowledge, power and knowledge, educational privilege and equity and social identity. These concepts are set within the fields of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, policy and governance and current debates within these fields. A critical examination of the key concepts is made by juxtaposing local, national and global perspectives and demonstrating how these concepts are taken up in existing research projects. Students will draw on their own professional and educational experiences to investigate ideas and their application to practice. Negotiated, integrated learning via theory, case studies, simulation exercises and work based projects will then be developed.

This subject examines the implementation of programs and policies designed to promote social inclusion and equity. It considers how practices, across a range of educational settings, respond to social diversity, and it examines the barriers as well as the opportunities for achieving more equitable and inclusive educational participation and experiences. Structural categories and social patterns of difference are analysed alongside individual or group experiences of inclusion/exclusion. Students will be encouraged to draw on their own professional and educational experiences as an initial basis to investigate diversity and social inclusion. The subject combines overview of current research and policy with case studies of particular workplace and educational initiatives. Topics covered include: diversity and inclusion in the workplace, in higher education, in early childhood, in secondary and primary schooling; disability; social exclusion; race and ethnicity; gender; socio-economic leadership and institutional change; educational reform; international trends in diversity and inclusion policies.

The aim of this subject is an improved understanding of educational practice and theory, leading to deeper comprehension and innovative practice. Through an examination of their practice students will develop sophisticated conceptions of how teaching and learning support knowing and understanding. We begin by thinking through, writing about and sharing our personal experience of teaching and learning situations. These teaching and learning situations will be analysed and synthesised through an exploration of educational philosophies, particularly those concerned with experience but also those dealing with the relationship between knowledge and power. This process will enable interpretation and evaluation of the various ways our conceptions of teaching and learning support knowing and understanding. This will result in students’ increased capacity to improve teaching practice, leading to more effective learning, knowing and understanding in the interests of student equity.

This subject offers an overview and exploration of contemporary theories about difference, equality, social justice, identity and youth. It maps the recent history and development of these ideas, and situates them in relation to youth studies. The politics and processes of social change are examined, including what claims to social change and social justice involve and some of the central challenges and dilemmas this represents for young people. Students will gain an understanding of major and influential debates involving the above key concepts, and critically explore their relevance to educational research, theory and practice. Examples will be drawn from national and international settings. There will be opportunities for students to develop in-depth study of select concepts and issues. Topics covered include: feminist and postcolonial theories of identity and difference; diverse approaches to understanding subjectivity; new forms of gender and class analysis; anti-racism; social justice and human rights; and the impact of theories of difference and identity on social and educational practices.

This subject explores educational leadership, with a special focus on leadership for school and systemic transformation. The subject explores the notion of leadership for transformation. Transformation is considered to be significant, systematic and sustained change that results in high levels of achievement for all students in all settings taking account of the particular circumstances in different settings. Key topics covered include leadership for success, instructional leadership, transformational leadership, distributed leadership, and system leadership. Other topics include professional development of leaders and leading change. Students will apply these notions to their own leadership and research transformation in a context of their own interest.

This subject is concerned with building a framework of knowledge to gain an understanding of educational organisations. The structure, organisation and culture of educational organisations are critically explored through the conceptual tool of framing. Leadership frameworks are used as a lens to explore structural, human resource, political and symbolic dimensions of organisations, whilst organisational behaviour focuses on the individual, group and system levels of an organisation. Students apply these concepts to a situation of professional interest.

The subject focuses on the leadership and management issues focused on improving teaching and learning in schools. It provides a definition of curriculum leadership, explores contemporary ideas of teaching and learning, explores the key leadership role of capacity building, and considers the contexts in which schools exist and how these impact on schools.

This subject examines the leadership necessary for developing a learning community. Concepts such as learning organisation, learning community, professional learning community and communities of practice will be defined and explored. Students will be expected to understand, apply and critically evaluate the concept of a learning community within their own context. Students will explore processes for building personal, professional and organisational capacity to establish, enhance or maintain a learning community. Students will also understand and develop appropriate leadership skills to support the notion of learning communities.

This subject focuses on current and emerging issues in enhancing teacher quality and quality teaching in educational settings. It will investigate the leadership capabilities necessary to create an effective environment to enhance student learning and success through developing and improving the performance of teachers and leaders. It covers the personal and organisational issues of managing change, providing strategic interventions to enhance performance, and building personal, professional, and organisational capacity. It explores how leaders put into place the philosophy, policies, processes, and practices necessary to improve teacher quality and performance such as induction, talent management, professional learning, teacher performance, teacher motivation and job satisfaction. The subject reflects a national standards framework for teaching and learning and draws on national and international research concerning teacher quality. This subject aligns with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership National Professional Standard for Principals.

This subject examines how leaders in education are required take a broader view of their constituents to include not only students, teachers, parents, but also members of the educational community and other groups, agencies and organisations who may also have in interest in education or particular educational institutions. Educational leaders are required to respond to the changing needs and contexts by being strategic, innovative and providing appropriate programs through relevant and productive partnerships. The subject offers various lenses that leaders can use in order to respond effectively to context and people and provides the appropriate curriculum and additional offerings necessary to achieve appropriate student outcomes. Types of innovation such as incremental and disruptive innovation are explored in meeting the needs of educators and their communities.

This subject addresses development and understanding of self and others, interpersonal relationships, management of organisation and individual stress, assertive and non-assertive behaviour, conflict management, and negotiation skills from a leadership perspective. The subject is based on the assumption that leadership is distributed so that everyone is a leader.

This subject explores research into educational effectiveness and school improvement and examines the knowledge base of initiatives aimed at improving educational effectiveness and the role of leaders in improving learning outcomes. Students are given a significant opportunity to apply this knowledge through reviewing the effectiveness of a school, and then planning for improvement at either the whole school level, or for part of a school, such as a curriculum area.

This subject will examine changing definitions and conceptualisations of literacy in the 21st century. Candidates will explore literacy as a social practice, and the ways in which literacy is embedded in the construction of disciplines in institutions. Both in and out of school literacy practices will be investigated. Candidates will be introduced to key sociological and philosophical theorists in the fields of language and literacy and will critically engage with contemporary literacy and English curricula, and literacy and language policies.

This subject will focus on the nature and role of language as a meaning-making resource in literacy education and examine how language works at different levels of meaning. It will also address the range of language resources required to communicate and participate in diverse settings such as schools, alternative educational contexts and workplaces, and develop students’ knowledge about language and discourse analysis. Informing this subject will be an examination of a range of perspectives on language, including sociolinguistic and functional perspectives and current research on language and language learning theories.

This subject will explore theoretical perspectives on reading and what is required to be an effective reader in the 21st Century. The subject will highlight how teachers support students’ acquisition of reading skills, strategies and understandings through drawing on clinical approaches that address the diverse skill sets, abilities and needs of different learners. Research-informed classroom pedagogies for effective teaching of reading across the years of schooling will be emphasised. Topics will include: theories of how children learn to read; reading for engagement and comprehension; reading for learning; reading for pleasure; text selection; reading multimodal texts; reading and interpretation; gender and reading; responding to reading; and assessing reading.

This subject will examine the productive aspects of language and literacy through the composition of written, audio, visual, and multimodal texts, in spoken, print and/or digital forms. Intersections between theory and creating texts in practice will be explored. Participants will build the professional knowledge and skills required to teach students how to coherently express and develop ideas and communicate information for different purposes, through considered and deliberate choices about text structure and organisation, across a diverse range of text types, and modes. Participants will also reflect on and develop an understanding of themselves as writers/text creators; and of the role of teacher as writer in developing students as writers. Topics include: theory for teaching writing/text composition; writing and creating texts in the current Victorian/Australian Curriculum; social semiotics and designing meaning in different and multiple modes; composing multimodal print and digital texts; pedagogical models for teaching text composition; creativity and imagination in designing meaning; generating ideas; knowledge of function and form to enable students to creatively and purposefully shape meaning; teachers as writers/text composers; assessing student produced texts.

This subject will address quality teaching in mathematics and numeracy from theoretical, empirical and practical perspectives drawing on local and international studies such as TIMSS and The Learner’s Perspective Study. This subject will also provide participants with knowledge, skills and dispositions to build teacher capacity in their own school and thereby improve numeracy outcomes for all students. Participants will explore and use specific strategies, such as coaching, lesson study and instructional rounds.

This subject is concerned with improving the learning outcomes for students in primary and secondary schools in selected mathematical topics. Diagnostic assessments and common student misconceptions will be discussed. Pedagogical content knowledge and teaching strategies will be considered, drawing on a range of resources. Effective practices for differentiating instruction which meets the requirement to challenge and extend all students will be examined.

This subject will address how the teaching of mathematics in upper primary and secondary schools can be enhanced through the use of technologies that offer pedagogical opportunities. The impact on curriculum, teaching and assessment of mathematics will be considered. Participants will explore pedagogical content knowledge and teaching strategies for teaching mathematics with technology, drawing on a range of resources and research literature.

This subject examines the intersection between science and culture as it is experienced and communicated by individuals, groups and institutions, in particular, in settings such as museums, zoos and science education centres. Science communication is critical in these present times, for educators, media specialists, scientists, businesses and industries and for every citizen. At a time when there is increased participation in communication through personal, social and mobile technologies, an understanding of both your place and potential as an interpreter and communicator of science is essential. This subject will provide you with the benefits of skills that will assist you to interrogate our contemporary culture and the place of science within it. These skills would include the means by which to question and respond to the communication challenges inherent in such agendas as the promotion of science, the constructing of public awareness and knowledge of science and the developments of critical, scientifically literate citizens. These skills will be developed in settings that are set up to promote these agendas, that is, museums, zoos and science education centres, culminating in a personal understanding of your own capacities and opportunities in the field of science communication.

This subject focuses on the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary science education. It will provide the foundational knowledge needed to successfully teach, design and evaluate integrated curricula by focusing on research and best practice in interdisciplinary science education.

The subject will explore issues at the level of the curriculum in relation to national policies, and at the level of the classroom, pedagogies and assessment. Relations between the sciences, mathematics, engineering, technology and arts (STEM or STEAM) and the balance between disciplinary knowledge and (generic) skills will be discussed. Also the broader societal context will be addressed: how can interdisciplinary science education contribute to the preparation of all students for future studies and careers?

An important focus throughout the subject will be on what interdisciplinary science education might look like (units, projects, modules), and what purposes it might serve. The subject will take a particular focus on how to design, resource, implement, and assess STEM units.

This subject focuses on Science Communication with a particular focus on uses of (digital) technologies. Science communicators have different roles as teachers, journalists, museum curators, each playing a major role in promoting public understanding of science. This subject examines the skills and experiences that participants bring and works with them to further develop their abilities as communicators of science, focusing on opportunities and affordances of using digital technologies. Common practices, goals and outcomes in science communication will be explored, and the mediating influence of beliefs, values and understandings of and about science discussed. In particular, the importance of reflecting a humanistic perspective on science, as recently described in the national curriculum, in order to better engage various audiences (i.e. students, general public etc.) will be discussed.

This subject examines education policy reform in different national contexts, including Australia. Students will critically examine the main international trends in education reform and how they are manifested in a national context. These trends include: education as a tool of economic policy, approaches to regulation and quality, standardised testing, employability/21st century skills, and responding to changes in the labour market. Students will analyse the conceptual ideas underpinning education policy reform as well as the cultural, socio-economic and political forces shaping policy development and the politics of reform. Students will draw on a range of theories and approaches to examine policy responses to issues such as disengagement, youth unemployment and the relatively low status of vocational education.

This subject examines the processes of contemporary globalisation and the impact on policy directions at the national level. This includes the selection, development and monitoring of education policies. Through this subject, students will critically examine some of the key debates concerning notions of globalisation, how educational ideas circulate around the world, the role of global institutions (such as transnational corporations, intergovernmental organisations, NGOs and the media) in promoting a particular 'neo-liberal' view of education as a response to the demands of a global economy and a globally inter-connected world. Students will draw on the relevant theoretical and research literature to consider the impact on individuals, schools and communities, and how neo-liberal ideas are being resisted around the world.

This subject examines education policy in an international context. Students will examine the nature and role of education policy, the intersection with other social and economic policies, and the key conceptual ideas underpinning contemporary policy. Through this subject, students will analyse the cultural, socio-economic and political forces shaping policies in education, focussing mainly on schooling and tertiary education. Students will draw on a range of theories and approaches that inform critical policy analysis to examine issues such as the impact of privilege and disadvantage on educational outcomes, transitions through education and into employment, the structure of education systems, and the impact of national, regional and international factors. This will inform critical analysis of key contemporary policy debates and develop professional skills in policy analysis.

This subject examines the implementation of programs and policies designed to promote social inclusion and equity. It considers how practices, across a range of educational settings, respond to social diversity, and it examines the barriers as well as the opportunities for achieving more equitable and inclusive educational participation and experiences. Structural categories and social patterns of difference are analysed alongside individual or group experiences of inclusion/exclusion. Students will be encouraged to draw on their own professional and educational experiences as an initial basis to investigate diversity and social inclusion. The subject combines overview of current research and policy with case studies of particular workplace and educational initiatives. Topics covered include: diversity and inclusion in the workplace, in higher education, in early childhood, in secondary and primary schooling; disability; social exclusion; race and ethnicity; gender; socio-economic leadership and institutional change; educational reform; international trends in diversity and inclusion policies.

This subject provides students with the opportunity for a practical engagement with education policy issues through a placement in an approved organisation or through structured visits to a number of approved educational organisations. There is the potential to select pre-negotiated options or for students to develop an individualised program subject to the approval of the course coordinator. Students will examine education policy and policy reform issues in the context of policy development, implementation and/or evaluation. They will draw on the research literature to examine the key policy issues and debates relevant to their placement or series of visits.

This subject explores the educator’s role in the promotion of student wellbeing including contemporary issues in the delivery of wellbeing in educational settings and effective helping strategies in addressing young people’s wellbeing. Students will engage with and apply a psycho-educational model of helping for educators with a strong focus on skilled interpersonal communication and its role in effective helping. Personal values and professional accountability in helping in educational setting are also explored.

A study of the historical, social and political context within which student wellbeing is understood; and the concepts, theories and evidence-bases directing approaches to promoting wellbeing in school settings.

A study of theory and skills relevant to managing complex and challenging interactions in educational settings; research on effective conflict management models and skills and applications to formal and informal negotiation and problem solving; a study of group dynamics and group processes applicable to leading participatory approaches to curriculum development and education tasks. Applied exercises are used to enhance skills in leading collaborative and inclusive approaches to wellbeing.

This subject explores theories and models of leadership, change and school culture in relationship to student wellbeing. In this subject students will assess and recommend specific approaches to change related to student wellbeing based on current research and analysis of school context, structure, policy and other organizational factors.

This subject explores theories and models of school community partnerships in relationship to student wellbeing. In this subject students will examine how to improve parental engagement and working cross-sectorally with community agencies and organisations. A visit to a community based organisation will be required.

This subject engages students in a critical reflection on the promotion of student wellbeing in educational settings and the role of teachers and school staff in that process. The focus is on the application of advanced communication skills as part of a psycho-educational model of helping with a particular emphasis on goal-setting, strategy development and implementation in a range of educational contexts. The use of cognitive behavioural and solution focused approaches in educational settings are also explored.