Coursework
Master of Teaching (Primary)
- CRICOS Code: 093411M
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What will I study?
Overview
During the Master of Teaching (Primary) course, you will learn how to become a confident primary school teacher, ready to lead your own classes. You will become an active member of a school in your first semester. This means you can directly connect what you learn at university with what you learn in the classroom.
Through studies in Evidence-Based Teaching, the Master of Teaching will help you develop interventionist educational assistance. You'll develop the professional skills to assess, diagnose and support the individual learning needs of all students, and work with learners of all abilities.
Study structure
The Master of Teaching (Primary) course is 200 points of coursework and is comprised of both supported teacher placement and face-to face learning. The course is offered both full-time (2 years/4 semesters) and part-time (4 years/8 semesters).
First year structure
In the full-time study mode, the first three semesters focus on your development as a primary teacher, equipping you to teach across the curriculum and personalise learning to meet students’ individual needs. You will become familiar with different approaches to teacher-led research, and based on your previous studies and semester results, you can choose to specialise in one of the following areas:
- Arts; health and physical education; humanities; languages; literacy; mathematics; science; science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Second year structure
In the second year, you will choose to follow either the coursework or research pathway:
Coursework Pathway
Coursework candidates must complete:
- Compulsory coursework
- A professional learning capstone project
- 1 x elective (with the option of a Place Based Elective).
Place Based Electives allow you to undertake work experience in different education settings, e.g. in rural Australia, in an indigenous community, or in a museum or art gallery. Eligibility is subject to meeting academic requirements.
Research Pathway
Research candidates must complete:
- Compulsory coursework
- A research proposal in an area of interest
Completion of the research option allows progress to a PhD (subject to meeting academic requirements). The research pathway is only available to students who achieve an average of 75% or above in the first year and to those in the full-time study option.
Also available: Master of Teaching (Early Childhood & Primary)
Course map
- Master of Teaching (Primary) course map - full time, coursework (112KB, PDF)
- Master of Teaching (Primary) course map - full time, research (84KB, PDF)
- Master of Teaching (Primary) course map - part time (145KB, PDF)
Teacher Candidates choose one specialised pathway to enhance the generalist primary qualification.
Course schedules
Explore this course
Explore the subjects you could choose as part of this degree.
- 6.25 pts
This subject enables the Master of Teaching cohort examine historical, cultural, sociological and philosophical constructions of childhood, youth, families and the educative process. By exploring these themes, students have the opportunity to develop a sense of how the role of the family, constructions of childhood and youth, and questions of curriculum and pedagogy are determined by global historical and colonial movements that influence contemporary educational systems.
This subject places educational sociology in an Australian context by recognising the central contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, culture, perspectives and pedagogies make to our national educational identity. By locating Indigenous issues in this way, the importance of relationships with parents, carers and the broader community are emphasised, and the educative process is seen to be intimately connected to the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Candidates will cover a broad range of strategies for working effectively and sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers and wider community in the education process, and understand how to work effectively, sensitively and confidentially with them.
The subject is built around four central themes:
- Curriculum: history and sociology of knowledge – focusing on school knowledge, the Australian Curriculum, the nature of power and knowledge
- Sociological constructions of childhood and youth - gender, generational change, sociological and historical purpose of schooling
- Purposes of education and care – education systems, mass schooling, academic and vocational education, markets, neoliberalism and equity
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island education (including the impact of culture, cultural identity, linguistic background, pedagogy, curriculum and school-community partnerships).
- 6.25 pts
This subject will provide foundational conceptual frameworks for understanding learning and teaching necessary to Teacher Candidates’ development as Clinical Practitioners. It will examine how learning can be understood and enhanced from a range of evidence-based, theoretical perspectives. Candidates will gain knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning. Specifically pedagogical practices focusing on understanding how learning occurs and the processes that facilitate classroom learning will be identified. This subject will also support Teacher Candidates’ explorations of classroom management practices and strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety to provide high-quality learning environments that meet school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements. It will equip Teacher Candidates with the fundamental skills necessary to begin to observe, design and implement whole classroom approaches to inclusion. This subject will introduce the Clinical Teaching Cycle as a primary approach to teacher practice that positions assessment as a key underpinning to teachers’ instructional planning using the collection and interpretation of valid evidence. Examples of various conceptualisations and purposes of assessment will be used to develop deep understandings of methods of evidence collection and interpretation. The theme of this core subject is ‘planning and evidence’.
- 12.5 pts
This subject provides opportunities for Teacher Candidates to begin to demonstrate the nexus between theory and the practice of teaching, drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives and contemporary research to support their teaching practice. During clinical teaching practice, experienced Mentor Teachers will continue to support Teacher Candidates in collaboration with university-based academics who are also engaged in the on-campus teaching program.
This subject requires Teacher Candidates to demonstrate their developing professional knowledge, clinical practice, and professional engagement in the primary school context. The school placement focuses on developing an understanding of student characteristics, principles of learning and teaching, classroom management and school organisation in typical primary school settings. Candidates begin to analyse teaching and learning to identify lesson formats that make productive classrooms and pedagogies, and are effective for individual students. Teacher Candidates will integrate the content of academic subjects taught during the semester with their teaching practice in an intentional manner in order to demonstrate developing understanding of students’ progression along learning and development trajectories. Teacher Candidates take graduated responsibility for the planning, implementation and assessment of lessons based on national and state curricula. Teacher Candidates will differentiate their teaching to include students with diverse needs and backgrounds and consider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives on learning and development.
The Clinical Teaching Practice seminars are framed by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the Graduate Level. At seminars, Teacher Candidates will engage in collaborative learning and critical reflection.
Note: Teacher Candidates who are not familiar with contemporary Australian school contexts are encouraged to undertake a non-assessed program of workshops titled ‘Introduction to Contemporary Australian Schools’. Candidates develop knowledge of Australian classroom environments, typical school structures, policies and procedures as well as build skills for personal professional interaction between students, mentors and peers. Those undertaking the program will still be expected to attend on-campus classes, school placement days as well as professional seminars where scheduled.
- 12.5 pts
This subject provides an orientation to teaching mathematics in Victorian primary schools. Teacher Candidates will develop pedagogical content knowledge for the effective teaching and learning of the following mathematics strands from Prep to Year 6:
- Content Strand: Number and Algebra
- Proficiencies: Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving, Reasoning.
Within this content strand, Teacher Candidates will analyse the development of key concepts in primary mathematics and identify critical progression points for children’s learning. They will consider typical conceptions and misconceptions held by children, their likely causes, diagnostic tools to diagnose them and teaching strategies for changing them.
Teacher Candidates will be introduced to assessment schemes for children’s understanding (e.g., Mathematics Online Interview) to improve school students’ learning in the content strand Number and Algebra. The four proficiencies will be introduced and Teacher Candidates will identify the advantages and limitations of particular assessment items for monitoring children’s understanding.
Teacher Candidates will consider Victorian and Australian curriculum documents and resources, lesson planning, classroom assessment and effective use of resources.
Teacher Candidates will consider important pedagogical issues such as: questioning, selection of good examples, representations and models of mathematical ideas. By widening their appreciation of exemplary mathematics teaching, Teacher Candidates are expected to develop reflective mathematics teaching practices.
- 12.5 pts
This subject will introduce Teacher Candidates to research and practice that informs the development of literacy in the early years of schooling, the scope and sequence of language and literacy learning in the early years and the diverse nature of children’s language and literacy experiences in the prior-to school and school years.
Emphasis will be on theoretical perspectives of literacy acquisition and approaches that support the interrelationship between oral language, reading and writing. The focus here will be on the development of school students’ language with particular attention given to aspects of the English language such as phonology, vocabulary and grammar related to early reading and writing; theories of reading acquisition that inform the teaching of reading; the development of writing; curriculum frameworks and assessment tools. Verbal and non-verbal communication strategies that promote student engagement will be incorporated along with the exploration of strategies to support whole, small group and individualised instruction in relation to print-based and multi-media texts to support literacy learning.
Teacher Candidates will develop knowledge, appreciation and respect for the literature of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders including storytelling traditions (oral narrative) and contemporary literature and broad understanding of the social, historical and cultural contexts associated with different uses of language and textual features.
- 6.25 pts
EDUC90884 Integrating Clinical Practice (Prim) builds on the learning developed in EDUC90885 Introduction to Clinical Practice (Prim)to further explore and consolidate Teacher Candidates’ knowledge and application of assessment, pedagogy and instructional approaches related to clinical practice. It aims to further equip Teacher Candidates with the knowledge and skills necessary to assess student learning at the class and individual levels, and then to justify the selection of strategies appropriate to students’ learning needs.
Students will become familiar with planning frameworks that promote inclusive classroom and consider pedagogical approaches and strategies designed to meet students’ learning needs. Teacher Candidates will connect and engage with students, developing their knowledge of verbal and non-verbal communication to support student understanding. Teacher Candidates will gain enhanced understandings of assessment techniques that underpin the articulation of learning progressions and methods that provide grounds for making reliable judgements about student learning will support the planning and implementation of inclusive classroom practices. Teacher Candidates will develop methods for collecting and maintaining accurate and reliable data on student achievement and strategies for reporting to students and parents/carers.
Teacher Candidates will articulate learning progressions using student behaviours; develop methods for making reliable judgements about student learning; analyse student evidence to determine the next steps in learning and to evaluate progress; identify interventions and their associated research; select interventions to match the student and their context; and reflect on the implementation of interventions. The theme of the content presented in this core subject is ‘making judgements and adjustments’.
- 6.25 pts
In this subject Teacher Candidates will explore research, theories, and strategies that are useful for examining diversity and inclusion in Australian school classrooms. Teacher Candidates will investigate ways in which schools reinforce and/or challenge the social norms. Furthermore, Candidates will gain knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how they affect learning.
The subject will also explore the school and the classroom itself with their own dominant systems of values, ideologies and differing relationships of power and authority. Teacher Candidates will examine curriculum and legislative requirements that inform school policy and the development of systems and strategies that support student safety and wellbeing. Inter-personal relationships in schools, classrooms and school communities will also be examined. Teacher Candidates will identify the types of interactions that occur as well as what opportunities for learning and development arise. As part of this subject teacher candidates will understand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers.
- 12.5 pts
This subject provides further opportunities for Teacher Candidates to consolidate their understanding of the nexus between theory and practice of teaching, drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives and contemporary research. Teacher Candidates will consolidate and deepen their understandings of professional knowledge, clinical teaching practice and professional engagement in the primary school context.
This subject has a particular focus on assessment of individual students. Teacher Candidates will learn how to track student learning closely, to record and analyse assessment data and make clinical judgements for future teaching. Teacher Candidates will consolidate their subject and pedagogical expertise in the area of their chosen disciplinary specialisation. Teacher Candidates will extend their responsibility for the planning, implementation and assessment of lessons based on national and state curricula during extended periods of supervised teaching. Teacher Candidates will continue differentiate their teaching to include students with diverse needs and backgrounds and will take into account Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives on learning and development.
Experienced Mentor Teachers will continue to support Teacher Candidates in collaboration with academics who are also engaged in the on-campus teaching program. The Clinical Teaching Practice seminars are framed by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the Graduate Level. At seminars, Teacher Candidates will engage in collaborative learning and critical reflection.
- 6.25 pts
This subject introduces Teacher Candidates to the field of arts education, with a focus on drama, music and the visual arts in primary education, and the role of digital and design technologies within the arts. Teacher Candidates will engage in theoretical and practical studies to become familiar with a range of knowledge, skills, processes and pedagogies for developing drama, music and visuals arts programs in the primary school. Teacher Candidates will explore digital and design technologies through the lens of design thinking and the arts, involving strategies for planning, analysing and generating designed solutions. They will examine the place of arts education and digital and design technologies in current policies including national and state curriculum developments, as well as national and international platforms such as UNESCO. Through reflection on their studio experiences, Teacher Candidates will understand the ways in which learning in the Arts and digital and design technologies supports cultural understanding, creativity and innovation, imaginative uses of technology, and communication through contemporary, traditional and emerging arts forms.
- 6.25 pts
This subject will lead teacher candidates to increase their understanding of the advanced forms of language and literacy that are developed in the middle years of schooling.
Candidates will engage with key research that indicates a significant transition in English literacy in the final years of primary school, the challenges facing teachers and school students in this phase of learning and the classroom practice that best supports middle years students’ learning.
Topics include: the multiple forms of literacy required for the comprehension, composition and production of complex texts central to English and other areas of the curriculum; the strategies that assist all school students to engage in comprehension; higher order thinking; critical analysis and inquiry around various written, visual, multimodal and technological texts; the development of academic language proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking.
- 6.25 pts
This subject aims to build Teacher Candidates’ capacities for teaching Primary Humanities and the Social Sciences. Teacher Candidates will develop knowledge of the Primary Humanities curricula domains of Geography, History, Economics and Business, Civics and Citizenship. Teacher Candidates will be introduced to the Humanities as a broad, complex and dynamic field concerned with people as social beings who interact with one another and with natural and social environments through time and place. General capabilities will be addressed such as critical and creative thinking, intercultural understanding, ethical understanding and personal and social responsibility. Teacher Candidates will explore social and environmental issues in the Australian and global contexts. This includes learning about diversity, worldview and democratic principles to enable students to participate in our world as informed citizens. Teacher Candidates explore links to technological contexts, embedding digital technologies and creating design solutions. They will appreciate the important role technologies play in transforming, restoring and sustaining societies and supporting students to be regional and global citizens.
Through review of social and environmental issues and the experience of an excursion to a site linked to primary students’ Humanities learning, Teacher Candidates will further consider how the Humanities can be linked with other curriculum areas and in contexts beyond the school classroom.
- 6.25 pts
This subject supports Teacher Candidates to develop pedagogical content knowledge for the effective teaching and learning of the following mathematics strands from Foundation to Level 7:
- Content Strand: Measurement and Geometry
- Proficiencies: Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving, Reasoning.
Within this content strand, Teacher Candidates will critically analyse the development of key concepts in primary mathematics and identify critical progression points for children’s learning. They will consider typical conceptions and misconceptions held by children, their likely causes, diagnostic tools to diagnose them and teaching strategies for addressing them. Teacher Candidates will review and critique resources for teaching Measurement and Geometry in primary mathematics and examine tasks designed to achieve specific learning outcomes in this strand.
Teacher Candidates will consider research evidence related to select key issues for teaching Measurement and Geometry. They will examine cognitive and affective characteristics of mathematics classrooms that encourage deep learning in these content areas and in the proficiencies.
The links between mathematics and language will be examined, including a focus on strategies and resources for teaching those for whom English is a second language. Teacher Candidates will examine indigenous artwork for evidence of symmetry. They will examine the current Scope and Sequence (Victorian Curriculum: Mathematics) and relate this to various developmental pathways in the primary years.
- 6.25 pts
This subject builds upon the knowledge and skills developed in EDUC90885 Introduction to Clinical Practice and EDUC90880 Integrating Clinical Practice to support Teacher Candidates to become clinical practitioners. In so doing, Teacher Candidates will demonstrate their use of the Clinical Teaching Cycle as a guide to interventionist assessment and pedagogical and instructional decision-making. Specifically, Teacher Candidates will demonstrate growing proficiency in orchestrating inclusive classrooms, differentiating instruction and adjusting teaching to meet the needs of learners. In becoming clinical practitioners, Teacher Candidates will also develop capabilities which will prepare them to identify the scope of learning needs within a student group; the suitability of evidence collection for informing clinical judgement; and evidence-based learning progressions. The theme of the content presented in this core subject is ‘student data and interventionist practice’.
- 12.5 pts
This subject synthesises Teacher Candidates’ understanding of the characteristics of professional knowledge, clinical practice and engagement for professional accountability in the primary school context. Teacher Candidates will reflect critically on the ways in which educational theory and research inform practice.
The school placement is focused on clinical teaching across all curriculum areas in a generalist primary classroom. Teacher Candidates will demonstrate capacity to make sound clinical judgements and to independently deliver high impact clinical instruction for sustained periods using sequenced lessons and units of work. Teacher candidates will demonstrate a high level of 21st century skills and their ability to develop these skills in students. Experienced Mentor Teachers will continue to support Teacher Candidates in collaboration with academics who are also engaged in the on-campus teaching program.
The Clinical Teaching Practice seminars are framed by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the Graduate Level. At seminars, Teacher Candidates will engage in collaborative learning and critical reflection.
- 6.25 pts
This subject readies the generalist classroom teacher for the teaching of Health and Physical Education. It does so by drawing on the skills of high quality classroom teaching and applying these in the conduct of Health and Physical Education, both inside and outside the classroom. While Health and Physical Education is an integrated Learning Area within the Victorian Curriculum, the subject is structured via two parallel paths, taken by all Teacher Candidates, one of which emphasizes teaching of the Personal, Social and Community Health strand, the other the Movement and Physical Activity strand. Both of these paths focus on unit development in order to situate the curriculum content in activities that are meaningful to the children involved.
- 12.5 pts
This subject will develop and consolidate teacher candidates’ understanding of major science concepts through an examination of children’s everyday experiences. This development in science conceptual understandings will occur through the dynamic exploration of phenomena such as weather, motion and food, and understandings of students’ motivations to learn science, and their curiosity about the natural world.
This development in science conceptual understandings will occur through the dynamic exploration of phenomena such as weather, plants, motion and food, and align with, and contribute to, with students’ interests and motivation to learn science. Candidates will develop pedagogical skills that support students to be curious about the natural world and create.
Teacher Candidates will be introduced to key resources for science teaching in the form of activities, artefacts and digital technologies that will help them to plan for teaching science and technology concepts effectively in the classroom. They need to demonstrate that they can respond to the learning needs, curiosity and interests of primary students and design a sequence of learning experiences.
Candidates will also be assisted to design, teach and evaluate a sequential unit of science that they have implemented. Candidates will become familiar with, and know how to utilise, the educational research that addresses science conceptual teaching challenges and appropriate pedagogical approaches that respond to the well - documented learning needs of primary aged students.
Coursework option
Teacher Candidates following the Coursework Option complete the five subjects below and choose one Elective subject.
- Professional Learning Capstone (Prim) 25 pts
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.
- Literacy Assessment and Learning 6.25 pts
This subject will highlight the significance of literacy assessment and teaching to meet the individual learning needs of primary school students.
Topics will include: the social and cognitive factors that impact on primary school students’ literacy development and a review of related research; the key role of assessment in profiling students’ learning and the importance of targeted interventions in literacy.
Teacher Candidates will undertake an analysis of a range of assessment practices used to identify the literacy needs of students, including diagnostic and standardised tests and the evaluation of various forms of work samples against state curriculum standards. They will investigate literacy teaching programs and approaches, differentiated for particular student groups within classroom contexts, which may then be generalised to curriculum implementation for improved outcomes more broadly.
Teacher Candidates will also undertake a placement in a school or other educational setting (as a hurdle requirement).
- Primary Mathematics Education 3 6.25 pts
This subject will support Teacher Candidates to develop pedagogical content knowledge for the effective teaching and learning of the following mathematics strands from Prep to Year 6:
Content Strand: Statistics and Probability
Proficiencies: Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving, Reasoning.
Within this content strand, Candidates will analyse the development of key concepts in primary mathematics and identify critical progression points for children’s learning. They will consider typical conceptions and misconceptions held by children, their likely causes, diagnostic tools to diagnose them and teaching strategies for changing them.
They will review and critique resources for primary mathematics and examine tasks designed to achieve specific learning outcomes in these strands.
Candidates will consider research evidence related to selected key issues of teaching Statistics and Probability. They will examine cognitive and affective characteristics of mathematics classrooms that encourage deep learning in these content areas and in the proficiency strands.
- Primary Arts Education 2 6.25 pts
This subject will develop Teacher Candidates’ practical understanding of how the Arts can be applied in the primary classroom. Teacher Candidates will link studio practice to relevant theory and school experience to formulate a rationale for their emerging arts pedagogy. Studio time will involve practical arts making which emphasises content, skills, knowledge and resources for teaching both within the discrete arts disciplines, and for applying the Arts across the curriculum. Teacher Candidates will engage with the individual Drama, Music and Visual Arts components of the Victorian Curriculum, investigating their application (in and across artforms) in the classroom and whole school programs. Emphasis will be given to building awareness of avenues for continued professional learning in the arts.
- Inquiry Learning in the Humanities 6.25 pts
This subject builds on the skills and knowledge developed in EDUC90373 Primary Humanities Education. This subject aims to explore how the Humanities curriculum can be designed to help students understand the world around them. Emphasis will be placed on effective teaching and learning practices in the Humanities, with a particular focus on inquiry, digital and design technologies, student agency, questioning, critical thinking, authentic problem solving and communication strategies. Teacher Candidates will apply their understanding of these processes in a critical inquiry-based project focusing on Geography, History, Economics and Business, and Civics and Citizenship. The development of an inquiry-based unit aims to encourage young learners to explore and clarify values and attitudes, and to develop relevant knowledge and skills to understand their world. Through the inquiry process, opportunities for active and informed citizenship for the 21st century will be explored.
Research option
Teacher Candidates following the Research Option take the four subjects below.
- Education Research Methodology 12.5 pts
In this subject, students will develop an understanding of how to appraise, plan, implement and disseminate research in education. Students will participate in a series of lectures and seminars, focusing on: what constitutes research in education; the function of a literature review; methodologies and methods in education research; key issues in research ethics; the management and analysis of data and the fundamentals of research writing. Students will develop a research proposal and present an overview of the aims and significance of their proposed project.
- Literacy Assessment and Learning 6.25 pts
This subject will highlight the significance of literacy assessment and teaching to meet the individual learning needs of primary school students.
Topics will include: the social and cognitive factors that impact on primary school students’ literacy development and a review of related research; the key role of assessment in profiling students’ learning and the importance of targeted interventions in literacy.
Teacher Candidates will undertake an analysis of a range of assessment practices used to identify the literacy needs of students, including diagnostic and standardised tests and the evaluation of various forms of work samples against state curriculum standards. They will investigate literacy teaching programs and approaches, differentiated for particular student groups within classroom contexts, which may then be generalised to curriculum implementation for improved outcomes more broadly.
Teacher Candidates will also undertake a placement in a school or other educational setting (as a hurdle requirement).
- Primary Mathematics Education 3 6.25 pts
This subject will support Teacher Candidates to develop pedagogical content knowledge for the effective teaching and learning of the following mathematics strands from Prep to Year 6:
Content Strand: Statistics and Probability
Proficiencies: Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving, Reasoning.
Within this content strand, Candidates will analyse the development of key concepts in primary mathematics and identify critical progression points for children’s learning. They will consider typical conceptions and misconceptions held by children, their likely causes, diagnostic tools to diagnose them and teaching strategies for changing them.
They will review and critique resources for primary mathematics and examine tasks designed to achieve specific learning outcomes in these strands.
Candidates will consider research evidence related to selected key issues of teaching Statistics and Probability. They will examine cognitive and affective characteristics of mathematics classrooms that encourage deep learning in these content areas and in the proficiency strands.
- 12.5 pts
This elective explores active, participatory and critical approaches to the teaching and learning of literary texts for varying purposes and across a variety of educational environments. Students will learn how to plan and implement lessons and units of work that incorporate active-pedagogical techniques and processes. They will participate in workshops employing innovative, creative and experiential ways of working with literary texts in early childhood, primary and secondary settings relevant to curriculum areas such as the arts, English and Humanities. They will explore how to develop and apply visual, embodied and aural teaching strategies to a variety of texts including poems, novels, scripts, picture books and other complex texts. Pedagogical and learning approaches such as student centred problem-solving, collaborative storytelling and creative text interpretation will also be explored. The subject will be delivered in a series of lectures and practical workshops supported by online materials.
- 12.5 pts
This practice-based subject will enable students to extend their practical and theoretical understanding of the arts in primary education. Students will be supported in the development of their arts skills, teaching and artistry, in preparation for the range of contemporary arts practices (from the generalist classroom, to specialist arts teaching in schools and other cultural centres). The subject will entail immersive integrated arts seminars with Arts educators, an 'artist in residence' and children from local primary schools. Weekly seminars will involve individual and collaborative experiences supported by theories of aesthetic curriculum and embodied learning. The subject will support students in understanding the processes associated with arts making with children. Students will create their own studio-based work, undertake site visits, work directly with children in studio and school settings, and engage in theoretically-informed reflection.
- 12.5 pts
This subject provides an introduction to the Australian Curriculum and its historical development, set within the context of global curriculum debates and reforms.
The subject focuses on major curriculum theories and policy trends, with a particular focus on national reforms over the past decade in Australia.
The subject explores changes in curriculum content and design over recent decades and considers the historical, social, political and economic drivers of reform.
Students will critically analyse global curriculum trends to gain better understanding of the dynamic interaction of factors that influence contemporary curriculum reform.
- 12.5 pts
This subject provides an introduction to Indigenous education in Australia, and an opportunity to develop the knowledge required to work at the interface between Indigenous and Western knowledge systems. The subject will explore the history of Indigenous education policy in Australia, its global context, and contemporary education issues affecting Indigenous students, families their communities. The subject will develop knowledge of and the ability to engage in education initiatives that support communities, in addition to working with non-Indigenous students and teachers to support anti-racist and decolonizing practices in classrooms, in partnership with communities and in policy development and leadership positions.
On completion, students will be able to demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. They will also be able to demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages. A secondary aim of this subject is the development of curriculum and pedagogy skills for teaching non-Indigenous students about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and issues.
- 12.5 pts
This subject will explore a range of contemporary global perspectives on education. It will examine international and Australian education systems, policy, legislation and the key theories and research that have influenced and shaped these systems. Through this subject, students will explore the complex relationships between international education systems and the broader social and cultural contexts in which they are located. Students will examine international data from OECD and UNICEF reports to investigate the economic, social and environmental factors that shape global education systems, policies and pedagogies. Students will engage with a number of case studies to analyse how international policies have informed teaching and assessment practices. Students will be able to consider how local educational practices shape the experience and outcomes of learners from diverse cultural backgrounds.
- 12.5 pts
This subject investigates the role and structure of the Primary Years Programme curriculum framework. Participants will explore how learners construct meaning, including how understanding is acquired and what differentiates it from knowledge. There will be a strong theoretical component as well as a critical evaluation of the development and implementation of curriculum that is intended to support the integration of the Essential Elements. Strategies for supporting the development of higher order thinking skills, including the role of student-directed concept-driven inquiry, the art of inquiring, and building communities of learners will be investigated. There will also be a practical emphasis on the development and implementation of a concept driven transdisciplinary curriculum.
- 12.5 pts
This subject develops students’ critical understanding of approaches to teaching historical thinking. It explores abilities that underpin historical inquiry: establishing historical significance; using sources as evidence; identifying continuity and change; analysing cause and consequence; exploring historical perspectives; and examining ethical dimensions of history.
This subject also examines research-driven models of historical thought from around the globe, including the development of chronological thinking, historical interpretation, and the use of questions to provide opportunities for learning and teaching about the past. There is also an exploration of strategies for school students to construct descriptions, explanations, arguments and narratives in response to such questions.
- 12.5 pts
This subject introduces participants to the International Baccalaureate (IB), as a philosophy and framework for learning and teaching. It examines the essential elements of the IB model including the IB mission statement, and the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), and Diploma Programme (DP). Participants will focus on developing understandings of international education, values education, and the centrality of the Learner Profile to an IB education as well as exploring theoretical implications of international mindedness in the IB’s programmes.
- 12.5 pts
This subject will build on students’ knowledge of second language teaching and learning for young learners.
Emphasis will be on principles and practices that support the development of languages other than English from an intercultural perspective as well as tasks and process that will allow work in languages to be linked across the curriculum in interdisciplinary activities.
Students will be introduced to curriculum design commonly used in Language programs for young learners and will be asked to consider the practical implications for planning teaching/learning strategies, identifying print and ICT resources as well as devising assessment and evaluation schemes.
- 12.5 pts
Many teachers have opportunities to take on leadership roles in their first years of teaching . This elective provides a foundation and understanding to take on leadership roles, at all levels in schools and early childhood education and care settings.
The subject draws on instructional leadership and positive psychology to understand self and the role of a leader. Through participatory workshops students will learn how to use available data to make informed decisions about programs they may want to implement, how to interact with people in leadership roles to gain insights and understanding about leadership and with insights from positive psychology, learn what characteristics and strengths they can draw on to be a leader.
- 12.5 pts
This elective aims to build the capacity of students studying to become Mathematics Specialists, to develop and sustain improvement in mathematics outcomes. The elective is designed to deepen students' knowledge and understanding of:
- Mathematics pedagogical content knowledge and evidence-based approaches to mathematics pedagogy
- The use of a range of assessment tools to analyse students' mathematical skills, understandings, and strategies to plan for targeted and differentiated mathematics teaching at the individual, class and whole-school level
- Leadership capabilities required to support their colleagues to become effective mathematics teachers so all students learn and are engaged.
- 12.5 pts
This subject will support participants to develop teaching strategies that meet the needs of all students through the use of carefully evaluated and selected digital tools. Current research is used to inform the evaluation of technology tools for educational use and their effectiveness for student learning. This subject takes a pedagogical approach to technology integration in educational settings, and focuses on how digital technologies can support personalisation in learning and assessment, linked to a clinical approach to teaching. Participants will learn to use digital technologies safely and effectively within educational settings. The subject will develop participants’ technology capabilities and support them to meet national and Victorian curriculum standards. It will also support participants to meet Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in the area of Information and Communications Technologies. Case studies, a range of digital resources, tools and software will be explored while maintaining a focus on meeting individual students’ learning needs. This online course will engage participants in peer review and peer learning across early childhood, primary and secondary contexts.
- 12.5 pts
This subject will explore philosophical and critical sociological constructions of childhood and youth over time and examine the diverse and contemporary nature of childhood. Students will examine childhood and youth through diverse lenses, and consequently, gain critical insight into the context of contemporary educative settings. The importance of supporting developing and shifting identities will be explored. Students will have the opportunity to investigate the ways in which young people variously connect with and contribute to society, examining diverse voices reflecting the complexity of children’s lives and the role played by various social institutions and media. Notions of diversity and interculturality will be explored alongside the implications of universal frameworks for children and youth. Meeting with community organisations across the semester, individual and collective identities will be woven through the subject, providing students with an understanding of broader contexts for working effectively with young children and youth.
- 12.5 pts
This subject introduces Master of Teaching students to planning, teaching and assessment in the current physical education curriculum from Foundation to 10.
As a result of taking this elective students will have foundational skills and knowledge across planning, teaching and assessment, and be able to engage in a range of physical, social, moral and cultural endeavours related to physical activity.
Please note that this subject does not provide sufficient training to enable Master of Teaching students to be classified as physical education specialists.
- 12.5 pts
This subject is designed for Master of Teaching students interested in gaining a teaching experience in a flexible, alternative or specialised learning setting. This subject includes a professional practice component and on-campus teaching.
Students engage in a one week immersion where they will gain an insight into broader contexts in which education takes place, aligning their educational practice to shifting practice and policy priorities. Students will learn about the organisational structure and philosophy of the specific setting and make a contribution to the learning programs through collaborative engagement.
The written component of this subject will provide students with opportunities to reflect upon the experiences, challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning in flexible, alternative or specialised settings.
As placement numbers and sites will vary year to year, there will be a call for expressions of interest and a selection process in Semester 1. Note that some sites can be challenging.
- 12.5 pts
This subject is designed for Master of Teaching students interested in gaining experience in an international setting. Students can either participate in (a) a staff-coordinated program, or (b) an internship from a list of international schools/institutions with which the university has an agreement. Placement numbers and sites can vary from year to year.
Please note that in the event that travel restrictions remain in place, a virtual engagement option for this subject will be offered, in school settings overseas.
The subject provides students with opportunities to interact with a school/institution in another country, through immersion in school activities. Students will interact with educators in each school/institution to learn about the learning programs and school structures and processes, through collaborative and collegial engagement. The written component of this subject will provide students with opportunities to reflect upon the experiences, challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning in an international school/institution.
Applicants for this subject will be required to submit an expression of interest during Semester 1 when a selection process will take place. Students will be required to fund the cost of the trip. They may be eligible to apply for a Melbourne Global Scholars Award.
- 12.5 pts
This subject provides Master of Teaching students interested in teaching in either regional or remote areas of Australia with an opportunity to develop expertise in working with Indigenous students and community.
The subject includes both on-campus teaching and professional practice. The professional practice component takes in a two-week experience of living in and working with community and occurs outside semester time. The on-campus teaching component involves development of knowledge and skills through group and shared learning experiences, including engagement with the research literature, planning delivery of educational programs to meet students’ needs and discussion of assessment prior to and post-experience.
As placement numbers and sites will vary year to year, there will be a call for expressions of interest and a selection process in Semester 1. Students are required to fund a portion of the cost of travel and accommodation. Further information is available from the subject coordinator.
- 12.5 pts
This subject is designed for Master of Teaching students interested in gaining teaching experience in a rural / remote setting. This subject includes a professional practice component and an on-campus teaching component. The subject introduces students to the importance of place as a determinant in rural /remote education.
The professional practice component affords teacher candidates the opportunity to undertake a two week placement at a rural / remote site. Placement sites will vary year to year, some of these sites can be challenging and numbers are limited. There will be a call for expressions of interest and a selection process in semester 1.
The on-campus teaching component will provide students with opportunities to explore and reflect upon the unique challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning in rural / remote settings.
- 12.5 pts
This subject provides participants with theory and interventions for developing positive learning environments. It supports participants to understand the critical theoretical perspectives that underpin working effectively with behaviours of concern. This subject also supports participants to explore evidence-based interventions for creating high quality learning environments that support positive approaches to working with behaviours of concern. It assists participants to understand how to use multi-tiered systems of support to design and implement interventions for students who exhibit behaviours of concern.
- 12.5 pts
The subject will provide Master of Teaching students an opportunity to practice, and reflect on, a range of interpersonal and professional skills relevant to their role in promoting student wellbeing and creating supportive and safe learning environments at a classroom and whole school level.
Current research is used to inform critical analysis of contemporary student wellbeing policies, models, and practices, and to examine associated issues such as the teacher-student relationship, social and emotional learning, behaviour management, school-home partnerships and staff wellbeing.
- 12.5 pts
The subject will build on Master of Teaching students' knowledge of integrating subjects from different areas. The experience provided will focus on supporting the effective integration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) with a focus on clinical responsive interventionist teaching into Primary Classroom environments. Participants will work collaboratively with academics, school based staff, mentor teachers and clinical specialists to plan, prepare and present models for teaching STEM topics with a focus on Physics, Chemistry and embedded Mathematics/Numeracy, Engineering and Technology.
Participants will implement their focus, off campus, over five weeks in Melbourne Graduate School of Education partner schools, working with small student groups, in professional learning teams, to further refine their teaching model to respond to their student’s needs. This elective builds on Science and Technology and Mathematics subjects that participants have already completed, and extends these skills in a school setting.
- 12.5 pts
Acquiring content or discipline knowledge is an important ingredient in teaching and learning, but it cannot tell the whole story. Knowing what to do with this knowledge and information when we exercise sound reasoning and creativity, whether it is within disciplines or outside of them, is equally important. As a complement to knowledge-centered approaches to teaching and learning, this elective introduces students to the critical and creative thinking competency in the Australian and Victorian curriculum. It will examine some of the strategies that have been presumed to foster critical thinking, in particular dialogic and other key pedagogies. Beginning with a literature review of key contributions to the topic of critical and creative thinking, a range of dialogic and other methods aimed at developing critical and creative thinking skills and dispositions in students will be examined; from 'Thinking' literature, Socratic discussions and inquiry-based approaches, to thinking tools and routines, as well as more recent philosophical approaches.
- 12.5 pts
Students will gain an understanding of the many facets of sustainability, including environmental and social sustainability. They will examine Education for Sustainability and its similarities and differences to environmental education and develop an understanding of sustainability and its position in the national curriculum. During classes students will work with colleagues to develop a unit of work that integrates sustainability across a range of learning areas in ways that meet required curriculum outcomes.
Students will examine a range of issues pertaining to sustainability and Education for Sustainability relevant to Australian schools, so that they are equipped to teach about sustainability and to help shape a school’s culture and to offer leadership in the area of sustainability.
- 12.5 pts
Twenty-first century Australians are members of a global community, connected to the whole world by ties of culture, economics, politics, enhanced communication, travel and a shared environment. Enabling young people to participate in shaping a better-shared future for the world is at the heart of the dynamic and evolving field of global education. This field is committed to fostering a broader understanding of world issues and working towards change, especially to the eradication of global poverty and inequality. Global education is relevant across all learning areas; its emphasis is on developing knowledge and skills, in addition to promoting positive values and participation.
The subject addresses the strategies and resources for enriching teaching. The five key learning emphases that reflect the recurring themes in global education are interdependence and globalisation, identity and cultural diversity, social justice and human rights, peace and sustainable futures. This elective will provide students with opportunities to develop the ideas and values inherent in global education, including strategies to develop an inclusive classroom environment. We will host presenters from various corners of the globe to think and debate with us.
- 12.5 pts
This elective explores the creative practices and engaging pedagogies of three arts based educational practices: Visual Arts, Drama and Music. It offers opportunities for Master of Teaching students to participate and collaborate in practical visual arts, drama and music workshops that explore reflective, creative, innovative and artistic practices in, through and across the arts. These workshops will explore how arts and multi-arts experiences provide cognitive, emotional and embodied ways of knowing as well as how arts education practices and pedagogies can be applied across the curriculum and through co-curricula activities.
Students will critique, inquire and reflect on arts education to develop new knowledge and skills to extend their existing pedagogical practices and experiences. Over the course of the elective, they will design and develop an engaging, creative and innovative arts-led curriculum or co-curricula project and present a practical demonstration that illuminates and theorises the educational potential of the project.
- 12.5 pts
This subject is designed for Teacher Candidates who want to develop their knowledge of the English language and how it works. The subject will provide a study of English as it relates to the teaching of language and literacy in the primary school and early secondary years with a focus on developing Teacher Candidates’ understanding of how language works at different levels of meaning (text, sentence and word) and the connections between these levels in a range of written texts that primary and early secondary students read and write.
The subject will also examine ways in which meaning is conveyed in images, drawing upon frameworks which enable the analysis of visual texts and will explore the relationship between written text and image in multimodal texts such as picture story books. Throughout the subject, students will build a basic metalanguage for describing and talking about language and images that is reflected in the Victorian Curriculum.
This subject is highly recommended for Teacher Candidates undertaking the Literacy Specialised Pathway in the Master of Teaching (Primary).