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Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) (MC-TEACHEP)
Masters (Coursework)Year: 2017 Delivered: On Campus (Parkville)
About this course
- Overview
- Entry and participation requirements
- Attributes, outcomes and skills
- Course structure
- Further study
Contact
Melbourne Graduate School of Education
Currently enrolled students:
- General information: https://ask.unimelb.edu.au
- Contact Stop 1
Future students:
Coordinator
Associate Professor Tricia Eadie
Overview
Award title | Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) |
---|---|
Year & campus | 2017 — Parkville |
CRICOS code | 093002F |
Fees information | Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date |
Study level & type | Graduate Coursework |
AQF level | 9 |
Credit points | 250 credit points |
Duration | 24 months full-time |
The Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) prepares graduates for dual registration to teach in early childhood settings and across the primary school years.
The course focuses on early years’ education (birth to 8 years), and on primary school teaching (5 to 12 years). It provides an in-depth understanding of child learning and development, as well as professional practice in early childhood settings so that graduates can operate in multi-disciplinary fields involving care, education and health. The program integrates curriculum studies and professional practice across the primary years, with a specific focus on literacy, numeracy and science teaching. Teacher candidates consolidate their learning through completion of a research-based capstone project.
The course is completed in 250 credit points of study over two years full-time.
Entry requirements
In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:
- an undergraduate degree in any discipline; and
- a selection test as determined by the Selection Committee.
Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.
In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:
- prior academic performance; and
- the results of the selection test.*
The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.
Applicants are required to satisfy the University’s English language requirements for postgraduate courses. For those applicants seeking to meet these requirements by one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board, performance band 7+ is required.
Note.
(a) The Academic Board may prescribe minimum grade point averages for undergraduate studies that must be met by applicants eligible for Guaranteed Entry in a given year. Applicants not eligible for Guaranteed Entry will normally be required to have a grade point average for undergraduate studies at least as high as the prescribed minimum for Guaranteed Entry.
(b) All applicants must have a valid Working with Children Check prior to the commencement of the Practicum subjects, and for the duration of the program.
(c) Higher English standards than those normally required for admission to postgraduate study at the University of Melbourne may be needed for eligibility for Australian teacher registration on graduation. The Selection Committee may require applicants who have not recently completed a full undergraduate degree in Australia or New Zealand to demonstrate English language ability using one of the standard tests approved by the Academic Board at performance band 7+, even if their prior study of the English language, or their prior education and assessment in an English language university, would normally exempt them from standard testing.
* Details of the selection test are available on the Melbourne Graduate School of Education’s Teacher Capability Assessment Tool website.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The Melbourne Graduate School of Education welcomes applications from students with disabilities. It is University and Graduate School policy to take reasonable steps to enable the participation of students with disabilities, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student’s participation in the Graduate School’s programs. The core participation requirements for study in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education are:
In all courses
- The ability to comprehend complex information related to education and the disciplines in which the student is teaching.
- The ability to communicate clearly and independently in assessment tasks a knowledge of the content, principles and practices relating to education and other relevant disciplines.
- Behavioural and social attributes that enable a student to participate in a complex learning environment. Students are required to take responsibility for their own participation and learning. They also contribute to the learning of other students in collaborative learning environments, demonstrating interpersonal skills and an understanding of the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.
In courses requiring students to undertake practicum placements - The ability to undertake professional practice placements independently, including:
a. the ability based on personal maturity to establish a professional relationship with students and interact with them appropriately;
b. the ability to communicate to students the subject matter being taught with clarity and in a way that is age-sensitive;
c. the ability to model literacy and numeracy skills independently for students and in all their interactions meet community expectations of the literacy and numeracy skills teachers should have;
d. the ability to demonstrate skilfully and safely activities required in particular discipline areas being taught (e.g. physical education activities, science laboratory techniques);
e. the ability to create, monitor and maintain a safe physical environment, a stable and supportive psychological environment, and a productive learning environment in their classroom;
f. the ability to establish effective relationships with all members of the school community, including colleagues, students, and caregivers;
g. the ability based on mental and physical health to exercise sound judgment and respond promptly to the demands of classroom situations, and the personal resilience to cope and maintain their wellbeing under stress.
Students who feel a disability will prevent them from meeting the above academic requirements are encouraged to contact the Disability Liaison Unit.
Professional accreditation
The Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) is accredited at professional level by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (according to the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Graduate Standards and Initial Teacher Education Program Standards) and is accredited at professional level by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
Intended learning outcomes
At the completion of the Master of Teaching, Graduates will have attained the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (Graduate Level), and have developed knowledge and competencies associated with the use of the Clinical Teaching Judgement model. In combination, these Master of Teaching learning outcomes will enable graduates to:
- Reflect critically on the ways in which educational theory and research informs teaching practice
- Demonstrate strong subject and pedagogical content knowledge to create productive learning environments that empower learners
- Interpret, design and implement relevant curriculum and pedagogy, integrating digital technologies and differentiating teaching to engage all students in their learning
- Design assessment tools and tasks and interpret data and evidence to make sound clinical judgments about teaching interventions and reflect on the impact of teaching on learning outcomes
- Utilise interventionist teaching practices that promote participation and inclusion to meet the needs of diverse learners
- Demonstrate a high level of 21st century skills and be able to develop these skills in students
- Create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments using knowledge of practical approaches to promote positive behaviours
- Establish and maintain ethical and respectful relationships with students, colleagues and parents, working independently and collaboratively across the school/centre community
- Evaluate the social and political contexts informing education and teaching and interpret the professional standards for teachers
- Demonstrate capacity to reflect upon the effectiveness of teaching practice as well as the impact on student learning
- Demonstrate continuous professional learning through teacher practitioner inquiry and research.
Generic skills
Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) graduates will develop the following set of key transferable skills:
- Clinical reasoning and thinking
- Problem solving
- Evidence based decision making
- Creativity and innovation
- Teamwork and professional collaboration
- Learning to learn and metacognition
- Responsiveness to a changing knowledge base
- Reflection for continuous improvement
- Linking theory and practice
- Inquiry and research
- Active and participatory citizenship.
Graduate attributes
Graduates of the Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) will:
- Embody the standards of the teaching profession and support the development of teaching as a profession
- Be practitioners of clinical teaching, who teach for growth for all students using an inclusive, developmental, intervention-based approach that utilizes deep learning and evidence based strategies
- Be culturally and socially aware, able to establish respectful and ethical relationships with students, staff, parents and the broader school communities / early childhood centres
- Be creative, innovative, self-directed and life-long learners, able to link theory and practice and respond to a changing educational landscape.
Course structure
The Master of Teaching (Early Childhood and Primary) requires completion of 250 credit points of study (22 compulsory subjects) over two years full-time.
The first year focuses on early years content, and the second year is a combination of early childhood and primary school content. Four placements are completed across the Clinical Teaching Practice subjects; three in early childhood settings and two in primary schools.
The course is structured across four semesters, and includes one summer and two winter intensives. Subjects should be taken in the sequence by semester/intensive outlined below.
All Teacher Candidates must meet the following course progression requirement:
The satisfactory completion of the Australian Commonwealth Government’s National Literacy & Numeracy Test administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research (independently of The University of Melbourne) is necessary in order for each Teacher Candidate to progress beyond 112.5 credit points and continue to the final phase of their course (see further details under ‘Notes’).
Failure to satisfactorily complete the Test by this progression point will result in referral to the Melbourne Graduate School of Education’s Student Progress Sub-Committee and may result in exclusion from the course. Excluded Teacher Candidates may be granted an early exit award of a Graduate Diploma in Pedagogy (subject to satisfactory completion of relevant subjects). Alternatively they may be withdrawn from the course.
Subject options
First year subjects
Subjects taken in first semester of program
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
EDUC90895 | Educational Foundations (EC) | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
EDUC90898 | Introduction to Clinical Practice (EC) | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
EDUC90897 | Infant & Toddler Learning & Development | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
EDUC90705 | Language & Literacy Learning in Children | Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
EDUC90892 | Clinical Teaching Practice (EC) 1 |
March (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
August (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Subjects undertaken as a July intensive
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
EDUC90563 | Engaging Children in the Arts |
Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)
July (On Campus - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Subjects undertaken in second semester of program
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
EDUC90891 | Becoming a Clinical Practitioner (EC) | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
EDUC90890 | 3-8 Year-Olds Learning and Development | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
EDUC90899 | Numeracy in Early Childhood | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
EDUC90893 | Clinical Teaching Practice (EC) 2 | August (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Second year subjects
Subjects undertaken as summer intensive
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
EDUC90748 | Researching Education Practice (EC/EC&P) | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Subjects undertaken in third semester of program
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
EDUC90896 | Educational Leadership (EC & Prim) | Not available in 2017 | 6.25 |
EDUC90875 | Literacy for the Primary Years | Not available in 2017 | 12.5 |
EDUC90376 | Science, Technology (Digital and Design) | February (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
EDUC90894 | Clinical Teaching Practice (EC) 3 | Not available in 2017 | 12.5 |
EDUC90378 | Health and Physical Education | February (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
Subjects undertaken as a July intensive
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
EDUC90749 | Education Research Project (EC/EC&P) | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Subjects undertaken in fourth semester of program
Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
---|---|---|---|
EDUC90876 | Mathematics for the Primary Years | Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville) |
12.5 |
EDUC90883 | Inquiry Learning in the Humanities | Not available in 2017 | 6.25 |
EDUC90881 | Diverse and Inclusive Classrooms (Prim) | July (On Campus - Parkville) |
6.25 |
EDUC90874 | Clinical Teaching Practice (EC) Primary | Not available in 2017 | 25 |
EDUC90832 | Learning From Evidence |
Term 2 (Online)
Term 4 (Online)
|
12.5 |
Further study
Graduates from this program are eligible to apply for entry to the Doctor of Education program or a PhD after completion of a 50-point Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Research, provided they meet the entry requirements and subject to achievement of an H2A GPA.
Please note also that graduates of an undergraduate Honours degree may already be eligible for doctoral studies, subject to the same entry and achievement requirements.
Last updated: 10 February 2024