Master of Learning Intervention (MC-LI) // Attributes, outcomes and skills

Intended learning outcomes

The learning outcomes are for students to:

• Deepen their knowledge and extend their understanding in recent developments in educational thought, particularly as it applies to contemporary intervention practice for students with disabilities, learning difficulties, and hearing loss;
• Acquire a substantial understanding of relevant theory and practice in areas applicable to educational interventions and to the chosen specialisation;
• Display the ability to make carefully reasoned and appropriately documented decisions relevant to this domain, using appropriate research principles and methods;
• Demonstrate, during professional practice or scholarship, the skill repertoire necessary to implement effective intervention in the selected speciality; this includes diagnosis of learning profiles, the planning and implementation of empirically validated pedagogy and the provision of learning contexts that optimize inclusive educational opportunities;
• Display an understanding of contemporary research in the selected speciality areas and to develop from this an integrated understanding of intervention practice;
• Demonstrate communication and technical research skills to justify and interpret theoretical propositions, methodologies, conclusions and professional decisions to specialist and non-specialist audiences;
• Plan and execute a substantial research-based project, capstone experience and/or piece of scholarship; and
• Establish a sound basis for doctoral studies through the study of research principles and methods applicable to the field of educating students with a disability, learning difficulty, or hearing loss.

Generic skills

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

• Be skilled communicators who can effectively articulate and justify their practices as knowledgeable agents of change;
• Be able to adapt to and lead change through knowing how to learn;
• Understand the significance of developing their practice on the basis of research evidence;
• Be independent of mind and self-regulating;
• Have a conscious personal and social values base.

Graduate attributes

• Academically excellent: graduates will develop in-depth research and evidence-based knowledge of learning and teaching interventions in areas such as disability, specific learning difficulties or hearing impairment. They will demonstrate a high level of achievement in writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication. Graduates will be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning and be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies.
• Knowledgeable across disciplines: graduates will examine critically, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a broad range of disciplines, particularly those with relevance to their education setting. They will expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences and have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems. As a result of completing the Master of Learning Intervention they will have a set of flexible and transferable skills for employment in a range of specialist and mainstream educational settings.
• Leaders in communities: Graduates of the Master of Learning Intervention will be prepared to undertake leadership in the provision of educational interventions for children and young people with disabilities, specific learning difficulties or hearing impairment. They will be able to initiate and implement constructive change in their communities and have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations.
• Attuned to cultural diversity: Graduates of the Master of Learning Intervention will be working within organisations characterised by cultural and other forms of diversity. This is reflected in such overarching documents as the Australian Charter for the Teaching Profession, the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young People and, in particular, the Disability Standards for Education 2005 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Graduates will value diversity and be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work. They will have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community, including disability and a respect for indigenous knowledge, cultures and values.
• Active global citizens: As aspiring or practicing teachers of students with disabilities, specific learning difficulties or hearing impairment, graduates of the Master of Learning Intervention will accept social and civic responsibilities and attempt to inculcate these in those with which they work. They will have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equity and ethics. They will recognise that education is the best means we have of opening the doors of opportunity for people and of ameliorating the effects of inequity and disadvantage.