Master of Teaching (Secondary) (MC-TEACHSA) // Course structure

Course structure

The Master of Teaching (Secondary) is a 200-credit point course which is normally completed over:

• 2 years - Standard Mode.

Options for completing the course in a shorter or longer time frame include:

• 1.5 years - Accelerated Mode; or
• 3 years - Extended Mode.

The Master of Teaching (Secondary) requires completion of 14 compulsory subjects and one elective, which must be taken in the sequence outlined in the Standard, Accelerated, or Extended Mode structures. The subjects include:

• 4 x core subjects;
• 6 x Learning Area subjects (taken in 2 x Learning Area study sequences, or in a double sequence);
• 3 x Engaging and Assessing Learners subjects (which incorporate 60 placement days in secondary schools);
• 1 x Foundations elective; and
• 1 x Professional Learning Capstone subject.

Course Mode Options

Teacher Candidates should carefully consider suitability of the Standard, Accelerated, or Extended course-mode options to their personal circumstances as well as the study-load implications (e.g., on international student visa, or government support). Course adjustments including changes to course modes and subject sequencing require approval by the course coordinator.

See subject list and course mode structures listed under Majors, minors and specialisations.

2 Year Standard Mode

• When applying for the course, select the full-time attendance mode option, and nominate Standard Mode
• Enrol per the Standard Mode
• Undertake four semesters of full-time study over two years (50 points per semester).

1.5 Year Accelerated Mode

• When applying for the course, select the full-time attendance mode option, and nominate Accelerated Mode.
• Enrol per the Accelerated Mode
• Undertake three semesters of full-time study with a higher load over one and a half years (62.5 points in first semester, 75 points in second semester, and 62.5 points in third semester). Notes this requires a higher time commitment during semester, and management of a more intensive study load.
• Commence the Professional Learning Capstone subject and complete the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) component in summer of Year 2.

3 Year Extended Mode

• When applying for the course, select the part-time attendance mode option, and nominate Extended Mode.
• Enrol per the Extended Mode.
• Undertake six semesters of study with a reduced load over 3 years (each semester is either 25 or 37.5 points).

PROGRESSION RULES

LITERACY AND NUMERACY TEST FOR INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION STUDENTS PROGRESSION RULE

The ‘Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students’ must be satisfactorily completed by the end of the first calendar year of enrolment in the Master of Teaching (Secondary).

• The Australian Commonwealth Government’s Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE) is a compulsory test for ITE students administered by the Australian Council for Educational Research (independently of The University of Melbourne).
• Each Teacher Candidate must satisfactorily complete the LANTITE by the end of the first calendar year of their enrolment in the Master of Teaching (Secondary) to continue in the course.
• Failure to satisfactorily complete the LANTITE by this progression point will result in referral to the Melbourne Graduate School of Education’s Course Academic Progress Committee and will result in exclusion from the course until the LANTITE is satisfactorily completed.
• Excluded Teacher Candidates may be granted an early exit award of a Graduate Diploma in Pedagogy (Secondary)*(if they have satisfactorily completed 100 credit points of the course). Alternatively, they may be withdrawn from the course.
• *Note that the Graduate Diploma in Pedagogy (Secondary) is not a qualification for registration to teach in schools.

PROGRESSION IN THE MASTER OF TEACHING STANDING RULES

Convening of the Course Academic Progress Committee

• The Graduate School’s Course Academic Progress Committee (CAPC) will convene after results have been certified for each subject to review the progress of any student in the Repeat the Subject or Repeat the Year category. Students in these categories will be invited to make an oral and/or written submission to the Committee.
• The CAPC will convene before results have been certified in the event that a student’s placement has been discontinued for reasons not connected to MGSE’s Fitness to Practice Rules (for which other processes apply).
• The CAPC is authorised to make decisions on behalf of the Graduate School with respect to the progress of individual students and to vary the Standing Rules if it deems that progression of a student can be facilitated without adversely affecting academic standards.

Convening of the Fitness to Practice Committee

• The Graduate School’s Fitness to Practice Committee (FTPC) will convene in the event that a student’s placement has been discontinued because of an alleged breach of Fitness to Practice Rules.

STANDING RULES

1. Hurdle Requirements

1.1 Students must pass each subject on the aggregate mark.

1.2 Students must pass all hurdle requirements of a subject to pass that subject.

1.3 Students must pass all subjects listed as part of the formal calendar year of their course mode before they can undertake any subject deemed to be part of the next year of that course mode. Refer to the Standard and Extended course mode structures for subject sequencing.

1.4 Students cannot undertake any subject in any course mode without having satisfactorily completed the prerequisite subject(s).

2. Reassessment (further assessment opportunity related to failing a subject)

2.1 Failing a graded hurdle requirement in a subject (the failure of which means failing the subject): reassessment will be granted only if the student has achieved a mark of between 40% and 49% in that graded hurdle requirement. If reassessment is granted, the reassessment is the sole determinant of the final mark for that graded hurdle requirement, with a maximum mark recorded for the graded hurdle requirement of 50%.

2.2 For reassessment of the placement component (a graded hurdle requirement) of any subject containing formal placement, the Board of Examiners will determine the duration of the repeated placement and its scheduling. The maximum mark recorded for any repeated replacement is 50%.

2.3 Failing a whole subject: reassessment will be granted only if a student has achieved a mark of between 40% and 49% in that whole subject, after all assessment tasks have been marked. This includes the maximum 50% mark given for any reassessments granted for graded hurdle requirements. If reassessment is granted for the subject, the reassessment is the sole determinant of the final mark for that subject, with a maximum mark recorded for the subject of 50%.

2.4 The format of the reassessment may differ from that of the original assessment(s) in that subject, and reassessment may be comprised of more than one component or type of assessment.

2.5 Reassessment does not apply to situations where a placement has been discontinued, as this situation is managed by the Course Academic Programs Committee or Fitness to Practice Committee.

2.6 Reassessment does not apply to a situation where an ungraded hurdle requirement is not met, as this situation is managed by the Course Academic Programs Committee or Fitness to Practice Committee.

2.7 Where the numeric result for a hurdle requirement contributes to the overall subject mark, the hurdle reassessment mark will be used in that calculation.

2.8 Reassessment will not be offered to a student who falls into the Repeat the Subject category.

2.9 Reassessment will not be offered to a student who fails a subject on a repeat attempt.

3. Repeat the Subject

3.1 Repeating students are required to undertake only those subjects that they have failed and must complete all components of those subjects when those subjects are offered again in the formal structure of their course stream.

3.2 Students repeating one or more subjects must pass all components of those subjects outright and are not eligible for reassessment.

4. Repeat the Year

4.1 A student will be placed in the Repeat the Year category if the student:

• Fails any repeated subject.

• Fails reassessment of the placement component (a graded hurdle requirement) of any subject containing formal placement.

Subject Options

See subject list and course mode structures under Majors, minors and specialisations.

Last updated: 7 October 2024