Graduate Certificate in Mathematics Education (Years 7-10) (GC-MTHED10)

Overview

Award title	Graduate Certificate in Mathematics Education (Years 7-10)
Year & campus	2025 — Parkville
Fees information	Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date
Study level & type	Graduate Coursework
AQF level	8
Credit points	50 credit points
Duration	12 months part-time

THIS COURSE IS NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR ADMISSIONS

The Graduate Certificate in Mathematics Education (Years 7-10) is structured around four subjects which encompass the content strands in the Victorian Curriculum for Mathematics:

Teaching Number (7-10)
Teaching Algebra (7-10)
Teaching Measurement and Geometry (7-10)
Teaching Probability & Statistics (7-10)

The audience for this Graduate Certificate is qualified secondary teachers who would be called upon to teach mathematics across Grades 7-10 ‘out-of-field’, without having a background in mathematics pedagogy.

Concepts and skills from the areas of Algebra and Number are used extensively across the mathematics curriculum, so these are offered as separate subjects, to acknowledge the importance of these content areas in their own right and also the critical role they play in supporting learning in Measurement, Geometry, Probability and Statistics.

The mathematics proficiencies of Fluency, Understanding, Reasoning and Problem Solving will be addressed in each of the four subjects to highlight the interconnected nature of Mathematics and the need for students to develop these proficiencies across the curriculum.

Participants will consider important pedagogical decisions in teaching Years 7-10 mathematics, including selection of good examples and explanations, representations and models for mathematical ideas, teacher questions, assessment, selection and use of resources and the role of digital technology and pen-and-paper in developing understanding. Participants will develop their capacity to plan effective lessons, design and interpret classroom assessment and plan a balanced curriculum.

This course has been designed to satisfy the professional learning needs of mathematics out-of-field teachers in secondary schools.

Entry requirements

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed:

Either

a four-year education degree, or equivalent;

an undergraduate degree in any discipline and at least 100 credit points, or equivalent, of graduate study in education.

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In assessing applications, the Selection Committee will consider:

Prior academic performance;

3. 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.

4. Applicants are required to satisfy the university’s English language requirements for graduate 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.

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

The inherent requirements for study in the Faculty of Education are:

In all courses

1. The ability to comprehend complex information related to education and the disciplines in which the student is teaching.

2. 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.

3. 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.

Students who feel a disability will prevent them from meeting the above academic requirements are encouraged to contact Student Equity and Disability Support.

Intended learning outcomes

Graduates of the Graduate Certificate in Mathematics Education (Years 7-10) will:

Develop a deep understanding of the Years 7-10 mathematics content in the Victorian Curriculum.
Develop Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) for teaching across Years 7-10 mathematics, including approaches for addressing the four proficiencies of fluency, understanding, problem solving and reasoning across the strands in mathematics.
Critically evaluate and reflect on research related to students' learning in Mathematics, using this knowledge to enhance their teaching practice.
Show an understanding of how to select appropriate strategies to differentiate teaching in Years 7-10 mathematics to meet specific needs of students.
Make effective use of research findings and evidence-based approaches to inform teaching and to address identified challenges, issues and opportunities in teaching Years 7-10 mathematics.
Understand how students learn mathematics, and the pedagogies needed to promote their learning, including the use of investigation-based approaches.
Design lesson plans and learning sequences in Years 7-10 mathematics, using knowledge of student learning, curriculum, assessment and effective teaching resources.
Develop knowledge of formative assessment in mathematics to diagnose students' understanding and identify misconceptions to inform planning for targeted teaching to cater for all students.
Demonstrate a good knowledge of resources for teaching Years 7-10 mathematics.
Use digital technology to deepen students' conceptual understanding and support students to use digital technology for learning in mathematics.

Generic 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 Graduate Certificate in Mathematics Education (Years 7-10) will:

Be culturally and socially aware (in particular, foregrounding Indigenous Worldviews and engaging with sustainability), and able to establish respectful and ethical relationships with students, staff, families, communities, and the broader school communities.
Embody the standards of the teaching profession and support the development of teaching as a profession.
Be practitioners of complex teaching, who teach for growth, wellbeing and citizenship for all students using an inclusive, developmental and post-developmental, relational approach that utilizes deep learning and teaching strategies built on the image of the student as capable.
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 Graduate Certificate in Mathematics Education (Years 7-10) requires completion of 50-credit points of study over one year part time.

Students must complete 4 compulsory subjects.

Compulsory Subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
EDUC91033	Teaching Number (7-10)	Not available in 2025	12.5
EDUC91034	Teaching Algebra (7-10)	Not available in 2025	12.5
EDUC91035	Teaching Measurement and Geometry (7-10)	Not available in 2025	12.5
EDUC91036	Teaching Probability & Statistics (7-10)	Not available in 2025	12.5

Further study

Graduates may progress to a range of graduate coursework programs including the University of Melbourne Master of Education.

Last updated: 27 February 2025