The full-time course (secondary)
This course can only be taken by students enrolling full-time. The course consists basically of two methods and practice of teaching subjects and contributions from four foundation areas: psychological studies, social and comparative studies, historical and philosophical studies, and research and evaluation in curriculum and teaching. The supervised teaching practice component of the methods and practice of teaching subjects is conducted in blocks with a series of preliminary visits before each block round.
In addition there are service courses in educational technology-media, computers across the curriculum, language across the curriculum and occupational health and safety. Each student is also required to participate in a range of short courses or units. Units offered will be multidisciplinary in nature and address recent developments in school curricula, eg Australian studies, technological studies, health education, Asian studies, psychology and counselling. Assistance is also available in aspects of speech and verbal communication in the classroom. Students taking a science method as one of their two methods and practice of teaching subjects will be allocated to a program in which much of the contribution from the foundations and methods areas is treated in an interdisciplinary manner. All full-time students may be required to attend sessions at a residential camp before the first teaching round. Brief details of the foundation subjects are given below.
n Teaching and learning
4 hours per week * Full-year subject * Clayton
The course presents psychology and principles of teaching in a number of themes to do with knowing about yourself, your students, planning and control, learning and teaching, and student progress. The whole year's program is designed to enable you to establish principles that will make your teaching a purposeful, rational, and rewarding experience, both for yourself and for your pupils.
Within the themes the course will cover matters such as learning theories and their application in classrooms; physical, personality and social development; knowledge and the curriculum; the nature of abilities; approaches to classroom control; questioning techniques; lesson structure; and the purposes and methods of assessment. Running through all themes is the general theme of integration, issues concerned with the presence in the one classroom of wide ranges of abilities, interests, and ethnic and social backgrounds.
Assessment is based on assignments, regular attendance and active participation in classes. A certain amount of content is presented through lectures, and a very substantial proportion of the learning must result from reflection on practical activities and discussions in tutorial groups.
Recommended texts
Cole P G and Chan L K S Teaching principles and practice 2nd edn, Prentice-Hall, 1994
Oser F K, Dick A and Patry J-L Effective and responsible teaching Jossey-Bass, 1992
White R T Learning science Blackwell, 1988
White R T and Gunstone R F Probing understanding Falmer, 1992
n Social foundations of schooling
This course examines contemporary schooling in its social and historical context. The nature of our work as teachers, what we teach, how we teach and how children learn are all influenced by the way society and education are structured. The course examines contemporary issues in education and how these have emerged over time. Factors such as ethnicity and gender, and major issues such as the integration of students with disabilities, developments in educational policy and governance, changes in teachers' work and pay, and the development of the Victorian Certificate of Education are considered. Attention is also given to assumptions underlying contemporary educational thinking, current educational debates, and to various innovations and alternatives that are relevant to Australian schooling.
Reference
Connell R W and others Making the difference Allen and Unwin, 1982
Connell R W Teachers' work Allen and Unwin, 1985
Spaull A D (ed.) Teacher unionism in the 1980s: Four perspectives ACER, 1987
Methods and practice of teaching subjects
Each student must choose two methods and practice of teaching subjects. For example, students with a major sequence in English and a minor sequence in history might choose English and history as their methods and practice of teaching subjects. Students are advised to consult the following list of teaching subjects together with the outlines for each subject and its prerequisites. This information should then be used to choose two methods and practice of teaching subjects.
The prerequisites for entry to these courses are determined by the faculty and do not necessarily meet the requirements of particular employers in specific subject fields. Students in doubt about the suitability of their qualifications for employment with the Victorian Department of School Education are invited to check with the department's recruitment unit.
The availability of any of the methods and practice of teaching subjects from year to year is dependent on the faculty's ability to provide appropriate tutorial assistance, supervision and teaching practice facilities. Where numbers of applicants are small arrangements may be made between training institutions to combine classes. The following subjects are available in 1995:
* GED0511 Commercial studies
* GED0512 Legal studies
* GED0513 Economics
* GED0515 English A
* GED0516 English B
* GED0517 Geography
* GED0519 History
* GED0520 Religious education
* GED0521 Social education
* GED0523 Modern languages A
* GED0525 Modern languages B
* GED0527 English as a second language
* GED0529 Music A
* GED0530 Music B
* GED0531 Methods of mathematics
* GED0534 Computer studies
* GED0535 General science
* GED0537 Biology
* GED0539 Chemistry
* GED0541 Physics
* GED0542 Psychology
* GED0543 Technology studies
The details of these subjects are given following the course outline for GED0005.
Supervised teaching practice in schools
The school experience program extends beyond the minimum requirements for teacher registration in the State. More detailed information about teaching practice times and requirements are available in the GradDipEd information booklet, the information sessions (5 September 1995, 4.30 pm or 7 pm, Rotunda (R1)) and at the orientation meetings (2 February - part-time course (any student enrolled for methods and practice of teaching subjects); 9 February - part-time course (any student enrolled in the first year of the part-time course) and 6 February - full-time course). Three blocks of time have been set aside throughout the year:
* 2 - 13 March: Preliminary visits for first teaching round
* 14 - 31 March: First teaching round
* 24 May - 11 June: Second teaching round
* 16 August - 10 September: Third teaching round
In the week beginning 27 February some students will be required to attend residential camps. Further information about these camps will be supplied in the first weeks of the course.
Educational technology - media
Basic instruction in educational technology (AV) is a small but significant part of the GradDipEd program. This experience encompasses:
* utilising the classroom environment to maximum effect;
* demonstrations of basic media production techniques related to teacher developed instructional software;
* training in the use of AV equipment commonly found in schools.
The entire educational technology program is designed to be totally practical for the future classroom teacher.
Computers across the curriculum
All students undertake a service course on the use of microcomputers and their software programs in classroom teaching. The course comprises an initial two hours of workshop sessions run in the microcomputer laboratory which is then followed by further work in methods classes.
Language across the curriculum
This unit is undertaken by all GradDipEd students. It provides opportunities for students to develop further their teaching and communication skills by examining the role of language in learning and applying this knowledge in the classroom. The course emphasises the different language needs of learners and the responsibility of the teacher in responding to these needs. It includes topics such as:
* subject-specific language and concepts in different content areas;
* the importance of oral language in learning;
* the importance of writing as a tool for learning;
* strategies to improve reading comprehension;
* the use of learning logs.
The course is linked with studies in other areas of the GradDipEd course, in particular with teaching and learning and with method studies. An assessed task, based on an analysis of the student teacher's own classroom language, will be negotiated during the course.