For graduates wishing to become teachers, the faculty offers a one-year full-time course leading to the award of the Graduate Diploma in Education. The course combines academic studies of the foundations of education with methods and practice of teaching in subjects appropriate to the student's first degree. The faculty also offers a course suitable for part-time students in which the foundation subjects are time-tabled in the late afternoon.
Students should read carefully the section on enrolments. Details concerning the selection process for the course appear below. Details of subjects and timetables are set out in this handbook and will be supplemented by handouts during the year.
Selection and enrolment
The basic entrance requirements for the GradDipEd course are that (a) the applicant shall have qualified for a degree and (b) the subjects studied in that degree shall be an appropriate foundation for the work of a teacher.
For overseas degrees, the faculty accepts assessments made by the Department of School Education, Level 17, South Rialto Towers, Melbourne 3000.
In general terms `an appropriate foundation for the work of a teacher' means a two-year sequence in relevant tertiary subjects for the method subjects to be studied in the course (for example, English, economics, mathematics etc.) A major sequence in one of these subjects is desirable. Advice on the suitability of undergraduate sequences or other information about the GradDipEd may be obtained from the director of GradDipEd studies at any time.
Application forms can be obtained from the secretary of the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre, 40 Park Street, South Melbourne, 3205, from the inquiry office (Education) or from the GradDipEd office in the Faculty of Education (room 131). Applications close with VTAC on Friday 7 October, although later applications will be accepted on payment of a late fee. A statement on the rules guiding selection is set out below.
1. General criteria
1.1 Admission to the Graduate Diploma in Education course shall be limited to a quota of such size as is determined by the university Council for any year.
1.2 Applicants will normally be selected on the basis of academic merit as evidenced by their undergraduate degree course. However, the selection committee may also take into account the faculty's ability to provide appropriate tutorial assistance, supervision and teaching practice facilities in the various method subjects.
1.3 No notice will be taken for selection purposes of scholarships, studentships, or other forms of award held by any applicant.
1.4 Graduate Diploma in Education regulation 2.1 (incomplete degrees) will only be implemented in favour of any applicant whose progress in undergraduate studies has been of a high standard but who is not yet qualified for the bachelors degree due to special factors acceptable to the faculty. Preference is given to fully qualified applicants. An applicant whose bachelors degree is incomplete pending the determination of results in some supplementary or special (deferred) examination may nevertheless apply for selection. Only if the examination is passed will the student be considered for selection into the Graduate Diploma in Education course in that year.
1.5 Students who in a previous year (a) have been excluded from the course on account of unsatisfactory progress or (b) have withdrawn from studies, shall submit a fresh application for selection and may be selected at the discretion of the committee.
1.6 The selection committee may withhold selection from an applicant who nevertheless satisfies the normal requirements of the regulations for the course for the Graduate Diploma in Education, but who, in the opinion of the committee, is considered unsuitable for training as a teacher.
1.7 Applicants will be expected to enrol in the year in which they are selected. Deferments will not be granted except in cases of extreme hardship. A new application is necessary for selection in a subsequent year.
2. Applications for full-time course
2.1 All qualified applicants shall be assessed and ranked in order of academic merit.
2.2 Offers will be made to applicants on the basis of academic merit regardless of the institution of origin.
2.3 Offers of up to 10 per cent of the full-time places may be reserved for the following categories of qualified applicants: (a) overseas students who have graduated at institutions other than Monash; (b) mature age applicants irrespective of institution of origin (`mature' defined as a person over thirty-five years of age); (c) any applicants who in normal rank order would not be selected and who have successfully undertaken, subsequent to their degree, additional courses for the purposes of improving their academic rating or have availed themselves of experience appropriate as a background for training as teachers.
3. Applications for part-time course
3.1 All students who have successfully completed at least one subject of the course and who are eligible to re-enrol shall occupy the first places available in the part-time quota subject to their taking the methods subjects for which they were selected.
3.2 Any student who seeks to re-enrol under the provisions of 3.1 above after the closing day of the university re-enrolments may be refused permission to re-enrol.
3.3 All qualified applicants for selection shall be assessed and ranked in order of academic merit regardless of institution of origin, but the committee may give special consideration to applicants in the same categories as 2.3 (b) and (c) above.
Course outline
The Graduate Diploma in Education offers a one-year full-time course of training to graduates that will allow them to take employment as a teacher.
There will be two courses for intending secondary teachers, one for full-time students, and one for part-time students. Students enrolling for part-time study must formally enrol in course GED0005. Part-time students who wish to take day-time classes will be permitted to take some subjects in course GED0001 as credit towards subjects in course GED0005. Students wishing to do this should obtain permission from the director of GradDipEd studies, Associate Professor J R Northfield. There will also be a full-time course for intending primary teachers.
Intending students should be aware that late commencement of coursework could jeopardise their eligibility to sit for examinations and complete a course under the conditions laid out in the regulations for the Graduate Diploma in Education (see regulation 3.1). Students will not normally be admitted to classes more than two weeks after the commencement of any subject or unit. A candidate who fails to complete a course satisfactorily in the year in which the candidate was enrolled will be informed by the board of examiners as to what further work the candidate should complete in a subsequent year to satisfy requirements. This extra work will normally comprise enrolling for GED0041 (Special subject) (one-sixth of one year's work) or GED0042 (Special subject) (two-sixths of one year's work). The nature of the work involved in such an enrolment will be prescribed for each student requiring this by the board of examiners when it considers the student's failure in the full-time course and, except with the permission of the faculty obtained through the subdean, the student would be expected to complete the prescribed special subject in the year following the student's failure in the full-time course.
Students enrolled in course GED0001 who successfully complete the required foundation subjects plus two methods and practice of teaching subjects will be awarded a pass in the Graduate Diploma in Education.
Students enrolled in the full-time course may seek permission from the faculty to enrol concurrently for a subject in another faculty to the value of not more than one-quarter of a year of full-time study.
GED0001 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.
GED0005 The part-time course
Course GED0005 offers subjects in late afternoon classes. This afternoon course is intended to serve the needs of the part-time student. Full-time students intending to take this course must first obtain the permission of the faculty. Those wishing to take daytime classes will be permitted to take subjects in course GED0001 as credit towards subjects in course GED0005.
The course comprises GED0101 (Educational psychology), GED0201 (Education in society), GED0301 (History of educational thought), GED0401 (Principles of teaching) and two methods and practice of teaching subjects. The four foundation subjects are timetabled on the same evenings each year, but most method subjects will only be available for study in daytime classes also serving the students from course GED0001. The course is basically designed to be taken over two years with GED0101, GED0201 and GED0301 taken in one year and GED0401 and the two methods and practice of teaching subjects in the other year. During 1994 GED0201 and GED0301 will be taken on Tuesday evening at 4.30. GED0201 will run from 14 February to 15 June and GED0301 will run from 22 July to 26 October. The assessment requirements of GED0401 (Principles of teaching) are such that they are normally met during the teaching practice periods.
Some students currently employed as teachers may be eligible to apply for partial exemption from teaching practice requirements. Partial exemption from teaching practice requirements may be granted to a student who is currently employed as a secondary teacher and who either has had a period of satisfactory teaching experience approved by the dean or holds an approved certificate of teaching training. An applicant for exemption must teach in the subjects for which the applicant is claiming partial exemption. Applicants will be required to attend at least one teaching round in a school other than the one in which they normally teach; the time and place for this supervised teaching will be as specified by the faculty. A student should consider this requirement carefully before making an application. All applicants for partial exemption will be visited in their schools early in the school year. They will be informed of the result of their application as early as practicable. Students applying for partial exemption should complete an application form which is available from and returnable to the GradDipEd administrative officer before the course begins.
On successfully passing the six subjects of the course, a candidate will be awarded a pass in the Graduate Diploma in Education.
* GED0101 Educational psychology
* GED0201 Education in society
* GED0301 Social history of schooling
* GED0401 Principles of teaching
Methods and practice of teaching subjects
* GED0511 Methods and practice of teaching commercial studies
* GED0512 Methods and practice of teaching legal studies
* GED0513 Methods and practice of teaching economics
* GED0515 Methods and practice of teaching English A
* GED0516 Methods and practice of teaching English B
* GED0517 Methods and practice of teaching geography
* GED0519 Methods and practice of teaching history
* GED0520 Methods and practice of teaching religious education
* GED0521 Methods and practice of social education
* GED0523 Methods and practice of teaching modern languages A
* GED0525 Methods and practice of teaching modern languages B
* GED0527 Methods and practice of teaching English as a second language
* GED0529 Methods and practice of teaching music A
* GED0530 Methods and practice of teaching music B
* GED0531 Methods and practice of teaching mathematics
* GED0534 Methods and practice of teaching computer studies
* GED0535 Methods and practice of teaching general science
* GED0537 Methods and practice of teaching biology
* GED0539 Methods and practice of teaching chemistry
* GED0541 Methods and practice of teaching physics
* GED0542 Methods and practice of teaching psychology
* GED0543 Methods and practice of teaching technology studies