Postgraduate handbook 2005 - Education

Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary)

Course code: 1737 + Total credit points required: 48 + 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time + On-campus (Clayton - part-time or full-time), off-campus (Gippsland - part-time only)
Contact: Ms Jennifer Brown - Clayton (telephone +61 3 9905 2819), Ms Ann Ryan- Gippsland (telephone +61 3 9902 6270)

Course description

The faculty offers this course leading to the award of the Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) for graduates wishing to become secondary school teachers. The course combines academic studies of the foundations of education with methods and practice of teaching in units appropriate to the student's first degree. The program is offered on-campus at Clayton and off-campus from the Gippsland campus part-time only. However, students may elect to enrol as multimode students, taking some units as on-campus units from Clayton and some as off-campus units.

Professional recognition

Graduates are eligible for appointment as secondary teachers in Victoria. For interstate and overseas positions, applicants are advised to check with local authorities.

Entry requirements

The minimum entry requirement is completion of an approved degree. The units studied in that degree must include a minimum two-year sequence in relevant tertiary units for the method units to be studied in the course (for example English, economics, mathematics). A major sequence in one of these disciplines is desirable (some methods do require major sequences).
Advice on the suitability of undergraduate sequences or other information about the Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) may be obtained from the course coordinator.
Criteria for selection include the following:

• academic merit
• the availability of supervision and teaching practice facilities in the various teaching method units
• proof of English proficiency (see `Special requirements' below).

Applications

Applications are made through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC), telephone 1300 364 133 (except for on-campus international students, who apply through Monash International and off-campus international students, who apply directly to Gippsland campus). Application forms are available in the VTAC guide, which can be obtained from Victorian newsagents from August, or via the VTAC website at http://www.vtac.edu.au. They must be submitted to VTAC by the end of September (later applications will be accepted on payment of a late fee).

Applicants with overseas qualifications

Applicants with overseas qualifications are advised to submit their results to the Employment Assessment Centre, Victorian Institute of Teaching, GPO Box 4367, Melbourne, Victoria 3001. Telephone +61 3 9637 2000 or +61 3 9616 9089 to obtain an assessment. Any inquiry should be made well in advance, as there is no guarantee assessments will be completed in time for applicants to be considered for a round one offer. Any documentation received from the Department should be forwarded to VTAC before 12 noon on 3 December.

English language requirements for applicants through VTAC

Local students website: www.education.monash.edu.au/prospective/howToApply/englishLanguageRequirements.html

University Test of English as a Second Language

In order to manage a teacher training course, and particularly to teach classes effectively on 10 weeks of teaching practice, applicants will need to have excellent communication skills in English and will need to provide evidence of this. Applicants who do not have a satisfactory result in English at Year 12 in Australia (including applicants with overseas qualifications), or who have not received an official exemption from the University Test of English as a Second Language (UTESL), must enrol for this written test of reading, writing and listening skills. Applicants who do not sit the test will not be considered for selection, unless they have an official exemption from UTESL.
Applications for exemption should be addressed in writing to English Exemptions, Faculty of Education, Monash University, PO Box 6, Victoria 3800, Australia, and should include evidence of English proficiency. Completion of all secondary and tertiary studies in full English medium in a country where English is an official language will generally be accepted as grounds for exemption. Attendance at English courses may not be regarded as adequate evidence. However, results on nationally or internationally recognised tests such as the IELTS-academic (a 7 is required for most teaching methods) and the TOEFL (only if accompanied by the essay test result or the TWE, with a minimum score of 600 and 4.5 TWE or 250 on the CBT) or the ASLPRs (a 4 is required) can be presented.
Further inquiries regarding English requirements and exemptions may be directed to english.exemptions@education.monash.edu.au. Note that inquiries and applications for exemption should be submitted by the 1 October for timely applicants and 1 November for late applicants. The requests will receive responses one week from each of these dates.
The Language Testing Research Centre conducts the test (UTESL) at the University of Melbourne. Testing will take place on a Saturday in late October and late November. For information about the test, and for a registration form, contact the Language Testing Research Centre on telephone +61 3 8344 4389 or fax +61 3 8344 5163, or by email at ltrc-info@unimelb.edu.au.
Applicants who perform well on the UTESL, or who have received partial exemption, will be asked to attend an interview at the Faculty of Education, Clayton, or to be involved in a telephone interview. Interviews are normally held in late November and in December. Applicants will be invited to attend in writing or by email, and an explanation of the interview will be provided. This interview tests oral communication skills in English.
Applicants do not need to submit a letter of exemption with their VTAC application. The institution of first preference, of which an applicant requests an exemption, will inform VTAC and all other institutions of their exemption and oral interview results (where applicable). This will occur in December in time for the selection in January.

English language requirement for international students

Refer to the Monash International Postgraduate Course Guide or website http://www.monash.edu/international/englishrequirement/.

Special requirements

It is desirable for students undertaking the course in the off-campus mode or multimode to have access to a personal computer (Windows or Macintosh). Non-compulsory weekend schools may be offered in some units for off-campus students.
The course will normally commence in mid-February. Candidates must satisfactorily complete all units and receive a satisfactory teaching assessment to be eligible for the award.

Course outline

Full-time (Clayton campus) course outline

The course comprises 48 credit points of study. Students are required to complete eight units comprising four foundation units and two methods and practice of teaching (MPT) unit sets (an A and B sequence = one method set). The four foundation units cover the following areas:

• Education as a profession
• The relationship between teaching and learning
• Psychology of students, particularly adolescents
• Social context of education
• Implementation of learning strategies, including learning technologies
• Communication skills, including literacy skills
• Research and evaluation in curriculum and teaching

The supervised teaching practice component of the methods and practice-of-teaching units is conducted in blocks. The full-time course consists of the following units:

First semester

• EDF5421 Professional issues 1: a focus on the classroom
• EDF5422 Communication, learning and assessment
• EDF54xx First teaching methods, part 1A (see methods list below)
• EDF54xx Second teaching methods, part 2A (see methods list below)

Second semester

• EDF5423 Educational contexts
• EDF5424 Professional issues 2: a focus on the profession
• EDF54xx First teaching methods, part 1B (see methods list below)
• EDF54xx Second teaching methods, part 2B (see methods list below)

In addition, service units may be undertaken in some areas. Some full-time on-campus students may be required to attend sessions at a residential camp before the first teaching round.

Course outline

Part-time (Clayton and Gippsland) course outline

First year

• EDF5421 Professional issues 1: a focus on the classroom
• EDF5423 Educational contexts
• EDF54xx Methods and practice of teaching 1A (see methods list below)
• EDF54xx Methods and practice of teaching 1B (see methods list below)

Second year

• EDF5422 Communication, earning and assessment
• EDF5424 Professional issues 2: a focus on the profession
• EDF54xx Methods and practice of teaching 2A (see methods list below)
• EDF54xx Methods and practice of teaching 2B (see methods list below)

This is a conceptual outline only. It gives a general indication of how the course will progress and is subject to change without notice. Students should consult their course coordinator to assist in planning their program. Check the current timetable for unit availability via the website address at http://www.education.monash.edu.au/students/current/timetables after 30 September.

Methods and practice of teaching units

Each student must choose two methods and practice of teaching (MPT) unit sets (an A and B sequence = one method set). Students are advised to consult the following list of MPT units together with the outlines for each unit and their prerequisites. This information should then be used to choose two sets of MPT units.
The prerequisites for entry to these units are determined by VTAC with use of Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) resources (databases) and do not necessarily meet the requirements of particular employers in specific unit fields. Students in doubt about the suitability of their qualifications for employment should check with the recruitment unit of the Victorian Institute of Teaching, GPO Box 4367, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia. Telephone +61 3 9637 2000.
With permission from the course coordinators, students may undertake study in multimode (ie a combination of on-campus and off-campus).

Please note the following:
(i) Some teaching methods may only be available in off-campus mode every second year.
(ii) The availability of any of the methods and practice of teaching units from year to year is dependent on the faculty's ability to provide appropriate tutorial assistance, supervision and teaching practice facilities.

Please note the following:
(i) some teaching methods may only be available in off-campus mode every second year.
(ii) the availability of any of the methods and practice of teaching units from year to year is dependent on the faculty's ability to provide appropriate tutorial assistance, supervision and teaching practice facilities.

Fieldwork placements

Methods and practice of teaching units include a total of 10 weeks of school placements. Students must be available to undertake their school placements on a full-time basis. Students who are employed in schools are required to do 50 days fieldwork. They must complete at least 25 days of supervised fieldwork in a setting other than the school at which they are employed.

Further information

For further information regarding this course, contact the Faculty of Education, Clayton campus (telephone +61 3 9905 2881), Gippsland campus (telephone +61 3 9902 6967) or visit http://www.education.monash.edu.au.

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