Graduate Certificate of STEM Education - 2019

This course is intended for educators who wish to practise or extend their capacity as a science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) educator. It will build your capacity to lead and support quality STEM education and inspire your engagement with STEM disciplines. You will develop a sound understanding of concepts and contemporary issues in STEM education, contexts and systems, locally and globally, and of the major theoretical and professional debates in STEM education as located within contemporary research. This will include policy development issues, content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, in addition to the leadership skills and research skills that inform and enhance the learning of STEM. Through educational research and practice, you will focus on building STEM capabilities to meet future workforce demands.

These course outcomes are aligned with the Australian Qualifications Framework level 8 and Monash Graduate AttributesAustralian Qualifications Framework level 8 and Monash Graduate Attributes (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/alignmentofoutcomes.html).

Upon successful completion of this course, it is expected that you will be able to:

1. demonstrate an advanced, critical and integrated understanding of the contributions of STEM knowledge and skills to society and the future workforce
2. demonstrate expertise in STEM education utilising broad and deep content, pedagogy and pedagogical content knowledge to foster learning in STEM for diverse learners
3. demonstrate advanced cognitive skills in evaluating and synthesising complex information in relation to STEM teaching and learning, communicating the results and applying them to challenging practical contexts
4. utilise enhanced research and leadership skills to develop sustainable action plans for the engagement of learners in STEM education.

The course consists of four units. Across these four units, you will consider contemporary issues in the study of STEM education from the dual perspectives of STEM as:

• a set of particular disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)
• representing a collective way of thinking and acting that fosters critical thinking, problem solving, creative thinking, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Together, the four units establish why and how STEM knowledge and skills are fundamental to society and the future workforce; engage you with innovative pedagogies such as virtual classrooms, online, outreach and traditional face-to-face pedagogies; enable you to interrogate these for their learning appropriateness; and build your capacities in the digital technologies essential to engagement in STEM fields. In the final unit, you will examine how learners experience successful implementation of authentic STEM education. Utilising the knowledge, skills and capabilities developed in the first three units, you will critically examine the use of these elements in contemporary STEM settings, thus enhancing your opportunities to engage in authentic STEM practices as an educator.

The course comprises 24 points.

Units are 6 credit points, unless stated otherwise.

The course progression mapcourse progression map (http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2019handbooks/maps/map-d4005.pdf) provides guidance on unit enrolment for each semester of study.

You must complete:

• EDF5301 Introduction to STEM education
• EDF5302 Content, pedagogy and pedagogical content knowledge in STEM education
• EDF5303 Digital foundations of STEM education
• EDF5304 Contemporary practices of STEM education

This course provides a pathway to the following master's coursework degrees, and if admitted you may be eligible for credit:

• D6002 Master of Education
• D6004 Master of Leadership