Degree: Master of Teaching in Secondary Education
Institution: Monash University
Length of Degree:- Accelerated: 1.5 years full time
- General: 2 years full time
I completed my degree in accelerated mode, which meant that I completed a summer semester in-lieu of the second semester in the second year. This meant that I was able to graduate in July instead of December.
Your current year, or year of graduation: Graduated July 2017 (accelerated mode)
Why you chose your degree:One of the things I have been good at and has been clearly evident in my own schooling, is the genuine trait of helping others. It takes a very special person to be a teacher, one who enjoys working with kids and has a passion for a certain discipline and wants to share that passion with the next generation.
I have always wanted to teach, it was just a matter of deciding what age bracket: primary; secondary or tertiary. My main focus has been secondary, but my experiences tutoring at university level made me question that slightly and I toyed with the idea of tertiary teaching/lecturing for a while, but in the end decided against that.
As those interested in teaching would be aware, for secondary teaching, you need to be qualified in two method areas (or one double method area for some specialisations – e.g. music, arts). It was clearly obvious my first method area was going to be IT/Digital Technologies, given that’s what my undergraduate degree was and that was where my true passion lied. I had some difficulty finalising the second method area. Initially, when I started my IT degree, I had my choice as Business Management, however that quickly changed due to significant dissatisfaction in some elective subjects. I decided on maths mid-way through my first semester (IT degree) and stuck with it.
At the time of deciding which post-graduate course to select, I was aware that the Graduate Diploma (commonly referred to as the ‘Dip Ed’) was being phased out in favour of the MTeach (Master of Teaching), so I opted to choose that to futureproof myself. In addition to that, you wouldn’t believe the lack of courses which offered IT as a method area option to specialise in. I had the choice between Melbourne and Monash. My first choice was actually Melbourne but given Education’s standing, it is extremely competitive to get a CSP place in. So I was offered Monash and took it.
Contact hours:As this is a masters degree, there aren’t that many contact hours. It is expected, however, that you will complete all pre-readings and do some research of your own at home.
In total, I had around 10-12 contact hours per week! A lot of my spare time consisted of pre-reading, writing essays, assignments etc, so in reality it was a lot longer than that. But in general, you have the ability to be flexible in terms of when you work, when you don’t etc.
NOTE: Students completing this degree are required to undertake full-time placement over four three-week periods in a variety of school settings. It usually involves one three-week placement period per semester.Workload:Monash uses a flipped classroom model in the education faculty, which means that:
- There aren’t that many lectures for your subjects.
- You are required to complete pre-readings or pre-class tasks before you attend your tutorial or workshop. This is in-lieu of a lecture, so it’s vital you do this, as the tutorial will involve discussion and examination of the pre-readings/content within them.
- The workshop/tutorial (often 2-3 hours in length) examines the pre-readings where you engage in professional conversation with your peers about them. The tasks within the tutorial/workshop are based on the pre-readings/pre-tasks, so it is absolutely vital that you do them before. I would even say don’t bother attending if you don’t do them, because you won’t know what’s going on.
- As stated above, everybody in the MTeach has to complete four three-week placement blocks at a school. I will discuss the placements specifically later on.
Content:- This is a teaching degree, therefore the social requirement is high. If you’re like me and introverted, the tutorials and workshops can often feel very uncomfortable. However, your future role as a teacher will involve standing up infront of hundreds of students on a daily basis, working in teams, so I’d say get used to it, quickly!
- The degree focuses on theories, methods and ideas as to how to teach. This degree assumes your content knowledge/understanding exists already. The method area units don’t teach you content.
- For the first two semesters, you undertake a core set of theoretical subjects in addition to “method area units” which relate to the two method areas you want to be qualified to teach. These units focus on strategies/ideas on how to approach teaching in your selected discipline.
- In the final year, you have the option to choose a specialist masters elective which essentially is the “research” requirement for a masters degree. You can undertake a research project/thesis or opt to choose a coursework option (which still is very lengthy in terms of writing essays etc). I chose my specialist unit as VCAL/VET (applied learning) as I had an interest in VET due to my links to Information Technology.
Assessment:- No end-of-semester exams
-
Placements are assessed. Put a smile on your dial and put in a ton of effort. You'll be rewarded.
- All assessment is during the semester, usually two essays (or equivalent, such as a portfolio or project). Weighting is usually 50/50 or 40/60.
- Most assessment tasks are essay-based and requires you to use peer-reviewed literature to support your statements. This is a masters degree, after all.
- Use of APA 6th Ed is compulsory for referencing.
General Thoughts:- I personally felt like the placements were the most valuable part of the MTeach, and that there weren’t enough of them. I consider teaching to be a vocation and as such, is best learned on the job. I learned a significant amount on these placement rounds as they were real-world relevant and gave me a clear picture as to what teaching would be like.
- The method area units are broken up into VCE and 7-10. This is a good separation.
- In terms of teaching as a career option, it is not easy. However, the rewards are well worth it. Teaching is about the teaching of students rather than teaching of x or y method. Content delivery is only a small portion of the bigger picture. You need to manage students, build rapport with them, ensure your lessons are engaging. You may have great content knowledge, but if you don’t how to teach or control a class, then you will have great difficulty. For majority of you, you have only seen what happens inside your classroom for a short period of time. Teachers often work significantly longer after the final bell goes and there is a lot of other work that goes on behind the scenes.
Extra Section: PlacementsAs part of this degree, students are required to complete four three-week placements in a variety of school settings. Your placements are chosen for you (unless you opt to do an international placement) by the Placements Office. You are notified a few weeks before the placement begins and it is up to you to make contact with the school that you have been given.
Monash has a clear policy as to where they assign you and they consider whether you have access to private transport or not, and the proximity from your house. The school you are assigned to is based on your method area(s) and obviously what schools are willing to accept pre-service teachers. You can’t organise your own placements at Monash.
From personal experience, I was given placements around an hour away from my house by driving. You may also only be given placements for one of your teaching methods, rather than both. My method areas were Maths and IT, and all four of my placements were Maths only (however with some negotiation I was able to observe and teach some IT too).
When you’re on placement, you have to fill in a diary every day which outlines your activities that you did on placement. You are given a mentor (who is an experienced teacher) where you will most likely be teaching their classes. Your mentor will supervise your classes that you teach and will provide you with written feedback at the end of the lesson. Think of it as an opportunity to practice what you’ve learned at uni in a real environment.
I can’t recall the amount of times that lecturers/placement staff stated to me to think of the placement as a three-week job interview. High quality graduates, especially in the in-demand disciplines (e.g. maths, science) are highly sought after and often good placement rounds lead to favourable decisions when it comes to applying for jobs.
Use the placements as a networking opportunity, get a reference at the end and make a good impression. Get involved in the extra-curricular activities, offer to help out, have a chat with other teachers at lunchtime in the staffroom. As a current teacher, there is nothing worse than a pre-service teacher who isolates themselves and doesn’t interact with teachers.
I would recommend as well that as a pre-service teacher, go and observe teachers from other disciplines. This often provides a different perspective and way of teaching that you may not have thought of yet. Legal Studies (for example) is taught very differently to Mathematics. Maths at Year 7-8 is taught differently to Year 11-12. It’s really important that you use your placements wisely. Most teachers are willing to allow pre-service teachers to observe classes, unless there is a practical activity, test etc. taking place. You need to use initiative, make sure you ask them first and definitely do not be critical of their teaching. If you have a question as to why they did something in a particular way, wait until the end and politely ask them!
Extra Section: Method AreasAs a future secondary teacher, you will be qualified in two different method areas. These are primarily determined by your Bachelor degree studies. For example, I have a degree in IT, so naturally my first method area is IT/Digital Technology. I also gained a minor in statistics through elective options, so Mathematics is my second area.
Another example, if you do a Bachelor of Arts and have two majors, those two majors will be your method areas. These are determined by the Victorian Institute of Teaching (the regulatory body for the teaching profession, every teacher teaching in a school has to be registered with them):
View them hereSo if you’re an aspiring teacher in Victoria and want to teach in high/secondary schools, you need to use that link above to determine what method areas you want to be qualified in, and plan from there.
Just a quick note when referring to “minor” or “major”:- A
major is where you have to complete
at least six different units for that discipline.
Only two first-year units in this discipline will be counted towards the six. This means, if you do six first year units, you have not satisfied the major requirement as only two of them will count. Also, you have to do
at least two subjects at third year level in this discipline to qualify for the major.
- A
minor or
sub-major is where you have to complete
at least four different units for that discipline.
Only two first-year units in this discipline will be counted towards the four.This doesn’t mean that this will be all that you teach. Especially in the government system, funding is tight. This means that you may find that you end up teaching Science or Media or some other subject you aren’t qualified in. This is quite common. You are a teacher of students, not x or y subject.
Schools will most likely not let you teach VCE for the first year or two. You’ll most likely get 7-10 to see how you go and once you’ve achieved confidence, then perhaps you’ll be given it. This isn’t the case for all. I do know some that were given Year 12 immediately as a graduate teacher. All depends on the school you’re at.
I am a current secondary teacher, so if you’re interested in teaching as a career:
- First off: it’s a fantastic career, the rewards are well worth the hard work.
- Second: feel free to PM me any of your other questions, keeping in mind that it may take me a few days to reply to you.
Good luck with your teaching journey 😊!
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