Master of Teaching

About the MTeach and BTeach

The Master of Teaching/Bachelor of Teaching program is committed to excellence in teacher education. It was introduced in 1996 as a replacement for the 1-year Diploma in Education to raise the status of teacher education courses and address the needs of the beginning teacher. It is designed to prepare graduates who have a knowledge and understanding of, and are developing a critical mastery in, the nature of contemporary education in the contexts of the child, the school, the community and the profession; the professional roles and responsibilities of teachers, and the teaching of their chosen subject specialities in ever-changing educational and social environments. The program is founded on a philosophy grounded in the principles of: case study and problem-based approaches to teaching and learning collaborative learning, reflective and metacognitive approaches to teaching and learning teachers as reflective practitioners with the knowledge, skills and abiltiies to research their own practices a K-12 perspective on school education significant in-school experiences lifelong learning and on-going professional development H i s t o r y The Master of Teaching/Bachelor of Teaching commenced in 1996 and has graduated over two hundred graduates annually since 1997. It continues the tradition of undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education dating back to 1925 at the University of Sydney, the former Sydney Teachers College and the Sydney College of Advanced Education (which amalgamated with the university in 1992). The Master of Teaching was established as the first 2-year, postgraduate course in teacher education in Australia. The Bachelor of Teaching, comprising 3 semesters (over 18 months) of coursework was the first postgraduate teacher education program extending beyond a year. These programs were developed in response to concerns that the traditional mode of post-initial pre-service teacher education, the 1-year postgraduate Diploma in Education degree, no longer adequately prepared graduates for the demands of contemporary school teaching in a changing society. Changes in society and schooling are occurring at an ever-increasing pace and the professional roles, responsibilities and challenges facing teachers are expanding, as are the required levels of academic achievement, ability and teaching competence. Today schools have an expanding list of stakeholders who seek a greater say in education, and schools are expected to involve these stakeholders and meet the diverse needs and expectations of their students, the local communities, their employers, the teaching profession, state and national governments and the boards of study/education. In response to these challenges for teacher education, the Faculty developed the Master of Teaching and Bachelor of Teaching programs which emphasise: the importance of extensive schools-based experiences in teacher education, including a full school-term internship and other professional experiences with partnership schools the development of reflective and autonomous teacher-scholars an issues-centred, case study based curriculum which emphasises problem-solving strategies, inquiry-based learning and the development of professional autonomy and personal responsibility for learning an across the whole school system perspective on education the extensive integration of information and communication technology in teaching and learning a teaching and learning environment which integrates self-directed inquiry and case-based learning experiences in small group seminars, augmented by lectures, tutorials and web-based learning experiences the pursuit of excellence, including the opportunity to undertake a research-based Honours program For further information about pre-requisites, applications, admissions and enrolment for the MTeach/BTeach go to: Information for Future Students in the Master of Teaching/Bachelor of Teaching program