Master of Teaching (Primary)

This subject is designed to explore the content and pedagogies of Health and Physical Education (HPE) in the NSW primary curriculum.

You will develop an experiential understanding of the pedagogy of HPE. The knowledge and skills developed in the other subjects of study in the course can be applied in this subject and Professional Experience subjects.

You will also continue to develop your research skills. This subject aims to develop teachers who demonstrate empathy with diverse groups of student learners and commitment to socially just schools and classrooms.

This subject introduces students to pedagogical theory and practices in the four diverse art forms of Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts in the primary classroom.

The subject provides practical knowledge, skills and understandings of the importance of all four art forms both as powerful teaching and learning strategies across the primary curriculum and as the creative arts in their own right for pre-service teachers.

You will build your capability to demonstrate creativity when teaching, empathy with diverse groups of student learners, a commitment to socially just schools and classrooms and an understanding of artistic processes. Similarly you will give students an understanding of the role of aesthetics, imagination and play in learning.

This subject is designed to provide a comprehensive account of the teaching of spoken, written and multimodal texts in the primary years of schooling.

You will gain an understanding of different theories related to producing texts in a range of modes for different purposes. Likewise you will investigate a range of written and multimodal genres, their textual structures and grammar and learn to apply these in planning and teaching in mainstream, English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts, gaining a critical awareness of varying pedagogic approaches.

You will also develop skills in pedagogy and practice, including next practice, within English & Literacy for K-6 students. The knowledge and skills developed in the other subjects of study in the course can be applied in this subject and Professional Practice subjects.

This subject will focus on developing scientific and technological pedagogical content knowledge appropriate for teaching science and technology for students in the K-6 years. It models appropriate pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge.

You will use collaborative social learning situations to develop content knowledge, along with interpersonal and communication skills. The pedagogies modelled will be inclusive and demonstrate how scientific and technological learning experiences can be developed to cater for the needs of the diverse groups of learners in primary schools.

You will also learn about engaging science and technology activities that empower primary school students. It will also help you to create futures for students where the capacity to engage with and critically evaluate scientific and technological activity will become increasingly necessary.

Throughout the subject you will focus on yourself as a learner, and reflect on the implications of your learning and the learning of others in their future professional practice.

This subject builds on the interplay between research and practice. It extends students’ understanding of the processes and uses of participatory action research, also known in this context as teacher-based inquiry.

It reviews theories on engaging practices in diverse professional contexts, with a focus on working with students from low socio-economic backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island learners and students who have English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D). It also reviews pedagogic approaches linked to 21st century education.

You will challenge yourself to inquire into and reflect upon your professional practice and develop engaging classroom pedagogies and assessment practices in the area of your primary teaching specialisation (English, Mathematics or Science and Technology).

The subject will expand your research skills through the critical review and application of various approaches to document, measure and evaluate student engagement. In line with NESA primary teaching specialisation requirements, you must apply these research skills and understandings to your school, classroom context and selected curriculum area specialisation.

Professional Experience 2 is a final capstone subject in your Master of Teaching course. The aim of this subject is to enable education students to proactively engage in real-life educational settings to learn and enhance their professional development as a future teacher.

This second professional experience subject provides the final 30 of the 60 required professional experience days.

This provides you with an opportunity to explore further ranges of learning activities that occurs inside and outside the classrooms and the roles of the teaching and non-teaching staff within the school.

You will also have opportunity to reflect on the teaching and learning cycle and refine your competencies as a beginning teacher under the supervision of qualified educators. This subject includes the TPA (Teaching Performance Assessment) which is designed to assess Teacher Education Students teaching as measured by the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the Graduate level.

Note: to fulfil accreditation requirements by NESA and AITSL, the two Professional Experience subjects require that you attend placement in person full time for 30 consecutive days. Schools are allocated by WSU through their network of partner schools. You will also be required to attend a day-long preparation workshop held at one of the university campuses on a weekend prior to placement. Some adjustments may be possible if you are on an Assisted Integrated Plan (AIP) as you may be entitled to a Placement Integration Plan (PIP).

This subject builds on the subject Primary Mathematics and Numeracy 1 with a focus on learners from Year 3 to Year 6. It assumes students have gained familiarity with the knowledge, skills and understandings children require across all strands of the NSW K-10 Syllabus, including the Working Mathematically components.

In this subject you will develop your understanding of primary mathematics in the mid to upper primary years, with a strong emphasis on aspects of teaching such as student engagement, assessment, differentiation for diversity and the integration of technology.

By engaging with this subject, you will have the opportunity to experience, plan and assess a broad range of practices to enhance student learning outcomes and improve student engagement with mathematics.

This subject examines the theoretical, legislative, ethical and policy frameworks that inform inclusive practices in early childhood and school settings.

Inclusive principles and evidence-based practices will be critically analysed to identify best practice for assessment for learning, effective planning, teaching, monitoring, and evaluating learning when working with children and young people with a range of abilities and disabilities.

The importance of establishing collaborative partnerships with families, educational professionals and community support services will be examined and the role of such partnerships in promoting social inclusion and enhanced learning outcomes, health and wellbeing for all children and young people determined.

This subject is designed to promote the application and integration of current psychological and educational theory, evidence, and best practices in creating positive learning environments for the purposes of learning, behaviour, and wellbeing. The subject provides a thorough understanding of theoretical and empirical perspectives on behaviour management as they apply to Australian contexts. Skill development will be encouraged through interactive tutorial activities and exercises. Areas of content include: theoretical and empirical foundations of expectation/rules setting and routines; proactive practices in positive behaviour support; student engagement theory; relational pedagogy; using data to inform behaviour management strategies; and whole school approaches to manage behaviour and wellbeing. This subject is included in the Development Phase of the Master of Teaching program.

his subject highlights the interacting contributions of biology and environment to the development of children and adolescents and explores how teachers’ knowledge of this process must inform their pedagogy. Specifically, this subject examines classic and current theories and research evidence-base relating to the biological, cognitive, social, emotional, and moral development of children and adolescents and the implications of these for learning and classroom practice. It includes theoretical perspectives on the brain and learning including memory formation, retention and models of motivation, attention, and knowledge acquisition. This subject dispels common educational neuromyths and focuses on evidence-informed pedagogical practices that support learning, engagement, motivation, and wellbeing in culturally responsive classrooms. This subject is included in the Foundation Phase of the Master of Teaching program. This subject is included in the Foundation Phase of the Master of Teaching program.