University of Auckland offers new Master of Teaching degree

University to offer new Master of Teaching degree

The country’s largest tertiary teacher education provider, the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education, will offer a Master of Teaching (Primary) from July 2014.

The programme has spaces for 60 full-time for students wanting to be primary school teachers. It is one of only three MTchg (Primary) degrees available in the country.

Applicants wanting to enrol in the MTchg (Primary) need to have a Bachelors degree, or higher qualification, with an average grade of B or higher. The one-year (180 point intensive programme) will be taught at the University’s Epsom Campus and Auckland primary schools.

Dr Lexie Grudnoff, Deputy Dean (Teacher Education), at the Faculty of Education, says the master’s degree has been specifically designed for top achieving graduates wanting to pursue a rewarding career in teaching and is a brand new gateway for teachers to enter the profession.

“The overall aim of the MTchg (Primary) is for graduates to achieve positive outcomes for all their pupils, particularly in raising the achievement of Maori and Pacific Island children, children with special needs and those living in low socio-economic areas,” Dr Grudnoff says. “Essentially, this programme is well suited to people who have a passion for improving the educational outcomes for our country’s most vulnerable children.

“The programme will deliver on excellence and equity. The University’s Faculty of Education is well placed to deliver on this goal, especially given our Auckland location, which has the highest Maori and Pacific Island school population in the country.”

Student teachers who enrol in the MTchg (Primary) will develop and use digital literacy and e-learning skills so that they and their pupils become skilled technology users. Students will develop an e-portfolio of professional practice that will profile their learning and development as teachers.

Students will carry out their practical teaching experience in collaboration with Learning Hub schools. There they will gain experience to develop the skills and knowledge required to teach an increasingly diverse school population.

The Learning Hub Schools will also enable a collaborative approach to the teaching of courses. Courses will combine campus-based and school-based teaching and learning. Student teachers will work with faculty staff and teachers in the Learning Hubs to get hands-on experience in theory and practice.

This model will enable student teachers to practise and hone the required skills, knowledge and powerful practices, in authentic, supportive, and constructively critical learning environments.

“The programme will assist skilled teachers towards higher professional development that will benefit both themselves, and their future pupils,” Dr Grudnoff says.

Applications for the MTchg (Primary) are open now. Visit www.education.auckland.ac.nz/mtchgprimary for further details.

If you want to know more about MTchg (Primary) there is an Information evening on Tuesday 15 April 2014 at 5.30pm in A Block, Room A201, Epsom Campus, Gate 3, 74 Epsom Avenue Auckland.

ENDS

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