Education Courses
Open University Australia
Welcome to Curtin University’s Bachelor of Education (Primary) course. This course is a four year full-time equivalent degree that has recently been revised as part of the University’s Curriculum 2010 Project. The course provides a rich grounding for students seeking to become primary school teachers as the units cover all essential aspects of pre-service teacher preparation. The B. Ed course delivered through OUA is being progressively ‘rolled out’ so that the first year units will be available in 2009, second year units in 2010, third year units in 2011, and fourth year units in 2012.
Course modes
The program is currently offered in four modes:
- a full-time four year course beginning in Study Period 1
- a full-time four year course beginning in Study Period 3
- a half-time eight year course beginning in Study Period 1
- a half-time eight year course beginning in Study Period 3.
Details of unit availability are contained in the attached document [.pdf - 86KB]
Entry requirements
As this course is offered through Open University Australia, there are no formal entry requirements. However, prospective students should be aware that the nature of the Bachelor of Education course is such that ‘sound’ levels of personal literacy and numeracy are essential, and a minimum expectation is the completion of English and Mathematics at a level equivalent to the final year of secondary education.
Time and study commitments
Each unit in the course is structured on the basis of an average of ten (10) hours of work per week. In the ‘on campus’ mode for full time students, there is a two or three hour tutorial/workshop with the balance to be completed independently by students. Course content and assessment requirements for all modes of the course are the same.
Dates for the OUA Study Periods and Curtin’s semesters do not exactly coincide. Curtin units are designed on the basis of twelve (12) teaching weeks with tuition-free weeks. Hence, in OUA format, the 12 weeks of course content will be delivered over a thirteen (13) week Study Period with a one week break in the middle.
Course delivery
The course is delivered using the ‘Blackboard’ on-line tool. This is a comprehensive system for presenting content, organising communication, and submitting assessment work. Students are encouraged to familiarise themselves with ‘Blackboard’ and navigate through the various sections on the menu. It is important to make early contact with your tutor and to maintain this contact on a regular basis. Your tutor will advise you of how the various elements of the ‘communications’ menu will be used during the Study Period.
Resources
It is important for students to purchase the designated text book/s for each unit. In most cases, there will be one text required and, in some cases, your tutor will have arranged a custom text with a publishing company in order to craft a resource suited to the requirements of a particular unit. All texts will have application beyond the unit for which they are designated and students will find that purchased texts will be used in future years of their course.
Unit coordinators
Each unit has a unit coordinator based at Curtin University’s Bentley campus. This person is responsible for setting the content, learning program, and assessments for the unit. Unit coordinators are also responsible for moderation of units to ensure uniformity of delivery and assessment in all modes. For Study Period 1 2009, unit coordinators are as follows:
Development and Education 150 – Dr Susan Beltman
Professional Practice in Primary Education 120 – Dr Chris Hurst
Technologies for Learning 160 – Dr Lina Pelliccione
Introduction to Curriculum 110 – TBA
Professional responsibilities
A high degree of professionalism is expected of all students who enrol in courses offered by Curtin University. Academic honesty is crucial to the credibility of students and the University and ultimately reflects the values of the University as a whole. While it is legitimate and appropriate to synthesise the work of others, providing that such work is clearly and accurately referenced, plagiarism is cheating and, as such, a serious breach of academic integrity subject to disciplinary action. Plagiarism occurs when the work of another person/s is used and presented as one’s own. Most tutors use the plagiarism detection service ‘Turnitin’ to detect plagiarism in student work.
Professional practice (teaching practicum)
Each year, B. Ed students engage in professional practice, otherwise known as teaching practicum. This involves an extended period of work in a school and is usually linked to Professional Practice or programming units. There are pre-requisites for being able to participate in this professional practice. Students must obtain a Federal Police Clearance and a Working With Children Check (or their equivalents) before being able to participate. In Study Period 1, as part of Professional Practice 120, students will be provided with guidelines for organising the three week professional experience that will occur later in the first year of the course. It is the responsibility of each student to arrange professional practice venues for each practicum and this includes identifying a suitable school and nominating an in-school practicum supervisor.
Facilities and resources available
As part of their OUA enrolment, students will receive an ‘identifier’ that will enable them to access the Curtin University Library, in particular the electronic reserve section (E-Reserve) where tutors will have located articles and information to be used in conjunction with other learning materials on ‘Blackboard’. It is hoped that OUA students will also have access to supplementary courses offered by Curtin’s Learning Centre. These are designed to improve literacy skills, such as essay writing.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Claims for RPL are normally done at enrolment when an RPL claim form is completed. Students seeking to gain exemption for particular units should provide an authorised copy of their academic transcripts providing details of successful completion (including grades etc) of units for which they are claiming RPL. Students will also need to supply details of the syllabus of completed units and state the Curtin units for which they are seeking exemption. Such exemptions may be granted for core units or electives. For example, education or psychology units may provide exemption from some core Curtin units and other units from a non-education field, may provide credit for up to four electives.
Sheena O'Hare
School of Education OUA Coordinator
E-mail: s.ohare@curtin.edu.au
Phone: (08) 9266 3770
