Faculty of Liberal Arts

Master of Education in

Curriculum & Instruction

Go to ···› description : design : teaching practice : requirements

Description

Asian University’s M.Ed. Programme in Curriculum & Instruction is designed for both Thai and non-Thai teachers. Its main aim is to support the Thai Ministry of Education’s policy of upgrading education in Thailand and making it more student centred. More specifically, it aims to meet the needs of the ever increasing number of bilingual, English Programme (EP) and English-medium schools that play a vital role in the Ministry’s on-going plans for educational reform.

Programme

The Asian University’s M.Ed. Programme in Curriculum and Instruction aims to contribute to English language, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science teacher development in Thailand by providing a high quality teaching and learning experience related to the needs of the country.

The proposed programme is designed to be practical at the early stages and at higher levels to equip students with the wherewithal to function more effectively in their ongoing professional life as classroom teachers, designers of materials and potential action researchers. Throughout the programme, theory and practice interlock.

Teaching Methodology

The programme team sees the relationship between themselves and students as being one between equals, and aims to provide an atmosphere in which students take responsibility for their own learning, read widely, reflect on their professional practices, and are actively inquiring in their outlook. Consequently traditional ‘stand and deliver’ lectures are kept to a minimum, with students spending considerable amounts of time in class and outside on practical ‘hands on’ tasks (alone, in pairs or in small groups) with the support and feedback of programme tutors.

Time Schedule

The M.Ed. Programme commences in August each year.  Each semester is 15 weeks in duration with 45 contact hours per semester. The semester schedule is as follows:

Semester 1:      August through December
Semester 2:      January through May
Semester 3:      May through August

Entrance Requirements

The programme is at postgraduate level and aims primarily to hone the skills of English language teachers teaching at secondary or tertiary levels. Consequently entrants to the programme will normally be required to have:

Applicants should have a recognized university degree preferably majoring in one of the four key subject areas and preferably at least one year’s full time teaching experience at a reputable school or college;

Applicants will be required to show sufficient command of knowledge in their key subject area together with a good GPA score (of at least 2.50) and/or a number of years’ teaching experience (at least 5 years) in their key subject;

Applicants whose mother tongue is not English will normally be required to demonstrate English language competence at IELTS Band 6.0, or a TOEFL score of approximately 560 or a computer-based TOEFL score of approximately 215;

For applicants whose proficiency is slightly lower than this (e.g. IELTS Band 5 or 5.5) appropriate tuition through Asian University’s existing English Immersion Programme (EIP) is offered to help them reach the required entry level.(see 1)

Foundation Programme for non graduates in Education

For applicants who are non graduates in Education, but who wish to qualify for their teaching credential from the Thai Ministry of Education and obtain their professional license from the Professional Teaching Council (PTC) after one year of teaching experience, a one-semester Foundation Programme is required. For convenience, this normally would immediately precede the M.Ed programme. 

The 6 non-credit bearing but required courses are Educational Psychology, Innovation and Educational Technology, Educational Measurement and Evaluation, General Methods of Teaching, Ethics and the Teaching Profession and Language and Technology for Teaching. (see 2)

Programme Structure

The basic programme structure, as shown in the table below, consists of 9 compulsory taught courses and either 1 elective and an M.Ed thesis or 3 electives and a degree project.

The programme provides for a Full-Time track as well as a Part-Time track.  The Full-Time track is ideally designed for qualified applicants who can make a full-time commitment to their M.Ed for three consecutive semesters, completing their thesis or project in the third semester.  In contrast, the Part-Time track is designed for those who can manage only a partial course load for a variety of reasons, including existing work and/or family commitments.

 

Stream	Duration	Coursework	Thesis/Project
Full-time	12 months	Can be completed within 1 year	M.Ed Project (6 credits)
Part-time	24 months	Can be completed within 2 years	M.Ed Thesis (12 credits)

 

Flexible M.Ed

In order for the programme to be flexible and sensitive to the needs of individual students, it is possible to exit with any of three awards:
Postgraduate Certificate in Curriculum & Instruction (15 credits, basic module)

Advanced Postgraduate Certificate in Curriculum & Instruction (30 credits, basic module plus 15 credits)
Master of Education in Curriculum & Instruction (39 credits)
The M.Ed must be completed within 5 years.

A study plan for full-time and part-time students is available if you wish to see it.

The Role of Teaching Practice in the Programme

The programme places emphasis on the mutually dependent relationship of theory and practice. Throughout the programme, theory will be used to inform practice, while experience of practice will lead to re-evaluation of insights gained from theory.

Procedures for implementing LCI 605 Teaching Practicum will be of three main kinds:

Non-assessed micro teaching – allowing students to practise teaching techniques with small groups of peers or small groups of genuine students, with the aim of building up confidence and getting a ‘feel’ for teaching in particular ways;

Non-assessed teaching practice – where students on the programme have the opportunity to work with a full class of learners, whether with observation/ feedback of a programme tutor or alone;
Assessed teaching practice – where students (with foreknowledge and preparation) have their teaching assessed by a programme tutor.

Teaching practice of types (b) and (c) will either take place in suitable local schools (including the Sathit School at Asian University) or in their place of work (where applicable), or in both.

The portfolio maintained by all programme students and periodically reviewed with the assistance of programme staff will provide scope for reflection on the experience of teaching practice (see below).

Credits

Individual subjects are typically designed to carry a credit value of 3 credit units each and will run for a single semester.  Each semester will last for 15 weeks and each credit unit equates to 3 hours per semester week of lecture/tutorial contact hours.  3 credits, therefore, are associated with 45 hours of study and 1 credit with 15 hours of study.  A successfully completed Master’s Thesis will carry a value of 12 credits and the Capstone Project a value of 6 credits.  The resulting credit structure for the entire programme is shown in the table below.

Curriculum and Credit Structure

 

	Credit Allocation
Subject areas	Plan A (2) Thesis	Plan B Independent Study
A) Core Courses	6	6
B) Major Courses	9	9
C) Major Option Courses	12	12
D) Major Elective Courses		6
C) Thesis	12
D) Capstone Project		6
Total Credits	39	39

Assessment

Students are exposed to a variety of forms of assessment over the full range of subjects.  In addition, students are required to maintain a portfolio containing articles, materials and other artifacts of relevance to English language teaching, together with a notebook or file containing reflections or observations about these.  The portfolio is regarded as an essential part of a student’s progression towards the status of ‘reflective practitioner’.

NOTES:

1. EIP is an established programme at Asian University which runs from June through to August each year. It would therefore be ideal for any M.Ed. applicant wishing to enter the M.Ed. programme in August.

2. The 3 other required courses, ‘Research Methods in Education’, ‘Curriculum Design and Development’ and ‘Teaching Practicum’, are incorporated as credit-bearing courses in the M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction.

[>top]