Teaching Practice at the University of the South Pacific Presentation by Kusum Prakash of The University of the South Pacific School of Education Arts and Law to the UNTL-VicUni Conference 'Finding Pathways in Education' 13 th and 14 th July, 2015 Dili, Timor-Leste UNTL-VicUni Conference 'Finding Pathways in Education'

USP - An Introduction USP is the premier institution of higher learning for the Pacific region. Established in 1968, it is jointly owned by the governments of 12 member countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Samoa. The University has campuses in all member countries. The main campus, Laucala, is in Fiji. The Alafua Campus in Samoa is where the School of Agriculture and Food Technology is situated, and the Emalus Campus in Vanuatu is the location for the School of Law.

cont The Academic Schools, Institutes and Centres at the USP are organised into 3 faculties and led by Deans. These are: the Faculty of Arts, Law and Education; the Faculty of Business and Economics; and the Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment. Each Faculty comprises of a number of schools which offer a wide range of academic programs and courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The University also offers programs through distance and flexible learning in a variety of modes and technologies throughout USP's 14 campuses.

cont The University graduated its first cohort of 32 students in Till date over 30,000 graduates have successfully completed their studies. Today the university has an enrolment of over 19,000 students studying in all 12 countries.

School of Education Many faces of USP The School of Education (SOE) is the leading pre-service and in-service teacher education institution of excellence within the Pacific region. It upholds quality learning and teaching, and provides quality educational services as well as professional development programs. SOE prepares quality teachers, teacher educators, tertiary teacher educators and educational leaders and provides on-going professional development programs.

Teacher education programs Certificates available by DFL: Certificate in Non-formal Education Certificate in Teaching (primary & secondary) – for untrained teachers Certificate in Basic Skills in Library/Information Studies Diplomas available by DFL: Diploma in Early Childhood Education Diploma in Teaching (Secondary) Diploma in Leadership and Assessment Diploma in Special and Inclusive Education

Undergraduate Teacher Education Programs available by DFL: BEd (In-service) Primary and Secondary BEd (Untrained teachers) Primary and Secondary (stair-casing) BEd (In-service) Early Childhood, Special Inclusive Education BA/BSc GCEd – Secondary (flexi-mode)

Postgraduate Programs for Teachers and Teacher Educators GCTT – 2 Courses - ED401 & ED402 (online) PGDTT – 4 Courses (GCTT + ED403 [online]) & ED459 [f2f] PGDE – 4 Courses. MEd – PGDE + 2 Courses + SRP MEd – PGDE + 4 Courses (by course work) PGCE – 9 Ed. Courses (2 teaching subjects) MA in Ed – PGDE + Thesis PhD – Thesis

Learning styles a) Face-2-Face: Distance and Flexible Learning (DFL) 1.Print 2.Moodle online support to F2F 3. Fully online b) Flexi-Schools

ED300 Practicum (Teaching Practice) Teaching Practice is done in two phases: i)3 weeks of school attachment in the third year of study ii)14 weeks of school attachment in the final year of study A total of an intensive 17 weeks of school attachment monitored by the school mentors and the university lecturers.

Student spread Students in Laucala campus in Fiji generally are placed in schools in close vicinity of the university for constant monitoring. Students also can choose to do their practicum in their home countries Teaching in a Fiji classroom

ASSESSMENT Practicum is 100% coursework that includes: i)10% year three work. ii)90% final year work which includes the following: a)2 assignments related to practicum experiences. b)Observation reports by the school mentors. c)Observation reports by the USP lecturers. d)Preparation of lesson plans e)Observation of the teachings of the school mentors.

Teaching Practice Trainee teaching in Marshall Islands Trainee teaching in Fiji

Teaching Practice Trainee teaching in Kiribati Trainee teaching in Solomon Islands

The way to move forward All the education courses are available on online mode so students can do it from anywhere in the region. The ‘Untrained Teachers’ Project’ commenced in 2013 with the countries of Vanuatu and Kiribati signing MoU’s to work collaboratively with USP to support fast-tracking the training for their untrained senior secondary school teacher workforce. ‘UNESCO Chair of Teacher Education and Culture’ Professor Konai Thaman is a staff of the department and is highly involved in conducting research, supervising Doctorate thesis and consultancies all over the globe.

Thank you very much for your attention Hope you have learnt a bit more about USP than an hour ago You are welcome to consult me to discuss and learn more about the teacher training programs at USP Have a great day