For the hard worker

Bachelor of education students from the HCTs can apply. Rania Al Hussaini reports

The University of Melbourne Education Prize was recently announced during the HCT Press launch at Al Ain Women's College.

Notes spoke to Ray Misson, director of Teaching and Learning at the Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, Australia, Ross Currie, chair, Teacher Education, Dubai Women's College, and Michael O' Brien, managing editor, Divisional Chair Education, HCT, about the new award for bachelor of education students.

What is the prize?
It's an annual prize that includes trophy and educational books worth $500 (Dh1,836.5), given by the University of Melbourne in collaboration with the Higher Colleges of Technology.

Who receives this award?
The award is given to a top student in the bachelor of education programme at HCT colleges. The student would have completed the four-year programme with the highest overall average.

HCT does the first assessment and the University of Melbourne assists in assessment process before the student is selected.

The assessment process:
Students will be evaluated on the quality of their daily work and achievements during the four years of study, and on their final research project, which will be marked also by the universuty of melbourne.

Why was this prize institued?
"This prize was formed in order to recognise the good students and their work, since we are getting great feedback from the schools that are employing our students. So we think they deserve to be recognised and those who are working less deserve to be encouraged to work more," said Ray.

HCT Press launch at Al Ain Women's College

• The Higher Colleges of Technology recently launched its own academic publishing imprint - the HCT Press.
• First publication - Action Research in English Language Teaching in the UAE: Perspectives from Teacher Education at the Higher Colleges of Technology - features refereed papers by HCT education graduates now working as teachers in UAE schools.
• The book provides insights into language teaching in UAE schools.

THE HCT Bachelor of Education Programme

It's a four-year course designed to help teachers in teaching English as a foreign language. It has been designed to develop English skills and prepare student-teachers to recognise and excel in using the best teaching tools.

• It's a student-centred programme.
• It raises awareness about various cultural backgrounds of students they will deal with.
• It's a communicative approach programme to language teaching.
• It strongly emphasises teaching practice.
• It highlights the teacher's role as a facilitator.

Who can apply?
Any student who has completed the foundation programme, has good English language proficiency. They will then be interviewed.

The practice-teaching process:

• From the first year of the diploma, students are required to do a practice teaching course at a government or private school that HCT has a partnership with.
• During the internship, the student-teacher will be working with the classroom teacher and getting feedback from her/him, as well as from her professor.
• The duration of the internship is 155 days. over four years including a 10-week internship in the final semester. During this period the student-teacher will get assessed by her professor and graded on her achievement and application in the class.
• Students will receive a Bachelor of education degree awarded by HCT , and a certificate from the University of Melbourne, which state that the degree that they have achieved is equivalent to an Australian undergraduate bachelor of education degree, and allows them to continue their masters degree at the Universityof Melbourne.

HCT has extended the education programme by adding a bachelor of educational technology programme and Early Childhood Education Programme (ECE), the details of which will be announced later.