In its efforts to give students a rich learning experience, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education (SHBIE) is making plans to facilitate an exchange programme with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education (MGSE), Australia, for a Masters of Teaching (MTeach) School Placement.

The MTeach Exchange is an initial teacher education programme that equips candidates with a professional qualification in the teaching profession by integrating disciplinary knowledge with a masters-level study of pedagogical strategies and specialisations in different fields of teaching. These include areas such as Early Childhood Education and Care, Primary Education, Secondary Education, Vocational & Technical Education as well as Higher Education.

From 13^th to 16^th October, Dr Jeana Anne Kriewaldt, Professional Partnerships Coordinator of MGSE, paid a visit to Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), hosted by Acting Dean of SHBIE, Dr Masitah Shahrill, and two academic staff members from SHBIE, Mar Aswandi Hj Mahadi, Acting Academic Advisor of the programme; and Hj Azwan Hj Awg Besar, Acting Assistant Academic Advisor. The purpose of her visit was to facilitate the “SHBIE-MGSE MTeach School Placement Graduate Student Exchange Programme” as well as to discuss further collaborations and proposals for the MTeach exchange programme.

Projected to commence from June 2015, the proposed plan involves MTeach graduate students from MSGE to be placed in selected primary and/or secondary schools in Brunei to experience two weeks of teaching in a Bruneian classroom. In return, it is also proposed that MTeach graduate students from SHBIE take part in school placements in selected primary and/or secondary schools in Melbourne, Australia.

During Dr Kriewaldt’s recent visit, she and her hosts visited four selected primary schools and four selected secondary schools in the Brunei-Muara District. The primary schools, which were located in Kampong Ayer (the Water Village), included Sekolah Rendah Pehin Dato Jamil, Sekolah Rendah Saba Darat, Sekolah Rendah Sungai Kebun and Sekolah Rendah Sungai Siamas, while the secondary schools they visited were Sekolah Menengah Sayyidina Hasan, Sekolah Menengah Rimba, Sekolah Menengah Rimba 2 and Sekolah Menengah Katok.