PGDE Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (Chemistry)

This modules aims to develop:
a thorough knowledge and critical understanding of contemporary Scottish educational contexts;
essential skills for successfully teaching within this context;
the professional values and personal commitment expected of student teachers set out in the GTCS’ Standards for Provisional Registration https://www.gtcs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/standard-for-provisional-registration.pdf;

This module uses lectures, workshops, tasks and reflection on school experience to build a critical understanding of how children learn, the complex and sometimes challenging influences on this learning and the practical skills to successfully teach within such contexts.

Using reading, discussion and reflection, you will be encouraged and supported in developing the professional values and qualities expected of student teachers by the GTCS in their Standards for Provisional Registration. You will develop the essential knowledge and skills to teach with these values through engagement with current policy and legislation (e.g. Standard in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act (2000), Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 and Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC, 2014)).

Each week is structured around an important theme which will be discussed in the lecture and then further explored in the workshops thereafter. The workshops will comprise a mix of group discussion of pre-reading and activities. This theme will also be a focus for the observation of day-to-day practice of teachers on the six serial school visit days within the duration of this module.

Indicative Content

The following areas have been identified as the main themes for each week of this module:-
Purposes of Education;
Curriculum;
Scottish Education and the Attainment Gap;
How Children Learn:;
Inclusion Policy;
Adolescent Development;
Numeracy and Literacy across the curriculum;
Professionalism.

Further information

Learning and Teaching 1 is designed to explore the professional values, personal commitment, complex pedagogical approaches and subject knowledge required in curricular specialisms. There will be a focus on the Senior Phase of secondary school to allow you to develop your confidence in working with pupils who are working towards external qualifications. You will develop your skills in planning and delivering lessons, or portions of lessons, that are relevant, challenging and engaging.This module will help you better understand the complex environment in which you will be working and develop your professional skills and abilities. The content will dovetail with that in the Contexts of Learning module, to help you understand how theory and policy inform practice. CurriculumYou will develop your knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities in relation to the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment of your curricular area within the secondary curriculum, with a specific focus on the Senior Phase (S4-6). This is the phase where young people undertake National Qualifications. You will develop your understanding of the different curricula available to students within your subject area, and the standards expected by awarding bodies. Literacy, and Numeracy, and Health & Wellbeing across the Curriculum are key features in all of these activities as you not just model the language and numeracy skills but seek opportunities for innovative and supportive practice to develop these aspects of the curriculum that are the responsibility of all teachers. PedagogyYou will understand the methods and underlying theories for effective teaching and learning and learn how to plan lessons appropriately in order to meet the needs of all learners across different contexts. In developing professional skills and abilities there will be many opportunities offered to develop your skills in the delivery of portions of lessons. In the sciences, laboratory skills, including health & safety, will be a key feature. Lesson planning and all of its complexities is a key skill to be developed and will be introduced early in this module. This will also allow you to explore your curricular specific knowledge, develop your pedagogical content knowledge and use inclusive pedagogies. It will also allow you to demonstrate a new understanding of assessment. Concept development as pupils progress through your subject area will also be explored. Practical behaviour management approaches will be explored and you will be given the opportunity to put these approaches into practice in simulated classroom environments. AssessmentThe assessment for this module allows you to demonstrate your learning of how to plan research-informed inclusive lessons for your subject area, demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the content and structure of your subject area, and justify your choices of learning activities within lessons Professional qualities and capabilitiesThe module will enable you to engage in professional dialogue with peers and university staff and to work collaboratively. We will also explore professional values and what they mean to your developing role as a teacher. Throughout the module, you will be expected to model appropriate levels of literacy and numeracy in learning activities and to reflect on the impact of your personal communication on others.

Further information

This module will enable you to further explore your professional values and personal commitment. You will deepen your knowledge and understanding and further develop skills and abilities in relation to the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment of your subject area within the secondary curriculum, with a specific focus on Broad General Education (S1-3). You will also start to develop extended knowledge of your particular curricular specialism from within the primary curriculum levels. This will enable the contextualising within specific curricular areas of some of the broader principles explored in the PGDE School Experience module.

Curriculum
The module will develop your knowledge of the S1-3 curriculum. This will include the stages of Broad General Education relating to upper Primary School as well as that normally studied in the first three years of Secondary. You will also examine the points of transition from Primary to Secondary education, and from the BGE to the Senior Phase of Secondary education.

You will cover three main areas whilst studying this module

Pedagogy
You will further develop your understanding of the methods and underlying theories for effective teaching and learning and learn how to plan appropriately in order to meet the needs of all learners, across different contexts and experiences. There will also be a focus on differentiated learning and inclusion.

Assessment
You will further develop your knowledge and understanding of the principles of assessment and how to use a range of approaches for formative and summative assessment purposes. Practical activities will help model these principles and give relevant experience that will work towards the interdisciplinary related tasks that are required as part of the module assessment. These will be appropriate to the needs of all learners and the requirements of the curriculum and awarding and accrediting bodies such as the Scottish Qualifications Agency (SQA).

As well as developing assessment materials you will explore and analyse the outcomes to help determine positive learning opportunities for all pupils. Again, developing your own assessments will enhance your practice as it is based upon real experiences, not just theoretical approaches.

Professional qualities and capabilities
After studying this module you have the confidence to engage in professional dialogue with peers and university staff and work collaboratively in a variety of settings that will include primary and secondary transition.

Throughout the module, you will be expected to model appropriate levels of literacy and numeracy in learning activities and to reflect on the impact of your personal communication on others. With increasing confidence, you will be able to explore more fully your own personal development in professional qualities and skills by exploring further opportunities when out on school placement.

Indicative Content
This module will develop your knowledge and understanding of the Broad General Education (BGE) phase of the Secondary school for this module. It must also be remembered that some of your pupils will be working at levels normally expected in this lower age range and it important in terms of GIRFEC and inclusion that all learner needs are met.

As part of this module, you will develop your understanding of Learning for Sustainability. This complements the assessment task for the module.

Further information

This module is focussed on building your skills in practitioner based enquiry. The module will help you develop this skill through the systematic study of practice. You will learn about teachers’ work and teachers themselves as a basis of research. The skills you will learn will help you develop through reflective practice and, have ownership of your research. Successful enquiry is not just about finding the answer to a question but will deepen understanding by surfacing new questions and ultimately improve learning and teaching.

Practitioner enquiry is one of the key elements in the new GTCS Professional Standards and in Scottish Education policy

2.3.2 Have knowledge and understanding of the importance of research and engagement in professional enquiry, 3.4.1 Read and critically engage with professional literature, educational research and policy.

After completing this module you will have an understanding of how practitioner enquiry can be an integral aspect of the day-to-day practice of teachers. You will gain an appreciation that successful teaching requires regular engagement in practitioner enquiry to support professional growth by challenging or 'disrupting thinking' and 'ingrained habits of mind'. The module will explore practitioner enquiry and its role in helping create a space to stop and look again at existing ways of working. It is argued by McLaughlin et al (2004) that teachers who engage in research have 'better understanding of their practice and ways to improve it'. For some teachers, enquiry may promote levels of critical reflection that are transformative.

This module will help develop the attributes required to successfully build these professional skills by introducing the action – research practitioner research cycle and other methodological approaches so that you can use a range of techniques to inform your own professional practice.

McLaughlin, C. Black-Hawkins, K. and McIntyre, D. (2004) Researching Teachers Researching Schools, Researching Networks: Review of the Literature. University of Cambridge: Routledge Menter, I Elliott, D Hulme, M. Lewin, J Lowden K. (2011) A Guide to Practitioner research in Education. SAGE publishing

Indicative Content
The module content will progressively allow you to explore all the features of professional enquiry and provide a useful toolkit for you to undertake action research.

These will include introduction to professional enquiry and how it can support teachers’ professional development throughout their careers

3.4.2 Engage in reflective practice to develop and advance career-long professional learning and expertise.

We will then introduce models of enquiry to allow you to move from a hunch to developing enquiry questions before studying, and very importantly using, different methods of collecting both quantitative and qualitative evidence. All of these activities will be grounded in the British Education Research Association ethical guidelines relating to educational research. Finally, you will be supported at each stage as you develop your own enquiry based around interdisciplinary learning.

Further information

This module on School Experience articulates with the development of professional skills and abilities in Teaching and Learning. It represents the 18 weeks when you will be in school and developing your skills to enable you to take responsibility for your timetabled classes. You will have opportunities to demonstrate increasing confidence in your abilities and to inspire the pupils with subject knowledge and use of effective learning and teaching strategies.

During this period you will also be required to gather evidence for future professional recognition by the General Teaching Council Scotland’s Standards for Provisional Registration. This detailed matrix is both aspirational and achievable for you by the end of the 10-month PGDE programme, and as an audit towards the probation (NQT) year ahead.

The assessment at all stages is holistic in nature and will involve both university curricular specialists and school based mentors working with you. This partnership is essential to ensure that professional standards are maintained and that support is offered at every stage of the three school experience placements that you will undertake.

As part of the process you participate in developing three personal development plans that will clearly determine your professional needs and advice on how to realistically achieve these targets. It will also be relevant for engaging in professional discussion with colleagues to gauge how the placement is progressing rather than waiting until the end of each placement for purely summative report.

In preparation for your school experience placements you will also explore professional values and generic aspects of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, as well as facilitating understanding of the schools as inclusive learning communities in which you will teach and your professional responsibilities within them.

You will know and understand the content of the curriculum in relation to literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing, and the methods and underlying theories for effective teaching of these cross curricular priorities. A variety of strategies to build relationships with learners, promote positive behaviour and celebrate success will be explored and the importance of applying the school’s behaviour management policy, including strategies for inclusion, emphasised.

Learning activities will encourage reflection and engagement in self-evaluation using the Standard for Registration and relevant educational theory. You will maintain a record of their own professional learning and development, and use the reflective journal as a method of capturing this.

• Education systems and professional responsibilities: You will develop an understanding of the sector and schools in which they will be working, including: the role of education authorities, the organisation and management of schools and resources, improvement planning, professional review and development, and how these connect to teachers’ professional practice. The module will provide a working knowledge of the teacher’s contractual, pastoral and legal responsibilities and enable students to develop an understanding of the legal and professional aspects of a teacher’s position of trust in relation to learners. The roles and responsibilities of various members of staff within learning communities will be explored, including interprofessional practice and child protection.

• Pedagogy: The module will support student understanding of theories of learning and the importance of these in planning, teaching and learning. You will also consider how to plan and provide an inclusive, safe and secure, well organised learning environment; make appropriate use of available space to accommodate whole class lessons, group and individual work and promote independent learning including the use of digital technologies where appropriate. You will also learn to apply health and safety regulations as appropriate to your role and the diverse learners you teach.

• Professional qualities and capabilities: The module will enable students to engage in professional dialogue with peers and university staff and to work collaboratively, at times taking a leading role, in a culture of trust and respect, to share their professional learning and development with others.

Further information