General OverviewGeneral Overview
The PGDE (Secondary) programme is designed to fulfil the requirements of the Guidelines for Accreditation of Initial Teacher Education Programmes in Scotland (GTCS, 2019) and the benchmark statements for Standard for Provisional Registration (GTCS, 2021).
The overall aim of the programme is to develop individuals with a range of transferable graduate skills who will attain the Standard for Provisional Registration and thus be eligible to apply for provisional registration with GTCS and entry to the Teacher Induction Scheme.
In accordance with the relevant benchmarks, graduates will have demonstrated the attributes, knowledge and skills encompassed by the following core areas:
Professional Values and Personal Commitment
The core values defined as Social Justice, Integrity, Trust and Respect, and Personal Commitment, which are integral to, and demonstrated through, all professional relationships and practices.
Professional Knowledge and Understanding
The knowledge and understanding of the relevant areas of the secondary curriculum, including contexts for learning to fulfil their responsibilities in literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing and interdisciplinary learning; the principal features of the education system and their own professional responsibilities within the learning communities in which they will teach; relevant educational principles and pedagogical theories; and the importance of research in informing professional practice.
Professional Skills and Abilities
The ability to design, deliver and assess effective, appropriate and stimulating programmes of work in one or two subject areas within the secondary curriculum that are suitable for children at different stages of secondary education; and to use reading, research and feedback from a range of sources to inform effective self-evaluation and maintain a record of professional learning and development culminating in an Initial Professional Development Action Plan.
The programme will encourage the student to engage in lifelong learning, study and enquiry and to appreciate the value of education to society. It will also assist the student to develop the skills required for both autonomous practice and team-working.
The following subject areas will be offered:
Art and Design
Biology with Science
Chemistry with Science
English
French
German
Mathematics
Physical Education
Physics with Science
Spanish
Suitably qualified students may be able to undertake study to qualify in two subject areas, with either subject designated first subject.
The Standard for Provisional Registration is part of a suite of professional standards published by GTCS. Individuals obtaining Provisional Registration aim to progress to Full Registration and are then expected to continue to ‘advanced professional knowledge and pedagogical expertise’ through career-long professional learning and professional growth (GTCS, 2021).
In session 2021-22, programme delivery will be hybrid i.e. a combination of online and on-campus classes. Lectures, tutorials, workshops and use of the VLE, employing a range of learning and teaching methodologies including group work, problem-based learning, concept visualisation (eg using drawing and collage), walking, student presentations, online tutor/student-led discussions, and resources such as subject-specific equipment, interactive whiteboards, laptops and the outdoors, will be used, as appropriate, to develop student learning. In order to enable students from the PGDE (Primary) and PGDE (Secondary) programmes to benefit from working together, the PGDE School & Professional Studies module will be delivered through a blended approach using the VLE and some face-to-face lectures, tutorials and workshops. Within the VLE, students will make use of e-learning methods such as remotely accessing set and extension readings and other course materials, and online and asynchronous communication with peers, and supported by tutors, to address problem-based learning tasks. The additional eight hours of contact time available for programmes calibrated at SCQF Level 10 will be used in the PGDE (S) School Experience module to introduce students to the concept of Personal Development Planning. Student handbooks and other material made available to students will give more detailed information on the particular learning and teaching methodologies, and combinations of these methodologies, to be used for timetabled student sessions. This will clarify for students both their expectations for timetabled sessions, and their expectations for the overall balance of learning and teaching methodologies to be used during the programme.
On-going formative assessment across the programme will provide feedback to students on their developing thinking on educational issues and professional abilities. Summative assessment of academic study will take the form of a report on a defined project of action research and an essay. Summative assessment of the PGDE School & Professional Studies module will be offered at SCQF Levels 10 and 11. In both cases, the assessment will take the form of an essay of 6,000 words but the assessment criteria will be differentiated to match the learning outcomes for the two levels. All students will be enrolled on PGDE School & Professional Studies at L10 and the module will encourage criticality in order to support students considering L11. Students will be given full explanation of the different standards of work required by the two levels, and in March they will be asked to make a decision at which level they will submit. By this time in the programme, students will have completed two substantial periods of school experience and have received feedback on the Subject Studies assignment; these experiences will enable students to make an informed decision.
In compliance with the requirements of the GTCS, 50% of the programme, a total of eighteen weeks, will be devoted to school experience occurring in each school term, with a block of at least four weeks taking place towards the end of the programme, in secondary school environments. At an early stage of the programme, students will undertake a period of observation on placement in order to establish links between theory and practice. Student handbooks and other very detailed materials made available to students will set out the requirements and expectations of the three substantial periods of school experience, including the maintenance of the teaching file. During each placement, students will monitor their progress through target-setting and evaluation in a personal development plan. Following formative assessment of the first substantial period of school experience, the two subsequent placements will be assessed summatively by the partner school and the visiting University tutor. In addition to written feedback, students will receive Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory grades across the benchmark areas of the Standard for Registration. Assessment of the module is on a pass/fail basis, dependent upon satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance in school.
|