Postgraduate Course: Developing Teacher Professionalism (2) (EDUA11384)
Course Outline
| School | Moray House School of Education |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 30 |
ECTS Credits | 15 |
| Summary | Developing Teacher Professionalism (DTP) is a 60 credit core which runs throughout the entire two-year MSc programme. It is assessed via two 30 credit courses; one in each year of the programme. In DTP, students are introduced to ideas that support an activist conception of teacher professionalism; an activist conception being one that sees teaching as a transformative profession, where the teacher works collaboratively and transparently to enhance children's learning experiences and life chances. Central to this course, and to the programme as a whole, is the notion of professional authenticity, and this course therefore seeks to support students to develop their own professional identity and capacity in ways that might be expected of fully-qualified teachers. DTP focuses on four key themes: self and others; and teacher as inquirer; teacher as pedagogical expert; teacher as learner. |
| Course description |
This course builds on DTP(1), providing an opportunity for students to further enhance their ability to make theory-practice connections, acknowledging that learning to teach is an iterative process requiring deep and progressive intellectual and practical engagement.
The DTP course has been designed to be a professionally authentic experience, aligning itself with, and pushing forward, current policy thinking in Scotland on teacher education. In particular, the course supports several themes arising from 'Teaching Scotland's Future' (Donaldson, 2011), namely: a reconceptualised approach to 'teacher professionalism'; greater partnership between universities, schools and local authorities and professional learning at Masters level.
The conceptualisation of the programme as a whole draws on international research on teacher education, which suggests that 'The most powerful programs require students to spend extensive time in the field throughout the entire program, examining and applying the concepts and strategies they are simultaneously learning about in their courses' (Darling-Hammond, 2006, p. 307). The DTP course actively supports that endeavor by providing an explicit link between different sites of learning (university and school/community) which focuses on the central aim of developing teacher professionalism. Through the DTP course, and its attention to how teachers learn, staff will be able to make explicit their own pedagogical aims, engaging in constructivist, transparent teaching which reflects the activist conception that we wish our students to aspire to and enact.
The placing of groups of students in school clusters for site-based learning will enable them to develop their identity as a teacher in a way that takes cognisance of the environment in which their pupils live and learn, providing opportunities for students to work with parents and other professional as well as a broad range of teachers. The DTP course will support students in mapping and planning their professional learning in the programme as a whole, against a developing personal philosophy of teaching with transformative aims at its core.
The DTP course has four central elements that run throughout:
SELF AND OTHERS
Understanding and articulating own professional values and identity, understanding and articulating 'the cultural self', understanding others through theories of sociology and social justice, developing activist practices for social justice.
TEACHER AS INQUIRER
Concept of 'inquiry as stance' (Cochran Smith & Lytle, 2009), developing professional research skills, problematising practice, adopting an activist stance to research and inquiry.
TEACHER AS PEDAGOGICAL EXPERT
Understanding different pedagogical approaches, e.g. pedagogies of place, early years pedagogies, critical pedagogy, culturally responsive pedagogy, restorative practices, outdoor learning.
TEACHER AS LEARNER
Understanding teachers as learners: processes of professional, lifelong learning, policy context for professional learning, developing reflective and planning skills, developing professional networks within and beyond the programme, including international links.
The assessment for DTP(2) is the culmination of the two-year programme, and takes the from of a Professional Viva. Students will submit a portfolio of evidence which demonstrates that they have met the GTCS Standard for Provisional Registration, and that they can present that evidence at SCQF Level 11, thereby demonstrating their capacity to evaluate their own learning and practice from a critically-informed perspective. This portfolio of evidence, drawing on work from throughout the programme, will form the basis of a panel discussion, and will demonstrate students' abilities to integrate theory and practice in a meaningful and authentic way.
DTP will be taught principally through seminar-based activities, requiring students to have undertaken reading, observation and other activities in their cluster schools. Students will be supported by tutors, peers and school-based colleagues to engage critically with the GTCS Standard for Provisional Registration throughout the course, planning, reflecting on, and evidencing their progress as they build towards the final professional viva in which they will present evidence of having met the Standard for Provisional Registration.
The course will comprise 9 hours of whole group teaching and 21 hours of smaller group teaching. Students will engage in 105 hours of site-based learning and 165 hours of self/group study.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate and articulate enhanced critical awareness of their own professional values, identity and 'cultural self', and justify decisions made about how best to progress continued professional growth within a complex education environment
- Demonstrate critical understanding of teacher learning through consistent and iterative engagement with policy, theory and professional practice
- Incorporate an 'inquiry as stance' approach to their professional practice, demonstrating the capacity to identify and conceptualise complex professional problems worthy of systematic inquiry, and the research skills necessary to undertake these inquiries.
- Demonstrate critical understanding of a range of pedagogical theories through applying them in practice and reflecting systematically on their impact
- Analyse their learning on this course in relation to relevant core concepts of social justice, sustainability, global perspectives, digital and statistical literacies and professional inquiry skills.
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Reading List
INDICATIVE TEXTS:
Ball, S., Maguire, M. & Braun, A. (2012). How schools do policy: Policy enactments in secondary schools. Abingdon: Routledge.
Ginwright, S. (2016). Hope and healing in urban education: How urban activists and teachers are reclaiming matters of the heart. Abingdon: Routledge.
Murphy, M. (Ed.). (2013). Social theory and education research: Understanding Foucault, Habermas, Bourdieu and Derrida. Abingdon: Routledge.
Reid, A. & O'Donoghue, M. (2004). Revisiting enquiry-based teacher education in neo-liberal times. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(6), 559-570.
Smyth, J. (2011). Critical pedagogy for social justice. London: Continuum.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Knowledge and understanding
- recognise diverse styles of thinking and ways of working and developing capabilities to bring out the best in others regardless of their style preferences;
- conduct research and enquiry into relevant issues through research design, the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, synthesising and reporting;
- have an understanding of contextually relevant ethics and values, self-awareness, mental flexibility and openness, resilience and a commitment to life-long learning
Personal and Intellectual Autonomy
- develop their reflective awareness of ethical dimensions, and responsibilities to others, in work and everyday life;
- be critically self-aware, self-reflective and self-manage in order to fully maximise potential;
- develop personal resilience;
- establish their personal vision and goals;
- seek and value open feedback to help their self-awareness;
- the importance of the development of lifelong learning skills as part of continuing personal and professional development.
Communication
- effective communicators who are able to read and write, present, listen, influence and network;
- an interactive communicator;
- be sensitive to and understand the diversity in people and different situations;
- communicate effectively knowledge, understanding and skills, in a range of settings, and using a variety of media;
- have multicultural and global awareness;
- articulating and effectively explaining information;
- understand that social media leaves a digital footprint.
Personal Effectiveness
- be able to set objectives, motivate, monitor performance, coach and mentor;
- be able to work with people from a range of cultures and backgrounds;
- have the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues both internally and externally, building and maintaining relationships;
- seek and value open feedback to help their self-awareness of working with a team;
- be responsive to their changing surroundings, both being flexible and proactive.
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| Keywords | professional identity,professional inquiry,professional learning,social justice |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Aileen Kennedy
Tel: (0131 6)51 6435
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Mairi Ross
Tel: (0131 6)51 4241
Email: |
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