Postgraduate Course: Curriculum Plus 1 (Primary Specialisms) (EDUA11292)
Course Outline
School | Moray House School of Education and Sport |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | The overall objective of this course is to develop critically informed and confident teachers to meet the needs of children and young people in the 21st century classroom. The aims of this course are achieved through core themes related to: curriculum; learning and teaching; research, equalities, diversity, values, sustainability and teacher identity.
This course prepares student teachers in pedagogical and curricular learning, as well as providing opportunities for professional development, necessary for the delivery of high quality Expressive Arts or Physical Education provision within the Scottish primary school sector, in line with the GTCS Standards for Provisional Registration. |
Course description |
A range of effective pedagogies, strategies, structures and techniques are considered, investigated and critically analysed through practical, activity based workshops. Students learn through cognitive apprenticeship, social pedagogy and experiential learning methodologies, exploring ideas and approaches to teaching, learning and assessment from both the perspective of the pupil and of the teacher. Models of effective practice are experienced and explored practically, before being deconstructed and critically investigated in terms of related pedagogical theories, method, strengths and potential issues in practice. The approaches outlined here exemplify a core commitment to reflective and reflexive praxis, where the values that underpin how, why and what we teach inform our actions. This helps student teachers to broaden their pedagogic understanding from being solely classroom based, and to extend to include aspects of citizenship and belonging in the wider community. Students are therefore supported in closing the gap between what they value and how they act in the world.
In addition, students' critical engagement with a wide range of relevant academic literature, educational policy and legislation, analysed within their sociopolitical/historical contexts, underpins this experience. Subsequent critical analysis, through the employment of a range of theoretical perspectives helps student teachers to analyse and evaluate pedagogical approaches that can be refined and adapted to work effectively within a primary setting and context.
Ideally, the course will include a brief primary school experience, if available. This experience takes place either during Block Placement 1or 2. Experience of working within the primary school introduces students to the potential of becoming a peripatetic, specialist teacher working within the primary sector.
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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
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Academic year 2023/24, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 0 |
Course Start |
Flexible |
Timetable |
Timetable |
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 36,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 2,
Formative Assessment Hours 2,
Other Study Hours 156,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
0 )
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Additional Information (Learning and Teaching) |
Directed Learning, Independent Learning, Collaborative Learning, Reading Groups, Micro Teaching
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Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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Additional Information (Assessment) |
Summative assessment for this course is a 4000 word assignment comprising two parts:
Part 1: A 1000 word reflective discourse based on a recent primary school teaching/ observation experience
Part 2: A 3000 word critical discussion exploring a selected topic from the perspective of a subject specialist working within the primary sector |
Feedback |
Formative assessment is embedded into the Programme and consists of workshop activities, presentations and lesson planning.
Various formatively assessed workshop tasks set throughout the year, involving teaching, presentation, critical reflection and evaluation of self and peers¿ professional practice.
Key Formative Tasks: Curriculum tasks, designed to support students in their planning and preparation for teaching within their specific subject discipline, and encourage skills in critical analysis and reflection on professional practice. |
No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the ways in which concepts of curriculum, pedagogical theories and approaches impact on learning and teaching.
- Critically consider and engage in the process of planning for teaching and learning across secondary school education taking account of subject disciplines and local and global educational contexts.
- Critically interrogate theories of learning, teaching and assessment within their subject disciplines and in the wider educational, social, cultural and political contexts of the secondary school community.
- Examine the values and ideologies explicit and implicit in academic research and policy literature and/or about Scottish education and beyond which relate to central contemporary educational issues such as inclusion, additional support needs, fairness, diversity, social justice and sustainability.
- Engage in reflective and reflexive praxis to ensure how, why and what we teach aligns with our individual and collective professional values and actions.
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Reading List
Indicative Reading
Abbot, C. (2018)¿Aiming for inclusion: removing barriers and building bridges. In J. Dillon and M. Maguire (Eds). Becoming a Teacher: Issues in Secondary Teaching. (5th Edition). Berkshire: Open University Press, pp 224-236.
Acty, J. (2018) Artists in Schools: Specialist Teaching in the Arts. In J. Holderness and B. Laar. Reclaiming the Curriculum: Specialist and Creative. Teaching in Primary Schools. Crown House Ltd
Bryce, T. G. K., Humes, W. M., Gillies, D., and Kennedy, A. (Eds) (2018) Scottish Education.¿(5th¿Edition). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
Corrigan, A. (2018) Primary-Secondary Transition.¿ In T. G. K. Bryce, W. M. Humes, D. Gillies and A. Kennedy (Eds.) Scottish Education.¿(5th¿Edition). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 384-391.
Cremin, T., and Arthur, J. (Eds) (2018) Learning to Teach in the Primary School. (4th Edition). Oxon: Routledge.
Kutnick, P. (2018). Social Pedagogy in the classroom: relating group work to the promoting of learning and thinking. In J. Dillon and M. Maguire (eds). Becoming a Teacher: Issues in Secondary Education. (5th edition). Berkshire: Open University Press, pp. 157-174
Meggit, C. (2012) Child Development: An Illustrated Guide: Birth to 19 Years. (3rd edition). Essex: Pearson Education |
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
1.This course prepares students to engage critically and analytically with current areas of development in learning and teaching in primary schools and with broader issues and problematised areas in education.
2.Students on this course work collaboratively to design creative and effective approaches to meet the challenges of working with children and young people in the 21st Century classroom.
3.Students are taught to reflect, using appropriate theoretical models of reflective practice on their own practice and their own situated thinking; and to respond reflexively in order to improve learning and teaching. This often means making in-practice decisions in complex situations
4.Student teachers on this course develop the necessary skills to communicate effectively with a range of audiences from children to their professional colleagues, parents and other adults with professional responsibilities for children and young people, adapting communication appropriately to context and purpose.
5. Students must demonstrate their ability to use research papers which include graphical or numerical data to support their understanding of educational issues, and to interpret and use this data accurately and critically.
6.Student teachers on this course work collaboratively with peers and tutors. They learn to take the initiative, to demonstrate leadership and to take responsibility for their professional development as a teacher. Through a blend of tutorial tasks and their practice experience, students develop the ability to think their way critically through complex , diverse perspectives and make ethically sound and well informed decisions which stem from their developing understanding of intra and inter personal skills as well as their sound professional knowledge of learning and teaching. .
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Additional Class Delivery Information |
Two hours per week for each of the 18 University weeks. A mixture of workshop approaches are employed throughout the course, including direct teaching, individual tutorials, and student and tutor lead practical workshop sessions, involving activity based learning and teaching, critical reflection and evaluation, and discussion and inquiry. |
Keywords | Peripatetic primary subject specialist expressive arts physical education |
Contacts
Course organiser | Mrs Isobel Finnie
Tel: (0131 6)51 6107
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Kaiza Barbour
Tel: (0131 6)51 6571
Email: |
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