Course description
Programme description
- The programme at King’s is challenging and students are encouraged to take a critical view of policies and practice.
- It is a sociable course where you will be expected to work with others, discussing issues and problems about teaching.
- You have the opportunity to work with tutors who are actively engaged in research in their subject and about teaching.
The programme combines the theory and practice of education. We work in close partnership with schools in designing, delivering and assessing our course.
College based: You will work with other trainees and tutors in your subject area to consider the principles and practice of teaching your subject including curriculum design, the development of materials, classroom management and lesson planning. You will also work with trainees from other subjects in a programme of lectures and seminar groups to examine broad generic issues. During both secondary school placements there are occasional days in college for tutorials to support and monitor progress towards the standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). There are cross-curricular research tasks and assignments.
School based: For 24 of the 36 weeks the training takes place in schools, mainly in two complementary secondary schools but with two short primary school experiences. This introduces you to recognising key constituents of good teaching, helps develop your own teaching skills and gain an understanding of how schools work and how children learn. Some trainees undertake part of their teaching practice in France, Spain, Austria or Germany, funded by the Erasmus programme.
Pathways
There are two pathways to a teaching certificate and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS): (i) Postgraduate Certificate in Education which gives 60 credits at M level which could be put towards completing an MA with one further year of part-time study or (ii) a Professional Certificate in Education. Entry to the Postgraduate Certificate will normally require a 2:1 or above in your first degree.
Programme format and assessment
Course assessment: King's and its partnership schools assess trainees through their work in schools and college, coursework assignments and subject work assignments.
To be awarded the PGCE trainees must meet the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). In order to gain QTS and teach in a state- maintained school, trainees must pass the national skills tests in numeracy, literacy and ICT.
Duration
36 weeks FT, September to end June.
