Program Overview

Professional Graduate Certificate in Education in PCET ProfGCE

Overview

This ProfGCE PCET course is for people who want to teach subjects which are not widely available, such as sports science, psychology, or dance, within the post compulsory education sector. This pre-service course is for graduates who are not yet in work.

You will develop your knowledge of teaching and learning and improve your own teaching skills.

Why us?

• Gain a qualification to teach subjects which aren't widely available in post-compulsory education
• Study part-time alongside your other commitments

Course Structure

The contact time for this ProfGCE PCET course is four hours a week.

You will be taught via lectures, seminars, tutorials, direct learning, and group work. You will be assessed with assignments, seminars, presentations, and observed teaching practice.

This is a Professional Certificate level course, and the modules are at national level 4 and 5.

Course Modules

Core Modules:

• Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (20 credits) Explore the roles and responsibilities of being a practitioner in the Further Education sector. Identify appropriate teaching and learning approaches in your subject specialist area and learn the basics of delivering inclusive and motivating sessions. Focus on reflection, planning, curriculum intent, curriculum sequencing and assessment theory.
• Developing Theories of Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Post Compulsory Education and Training (20 credits) Continue to develop your knowledge of teaching, learning and assessment. Gain a sound understanding of the principles related to Assessment for Learning and explore a range of strategies that you can use to support your learners’ progress. Explore classroom and behaviour management strategies in depth and refine your ability to creative inclusive learning environments. Critically interrogate key texts to enhance your subject knowledge, pedagogy, and awareness of your subject curriculum.
• Contextualising Policy and Curriculum in Post Compulsory Education and Training (20 credits) Examine the wider policy context of education and training in the post compulsory sector. Investigate how current policy developments inform how you adapt your curriculum to ensure an inclusive and effective approach to teaching, learning and assessment. Study further the prior knowledge around theories of learning and investigate how your students learn by reviewing traditional educational theories and concepts, as well as explore thinking and discussions that are more contemporary, such as strategies to support memory.
• Enhancing Subject Specialist Learning through Innovation and Change (20 credits) Explore the wider context of curriculum design, considering models of inclusive curriculum development, as well as the policy initiatives and key theories that have significantly influenced post compulsory education and training. Focus on collaborative approaches to evaluation and problem solving to identify potential areas for innovation and change in teaching, learning and assessment. Investigate what is available in your own institution within this context, particularly for SEND. Develop your own teaching practice to promote key skills in English and Maths and discover how technology can be used to enhance teaching and learning. Research inclusive practice that will help you to implement a range of strategies in the field of inclusion.

Practice-based Modules:

• Practical Teaching and Professional Development (total of 40 credits) Develop your ability to reflect upon and evaluate your own teaching and gain an introduction to the key principles that impact on how we teach and assess learners. Demonstrate effective planning and management of learning through a series of professional observations and work with experienced subject specialist mentors to refine your craft. Learn to justify and demonstrate your ability to develop, improve and sequence the lessons you deliver in practice.
• Advancing Subject Specialist Teaching and Professional Development (20 credits) Reflect upon your approaches to teaching, learning and assessment in your subject specialist area, as well as your journey as a student teacher, setting targets for future progression. Demonstrate your ability to develop, improve and sequence your lessons and further refine your knowledge and awareness of the wider curriculum as it applies to your subject specialism and professional practice. Work collaboratively to investigate and improve an aspect of your subject curriculum and teaching practice. Learn how to conduct research in a way that will allow you to judge the effectiveness of your teaching and take informed steps to implement a curriculum intervention you have developed.

Facilities

You'll be based at the recently refurbished Wearside View, situated on the award-winning Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's. This stunning riverside location benefits from dedicated library services and has superb transport links with the city centre and City Campus.

Entry Requirements

• An enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check from the last three years, from the point of enrolment
• A completed medical pro forma
• Evidence of significant work experience in the area you wish to teach.

If you're invited for an interview, you'll be asked to complete a short in-house literacy assessment and participate in a group activity.

If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Fees and Finance

The annual fee for this course is £2,750.

Please note, this course isn't available to international students.

Career Ready

This part-time PCET course is a route into teaching, which can be a rewarding career with excellent job security. Graduates of this course now work in a variety of educational environments, including Further Education colleges, sixth form colleges, training organisations, and prison education.