The other half of the course: fostering student engagement in Secondary PGCE Professional Studies

Joan Smith & Phil Wood

School of Education

www.le.ac.uk

Outline

• Background to the study• Areas for development• Strategies trialled• Evaluation• Next steps

Background to the study

• Co-ordinators appointed mid-year 2009-10

• TDC offered on full cohort lecture basis + set of ‘directed tasks’ to undertake in schools

Areas for development:

• Improving the coherence of the programme• Offering greater scope for personalisaton

and choice• Introducing strategies to foster student

agency, ownership & responsibility;• Improved links between the aims & purpose

of the professional studies programme and related school-based tasks;

• Practical issues relating to length of sessions and students’ capacity for concentration

Strategies being trialled 2010-11

4 strands to the course:• Professional Values• Classroom Management• Reflective Practice• Career Development

Professional Values: core

• What do we mean by teacher professionalism?• Diversity, inclusion and ECM• SEN and inclusion: statutory requirements• Teaching pupils for whom English is an Additional

Language• Safeguarding • Mental health awareness• Removing barriers to learning• Literacy, numeracy and functional skills across

the curriculum• Citizenship: a whole school approach

Professional Values: optional sessions & visits

• Pastoral care and the role of the form tutor• Disability from the pupils’ perspective• Inclusion and ECM in practice (school visit)• Visit to an EBD school• Sustainable schools• Visit to a special school• Inclusion and looked after children• Teaching in the multi-ethnic school• Talking about bullying• Supporting bereaved children• Dilemma-based learning• Innovations in teaching and learning through the UFA• Understanding Autism

Classroom Management: core

• Observing in the classroom• Planning for positive behaviour management• Body language and verbal communication:

using drama techniques to establish a classroom presence

• Understanding and improving learning• Fostering creativity in teaching and learning• Transforming learning: educational change for

the 21st Century• Working with teaching and learning assistants

Classroom Management: optional sessions• Introduction to managing classroom behaviour• Every child matters, every teacher matters:

establishing partnership learning• Using your voice effectively and looking after it

for the long haul• Getting the best out of students using restorative

practices• Managing challenging behaviour• Can schools personalise learning?• Assertiveness: evaluating behaviour management• Behaviour management drop-in

Reflective Practice: Core

• Becoming a reflective practitioner• An introduction to the PGCE at

Master’s level• Reading and writing at M level• Research and writing at M level• An introduction to practitioner

enquiry and social research methods in education

Reflective Practice: optional sessions• Using the library to find relevant

information• Undertaking focussed classroom

observation• The teacher as researcher: writing up your

research• The teacher as researcher: making sense

of research evidence• Undertaking your professional enquiry

Career Development: Core

• Your career starts here: making the most of the PGCE year

• Roles and responsibilities in the secondary school

• Applying for your first teaching post• Professional Learning Communities• Being a Newly Qualified Teacher

Career development: optional sessions• Writing a letter of application• Preparing for an interview• Being a subject leader• Being a SENCO• Teaching in an EBD school• Teaching Sport

Other strategies:

• Increased involvement of classroom teachers & other education professionals

• 2 full-day themed conferences: ‘Stay Safe’ & ‘Enjoy and achieve’, plus a themed ‘Career Development’ day

• Greatly increased scope for choice and personalisation from a large menu of optional sessions

Other strategies:

• Introduction of student-led workshops & discussion groups

• Review of school-based tasks

Professional Foci

• Getting started• Using critical incidents for your

professional development• Teaching and learning• MARRA• Inclusion• ECM, pastoral work and PSHE

Practical changes

• 4 x 90 min sessions per week (1 per strand)

• Linked optional sessions in the afternoons

• Breakout groups built in where rooms are available

Evaluating the strategies

• Feedback from current cohort via end of phase questionnaires, a student focus group and observations of sessions;

• Feedback from partnership schools via partnership steering group

Initial findings

• The introduction of the 4 strands seen by schools to improve the coherence of the programme

• Students welcome the involvement of teachers and other education practitioners

• Optional sessions valued and seen as of practical application

• Breakout groups popular and successful• Professional Foci well received by schools

Next steps

• Build in more opportunities for student-led groups to take responsibility

• Training/preparation for chairs• Replace some large lectures with

readings, to be followed up on either in student groups or other sessions

Summary

• Range of strategies trialled in order to encourage student engagement with Professional Studies

• Some successes, especially student-led groups, teacher involvement and increased range of optional workshops

• Future plans: improved preparation & support for student chairpersons; further improvements to Professional Foci; replace some large lectures with readings/tasks to report back on