module specification

This module introduces students to teaching and how to acquire Qualified Teacher Status. It examines professional practice and career and organizational norms across a range of sectors as well as lines of career development. It examines the place of education and teachers in professional networks as well as some of the challenges that attend this. The module situates these discussions within a critical framework and offers an introduction to historical and sociological accounts of teachers’ lives and to meanings attaching to professionalism as both practice and social status thereby proposing the idea of teaching as a community of practice.

The module aims:
• To prepare students with a fund of knowledge and critical understanding in advance of making important career decisions;
• To introduce the structures and career development pathways for teachers working across a range of educational sectors and institutions;
• To introduce historical and sociological readings of teachers’ lives, beliefs and aspirations and to examine how teachers narrate and lend meaning to their careers;
• To explore teaching as a community of practice;
• To examine diverse notions of professionalism and their implications for institutional and workplace realities.

Note: The module is offered as an Extension of Knowledge and hence attracts students from across the University.

Outline of routes to QTS, and introduction to different career possibilities and opportunities in education. LO1

Reflection on personal career choice and exploration of possibilities for personal development. LO2

Understanding of teachers’ lives and teaching as a community of practice. LO3,LO4

Development of an idea of professional practice in relation to wider demands and debates. LO3,LO4

The module will be taught through lectures, workshops and guest inputs. These sessions are supplemented by talks from: the careers’ service, teachers, union officials and other professionals working in education.

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. Make informed decisions about their career development and the options available to them if they want to become teachers;
2. Articulate an understanding of why teaching attracts and interests students (or not);
3. Situate their incipient professional identities within the goals, values and mores of teaching as a community of practice and be able to express their relationship to this;
4. Interpret working lives within a specific educational institution and in relation to wider professional demands and debates.

One item of coursework:
1. Essay (2500 words) on how to plan and deliver an effective lesson. Students need to think about various aspects of planning and delivery. e.g. clear lesson objectives, age group, subject, national curriculum requirements etc. They also need to make reference to the idea of an inclusive curriculum and include thoughts on wider professional standards and developments.

Core texts
Arthur, J. & Cremin, T. (eds.) (2018, 4th Edition). Learning to teach in the primary school. London: Routledge.
Brookfield, S. D. (2017, 2nd Edition). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.
Day, C. & Gu, Q. (2010). The new lives of teachers. London: Routledge.
Goodson, I. & Sikes, P. (2001). Life history research in educational settings: Learning from lives. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Grigg, R. (2014, 2nd Edition). Becoming an outstanding primary school teacher. London: Longman.
Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Muijs, D. & Reynolds, D. (2017, 4th Edition). Effective teaching: Evidence and practice. London: Sage.
Newland, A. (2014). Working in teaching. London: Crimson Publishing.
Tyler, W. (2012). School organisation: A sociological perspective. London: Routledge.

Additional texts/further reading
Alexander, R. (eds.) (2010). Children, their world, their education: Final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review. London: Routledge.
Capel, S., Leask, M. & Younie, S. (eds.) (2016, 7th Edition). Learning to teach in the secondary school: A companion to school experience. London: Routledge.
Dunn, D. (2017, 2nd Edition). How to be an outstanding primary school teacher. London: Bloomsbury.
Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.
Gill, S. & Thomson, G. (2016). Rethinking secondary education: A human-centred approach. London: Pearson.
Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. London: Routledge.
Haynes, A. (2010). The complete guide to lesson planning and preparation. London: Continuum.
Leach, J. & Moon, B. (1999). Learners and pedagogy. London: PCP.
Maguire, M. & Dillon, J. (eds.) (2007, 3rd Edition). Becoming a teacher: Issues in secondary teaching. Buckingham: Open University.
Petty, G. (2004, 3rd Edition). Teaching today: A practical guide. Cheltenham: Nelson.
Piaget, J. (2001). The psychology of intelligence. London: Routledge.
Sewell, K. (2012). Planning the primary national curriculum: A complete guide for trainees and teachers. London: Sage.
The Future Teacher Foundation, (2015). How to become a primary school teacher. US: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform.
Tyler, R. W. (2013). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

Websites
Department for Education: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education
Get into Teaching: https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/
Qualified teacher status: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/qualified-teacher-status-qts
National Curriculum: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum
Teacher standards: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/301107/Teachers__Standards.pdf