PMTECHGN - MA Teaching

An MA in Teaching enables PGCE graduates to import 60 M level credits taken as part of their PGCE award, whilst developing the academic, professional and critically reflective practice they developed during the PGCE year, & applying this further to their current teaching context. There is a strong focus on building scholarship of teaching and learning and critical reflective practice. In this way, the course aims to develop and enhance participants’ pedagogical knowledge and practice in their own subject/field.
It has been designed as a flexible top-up MA to develop critical understanding of educational issues based on practical experience and to enhance professional learning and as a CPD Masters for experienced teachers preparing for career promotion and leadership roles.

As a higher degree it offers a wide range of education practitioners intellectually challenging & practice-based development opportunities. Participants will be able to gain credits for active research or projects they are carrying out in their workplace as part of their everyday teaching either as individuals or as a team.

They will be able to study and gain credits part-time, module by module over 6 rather than 2 years. normally allowed for part-time MA level study. In this way it fits into a working week and suits teaching professionals in busy UK schools the time to continue their CPD and work towards the Masters.

Studying on this course may significantly enhance participants’ career prospects as well as support their professional development if they are considering a career move into leadership or educational management.

Participants will be taught by professionally trained teachers and academics with years of practice and teaching experience at HE levels. They will be required to have a first degree at 2:2 or above and have completed a PGCE and be a practising teacher or hold a management post in a UK school.

All applicants must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Applicants who require a Tier 4 student visa may need to provide a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.

The course is attractive to teachers and other education professionals, who already have a PGCE (60 credits) and who may wish to work on their own continuing professional development while at the same time work towards a Masters degree. The course is also designed to enable a school specific offer with a mix of core and optional modules that would enable focus on individual or school development as appropriate and negotiated.

The core course is taught via a combination of conventional classroom evening and part-time study with work-based learning, however, the approach to learning and teaching is blended with use made of the University VLE and some modules being taught in remote networked formats. It is envisaged that there is room for development of the programme to incorporate more flexible arrangements that will allow the course to respond more adroitly to student needs and availability.

Course design follows closely QAA and university guidelines for Masters degrees, offering structured learning opportunities with core and optional modules, a research methods module and dissertation.

The course leading to the Master’s award provides an integrated and supported programme that enables participants to:
• take a lead in the development of the teaching in their fields
• critically engage with theories of learning and teaching in UK schools
• conduct research in learning and teaching in UK schools
The course aims to help develop practitioners who are able to take a role in the development of learning and teaching within their subject - informed by theory, scholarship, reflection and published research into learning and teaching and their own specialist knowledge, and through engagement in action or other research related to their practice.
Other modules focus on more specific areas so that the full MA develops practitioners who will gain a wider view of the learning and teaching process. Participants are expected to engage with national debates about the development of learning and teaching, both within their subject and generally and, through the dissertation/project, to enhance knowledge of the processes of learning and teaching in UK schools.

The following learning outcomes incorporate and depend on a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, much of which is at, or informed by, the forefront of the academic discipline, field of study or area of professional practice.

1)Application of research to developing their understanding of learning and teaching in UK schools and improving their practice in order to enhance the student learning experience.

2) Review and critically evaluate learning, teaching and assessment activities generally and within their own subject/field.

3) Evaluate learning materials with reference to current research and developments in the subject/field.

4)Critically appraise processes and outcomes of teaching and learning in relation to self, students and teaching context.

5) Undertake critical educational/action research and other scholarly activity which exhibits a high degree of reflection on the interrelationship between theory, subject-specific knowledge and practice.

6) Learn independently for the purposes of continuing professional development and sustain a curiosity to drive critical inquiry about student learning and the teaching process.

7) Create, develop and evaluate teaching, learning and assessment activities on the basis of critical analysis and review.

ED7P94 LO1-7

ED7125 LO2-4,6-7

ED7123 LO3,7

ED7P35 LO3-4, 6-7

ED7121 LO1,3 6-7

ED7130 LO1-3, 5-7

ED7144 LO3-4,7

ED7145 LO1-4, 7

ED7139 LO1-3,5,7

ED7140 LO1, 3-4

LN7075 LO1, 3-4

LN7063 LO1, 3-4

ED7P39 LO1-7

N/A

The course includes variety of formative and summative assessment methods, with a focus on the development and improvement of educational practice, including portfolios, presentations, secondary and primary research papers, and individual and group projects.
Assessment is work-related and extends participants' current engagement in the teaching of their subject/field. Self and peer-assessment is commonly used to enhance critical evaluation. Project-based assessments require the application of scholarship, critical reflection, policy guidelines and research knowledge to one's own practice.
20-credit modules are assessed through a 6,000 word essay or equivalent portfolio / project report for the negotiated study module. The output of the Research methods will allow for students to come up with the proposal for the dissertation.
The 60 credit dissertation / project module will be assessed by a 15-20,000 submission. The work may take the form of a substantive action research project, based around a new intervention or resource for learning and teaching, as an alternative to the standard dissertation. The investigation may also be presented using alternative genres (e.g. video or film documentary, educational narrative/biography, multimedia presentation), in each case accompanied by an analytical commentary which provides the theoretical and methodological frame and critical appraisal of the outcomes and implications for future practice and research.

An introduction to the course is provided for students’ that explains assessment policies and procedures as well as expectations for engagement, including dialogue with staff and peers. Each module further discusses assessment with students, with information published in the Module Handbook. Each module has clearly identified Learning Outcomes that articulate with those of the course. Induction to the course also includes an introduction to library services with workshops on library use offered.

The course is assessed by coursework and there are no written examinations. Each module has been designed with an assessment strategy that seeks to synchronise process aspects of learning with content and to incorporate opportunities for formative feedback as well as summative assessment, where appropriate. The strategy is designed to enable students to gain familiarity and fluency in the use of established academic modes of critical discourse and the representation of arguments.

As students come from a range of professional and academic backgrounds, modules, including their assessment, are designed to allow access for all. For example, in-service teachers have opportunity to reflect on practice is a number of modules. International Students are able to reflect on policy and practice in contexts outside the UK. Similarly, non-practitioners are able to demonstrate understanding through theoretical analysis of course content.

This course is a type of work-based learning programme in that it entails constant critical reflection on practice in teaching/learning and educational support, and application of theory and new methods to one’s practice.

Students have a maximum of 6 years part time to complete the 120 credits necessary to top up their PGCE to Masters.

MA Education: 3 core taught modules (60 credits) or 2 cores (40 credits) and 1 option (20 credits) plus dissertation (60 credits)

PGDip Education: 3 core taught modules (60 credits) or 2 cores (40 credits) and 1 option (20 credits)

Students attending this course are normally in full-time work or taking sabbatical leave and the scheduling of the timetable reflects this. Personal matters affecting student access to their entitlement are dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the Course Leader through a system of office hours. Academic matters are dealt with by module tutors as part of the scheduled teaching and learning hours and specific matters are addressed as they arise.

None

This course enables participants to advance their understanding of their experience as a professional educator and offers opportunities for career development into educational leadership, research as well as the professional education of colleagues and early-career professionals.

Students with PGCE can gain a higher qualification as part of their own Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as well as in preparation for leadership or educational management roles.

You will be required to have:

• a first degree at 2:2 or above and have completed a PGCE
• you must be in a teaching post
• an Enhanced DBS
• Math and English GCSE

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Tier 4 student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.