Postgraduate Module Descriptor

EDUM033: Primary Curriculum Studies

This module descriptor refers to the 2016/7 academic year.

Module Aims

The principal aims of the module are to:

enable you to gain a comprehensive understanding of theory and practice in the key areas of English, Communication and Languages, Mathematical understanding and Scientific understanding;
enable you to gain an introduction to the teaching of the Arts, Physical Education (PE), Humanities, Music and Modern Languages (ML) in primary school and Foundation Stage settings;
help you meet the Standards required for the award of Qualified Teacher Status and thus be in a very good position to gain employment as a primary school teacher; and

nurture your development as a reflective and autonomous professional practitioner who is able to identify strengths and areas for development in your subject knowledge and pedagogy, through evaluating current professional practice in relationship to developments in research and curriculum theory.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here - you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. identify and evaluate educational concepts and issues related to the areas of English, Mathematics, Science, the Arts, PE, Humanities, Music, ML and engage in critical debate about current educational issues, drawing on evidence from theory, research and practice; 2. recognise pupils learning needs in the areas of English, Mathematics, Science, the Arts, PE, Humanities, Music, ML and interpret these learning needs in order to plan, teach, assess and evaluate lessons and schemes of work; 3. demonstrate confident academic and pedagogic subject knowledge to teach in the primary phase of education; 4. demonstrate secure understanding of the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for English, Mathematics, Science, the Arts, PE, Humanities, Music and ML;
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. critically evaluate the relevance of educational theory to practice; 6. synthesise relevant educational literature to support understanding of childrens development in the primary curriculum; 7. appreciate the potential for cross curricular, integrated and themed approaches;
Personal and Key Skills	8. manage your own learning; 9. be aware of your own effective learning strategies; 10. express ideas and opinions, with confidence and clarity, to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes; and 11. work productively in different kinds of teams (formal, informal, project based, committee based, etc.).

How this Module is Assessed

In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.

Formative Assessment

A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Three Subject Knowledge Diagnostic Audits (English, Mathematics & Science) Personal action plans produced to address areas of weakness. The action plans are monitored by academic and school based mentors.	Science - 120 question audit (Sharp & Bryne (2007) English - four sections: Textual Analysis (fiction and poetry); Non-fiction; Phonics; Grammar. Mathematics: Self-assessment questions in Haylock (2010)	3,4,5,6,8,9,11	The first audits for English, Mathematics and Science are in September and scores recorded and action plans produced and signed by an academic tutors. The second audits are at the end of the Autumn term which is put into your Individual Development Portfolio together with an action plan if necessary.
Formative subject directed tasks	1,000 words	1,2,4,5,6,8,9,1011	Peer seminar discussion
Framework Task: ML Personalised action plan developed in collaboration with the school mentor	20 hours	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11	UVT moderation
Framework Task: PE Personalised action plan developed in collaboration with the school mentor	20 hours	1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11	UVT moderation

Summative Assessment

A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Portfolio of evidence with critical reflection on professional learning and development	100	Portfolio to be developed during the 36 weeks of the programme to provide evidence of achievement of the professional standards required by the NCTL for QTS. There is no stipulated length.	1-11	Pass/Fail indicated by Final Summative Report
	0
	0
	0
	0
	0

Re-assessment

Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Portfolio of evidence with critical reflection on professional learning and development	Portfolio of evidence with critical reflection on professional learning and development	1-11	See note below.

Re-assessment notes

The Professional Learning and Curriculum Studies modules are designed to allow you to manifest attainment of the teachers’ standards. As these modules are assessed concurrently, in the same work placement context, and with regard to some shared intended learning outcomes, a referral or deferral in either module will necessitate a referral or deferral in both.

If a submitted portfolio is deemed to be a Fail, you will be given feedback outlining what needs to be done to bring the portfolio to a pass standard and one opportunity for resubmission will be allowed, based on an additional school placement if this is confirmed by the Consequences Board following the Examination Board for the PGCE Primary programme.

The resubmission would normally be made at the end of the additional placement.