Postgraduate Module Descriptor


EMAM009: Semi Specialist Maths (Primary)

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

The module will focus on extending the breadth and depth of your understanding of mathematics education in several directions, in order that you can develop children’s mathematics learning in a number of ways. These include:

  • developing a coherent philosophy for mathematics as a creative and imaginative subject
  • recognising the potential for enriching the learning of mathematics through different learning environments
  • gaining a deeper understanding of approaches to mathematics, in particular problem solving and mathematical reasoning, to understand its place in the curriculum and ways in which it can relate to other subjects.
  • developing an initial understanding of leadership in mathematics to enable you to evaluate and select materials, understand the importance of assessment and target setting, and support your colleagues’ mathematics teaching.
  • being able to teach mathematics creatively and being aware of gender, inclusion and social and cultural backgrounds.
  • developing skills in supporting your colleagues in their subject knowledge, enriching your personal subject and pedagogical knowledge
  • to understand the contexts and strategies of informal learning and be able to incorporate this knowledge into your practice as a teacher.
  • to 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.
  •  to help you to meet the Standards required for the award of Qualified Teacher Status (2012) and thus be in a very good position to gain employment as a primary teacher able to specialize in science teaching.

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 Skills1. identify and evaluate educational concepts and issues related to the teaching of mathematics ; and engage in critical debate about current educational issues in the teaching of mathematics drawing on evidence from theory, research and practice;
2. recognise pupils’ learning needs in mathematics 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 mathematics in Key Stage 1&2;
4. demonstrate secure understanding of the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for Mathematics;
Discipline-Specific Skills5. critically evaluate the relevance of educational theory to practice;
6. synthesise relevant educational literature in support of an argument;
7. use appropriate technologies for data handling and writing in education;
8. present data and findings in a form appropriate in educational studies;
9. use research data in support of an argument in education;
Personal and Key Skills10. manage your own learning development;
11. learn effectively and be aware of your own learning strategies;
12. express ideas and opinions, with confidence and clarity, to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes;
13. work productively in different kinds of teams (formal, informal, project based, committee based etc); and
14. think creatively about the main features of a given problem and develop strategies for its resolution.