Postgraduate Module Descriptor


EDUM048: Secondary Physics Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy

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

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

The module introduces students to current thinking in the teaching of Science, with particular reference to Physics, and develops students’ pedagogic and academic subject knowledge in the field of Science education.   Key elements of the module include:

  • Science Lecture Programme: lectures to cover the theoretical basis of science education, including an introduction to current ideas on the development of science teachers’ professional thinking and practice.
  • Main Subject Physics Course: a series of lectures, seminars and practical classes to address the range of practice in current physics teaching at KS3 and KS4 and post-16 level.
  • National Curriculum Chemistry and Biology Courses: a series of lectures, seminars and practical classes to develop practice in chemistry and biology teaching at KS3 and to develop students’ own subject knowledge in these subjects.
  • Subject Support Teaching (Physics): a series of sessions in which students teach specialist aspects of degree level Physics to their peers followed by tutorial review to encourage the development of reflective analysis.
  • Peer Teaching: teaching sessions in which students use the University of Exeter Model of Initial Teacher Education to develop their skills of reflective practice followed by tutorial review and feedback.
  • Science Pedagogy Workshops: a series of practical workshops introducing a range of pedagogical approaches to the teaching and learning of science at KS3 – KS5.
  • Seminar Days: Five days when students return to the university to share school-based work experiences and develop the links between theoretical and practical aspects of teaching science and physics.
  • Fieldwork: a day learning about ecology and geology on a local rocky shore.

On the Secondary PGCE, you will learn and reflect on the skills and knowledge required by the programme’s credit-bearing and non-credit bearing modules throughout the year. You will need to think about the modules in relation to each other. To facilitate this, the learning and teaching activities and guided independent study described below are scheduled to occur across all three terms both in the context of your university taught course and in the context of your 24 weeks of applied professional experience in schools.

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
852150

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities15Lectures Science Lecture Programme
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities52Practical classes and workshops: Main Subject (Physics) Course; National Curriculum Biology Course; National Curriculum Chemistry Course ; Peer Teaching and Subject Support Groups; Science Pedagogy workshops
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities5Fieldwork
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities10Seminar Days
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities3Tutorials with academic tutor
Guided independent study215Independent Study

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).