Postgraduate Module Descriptor

EDUM047: Secondary Mathematics Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy

This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.

Module Aims

The principal aims of the module are to:

  • enable you to gain a comprehensive understanding of the background theory, issues and practice relating to current teaching of Mathematics in the secondary curriculum;
  • support you to meet the Standards required for the award of Qualified Teacher Status; 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 Skills1. identify and evaluate educational concepts and issues related to Mathematics education;
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;
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 for educational contexts;
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, etc); and
14. think creatively about the main features of a given problem and develop strategies for its resolution.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

The module introduces students to current thinking in the teaching of Mathematics and develops students’ pedagogic and academic subject knowledge in the field of Mathematics education.   Key elements of the module include:

  • Theory, planning, reflection and development seminars to cover the theoretical basis of Mathematics education and how this is linked to practical concerns in the classroom.
  • Classroom pedagogy seminars to cover the range of practice in current Mathematics teaching. These also act to refresh students subject knowledge in Mathematics.
  • Peer Teaching.
  • 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 Mathematics.

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
1031970

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities41Seminars: Theory, planning, reflection and professional development
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities23Seminars: Classroom pedagogy
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities26 (8hrs with tutors; 18hrs independently)Peer Teaching
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities10Seminar Days
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities3Tutorials with academic tutor
Guided Independent Study197Independent Study

Online Resources

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