Postgraduate Module Descriptor

EDUM048: Secondary Physics 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 science in the secondary curriculum, with particular reference to the teaching of physics;
support you to meet the Standards required for the award of Qualified Teacher Status and thus be in a very good position to gain employment as a science teacher able to specialize in physics; 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 teaching of Science, with particular reference to physics, and engage in critical debate about current educational issues in the teaching of these subjects drawing on evidence from theory, research and practice; 2. recognise pupils learning needs in Science, with particular reference to physics, 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 Science to Key Stage 3 and physics to Key Stage 4 and beyond; 4. demonstrate secure understanding of the statutory requirements for teaching science;
Discipline-Specific Skills	5. 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 Skills	10. 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.

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
Set exercise: Written subject knowledge audit	3 hour task	3, 4, 10, 11	Verbal (tutorial) and written action plans.
Set exercise: short written notes on a range of tasks e.g. reflections on peer teaching episodes	6 hours	2, 3, 10	Verbal (tutorial)
Written notes about 2 week school induction period	2 weeks in schools prior to beginning course	1, 2, 5, 13	Verbal (tutorial) and written
Written assignment related to literature	1,500 words	1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9	Written feedback

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
Essay	100	6,000 words	1, 3, 4-7, 9.	Written and verbal.
	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
Written assignment	Resubmission of essay (6,000 words)	1, 3, 4-7, 9.	See notes below.

Re-assessment notes

RE-ASSESSMENT NOTESIf a submitted assignment is deemed to be a Fail, you will be given feedback outlining what needs to be done to bring the assignment to a pass standard and one opportunity for resubmission will be allowed.

You can choose to resubmit a failed assignment ‘in year’ (i.e. before the final Exam Board in July). The resubmission would normally be made 4 weeks after receiving feedback on the first submission. Alternatively, you may opt to go to the Exam Board with the fail mark. You will then be referred to the Consequences Board who will confirm the conditions for resubmission of the work. Normally the resubmission should be by 1^st September. You should discuss these options with your tutor

Note: if you choose the second option, the award of PGCE will be delayed until the Exam Board following any successful resubmission (normally held in December).

In the case of the assignment for the Education and Professional Studies module, there may not be time to mark a resubmitted assignment before the end of the programme; this will mean that the award of PGCE will be delayed until the first Examination Board after July (this is normally held in December).

If an assignment is deemed to be a Fail by the Exam Board, the mark obtained on resubmission will be capped at 50%.