Postgraduate Module Descriptor

EDUM051: Secondary Spanish Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy

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

Module Aims

The principal aims of the module are to:

1. equip you with a comprehensive understanding of the background theory, issues and practice of the current teaching of MFL in the secondary school;

2. support you to meet the Standards required for Qualified Teacher Status; and

3. nurture your development as a reflective and autonomous professional practitioner who is able to identify strengths and areas for development in content, pedagogy, learning, learners and the curriculum. This is achieved, principally, through critically evaluating current professional practice in relationship to developments in research and educational 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 MFL;
2. recognise pupils’ learning needs in MFL and interpret these learning needs in order to plan, teach, assess and evaluate lessons and schemes of work;
3. demonstrate secure subject content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge in MFL;
4. demonstrate secure understanding of the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for MFL;
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 MFL and develops student teachers’ subject content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of learners and learning and knowledge of the curriculum in the field of MFL. Key elements of the module include:

  • Lecture and Seminar Programme: The theoretical basis of MFL education;
  • Main Subject Language Programme: Seminars and practical classes to address the range of pedagogy and practice in current teaching and learning in students’ first language.
  • Second Subject Language Programme: Seminars and practical classes to address the range of pedagogy and practice in current teaching and learning in students’ second language.
  • Peer Teaching Presentations: Short video-taped teaching sessions in which students use the University of Exeter Model of Initial Teacher Education to develop their skills of reflective practice, followed by review and feedback from tutors and peers.
  • 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 MFL.

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
1211790

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities72MFL Lecture and Seminar Programme
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities18Main Subject Language Programme
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities18Second Subject Language Programme
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities10Seminar Days
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities3Tutorials with Academic Tutor
Guided Independent Study179Independent Study

Online Resources

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