Postgraduate Module Descriptor

EDUM033: Primary Curriculum Studies

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Aims

The principal aims of the module are to:

  • enable you to gain a comprehensive understanding of theory and practice in the key areas of English, Communication and Languages, Mathematical understanding and Scientific understanding;
  • enable you to gain an introduction to the teaching of the Arts, Physical Education (PE), Humanities, Music and Modern Languages (ML), Computing in primary school settings;
  • help you meet the Standards required for the award of Qualified Teacher Status and thus be in a very good position to gain employment as a primary school 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.

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 areas of English, Mathematics, Science, the Arts, PE, Humanities, Music, ML, Computing and engage in critical debate about current educational issues, drawing on evidence from theory, research and practice;
2. recognise pupils’ learning needs in the areas of English, Mathematics, Science, the Arts, PE, Humanities, Music, ML, Computing 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 in the primary phase of education;
4. demonstrate secure understanding of the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for English, Mathematics, Science, the Arts, PE, Humanities, Music, Computing and ML;
Discipline-Specific Skills5. critically evaluate the relevance of educational theory to practice;
6. synthesise relevant educational literature to support understanding of children’s development in the primary curriculum;
7. appreciate the potential for cross curricular, integrated and themed approaches;
Personal and Key Skills8. manage your own learning;
9. be aware of your own effective learning strategies;
10. express ideas and opinions, with confidence and clarity, to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes; and
11. work productively in different kinds of teams (formal, informal, project based, committee based, etc.).

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

The module introduces students to current thinking in the teaching of Primary education and develops students’ pedagogic and academic subject knowledge in the field of Primary education. Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:


Autumn Term

English, Maths and Science: 9 weeks of 1 hour lectures and 3 hour seminars

Science: 9 weeks of 1 hour lectures and 2-3 hour seminars

Humanities: 8 weeks of 2 hour seminars

Music, PE, Art, ML: 4 weeks of 2 hour seminars for each of the 4 subject areas

Computing: 1 week of 2 hours


Spring / Summer Term

PE: one week equivalent of 20 hours during School Based Work experience

ML: one week equivalent of 20 hours during School Based Work experience.

The module will address the following key elements:

  • English, Mathematics and Science within the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 and 2;
  • Humanities, Art, Music, ML and PE. within the National Curriculum for Key Stage 1 and 2;
  • Effective formative and summative assessment;
  • The role of Computing;
  • The principles of lesson planning, including recommended structures for Literacy and Mathematics lessons;
  • Critical reflection, through the use of lesson evaluations, agenda evaluations, assignments, directed tasks, and peer and tutor discussions.

On the Primary 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
1641360

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities2727 x 1 hr lectures: English, Mathematics, Science
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities8127 x 2-3 hr seminars: English, Mathematics, Science
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities5620 x 2 hr seminars: Humanities, Art, Music, PE, ML, Computing
Guided independent study20Framework Tasks for PE within School Based placements
Guided independent study20Framework Tasks for ML within School Based placements
Guided independent study96Peer support and personal study time.

Online Resources

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