Postgraduate Module Descriptor


EDUM066: Secondary Education and Professional Studies (School Direct)

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

The module introduces you to current thinking in Education and Professional Studies in the context of teaching in a school in England. Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that key elements of the module will include:

  • Online resources including recorded lectures that will introduce you to topics relevant to your professional development as a teacher, for example: theories of learning; introduction to research methods; the curriculum; and assessment for learning.
  • Online resources including recorded lectures that will introduce you to the expectations of working at Masters level and to approaches suitable for carrying out a small-scale, classroom-based, research study.
  • Online seminars which create opportunities for you to explore, consolidate and deepen your understanding of these topics.
  • Professional Studies seminars in school that will follow up topics from the lecture programme in a specific educational context.

On the PGCE School Direct, 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 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
882120

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities48Interaction with online resources posted for the module in ELE that will include reading selected literature, accessing video clips and listening to recorded lectures
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities30Seminars and follow up seminar activities
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities20Professional Studies seminars in school
Guided Independent Study20Completion of directed tasks related to module content
Guided Independent Study182Independent reading and reflection, classroom observation and teaching experience while on placement in school

Online Resources

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

School Direct Education and Professional Studies course in ELE (http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/)

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 assessmentSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Written directed tasks36 weeks1-4, 8-10, 12Verbal and online
Research study plan1,500 words4,5,8,10,12Written

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.

CourseworkWritten examsPractical exams
10000

...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.

Form of assessment% of creditSize of the assessment (eg length / duration)ILOs assessedFeedback method
Report on research study1006,000 words4-12Written

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 assessmentForm of re-assessmentILOs re-assessedTimescale for re-assessment
Report on research studyReport on research study (6,000 words) 4-12See reassessment notes below

Re-assessment notes

If an assignment is deemed to be a Fail by the Exam Board, the mark obtained on resubmission will be capped at 50%.  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 Examination Board in July) if there is sufficient time left to do this. The resubmission would normally be made 4 weeks after receiving feedback on the first submission. Alternatively, you may opt to go to the Examination 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 1st September. You should discuss these options with your University Tutor.

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