Education

Keele University has a long established reputation in Initial Teacher Education. The Keele Partnership Secondary PGCE/School Direct Programme is a one year (36 weeks) full-time course.

You will spend a significant amount of time (minimum of 120 days) in school. The University modules are designed to give you experience of the main areas you will be expected to teach.

The course is underpinned by a genuine partnership between the University, partner schools and the students (referred to as Associate Teachers (ATs)). The University sessions will draw heavily on the ATs’ school experiences and aid them in interpreting those experiences in the light of current theory and practice in secondary education.

The Computer Science with Information and Communications Technology (ICT) course at Keele builds on a well-established course that has been successfully training ICT and Computer Studies specialists for over 20 years.

Computing is an important part of every school’s curriculum. Computing teaching in schools is characterised by a focus on ’computational thinking’, on ‘capability’ and on the knowledge, practical skills and understanding that will support informed and purposeful Computer and ICT use in many different contexts. The principal aim of the course is to prepare you to teach Computing to pupils and students in the 11-16 age range; however, all Associate Teachers are provided with opportunities to gain experience of teaching at the 16-19 level.

The course has developed into its present form as a result of close collaboration over the years between the University and the Partner schools. This approach is further complemented by the work of University staff as research and consultancy providers at local, national and international level and enables the course to draw on a wide range of expertise and experience and to maintain currency and relevance at a time of rapid change and development.

'The aim of the programme at Keele is to develop outstanding, critical and creative teachers for the 21st century classroom'

The PGCE/School Direct Programme at Keele has been designed to be both academic and vocational and is predicated on the requirement to provide challenging expectations of you as Associate Teachers to create a teaching and learning environment which will engage your interest and motivation. The broad aim of the main curriculum component of the PGCE/School Direct programme is to: 

• develop your subject knowledge and teach you how to put that knowledge into practice (pedagogy) in order to thrive in the culture of our schools;

• enable you to become a highly motivated, outstanding effective, creative and reflective practitioner;

• prepare you for a career in teaching that will prove to be successful and rewarding;

• develop in you a commitment to and enthusiasm for continuing professional and personal development;

• provide you with sufficient information, experience and opportunity in order that you might achieve the QTS Standards.

 Entry to the programme is conditional on:

• Achievement of at least a 2:2 and preferably a 2:1 honours degree (or recognised equivalent);*
• Passes at GCSE in English Language and Mathematics at grade C or above (or equivalent);
• Selection based on the information provided on the GTTR/NCTL application;
• Selection based on a successful interview (part of the interview is conducted within a partner school);
• A medical report which is deemed satisfactory;
• A completed DBS enhanced disclosure which is deemed satisfactory by the University;
• Successful completion of the Teaching Agency’s Professional Skills Tests in Literacy and Numeracy (these are pre-entry requirement).
• Successful completion of a minimum of 10 days computing teaching experience in a secondary school/college during the last two years, either before or after selection (before strengthens your application).
  
• For the School Direct (Salaried) route, you must have three years of work experience (not necessarily in an educational setting) to be eligible to apply.

 *You will need a degree in Computer Science or Information Technology or Computing, or a degree in which Computing features as a substantial part (usually where it occupies at least 40% of the taught course). It is helpful where the other subject is relevant to the study of Computing in schools. You should contact the Course Tutor for further advice if you are unsure that your degree meets these criteria. In addition, we consider applications from graduates who can demonstrate through their professional experience, their degree and any postgraduate work that they possess the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to equip them for teaching Computing. This can only be done by considering your application as a whole.

If your degree does not give you the necessary level of subject knowledge to gain entry to the one-year course, you may wish to consider the one-year Computer Science Pre-Initial Teacher Education Subject Knowledge Enhancement Programme (SKE) that is offered at Keele. Successful students then progress to the one-year PGCE/School Direct at Keele, or to an Initial Teacher Education Programme at another provider. 

This one-year full-time course is a rewarding and challenging programme. It is the beginning of your development as a secondary teacher, and as such opportunities for reflection and critical evaluation are embedded in each module. A minimum of 120 days is spent on professional placement in at least two schools. There are also opportunities to engage in other educational settings as appropriate.

Sessions are designed to develop a knowledge and understanding of the principles and practice of teaching, supported by an emerging understanding of your curriculum area and complemented by/ reinforced through work on School Experience.  An integrated approach to the content of each module is therefore adopted, rather than delivering modules in a consecutive manner.  All course participants undertake modules in: 

*Supplementary Studies Modules are subject specific.

During the course, you will consider how to teach the key knowledge that underpins Computer Science and Computing; specialist software found in schools; Computing at Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and post-sixteen qualifications and coursework; creative and inclusive approaches to learning and teaching in Computing and Computer Science; planning, delivering, assessing and evaluating learning and teaching; the use of ICT to support and enhance other aspects of teaching and learning.

Course participants are assessed through written academic assignments and portfolios of evidence. Throughout your placements you will be assessed against the Teachers’ Standards (May 2012).

The Keele Partnership recognises that our ATs come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and have already completed degree level study or higher, and are in a position to learn from each other. Thus the programme makes use of lead lectures, seminars, group activities, individual and group tutorials, practical workshops, directed activities in professional contexts, school based placements, supported self-study and the use of IT to support learning via the website.