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Overview

This PGCE course prepares you to teach your specialist subject in either the 11 to 16 (with post-16 enhancement) or 14-19 age phases. It is a very practical course with around two thirds of the time spent in schools, mostly working with teachers and pupils, and around one third spent on directed study, with partnership training in the University and school. It is an integrated academic and professional preparation for teaching, combining study at either postgraduate or professional level with practical training to meet the Teachers’ Standards.

About The Course

The aim of this course is that you should become a reflective practitioner – a teacher who thinks about their experiences and learns from them in order to improve their practice. During the course, you will study two academic modules. The first of these, ‘Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy’, allows you to explore several different pedagogical approaches to a particular project that you are going to teach. A chosen pedagogy is justified, taught and then evaluated, clearly linking theory to practice. In the ‘Classroom Focused Development’ module, you will undertake a small research project in school having explored relevant research methods. You will also have a focus on the professional learning needed to meet the Teachers’ Standards, including looking at planning, assessment and classroom management along with the underpinning theory.

This PGCE secondary Music course draws upon the strong heritage and tradition of BGU within the field of Teacher Training, within the University’s School of Teacher Development. The course tutors are experienced Music teachers and performers who delight in the opportunity to work with the next generation of Music teachers. The course will equip you to become an outstanding secondary school teacher and facilitator of Music. This inspiring course includes taught seminars, active workshops and 1:1 tutorial support. Music trainees work in a supportive group, sharing classroom experience, teaching resources, and sharing individual expertise. BGU ‘enjoys an excellent reputation locally and employment rates are high’ (Ofsted 2010). You will spend two thirds of the year in partner schools and other educational settings gaining rich and varied experiences designed to support meeting the standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The course benefits from a close working relationship with the Lincolnshire Music Service, providing experiences across Key Stages and within the wider school community. Additionally, the course includes outside enrichment such as visits by specialist instrumentalists and teachers.

Careers & Further Study

The teaching profession has a well-structured career pathway which moves progressively from initial teacher training through to newly qualified (NQT) status to qualified teacher. Many continue to work in our partner schools, becoming mentors to our trainee teachers, pursing further study to full Masters and Doctoral level at BGU and taking on leadership roles including Headships.