Curriculum Information

This module focuses on student teachers developing their practical teaching skills and testing and developing their own personal theories of teaching and learning by:

Developing and refining their understanding of key school policies relating to national priorities such as safeguarding, health and safety, behaviour management, assessment/ marking, well-being, the Cwricwlwm Cymreig, digital competence, differentiation, numeracy and literacy, and become familiar with the roles of leaders of learning.

Planning sequences of lessons and co-delivering learning and teaching sessions with mentors and university tutors. Student teachers will undertake full responsibility for classes on a graduated basis. During school experience 1 and 2, student teachers will teach no more than a 30% timetable overall. During school experience 3 (specialism) they will teach no more than 75% timetable.

Through campus based practical subject studies and Welsh language development students will be encouraged to:

• Prepare differentiated resources to motivate, engage and challenge pupils and to support their learning. Student teachers will select and use professionally produced resources as appropriate.

• Give positive and helpful verbal and written feedback to learners, according to their need and stage of development.

• Undertake several activities in addition to teaching, including participating in teacher-initiated learning activities, observing teachers, learners and other professionals, further developing their initiative and autonomy.

• Track the progress of learners who represent a range of ability within the setting and contributing to the production of statutory reports to parents/carers using appropriate formats.

• Show independence, for example, interacting with other professionals and adults involved in the learning process and, where appropriate, leading on their effective deployment.

• Develop leadership skills. Demonstrating a deeper understanding of the concept of well-being by identifying and managing systems related to effective workload management.

• Evaluate during and after teaching inputs, noting learners’ achievements and areas for development; teaching strengths and areas for development; and implications for future teaching and learning following summative assessment against statutory benchmarks.

• Collate evidence of progress towards the QTS descriptors of the Professional standards for teaching and leadership (WG, 2017), in their Professional Learning Passport (PLP) which will be reviewed throughout the year.

• Explore theories and research about pedagogy and human development, including implications for a student teacher’s professional identity, values and ethos.

• Engage with current legislation, including an understanding of the Curriculum Cymreig and Welsh language requirements.

• Understand the various and competing requirements of teacher practice, including engaging meaningfully and constructively with reform.

• Become familiar with the contractual, pastoral and legal responsibilities of teachers including safeguarding procedures.

• Analyse the impact of signature pedagogies and the application of pedagogical principles to build pedagogical content knowledge and technological pedagogical content knowledge.

• Explore issues related to balancing professional freedoms and accountability in working with a purposes-based curriculum and the centrality of well-being to effective learning and teaching.

This module focuses on student teachers developing their practical teaching skills and testing and developing their own personal theories of teaching and learning in:
• The role of learner voice in achieving the four purposes of the curriculum and in matters that relate to their lives.

• Theories of managing the learning environment to support learners to make effective progress.

• Emerging good practice in promoting creativity; studying a range of issues related to creativity including learning, teaching and assessment and continuous improvement.

• A range of effective, evidence-based communication methods (including questioning) to motivate and inspire all learners.

• A range of effective, evidence-based uses of digital technologies to support and enhance learning and teaching.

• A range of effective, evidence-based strategies to employ classroom talk to stimulate learner participation in debate and decision-making about what and how they learn.

• Collaborating with colleagues to improve outcomes for learners.

• A range of purposes and practices for assessment appropriate to the needs of all learners and the requirements of the curriculum, including effective assessment of and for learning.

• Effective, evidence-based strategies for recording and reporting on learner progress.

• Effective, evidence-based strategies for communicating assessment and other performance data appropriately to learners, their parents/carers and teaching colleagues.

• The systematic use of data to evaluate impact and effectiveness of learning experiences and to inform future planning.

• A systematic and coherent body of knowledge within the specified AoLEs, engaging with those colleagues who lead curriculum development in schools.

• Working creatively and collaboratively across subject boundaries, in the context of the four purposes to support learners to make links across their learning.

• Effective, evidence-based strategies to utilise literacy skills, knowledge and understanding to support and develop learners’ understanding of other areas of learning.

• Effective, evidence-based strategies to utilise numeracy skills, knowledge and understanding to support and develop learners’ understanding of their learning.

• Effective, evidence-based strategies to utilise digital competence, knowledge and understanding to support and develop learners’ understanding of their learning.