Course Overview
Pathways:
- Professional Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) PCET
- Professional Certificate of Education (PCE) PCET.
The PGCE PCET is aimed at graduates who want to teach in their degree subject or graduates with a further qualification in the subject area in which they aim to teach. They will also be teaching or actively seeking teaching in the post-compulsory sector of education and training. Students do not need GCSE Maths or English to apply for this course.
The PCE PCET is aimed at students with a Level 3 qualification (NVQ3, OCN 3, A Level equivalence) preferably in the subject they are teaching or want to teach. The programme is for students who have experience in their subject areas and who wish to further their experience by teaching in the PCET or lifelong learning sector. Students do not need GCSE Maths or English to apply for this course.
Graduate and non-graduate entrants will follow the same learning pattern but, in compliance with the requirements of QAA, be taught at the differentiated levels for undergraduate study in Year 2.
- Prepare to Teach
The Preparing to teach 10 week taster course is for students with a Level 3 qualification who do not wish to undertake a two-year programme of study but who want to teach. This is an equivalence of Module 1 of the PGCE or PCE. Students would then be exempt from this module should they decide to apply for the PGCE or PCE at a later date.
See the website
https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/education/courses/Pages/Post-Compulsory-Education-and-Training-(PCET)-PGCE-PCE.aspx Course Content
The Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) sector is an area of growing importance in a world of rapidly evolving economic and social change. As individuals face the need to upgrade their skills in order to meet the requires on the world of work, educators in the Post 16 sector have a key role to play in helping them to achieve their learning goals
The Cardiff Met PCET programmes have been devised to introduce you to teaching in the post compulsory education and training (PCET) sector including tertiary, further and higher education, adult and community education, vocational and 14- 19 education as well as training in the private sector or work-based learning environments. These two-year part time programmes will engage you in both academic and practical assignments.
The ethos of the programme is predicated upon student-centred learning which includes the interchange ability of staff/student roles, the pooling of intellectual resources and experiences and the structured opportunities for skills-sharing.
The general aim of the programmes is to produce teachers or trainers who can demonstrate competence across the range of roles and tasks related to the design, delivery, management and evaluation of learning. Students will leave the programme equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge that underpin the performance of those tasks expected of the professional educator or trainer in the post-compulsory sector.
The programme aims to provide a high quality and professionally appropriate experience that offers the opportunity for students to develop their abilities to plan and undertake projects related to practice; further to link their practice to theory in a critical and evaluative way. It aims to equip students with the skills to engage with the concept of reflective practice and to select areas of professional relevance for their study.
The overall aim is to create 'reflective practitioners'.
Modules:
Year 1
- Level 4 Preparing to Teach
- Level 5 Delivering Learning and Teaching
- Level 5 Reflective Practice 1
Year 2
The following modules are delivered on both programmes - the PCE PCET are delivered at Level 5 and the PGCE PCET at Level 6
- Context of PCET
- Professional Development in PCET
- Teaching and Learning Strategies in PCET
- Curriculum Planning and Design in PCET
- Subject Pedagogy and Reflective Practice 2
The Course Team reserve the right to amend the programme to ensure compliance with professional standards.
Learning & Teaching
The programme team recognises that adult learners bring with them experiences which can be used as a resource for learning. Consequently formal lectures are not a feature of this programme. We expect all sessions to involve students actively participating in their learning.
The overall emphasis will be on working together and effectively utilising the experiences and skills that the individual learners bring to the group. This student-centred approach allows students to take responsibility for their own learning. Tutors are seen as facilitators of learning, providing resources, supporting, stimulating and challenging where appropriate.
To this end the teaching methods on the programme will include:
Input from tutors. These can be useful in providing new or up-to-date information to larger groups provided there is an ongoing opportunity for questioning and participation. They will be used sparingly on the programme to generate interest in new subjects and provide information for future discussion, analysis and evaluation.
Small group work. This will be one of the key strategies utilised. The major aim of these activities will be to develop skills relating to thinking, discussion and the presentation of information. Students will be able to practise their communication skills, listen to other group members, support weaker peers and observe group dynamics in action. They will have extensive opportunities to develop their presentation skills in a safe environment and learn how to give encouraging and constructive feedback to their colleagues. Methods utilised will include:
- Ice-breaking exercises
- Team-building exercises
- Workshops
- Buzz groups and brainstorming
- Simulations
- Case-studies
- Role plays
Seminars. These will be led by programme members and will allow them to further develop their presentation and delivery skills. They will be designed to allow group members to explore issues relating to their own institutional settings or their academic specialisms.
Individualised learning periods. Directed self-study allowing programme members to learn at their own pace outside the framework of class activities. The number of hours of self-study varies for each student and it would be worth discussing this with your personal tutor at the start of the year.
Tutorials. Group members will meet with their individual tutors at regular intervals to reflect on their learning experiences, share concerns and problems and set learning targets.
Moodle is Cardiff Met’s virtual learning environment and you will be able to use this to access materials/information relating to the programme from a networked PC. Moodle will also be used for academic and social online discussion forum, blog discussions and for online learning resources.
Assessment
You may be assessed by a combination of assessment methods appropriate to the PGCE and PCE programme levels and may include:
- Written assessments (WRIT) such as reports, self-reflections, analytical documents, case studies, online blogs, peer assessments, essays;
- Presentations (PRES) and Microteaching sessions which may be individual and/or group; seminar; (non)-interactive; with audience;
- Practicals (PRAC) such as individual and/or group; coaching; mentoring;; performance;
- Portfolio (PORT) that includes a collection of evidence, frequently including a contextual statement; poster; website;
- Placements (PLAC) such as a fieldwork placement; school placement; experiencing the world of work.
The programme is continually assessed through module assignments and two hundred hours of supervised teaching experience to include 130 hours of direct teaching over the two years.
Students will undertake four observed teaching hours in Year 1 and four in Year 2. Each of these will require written preparation and also a self-evaluation report following the observation.
Employability & Careers
The PGCE and PCE PCET will qualify you to teach in Further and Higher Education, youth, adult and community education, 14- 19 sector, work-based education, training in HMForces, prison, industry and commercial training departments.
Students who have completed this course have gone on to part or full-time teaching in the post compulsory sector of education and training, usually teaching their subject and other subject related areas. All graduates leaving the course are signposted to Cardiff County Council and Cardiff Met’s Widening Access department as potential adult education tutors for outreach and summer school activities. .Some students are offered teaching opportunities by their mentor once they have graduated.
Progression Routes:
Non-graduates successfully completing the PCE (PCET) will gain 120 credits at levels 4 and 5. Students would be able to progress on to a degree programme in their specific subject discipline.
Graduates completing the PGCE (PCET) will gain 120 credits at levels 4, 5 and 6. Students can then progress onto Masters programmes within their particular subject area.
Find out how to apply here
https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/howtoapply
Applicants to the Professional Certificate in Education (PCET) should have: A qualification at Level 3, or above in the subject they intend to teach. Applicants to the PGCE (PCET) should have: A degree and A qualification at Level 3, or above in the subject they intend to teach
