PGCE Secondary Geography / Course details

PGCE Secondary (Geography) will train you to teach Secondary Geography in the UK across the 11 to 16 or 11 to 18 age range, including the National Curriculum, GCSE and A-level.

Completion leads to a postgraduate qualification and recommendation for qualified teacher status (QTS).

Tutors and mentors will help you to transform your subject knowledge into teaching skills and educational theory into practice.

University tutors have substantial experience of teaching and of examining at a senior level for GCSE and AS/A level. Experienced teachers from our partnership schools complement teaching, including sessions led by subject mentors, who will help you develop your subject knowledge and provide advice about teaching methods.

University-based sessions will give you creative and innovative ideas to take into the classroom.

Find out more about your university tutor Narinder Mann .

You will:

• develop a critical awareness of lesson and curriculum planning, spending time on each with school-based mentors and University tutors;
• develop skills and knowledge in inclusive Geography teaching, considering how to include marginalised narratives in the curriculum;
• develop pedagogy and gain an understanding of a range of different teaching strategies in the Geography classroom, and in fieldwork outside the classroom;
• develop subject and curriculum knowledge for KS3, KS4 and KS5 Geography.

• We have links with more than 200 schools, academies, and colleges, and you will benefit from significant school-based teaching experience.
• Our leading experts in education have trained more than 5,000 teachers in the last 15 years.
• Our students come from all over the globe and are from a variety of backgrounds - from recent graduates to mature learners.

The structure of our PGCEs includes both school-based and university-based learning.

On our secondary PGCEs, around two-thirds of your time will be spent in secondary schools, academies and colleges on placements.

The course is run in partnership with schools and colleges drawn from a wide area, including Bolton, Bury, Cheshire, Deeside, Lancashire, Manchester, Merseyside, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Staffordshire, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington and Wigan.

The University's partnership schools are highly committed to giving you the best experience while on your school placements, providing you with the opportunity to put into practice all the knowledge you have acquired from sessions held at the University.

When on placement, you will observe and teach classes under the guidance of an experienced teacher. You will have a mentor to help you to plan lessons, deal with marking and assessment, and improve your teaching skills.

Peer observations of lessons will enable you to participate actively in yours and your fellow students' development as teachers.

You will be provided with significant responsibility to develop your own teaching style, set targets, take your own initiatives and evaluate your own work in planning, teaching and assessing.

Your remaining time will be spent at the University, for example in lectures and seminars, and subject-specific groups.

We will support your training to become a secondary school teacher by providing:

• a quality teaching experience in our partner schools and colleges;
• a study of current, challenging educational issues;
• careers planning and early professional development;
• guidance and support from experienced tutors and mentors;
• opportunities for reflective practice and research.

As a guide, you should anticipate that time in university-based learning combined with school-based placements will roughly equate to a full-time job, with additional time required in evenings and weekends for background reading, lesson planning and completing written assignments.

Your school and University experiences are formally assessed. Both your mentors and tutors will help you to record your achievements and set targets from week to week and from placement to placement. 

During each placement, a University tutor will observe you teach and discuss your progress with you and your mentor. 

At the end of each school experience, you will receive a progress report from your mentor. The report will provide clear feedback and targets in the following areas: 

• subject and curriculum knowledge;
• planning and teaching;
• assessment;
• wider professional responsibilities. 

These reports, together with your record of achievement and development, facilitate your progression as a teacher. 

The written assignments will allow you to gain a maximum of 60 master's-level credits, and guidance and support to complete these assignments will be available from your University tutors.

The course is taught by the Manchester Institute of Education (MIE) with most PGCE University days based in the Ellen Wilkinson building, centrally located on the University's Oxford Road campus, close to the Main Library, Alan Gilbert Learning Commons, and the Students’ Union.