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PGCE Secondary Mathematics with Economics / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

PGCE Secondary (Mathematics with Economics) will train you to become a Mathematics with Economics teacher across the 11-16 or 11-18 age range and being qualified to teach both these subjects will increase your employability.

It will prepare you to teach the National Curriculum and related national strategies, GCSE and A-level.

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

University-based sessions will enable you to reflect on teaching methods and will give you creative and innovative ideas to take into the classroom.

We also use the expertise of experienced teachers from our partnership schools to complement the teaching of University-based sessions.

This includes sessions led by subject mentors, who will help you develop your subject knowledge and provide advice about teaching methods.

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

Aims

You will:

  • spend approximately two-thirds of your time in schools and colleges developing your practical teaching skills;
  • be assigned a mentor, who will help you plan lessons and develop marking and assessment skills;
  • observe and teach classes under the guidance of an experienced teacher.

Special features

  • Our PGCEs are rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted (2019), and we have been judged best university provider of initial teacher training in the North of England (Good Teacher Training Guide 2017). 
  • 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. 
  • Our research improves the quality of education across the world, with 78% of our activity defined as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' (Research Excellence Framework 2014).

Teaching and learning

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.

Coursework and assessment

Your school and University experiences are formally assessed.

Both your mentors and tutors will help you to record your achievements and set targets.

During each placement, a University tutor will observe you teach, and at the end of each school experience, you will receive a report from your mentor. The report will grade you in the following areas:              

  • teaching;
  • planning;
  • differentiation and assessment;
  • learning environment;
  • wider professional responsibilities.

The grades are awarded by your mentor in conjunction with your University tutor.

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.

What our students say

I have loved my school placement so far, the staff are very friendly and have welcomed me into the team and supported me really well.

Read more about  Molly's experience  studying PGCE Secondary Mathematics in her student profile.

Facilities

The course is taught by the Manchester Institute of Education (MIE), with most PGCE University days based there in University's 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.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk