Secondary Religious Education Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy

Module title	Secondary Religious Education Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy
Module code	EDUM050
Academic year	2022/3
Credits	30
Module staff	Dr Karen Walshe (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks	12	12	12

Number students taking module (anticipated)	10

Description - summary of the module content

Module description

Whilst taking this module you will examine a range of approaches to the teaching of Religious Education across Key Stages 3 – 5 as well as the theory that underpins this practice. To take this module, you will normally need to possess an upper second class or first class honours degree in a relevant discipline such as Theology, Religious Studies, Islamic Studies, Biblical Studies and Philosophy.

This module will be taken alongside EDUM036 & EDUM052

Module aims - intentions of the module

The principal aims of the module are to:

• enable you to gain a comprehensive and up to date understanding of the background theory, issues and practice relating to current teaching of Religious Education in the secondary curriculum;

• support you to meet the Standards required for the award of Qualified Teacher Status; and

• nurture your development as a reflective and autonomous professional practitioner who is able to identify strengths and areas for development in your subject knowledge and pedagogy, through evaluating current professional practice in relationship to developments in research and educational theory.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. identify and evaluate educational concepts and issues related to Religious Education;
2. recognise pupils learning needs in Religious Education and interpret these learning needs in order to plan, teach, assess and evaluate lessons and schemes of work;
3. demonstrate secure subject content knowledge and pedagogic subject knowledge in Religious Education;
4. 4. demonstrate secure understanding of the statutory requirements and non-statutory guidance for Religious Education;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

5. critically evaluate the relevance of educational theory to practice;
6. synthesise relevant educational literature in support of an argument;
7. use appropriate technologies for data handling and writing in education;
8. present data and findings in a form appropriate for educational contexts;
9. use research data in support of an argument in education.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

10. manage your own learning development;
11. learn effectively and be aware of your own learning strategies;
12. express ideas and opinions, with confidence and clarity, to a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes;
13. work productively in different kinds of teams (formal, informal, project based, etc); and
14. think creatively about the main features of a given problem and develop strategies for its resolution.

Syllabus plan

The module introduces students to current thinking in the teaching of Religious Education and develops students’ pedagogic and academic subject knowledge in the field of Religious Education. Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that Key elements of the module will include:

Lecture Seminar Programme: This covers the theory and practice of Religious Education Pedagogy.
Directed Online Study Programme: This covers the theory and practice of Religious Education Pedagogy

Peer Teaching: These sessions give you an opportunity to practice your teaching in a safe and supportive environment.

Seminar Days: University-based days during school-based work to share experiences and develop the links between the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching Religious Education

On the Secondary PGCE, you will learn and reflect on the skills and knowledge required by the programme’s credit-bearing and non-credit bearing modules throughout the year. You will need to think about the modules in relation to each other. To facilitate this, the learning and teaching activities and guided independent study described below are scheduled to occur across all three terms both in the context of your university taught course and in the context of your applied professional experience in schools.

Learning and teaching

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
100	200	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	72	Lecture and Seminar Programme
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	15	Peer Teaching
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	12	Seminar Days
Scheduled Learning & Teaching activities	1	Tutorials with academic tutor
Guided Independent Study	200	Independent Study

Assessment

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Written notes on preliminary tasks	2 weeks in schools prior to beginning course	1, 2, 5, 13	Verbal or written
Subject Knowledge development task	4 weeks prior to beginning course	3, 14	Written
Written subject knowledge audit	3 hours	3, 4, 10, 11	Verbal (tutorial) and written action plans
Formative assignment using work with academic literature in preparation for summative assignment	1500 words	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12	Written feedback from tutor & opportunity to discuss this in tutorial

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Written assignment: essay	100	4,000 words	1-14	Written

Re-assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Written assignment	Resubmission of essay (4,000 words)	1-14	See notes below.

Re-assessment notes

If a submitted assignment is deemed to be a Fail, you will be given feedback outlining what needs to be done to bring the assignment to a pass standard and one opportunity for resubmission will be allowed.

You can choose to resubmit a failed assignment ‘in year’ (i.e. before the final PGCE Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committee (APAC) in July). The resubmission would normally be made 4 weeks after receiving feedback on the first submission. Alternatively, you may opt for your mark to remain as a fail mark at the APAC. You will then be referred to the College level Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committee who will confirm the conditions for resubmission of the work. Normally the resubmission should be by 1st September. You should discuss these options with your tutor.

Note: if you choose the second option, the award of PGCE will be delayed until the APAC following any successful resubmission (normally held in December).

If an assignment is deemed to be a Fail by the APAC, the mark obtained on resubmission will be capped at 50%. If after submitting a revised assignment, you have still failed to gain an overall pass mark for the module, you will have been deemed to have failed the PGCE with no further opportunity for resubmission. If however, you have passed the Professional Learning module, you can leave the programme with QTS only and can therefore gain employment as a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT). If you pass both the Religious Education Subject Knowledge & Pedagogy and the Educational & Professional Studies modules but fail the Professional Learning module, you can leave the programme with a Postgraduate Certificate in Professional Studies in Education (PGCert) which does not confer QTS status.

Resources

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Aldridge, D. (2017). A Hermeneutics of Religious Education. Bloomsbury Academic.

Barnes, L. P. (Ed) (2018) Learning to teach Religious Education in the Secondary School: A companion to school experience. 3rd edition. Taylor & Francis Ltd Routledge.

Barnes, L.P. (2020). Crisis and Controversy and the Future of Religious Education. Routledge.

Castelli, M., and Cater, M. (Eds) (2018) We Need to Talk about Religious Education: Manifestos for the Future of RE. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Chater, M. (2020). Reforming Religious Education: Power and Knowledge in a Worldviews Curriculum. John Catt Educational Ltd.

Erricker,C., Chater, M. (2013) Does Religious Education Have a Future? Taylor & Francis Ltd Routledge
Hannam, P. (2019). Religious Education and the Public Sphere. Routledge.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

See PGCE Religious Education course on ELE ( http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/ )

Module has an active ELE page

Key words search

Secondary PGCE, Religious Education

Credit value	30
Module ECTS	15
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	EDUM036 Education & Professional Studies EDUM052 Professional Learning
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	23/04/2013
Last revision date	09/05/2022