Professional Practice 1A provides an initial professional practice experience in a secondary school with an additional short placement in a primary setting. Initial professional practice is based upon observation and practical experience. You will have frequent opportunities to observe experienced teachers in the classroom, in addition to shadowing pupils and staff. The school’s safeguarding processes will also be explained. The placement will enable you to carry out a variety of school-based tasks, participate in lessons under your mentor’s supervision, and gradually increase your responsibility for both planning and teaching.

Personal and Professional Conduct – Transition into Higher Education and the Teaching Profession equips you with the required academic study skills for Higher Education and the necessary professional vocational skills for your teaching experience. The module will also raise your wider professional awareness of the importance of secondary teaching. The aim is to encourage you to make purposeful links between theoretical understanding, the implementation of national policies and initiatives, and your practice-based experiences. Self-evaluation, reflection and the setting of professional development targets are key features of the module.

Principles, Pedagogy and Planning in Mathematics introduces mathematics subject-specific professional responsibilities for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, covering lesson preparation, delivery, evaluation and pupil assessment. The module enables you to develop the required professional vocational skills and knowledge for your teaching experience, working towards effective classroom delivery for all pupils. This will include an introduction to how to plan and deliver effective and well-structured lessons which promote a love of learning and encourage children’s intellectual curiosity. You will discover how to plan for the effective use of homework and other out-of-class activities to consolidate and extend pupil knowledge.

Mathematical Proof and Logic presents the opportunity to develop your knowledge and understanding of reasoning and proof, exploring rich mathematical situations and solving problems. Mathematical logic and proof is fundamental to the foundations of mathematics. You will be challenged to use the methods taught in the module to explore and solve problems in geometry, numeracy and algebra. The mathematics required to engage with the problems will be fixed at a level appropriate to your knowledge to allow you to demonstrate learning around the key aspects of proof and logic.

Modelling Using Mechanics develops your understanding of the mathematical modelling cycle. You will set up, solve and interpret your solutions to models in both 2D and in 3D, considering applications of Newton’s Laws of motion and forces etc.

Understanding Continuous Functions allows you to use a mixture of numerical and analytical techniques to help you to achieve a deeper understanding of key features of continuous functions. The module also extends the range of continuous functions you are likely to have met in previous study. An understanding of continuous functions is a key area of mathematics, used both in pure mathematics and most importantly in a variety of applications.

Exploring Algebraic and Geometric Structure is the first of a series of modules concentrating on aspects of pure mathematics, in particular developing a deep understanding of numbers and examining the links between algebra and geometry. The module introduces mathematical principles such as algebraic structure, proof, matrix algebra and the extension of the number system to include complex numbers. You will be introduced to computer algebra and mathematical word processing.

Professional Practice 1B allows you to prepare for, and subsequently complete, a placement in which you will undertake up to 50% of a full teaching timetable, comprising observation, small group or whole class teaching with your mentor or another trainee, and solo teaching as appropriate. You will have responsibility for planning lessons or parts of lessons, maintaining sound discipline, ensuring appropriate teaching methods are used, assessing learners’ progress, and making written evaluations of your own teaching. You will also be expected to take a full role in the wider life of the school, participating in tutor work, pastoral care, extra-curricular activities, professional development opportunities, parents’ evenings and school events.

Personal and Professional Conduct – Legal Requirements for Professional Practice helps you to understand the required professional conduct, duties and responsibilities of a secondary teacher. The aim is to encourage you to make purposeful links between theoretical understanding, the implementation of national policies and initiatives, and your practice-based experiences. Self-evaluation, reflection and the setting of professional development targets are key features of the module.

Creative Medium Term Planning and Teaching in the Mathematics Classroom enables you to consider effective teaching in mathematics through the discussion and evaluation of alternative approaches. In addition, the module will analyse the role of mathematics in the curriculum and examine how it contributes to a range of whole-school issues. There will be a clear focus on the planning, teaching and assessment cycle, which lies at the heart of the most effective professional practice, and on evaluation and review, which lies at the heart of ongoing professional development.

Educational Research Methods for School Improvement provides you with an introduction to qualitative and quantitative educational research methods for personal and school improvement. The reading and assessment of publications, combined with reflection on methodological issues, forms a key element of the module. You will formulate a research plan which provides an excellent foundation if you wish to pursue higher degree study or further research work in the future. The module will demonstrate the need to keep up to date with both research and development in knowledge and pedagogy in your chosen subject area and encourage you to critically evaluate your own learning.

Statistical Inference develops your knowledge of mathematical approaches to statistical inference, an area in which the skills of hypothesis testing, estimation and prediction are used in a growing number of real world fields as well as in research design. The module provides you with an insight into the underlying structure of techniques and key results and will ensure that you have greater confidence in your use of statistics. The emphasis on problems and applications makes the module one that is highly relevant both to applied mathematicians and future researchers.

Discrete Mathematics explores a variety of topics within discrete mathematics and provides a mathematical balance to the study of continuous systems previously encountered. You will be introduced to the concept of using discrete mathematics to model and solve modern day problems. The module provides an opportunity to study modern topics within mathematics such as flows, matchings, allocation, decision trees, critical path analysis, graphs and networks.

Linear Algebra builds on your knowledge of algebraic structure and matrices and provides the depth of understanding that you need to grasp the links between numbers, algebra and geometry. You will learn to apply algebraic results geometrically, recognise applications of linear algebra and interpret results, understand and manipulate the concepts of a vector space, and use and interpret the output of computer algebra and graphing packages to solve and present solutions to algebraic and geometric problems.

Professional Practice 2 consists of a synoptic placement during which you will be required to undertake up to 70-75% of a teaching timetable, comprising observation, small group or whole class teaching with your mentor or another trainee, and solo teaching as appropriate. You will have responsibility for planning lessons or parts of lessons, considering the role of a scheme of work and developing it for a specific group of learners, maintaining sound discipline, ensuring appropriate teaching methods are used, assessing learners’ progress, and making written evaluations of your own teaching. You will also be expected to take a full role in the wider life of the school, participating in tutor work, pastoral care, extra-curricular activities, professional development opportunities, parents’ evenings and school events.

Personal and Professional Conduct – Employability equips you with the advanced academic study skills required for Higher Education and the necessary professional vocational skills for your professional practice. In addition, the module enables you to further your working knowledge of the standards for teachers’ conduct, enhance your employability, prepare for job applications and interviews, and understand what to expect from your year as a Newly Qualified Teacher. Self-evaluation, reflection and the setting of professional development targets are key features of the module.

Classroom Assessment and Target Setting Skills in Mathematics develops your understanding of assessment theory in relation to both formative and summative assessment practice in school. You will need to grade work against school-based and national benchmarks relevant to mathematical studies, as well as developing strategies for giving meaningful feedback and targets to pupils in order to secure progression. The module also outlines the cycle of evaluation and review, examining its impact on future planning.

School Improvement Study in Mathematics enhances your skills in qualitative and quantitative educational research methods for personal and school improvement. The reading and assessment of publications, together with reflection on the design, implementation and critical evaluation of methodological issues, form key elements of the module. You will implement and evaluate a research plan during a professional placement and gain a strong foundation for potentially pursuing higher degree study or further research work in the future.

Mathematical Models covers a number of situations where differential equations arise and introduces you to the solution of boundary-value problems. Mathematical modelling is an important branch of the subject and one which has had substantial influence in recent years. Modelling provides a key illustration of how mathematics can be used, in a wide range of situations, such as to solve problems in areas like physical science.

Number Theory covers an area of mathematical study that will enrich and deepen your knowledge of numbers and place the study of numbers into a wider cultural and historical context. The module will enable you to identify particular types of ordinary differential equations and methods of solution, analyse a range of ordinary differential equations, understand and apply the use of partial derivatives in finding stationary points, and analyse dynamical systems by applying the methods of the module to their study.

Ordinary Differential Equations focuses on the theory of whole numbers. Working with whole numbers and investigating their properties not only deepens your understanding of pure mathematics but also provides an opportunity to use mathematical proof techniques. The module will enable you to discover and apply some of the fundamental properties of prime numbers. You will be immersed in key theories of arithmetic, the properties of congruence equations, the manipulation of continued fractions, and the properties of number theoretic functions.

Professional Skills Tests have been removed from the entry criteria for September 2020 entry onwards. Details of the replacement for the tests are still to be announced, however they will be benchmarked against a defined set of English and Mathematics skills that students will be expected to have by the end of the course (rather than at the point of entry).

The Professional Skills Tests remain part of the entry requirements for September 2019 entry in line with Government policy.

The wording of the entry criteria for the 2-year route around experience in secondary schools has been amended. The revised wording states that applicants are expected to have a commitment to, and understanding of, secondary education, demonstrating the personal attributes, values and motivation required to train as a teacher.