This module is a combination of university-based learning and school-based learning. 

Common strands explored within the context of this module include commitments to inclusivity in all its forms; safeguarding and well-being of children; promoting a positive classroom environment conducive to engagement and respecting diversity; and building curricula and sequences of lessons designed to ensure the progression of all.  Alongside this and in common with other modules, ATs will be supported to prioritise their own well-being, achieve a sustainable work-life balance while managing their initiation into professional communities of practice.

There are additional focuses on the importance of developing relationships; child development; study of education (e.g. history, sociology, politics and legislation), curriculum construction and learning and teaching for the inclusion of all along with relevant theory, policy and research. Developing resilience and 'managing self' is a core theme that runs through all professional studies-related modules.

Throughout, Associate Teachers (ATs) will be encouraged to pursue active enquiries and to practice the tools of ethical enquiry introduced in the module.  This will enable them to develop a critical and interactive engagement between theory and practice, forming a pragmatic understanding of which approaches are most useful, inclusive and workable in different contexts.  

Attachment weeks in school will enable students to reflect on and relate aspects of the taught programme to classroom practice with weeks focusing particularly on observing the following: developing positive classroom relationships; classroom environment and children's engagement in and motivation for learning; the wider life of the school; how material is broken down and prior knowledge is used in class; the use and impact of systematic synthetic phonics; inclusive practice and the diversity of needs;  curriculum design and how classroom activities, sequences of lessons and homework fit into broader curriculum frameworks; planning; and assessment practices including questioning.  The block placement will enable students to build on what they have learnt during the attachment weeks and develop their planning and teaching skills, working with small groups and the whole class.  ATs will also observe and reflect on colleagues’ collaborating with each other, the nature of the professional dialogue, including with parents and carers particularly in relation to how colleagues illicit the support of others, including parents and carers, to help who are in danger of underachievement or exclusion.  ATs will be supported to manage their own workload and make sure that activities are undertaken promptly and to secure a productive work/life balance.

The module will include an initiation to a range of concepts for undertaking research and enquiry (reflectivity; reflexivity; validity; reliability; ethical considerations) and be an introduction to notions of what constitutes a claim to knowledge. 

The module will introduce the ATs to the Core Content Framework and encourage them to make connections between that and their learning in this module.

The module will focus on a range of academic skills, including: auditing academic skills and identifying individual needs; locating research, policies and other information (paper-based and electronic); making judgements on the validity and reliability of data; the conventions of academic text and writing; speaking and listening to learn in seminar groups and tutorials; collaborative learning; interrogating texts; writing accurately and using references and citations appropriately.

The module will also explore some of the complexities involved in making interpretations of theory and practice and enables ATs to challenge overly simplistic translations of 'theory into practice'. 

Opportunities to demonstrate and practise the skills learnt in this module, alongside further application and development of skills, will be explicitly available in PR4820, as well as in other level 4 modules.

Common strands explored within the context of this module include commitments to inclusivity in all its forms; safeguarding and well-being of children; promoting a positive classroom environment conducive to engagement and respecting diversity; and building curricula and sequences of lessons designed to ensure the progression of all.  Alongside this and in common with other modules, ATs will be supported to prioritise their own well-being, achieve a sustainable work-life balance while managing their initiation into professional communities of practice.

This module will introduce Associate Teachers to statutory documentation including the National Curriculum and the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (EYFS). The focus of this module will be the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. These will be studied in the context of both the EYFS (as communication, language and literacy; mathematics; and understanding the world) and the National Curriculum (the Programmes of Study in Key Stage 1 and 2). As well as this there will be an introduction to learning theories, pedagogical and curriculum concepts applicable to the core subjects and opportunities to explore experiences and attitudes towards learning in the core subjects.  The module will also support ATs' own substantive content, pedagogical and professional knowledge development based on selected foci from the EYFS framework and KS1 and 2 Programmes of Study and there will be an introduction to effective and inclusive lesson planning in the core subjects that promotes engagement and participation from all learners.  ATs will be invited to reflect on harmonies and dissonances between practices recommended in this module and those evident in placement settings.  In this way, they will engage in productive and professional dialogue in the spirit of the skills developed in PR4821 to develop critical insights into theory and practice.

Through independent research and tutorial support, the module enables students to explore a range of careers associated with education (excluding the role of class teacher). Students will explore possible careers identifying the skills and knowledge associated with those careers. Students are to consider how the careers, skills and knowledge support children's education.