HS3HED: History Education

Module code: HS3HED

Module provider: History; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2 / Summer / Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Elizabeth Matthew, email: e.a.e.matthew@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): Before taking this module, you must have been successfully selected for the module by application and interview (Part 2, Semester 2), accepted on a specific placement, and attended pre-placement training. (Open)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded: IN TAKING THIS MODULE YOU CANNOT TAKE HS3DAC (Compulsory)

Placement information: Mini placement

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module allows students to test and develop their interest in careers in Education through two-week placements in local secondary-school history departments which, together with pre-placement training and post-placement assessment at the university, provide the opportunity to gain, and reflect on, the practical work experience required for successful applications for postgraduate teacher-training.

The aims of the module are to:

• Increase choice and enhance employability within the Part 3 History degree programme;
• Give students the opportunity to apply their skills and communicate their knowledge in their placement schools, with the support and guidance of a mentor in the school’s history department;
• Broaden students’ academic experience by introducing them to lesson-observation skills, secondary-level teaching strategies, and pedagogy characteristic of Initial Teacher Education.

The purpose of the module is to offer students the opportunity to gain direct, in-depth insights into the rewards and challenges of a career in Education before deciding whether to apply for postgraduate teacher-training, while also developing a wide range of presentational, organisational and interpersonal skills highly valued in other areas of graduate employment.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Identify and critically evaluate a range of different teaching approaches and methods suitable to the delivery of the history curriculum at secondary level;
2. Research and plan a history lesson for a particular class, design supporting presentational and learning materials, share delivery of the lesson with the school supervisor, and reflect critically on all stages of this process;
3. Give a 10-minute, oral presentation at the university, explaining what has been learned from the placement, and respond effectively to examiners’ questions.

Module content

Following successful application and interview in Part 2, Semester 2, acceptance of a specific placement and, where required by the placement school, a successful Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, students will:

• Attend pre-placement training seminars at the university in the final week of Part 2, Semester 2;
• Undertake a two-week placement (10 placement days)in the history department of a secondary school in Reading or the surrounding area in June-July or September of the long vacation preceding Part 3 Semester 1.

On placement, students will:

• Compile a placement log (including an attendance record and report validated by their school supervisor), recording teaching methods observed and tried in series of lesson observations, skills developed and critical self-evaluation;
• Research and plan a history lesson for a particular class, and share delivery of the lesson with their school supervisor.

Back at the university in Semester 1 of their Part 3 year, students will:

• Complete their placement log;
• Compile a full, reflective report on their independently planned lesson, with supporting rationale, references to relevant literature, self-evaluation, bibliography, and copies of supporting presentational and learning materials;
• Give a 10-minute oral presentation, explaining what they have gained from their placement experience and from the module overall, with 5 minutes’ questioning from examiners; 
• Attend post-placement seminars providing guidance on the preparation of these assessments.

If any placement is withdrawn, interrupted or curtailed at short notice due to staffing or resourcing problems in the participating school, or to other exceptional circumstances, the student concerned will be offered an alternative placement (or placement dates) or transferred to an alternative optionmodule scheduled for Part 3, Semester 1.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Placements will:

• Be arranged individually for students in consultation with participating schools on mutually convenient dates;
• Each cover a total of 10 working days (normally two consecutive school weeks), scheduled in June/July or September preceding the start of the Part 3 year.

Pre-placement training seminars will cover:

• Introduction to the module, including module organisation, expectations of students and their school supervisors/mentors on placement, assessment and learning resources;
• Guidance on working professionally and productively with staff and pupils in a school environment, including advice on active lesson observation and reflective writing;
• History Curriculum in schools, including an overview of current curriculum debates, National Curriculum and GCSE specifications, reflection on teaching approaches;
• Lesson planning, including what makes a good history lesson, and key questions to ask before working out a lesson plan;
• Final preparations for going on placement, including progress checks on DBS certification and student–school contacts, with a Q & A session to provide practical advice on any issues of student concern.

Post-placement seminars will provide detailed guidance on the preparation of each of the three assessments in advance of their due dates:

• Placement log
• Reflective report
• Oral presentation

Independent study:

• In Part 2, Semester 2, students will need to allocate time for seminar preparation during the pre-placement training week;
• On placement, students will need to allocate time for independent study to assemble detailed notes for their placement logs, and to research and plan their shared-delivery lesson;
• In Part 3, Semester 1, students will need to allocate time for the further independent study required for the completion of the written coursework assignments and preparation of the oral presentation.

Study hours

At least 12 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

• Mentoring meetings and informal discussion between the student and their school mentor will provide opportunities for the student to request, and the mentor to provide, formative feedback on the student’s performance on placement and lesson planning as the placement progresses. 
• ONE draft lesson observation to be emailed to the module convenor for comment by the end of Week 1, Part 3 Semester 1, as preparatory work towards the Placement Log. 

Reassessment

Additional costs