About Teacher Training | Meet our Team | Our Partner Schools | Student Videos | Contact us
Charles and Neil, Science Tutors, with Trainee Teachers
"I am encouraged and positive about my career in teaching and particularly attending this PGCE Programme at UEL." Secondary Teacher Trainee at UEL
Science Trainee Teachers
"I want to thank all the people involved in making this Programme available. It is a privilege to be part of the future group of professional teachers in this unique University of East London." Secondary Teacher Trainee at UEL
Teaching Science is great. Science is a subject that is always changing, advancing, discovering new insights and understanding of how our world works. There is a personal excitement about keeping in touch with such progress … you get an even bigger buzz when you see that excitement reflected in the eyes of your pupils.
An honours degree or equivalent. (The subject you want to teach must form a substantial part of your studies).
If you are thinking of teaching Science, our normal entry requirement to the science course is a 2:2 or better degree in a science related subject. We do recruit graduates from a wide range of disciplines. At the moment we have trainees with qualifications, amongst others, in Forensic, Physics, Engineering, Environmental Science, Physiology, Chemistry, Microbiology and Psychology.
This is a very intensive, full-time Programme. It runs for 36 weeks, beginning in September with a week of subject support. Following that , you are at University for the first half term, with weekly observation visits to schools.
The first school placement starts in October for four days a week; the other day is spent back at University for subject knowledge development and core issues. The placement continues after the Christmas break, with trainees in school five days a week.
There is a second school placement in a different school that runs from February half term to the beginning of June. You will have experience in two different secondary schools and will also visit a Junior School to observe teaching and see the skills and knowledge that pupils bring with them to secondary schools.
The aim of the science course is to equip trainees to teach all aspects of science to pupils in the 11-16 age range. Despite having a good science background, many trainees find that they have gaps in their subject knowledge. We work to rectify this by way of a detailed audit process and focused subject support sessions.
This work on subject knowledge runs in parallel with the development of the professional skills and knowledge that you will need to teach science in secondary schools. The course covers Health and Safety, the management of teaching and learning in laboratories and classrooms, the use of Information and Communications Technology and meeting the diverse needs of pupils. In the early part of the course we will deal with lesson planning, resourcing lessons, organising safe investigative work, classroom management and the assessment of pupils.
Workshop activities, seminars and subject knowledge development sessions are designed to identify key ideas, to decide how these may be approached in school and to consider some of the conceptual and organisational barriers that may be encountered. During these sessions you will be encouraged to develop a critical awareness of current debates in Education and the impact that these have on practice.
Throughout the year there are academic assignments to be completed and tasks that provide evidence against the standards required by the Teaching and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). The school mentors and university tutors assess you against the standards and you are required to provide evidence that you have met each of them. For more details visit the TDA website.
We have a wide range of facilities including laboratories, an ICT suite and a Learning Resource Centre. We have good links with local school departments and are developing positive links with a number of national museums which we use for some aspects of our training.
Join the teaching profession as a Physics Specialist. Want to become a science teacher and feel you are a bit “light” on subject knowledge? We run a 6 month Physics Enhancement Course which will boost your knowledge and understanding of physics. The course gives you the subject knowledge that you need for admission to the PGCE or GTP courses. Click here for more information
Good Chemistry teachers are in very short supply – just have a look at all the jobs advertised! The pre-ITT Chemistry Enhancement Course is designed to enable more people to become teachers of Chemistry. The ChEC course is designed for graduates who have a background in science, who wish to become confident teachers of chemistry in secondary schools. The course gives you the subject knowledge that you need for admission to the PGCE or GTP courses. Click here for more information
Please go to our Financial Support pages to find out about benefits for Secondary Teacher Training on the PGCE Programme.
Applications for teacher training courses are not made at the university. You need to contact the Graduate Teacher Training Registry. Please see How to Apply for further information.
See HERE for the UEL full programme specification.
© 2009
Can't find what you're looking for? Use our feedback form to let us know.
For a general description of these pages and an explanation of how they should work with screenreading equipment please follow this link: Link to general description
For further information on this web site's accessibility features please follow this link: Link to accessibility information
The following message does not apply to screenreader users:
You will still be able to access all the essential content of this web site, but it will not look, or function, exactly as intended.
