PGCE Physics with Mathematics

Pre-Course Information

Congratulations on attaining a place on the PGCE Course in Secondary Physics with Mathematics. The course is demanding, and will challenge you in a variety of ways, but will also provide a rewarding and fulfilling entry to your teaching career.

The course leader for the PGCE Physics with Mathematics course is Ben Porter. His office is room F4, located on the second floor of the Bioscience building, adjacent to the Ruff Lane entrance to Edge Hill. Enquiries prior to the start of the course should be directed to Ben on 01695 650968 or to the Science Department Administrator on 01695 657099.

Prior to commencing the course in September we would strongly recommend you begin to raise your awareness of certain issues; general education issues, the role of a teacher in the secondary sector and the specific physics and mathematics secondary curricula. Some suggestions are given below on how this can be achieved.

Hopefully, most of you will already have spent some time in schools, observing lessons. If you have not done this or your opportunities have been limited, then the best preparation that you can do for this course is to spend some time in a school. Obviously, it is particularly valuable to watch good teachers teaching physics or mathematics, but there is also much to be gained from working with good teachers in other secondary subjects or in primary schools. These observations will provide an invaluable insight into classroom management skills, behaviour management skills and the expectations required of an education professional.

You should also begin to deepen your awareness of educational issues by reading the Times Educational Supplement (TES) (published on Fridays), the Education Guardian (published on Tuesdays) and visiting relevant websites such as BBC Education.

There is no requirement to purchase any books for this course. However, a certain amount of pre-course reading would be very valuable. Some recommended texts are detailed below. The text is bold is highly recommended.

Wright, T. (2008) / How to be a Brilliant Trainee Teacher / Routledge
Bone, G. and Newall, J. (2011) / OCR Gateway GCSE Physics Student Book / OUP
Johnson, K., Hewett, S., Holt, S. and Miller,J. (2000) / Advanced Physics for You / Nelson Thornes
Breithaupt, J.(2008) / AQA Physics A AS: Student’s Book, / Nelson Thornes
Breithaupt, J.(2008) / AQA Physics A A2: Student’s Book, / Nelson Thornes
Payne G. et al (2010) / AQA GCSE Mathematics for Higher Sets Student Book / Longman
Sang, D. (2011) / Teaching Secondary Physics (Ase Science Practice) / Hodder Education
Chambers P (2008) / Teaching Mathematics / Sage Publications
Fleming P (2004) / Becoming a Secondary School Teacher / David Fulton
Clarke S (2005) / Formative Assessment in the Secondary Classroom / Hodder Murray
Cowley, S. (2010) / Getting the Buggers to Behave / Continuum Publishing Corporation

Further valuable sources are the Teachers’ Pocketbooks (2011) on various aspects of classroom skills and strategies.

You may also wish to look at Antonine Education (www.antonine-education.co.uk), the Institute of Physics (www.iop.org.uk), the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) (www.atm.org.uk) and Mathematical Association (MA) (www.m-a.org.uk) websites. These organisations offer a wealth of useful resources.

Historically students have been extremely positive about their experiences on physics and mathematics courses - both in university and in school. Partnership arrangements with local schools are strong, and students value highly the help and support that they receive during the year from a wide range of professionals. We expect to build on those strengths for PGCE Physics with Mathematics.

Ben Porter

Course Leader, PGCE Physics with Mathematics

01695 650968

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