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SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & LIFELONG LEARNING

PGCE (PCE) Staff/Student Liaison Committee

Minutes of the meeting of the PGCE (PCE) Staff/Student Liaison Committee

held onTuesday 10thJune 2008 at 10.00am in room BC113

Present:Rob Lawy (Chair), Programme Director

Kate Hellman, PCE Partnerships Coordinator

Jos Sumner, Partnerships Director

Martin Price, ExeterCollege

Rosie Brown, Strode College

Seidu Salifu, YeovilCollege

Cathy Davis, SouthDevonCollege

Julia Southcott, Clerical Assistant

Trainee Reps: Margaret Peat, ExeterCollege (P/T); Sarah Acreman, Strode College; Laura Jury, SouthDevonCollege.

Secretary:Rebecca Venner

01.08Apologies

Apologies were received from Denise Mountford (ExeterCollege) and Caroline McLaughlin (YeovilCollege trainee rep).

02.08Minutes of the last meeting (4thMarch 2008)

The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as an accurate record.

03.08Matters arising

It was explained that from now on the meeting will be split and recorded as two separate distinct meetings. In the past the SSLC and Board of Studies were combined and recorded as one. Having the SSLC as a separate meeting will ensure that all students have access to the minutes and action points coming out of this meeting.

04.08 This problem was identified and thought to be resolved. MP to check that this has been the case.

Action: MP

04.08 It was reported that each College has it own forum for trainees to use however there is still a need for a cross partnership forum. There is provision for this using ELGG on the University’s website – a social networking site. KH to find out about how this will work and to circulate information about it to trainees.

Action: KH

It was highlighted that Colleges need to ensure that their trainee web sites provide trainees with the most up to date versions of the course documentation. The easiest way to do this is to encourage them to follow a link to the University student documents website. All outdated documents should be removed.

Action: All Course Directors

There followed a discussion regarding the matter of the trainees already having used documentation this year that has now been updated/changed. It was AGREED that this was inevitable given the ongoing improvements made throughout this year and that it would not represent a problem. What is important is that the documents available are up to date and consistent across the partnership. SA reported that from a trainee point of view it would be better to use the electronic versions rather than getting everything in hard copy at the start of the year. It was AGREED that this would be a useful option to give trainees however it was also highlighted that it is important for it to be optional in order to remain inclusive and that not all trainees have constant reliable access to the web in order for them to utilise this. It also highlighted that the strategic consequences of all trainee work being electronic need to be considered and addressed at a later date.

04.08Reports from course member representatives

ExeterPart Time

It was reported that trainees felt they had excellent support from their tutors. However, there were some concerns regarding assignment criteria and clear course requirements. The trainees wanted their comments about this to be positive and lead to course improvements. They have already seen some improvements as a result of this and look forward to continuebenefiting from these changes for the rest of this year and in to the next. It was felt that those trainees finishing this year would need a lot of support in order to do so. It was reported that these issues were addressed in detail at the Programme Development Day and will be much improved for next year once the changes have been made.

South Devon

It was reported that there was a query regarding the report that Mike Tedder will be publishing following the interviews he held with trainees and course tutors about ILPs and standards. RL confirmed that it was likely that the report would be published at the start of the next academic year.

It was highlighted that some trainees wished to go on and work on the Masters programme but had found the information available on the web was confusing. It was reported that there has recently been redevelopment of the Masters programme and that publicity regarding this should be on its way to Colleges already. JS will organise for this information to also be emailed to the trainees.

Action: JS

Strode

It was highlighted that the main criticism of the course was the large assignments and that there was difficulty understanding what to write down. This has been addressed at the Programme Development Day, as discussed earlier in the meeting.

There was concern that the trainees had to pay an unexpected extra £35 in fees and were unable to get information from Student Finance regarding what this was about. They left messages but did not get a response. It was explained that this issue had been dealt with in the previous meeting and that this was caused by incorrect figures communicated between the University and the Colleges.

There was a query regarding the money that trainees had to pay at each Joint Centre Day. It was explained that this is a figure calculated by the Colleges to cover their costs and that queries regarding this should be addressed through the Colleges.

There was a request for more practical teaching methods/skills to be combined in the course. It was reported that RB is organising A level teachers to come and talk to the Strode group on this matter. This issue was felt to be a particular issue relating to StrodeCollege who are new to the course and are developing and working as they go. It was suggested that trainees could have access to the online PGCE Professional Studies lectures to gain an insight on all aspects of practical teaching methods. KH to ensure trainees are given access and to inform Colleges of how to access the site.

Action: KH

Yeovil

The trainee rep was unable to attend due to a hospital appointment however did provide some feedback through SS. It was highlighted that it would be good to see a simpler system for feed through and tracking. It was AGREED that all felt that this needs to be resolved.

It was reported that all staff and students have been very disappointed regarding the closing down of options due to the approach taken by the LLUK.

05.08Plans for Joint Centre Day: 1st October 2008. Revisit action points from review of last years Joint Centre Day.

The Autumn Term programme for the Joint Centre day was circulated and discussed. The day will be held later in the term next year as the timing this year meant that it was difficult for some trainees to attend. This is for 1st year trainees however 2nd year trainees are welcome to attend as long as it is made clear to them that it will be a Yr 1 programme and therefore they may not find all of it relevant. It was AGREED that it would be useful if the Yr 2 trainees in attendance could talk to Yr 1 trainees to pass on advice and guidance regarding their first year of study.

It was agreed that the subject groups were useful sessions and that it is very important for the group facilitators to ensure that the appropriate questions are being targeted. There followed a discussion regarding the relevance of some of the subject grouping. It was felt that this needs to be thoroughly thought through to ensure the groups are productive. It was explained that the groups are designed to give trainees the opportunity for networking and to talk about learning and facilitating learning.

It was AGREED that the lecture replacing Gert Biesta’s lecture would be about what it means to study at M level.

06.08Chair for 2008/09

It was AGREED that the Chair of this meeting for the academic year 2008/09 would be Rosie Brown.

07.08Commonality of experience of PGCE (PCE) programme

1) Progression Opportunities – the trainee reps were glad that they would be kept updated on this.

2) Joint Centre Days – the trainees reps felt that they would welcome the opportunity to have input into the 1st year day, especially if it could count toward CPD.

08.08Any other business

There was no other business to discuss.

09.08Date and time of next meeting

Tuesday 4th November 2008 at 10.00am.

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