Primary Teaching leading to Qualified Teacher Status BA(Hons): Course features

What this course offers you

This is a relevant, thought-provoking and enjoyable course provided in partnership with schools.
You gain specialist subject expertise along with training in all core areas of the primary curriculum (see further down the page for more details).
Stimulating fieldwork is included in many subject specialisms (see further down the page for more details).
Professional accreditation is awarded alongside an academic qualification.
Personal tutors and a strong educational support system ensure you can get all the help you need to reach your full potential.
Our many contacts with schools provide ample placement opportunities.
Language tuition and the opportunity to go on an international exchange are available.
You will enjoy excellent resources and location.
The School of Education at Kingston University is consistently rated among the top education departments in the country by the Guardian UK University league tables.
We design our courses in collaboration with local authorities, schools, colleges and other educational organisations. This ensures you will keep up to date with the latest developments and initiatives.

SUBJECT SPECIALISMS

Each specialism involves two strands.

The first strand builds your academic knowledge of your specialism within primary schools, developing skills and techniques to enthuse children.
The second looks at the role of your specialism. You'll be well prepared to become a teacher and potentially subject leader in your chosen field. The subject specialism takes approximately a fifth of your total degree study time.

English

You study a range of contemporary and classic adult and children's literature in this course. You look at how to use 'literacies', including tele-literacy, multimedia texts and drama. You examine how children acquire language and literacy and explore key theories of language in education.

You also analyse your own skill as a writer and relate this to the teaching of writing. You have the chance to develop your story-telling skills, drawing upon oral culture and personal anecdote. You then investigate how this skill can enhance pupil attainment in imaginative and exciting ways.

Geography and History

Geography: This course explores a variety of themes within local, national and international contexts.

Fieldwork plays an integral part and you can take part in study visits to a variety of locations. You can also select areas of interest within geography to complete more in-depth research. You use your knowledge of geographical activities, such as mapping and fieldwork techniques, to consider practical approaches to teaching geography.

You look at how geography contributes to a wider primary curriculum, particularly in literacy, numeracy and history. The cross-curricular themes of citizenship, global sustainability and environmental education are also important aspects of your studies.

History: History encourages pupils to become deductive, imaginative and perceptive. It allows us to explore the diversity of human experience.

This course offers in-depth opportunities to critically evaluate the design and management of history teaching and learning. You study topics directly related to the primary curriculum, such as:

the Romans;
Britain and the wider world in Tudor times; and
Victorian Britain.

We use museums and active learning at historic sites as part of an 'investigative' approach to learning. You will also explore the roles of story, role-play and sources such as film and portraits in enriching representations of the past.

Science

The course covers physics, chemistry and biology, plus how to manage the curriculum. You consider effective teaching approaches and engage in a variety of techniques to develop your confidence. These include:

practical sessions;
presentations;
group discussions;
examination of children's work; and
directed self-study.

Visits and fieldwork are also an important part of the course. They aim to deepen your understanding of and interest in science by providing a stimulating context for study.

Science also contributes to wider aspects of the curriculum, such as citizenship and environmental education. So you will develop an interactive teaching approach that links in to the wider themes characterising primary education.

FIELDTRIPS

Most specialist subjects involve a number of trips and excursions. These deepen your understanding and enhance what is being taught. They also help you develop the skills you need to organise school outings.

Geography

Various daytrips to places of interest give you the chance to study geographical features and plan how you would manage a class excursion to the location. In addition, the course includes two residential trips.

Level 1: During your first year there is a five-day residential trip to a UK location such as Dorset, Yorkshire or Devon. You spend time studying the geography of rivers or coasts. You will also replicate organising a school trip to a nearby town, creating the whole day from organising the bus and planning the children's activities to locating suitable picnic and toilet facilities.

Level 2/3: European themes are part of the National Curriculum and so the European Studies module is enhanced by a five-day trip to a European city such as Amsterdam or Berlin.

History

Numerous daytrips take advantage of local amenities, such as Hampton Court Palace and the wealth of museums near the University. On these you will discover more about our history and consider how you would organise a school trip to the location.

There is also a residential trip to a location such as Dorset. You visit a number of places of interest and look at how you would unpick their history.

Science

The Science specialism includes daytrips to local amenities such as Kew Gardens and the Science Museum. As well as discovering more about your specialist subject, you will think about how to organise a school trip to the location and engage a class in the topic.

The course also includes a four to five-day residential trip. This is usually to Dorset where you study phenomena such as coastal features and ecosystems.