Possible solutions to the issues created by the context

The fundamentals of teaching have not changed over the years. Trainees need to plan, teach and evaluate their practice before starting the cycle again. But how this develops through a PGCE varies. This is due to the way trainers deal with the issues outlined above. An analysis of different courses shows that the influences and guiding principles behind them are crucial in dictating what the course looks like. Each has its own costs and benefits, but is grounded in the experiences and preconceptions of the trainers.

Integration between university and school based work is clearly important. Experiences need to be set up so that trainees learn from different contexts. These experiences may challenge or reinforce ideas the trainees already possess. They may actually show a consensus or difference of opinion between people. These are all valuable, as long as they are carefully planned so that trainees can see and reflect upon a range of experiences.

In addition, due to time constraints, it may not be possible to cover all the areas in depth you wish to. This is where careful planning can help blend certain elements together. The example of model B is a course where this has been paramount in constructing the sequence of learning. Within the course there is no explicit session on SEN, inclusion or differentiation. The reason for this is that these issues permeate virtually all sessions. For example, when discussing an aspect of historical understanding like causal reasoning, a practical session looking at different teaching ideas is followed by work adapting those ideas to different topic areas and different levels of attainment. It is therefore being constantly addressed. A level and GCSE appear to be covered late in the course, but in reality these are being discussed in most sessions from the start. Ensuring that school and university work, as well as reading are tightly knitted together also allows for reinforcement of ideas within a tight time frame.

To move the trainees forward, it is also important to consider when they are ready for particular things. Trainees need to be able to cope with what they are dealing with, otherwise they will feel pressurised and will therefore be less open to new ideas and thinking. The whole issue of ‘readiness’ will play a part in deciding what goes where in your course. In model B there is an early emphasis on whole class teaching (in a controlled context) as this trainer feels that trainees need to be able to see the problems that teaching whole groups can present before they can look for any solutions. This then feeds into university sessions which are regarded as ‘problem solving’ scenarios, engendering progress in their level of understanding about effective history teaching. The ideas are then tried out in further teaching of whole classes. In model C there is a much gentler progression from working with individuals to small groups to whole class teaching. In this sense progression happens with a growth of responsibility, with the main emphasis being on nurturing the confidence of trainees. Trainees have the chance to observe practice, try out some ideas, which then feed into university sessions for discussion.