BA (Hons) English with Secondary Education (QTS)

This module explores the social, political and philosophical contexts of the English and global Renaissance through its literary culture.

This module aims to provide both a thorough introduction to the main areas of contemporary literary criticism and theory, with a particular emphasis on textual/cultural constructions of identity. Students will be equipped with a set of theoretical terms and concepts that will enable them to understand what is at stake in current debates in critical and cultural theory, and the way in which such debates inform the politics of literary and cultural representation. Topics covered include Structuralism/Post-Structuralism; Psychoanalysis; Marxism; Feminisms; Postcolonialism; Disability Studies; Animal Studies. Students will be provided with copies of theoretical essays via the VLE, with particular emphasis on thinkers from beyond the white, European-American 'canon' of theory.

This module offers a critical and creative engagement with literature written for children, designed for Creative Writing and English students. In studying the historical trajectory of children’s literature, students will be encouraged to analyse texts in relation to their cultural, social and gendered contexts, and mindful of the changing politics of childhood as an identity category. What did ‘childhood’ mean in different eras, and what was the literature intended for them meant to do?

The purpose of this module is to provide a framework that will enable you to build your capacity to teach your specialist subject.  You will be required to meet those essential professional standards identified in the module as fundamental to the beginning teacher. You will be able to identify and express learning objectives appropriate to a range of different learners and be able to assess the learning outcomes.  You will engage with a range of pedagogical approaches appropriate to your specialist subject.  You will be supported to identify your professional identity as a beginning teacher. The module will support your development as a reflective practitioner in a variety of learning contexts.  This will include university-based sessions and experience within school-based environments, supported by university-based and school-based tutors.  You will make effective use of current theories and practices in education.  Reading, observation, personal practice and discussion will inform your professional development.  Your capacity for reflection is expected to impact on your classroom practice.  You are expected to build professional relationships with pupils, teachers and other professionals.

The purpose of this module is to provide an introduction to the teaching of your specialist subject in the secondary school curriculum. You will consider educational policies and the impact of these on your own education. The module will draw upon subject specific reading to identify what you consider to be the rationale that justifies and underpins the teaching of your specialist subject. You will begin to identify and express learning objectives appropriate to a range of different learners. You will be introduced to a range of pedagogical approaches and strategies to deliver lesson objectives.

The purpose of this module is to provide a framework that will enable you to build your capacity to teach your specialist subject.  You will be able to identify and express learning objectives appropriate to a range of different learners.  You will be aware of a range of pedagogical approaches available in your specialist subject and know how to select approaches and strategies to meet and assess learning objectives. The module will also support your development as a reflective practitioner with an emphasis on understanding the ways in which theories of learning, teaching and assessment can inform your practice. You will develop an ability to learn from experience by engaging in learning conversations with university-based and school-based tutors, so that together you can agree well-focussed targets for your subject-specific development. Although a significant proportion of the training associated with this module is delivered through university -based sessions, the major part will take place in school, supported by university-based tutors and school-based tutors.    

The module aims to provide students with the theoretical framework for the study of language from a psycholinguistic viewpoint in order to study language comprehension and production. The role of memory for language is also examined as well as child language acquisition. The theoretical background to pervasive and specific disorders of language comprehension and production, with an examination of such disorders along with relevant case studies will be considered. This perspective on language pathology will enable a discussion of what & lsquo;normal& rsquo; language is, and the insights gained from language disorders research will help to see their& nbsp;applications in the world of work (e.g. speech therapy,& nbsp;teaching methodology, etc.).

This module covers definitions of multilingualism, theories of code switching, theories of concurrent and sequential language acquisition. It goes on to cover discussion of society and linguistics in configurations of multilingualism, and examines language maintenance and attrition, as well as language planning and policy.

This module builds on the knowledge, skills and understanding gained in the previous modules; revising some of the content in light of experience and encouraging you to take a deeper approach to learning to become a teacher.  This will require you to: engage with theories of teaching and learning across the themes of national policies and strategies in education, subject pedagogy, assessment within the framework of national target setting and use of data, behaviour management and assessment for learning in the classroom critically relate these theories to your practice in the context of the classroom and in the wider context, showing how deep knowledge and understanding had helped you in the development of your practice continue to develop your professional identity as a developing teacher Although a significant proportion of the training associated with this module is delivered through university-based sessions, the major part will take place in the school-based environment supported by university tutors and school-based tutors.

This module approaches medieval literature through the lens of feminist and queer studies. It covers texts from the tenth to sixteenth centuries which either trouble or resist categories such as male/female; heterosexuality/homosexuality and Christian/Muslim/Jewish, or which disrupt heteronormative narratives and time. The module reads and workshops medieval poetry, drama, prose and art from a wide variety of genres in relation to key queer and feminist theorists. It covers early examples of what we would now term gay, lesbian, bisexual and asexual narratives; cross-dressing and trans narratives; female masculinity; the relationship between gender, race and oppression in the medieval imagination and early evidence of the emergence of what we now consider ‘queer’ art forms, such as camp and drag performance.

The purpose of this module is to enable you to further develop your specialist skills as a teacher of your subject.  The focus will be on developing your creativity in planning, teaching and assessment.  You will be required to undertake an investigation into the teaching of your subject by applying theoretical ideas.  You will develop expertise in one aspect of subject-specific pedagogy as the basis of a classroom based investigation. Although a significant proportion of this module will be delivered through university-based sessions, your investigation will be undertaken during your school placement.

This module explores the ways postcolonial texts challenge dominant discourses of 'race', gender, sexuality, class, disability, and religion. Students will study a range of texts by authors of colour from Britain, the U.S. and other parts of the world and consider the intersections between different constructions of identities in literature and culture. Postcolonial cultural theory and critical race theory will be central to this module, alongside feminism and disability studies. Guest speakers will contribute towards the module at various points. Alongside the set texts on the module, students will be encouraged to bring literary and cultural texts from their own experiences to the classes, and to feed into the assessment. Students will have the opportunity to work together to produce a digital artefact which communicates their expert knowledge of this topic to audiences beyond academia.