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Hi, is anyone else surprised and disappointed at the quality of teaching on their PCET? So far, four sessions in, all we’ve done is gone through paperwork required by the course. There’s been no inspirational teaching, some of the information we’ve been given is incorrect, and the tutor never manages to finish any of the activities planned.
Hi Disappointed PCET Student
You are not allow in feeling disappointed and surprised by the distinct lack of ‘quality’ information and teaching so far in Cert. Ed/PGCE. I started my course in September and I’m still unable to log in to my local college learning hub, let alone the University one I’m supposed to belong to. We should have had five sessions by now but our tutor was off sick for the last one, when we were supposed to be talking about lesson planning. Chin up it can only get better.!!
TJThis is a real shame as it will give you a bad impression of what teacher training is about.
Use it as a learning experience of what not to do with your own students!
Yikes! As a former course leader (and external examiner) in this area, my apologies.
Our working principle has always been that the course is not only about adult education but also an example of it, and thus is obliged to model best practice.
But I’m excruciatingly aware of the burden of paperwork, which stemmed from FENTO and then LLUK and IfL and LSIS and Ofsted,… Several years ago, someone calculated that we were accountable to 22 organisations. Several of which pulled in different directions, of course.
So. Object! Challenge! Complain!
Yes, it’s easy for me–I’m not being assessed.
Cynically. How vulnerable are the learners you assess? The system requires that you bend over backwards to ensure that they “achieve”.
It is just the same for your DTLLS/CertEd/PGCE courses.
So…. You can work out the rest.
(If you trust me. This is not a cheap shot.)
Thank you for your replies. Agree that in the ideal world, the solution would be to complain, or at least feedback. However, when they are your assessors – this is difficult. Any tips on how to make your views known constructively?
There should be a system for it, not just at the level of a complaints procedure. As part of the Quality Assurance procedures of the college or university, there will be requirement for some mechanism of student consultation, usually in the form of a committee which reports to whatever formal body manages the course, and which should be required to meet a minimum number of times a year.
Our system uses a Student Consultative Committee, on which every centre is represented (there are currently eleven centres in the network). It meets three times a year (fortunately the meetings coincide with something else so they are always attended). Each representative tables a written report on their cohort’s experience in the previous term, and the face-to-face time, with the overall course leader and an admin person to take minutes, is used for matters of common concern across the network. Local issues are either dealt with by a similar mechanism within the centre, or referred to Centre Leaders for action. (There’ll be one such meeting tomorrow.)
The critical point is that if there is any complaining to do, it is the representative’s responsibility to do it, on behalf of the complainant so that there is no victimisation. Make it constructive, and things do get changed.
So the first step is to check out with the course leader what the mechanism is, and the second is to have a student meeting. If you don’t get any help go to the Student Union–that is in part what it is for.
You should be offered the opportunity to give feedback as part of the organisation’s quality assurance (QA) process.
Your course should also cover the QA process as it’s an important part of teaching and learning. Therefore you could bring it up as a topic and ask your tutor/assessor how they gain feedback from their learners.
Then ask if the process will be used with you.
Good luck!Thank you for this information, this is really useful.
I get the impression that part of the problem is a real mixed bag of staff – some excellent ones are having to carry the load for others who seem frankly less interested.
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