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RE PRE-COURSE MAILING INTRODUCTION

Introductory pack for PGCE Religious Education

This pack of information will help you to prepare thoroughly for the beginning of the PGCE course. You need to share your progress with these tasks, with your tutor during your first tutorial in September.

There are three compulsory tasks to complete.

Compulsory Task 1: Subject Knowledge Audit

A subject curriculum audit has been included in your pack. This is a summary of the subject areas included in the Leicestershire Agreed Syllabus (2016-2021) and the Curriculum Framework for Religious Education (2013) from the Religious Education Council of England and Wales.  It also includes topics from some GCSE and A level specifications for Religious Education. The subject audit will help you to chart the progress of your subject knowledge throughout the course. We would like you to complete the Pre-PGCE column of the audit identifying how confident you feel about each topic area. The options range from C for confident knowledge and N for no knowledge in this area. There is also a space for you to comment on where your knowledge comes from e.g. a degree module, from studying A-level or observing a Key Stage 3 RE lesson during some voluntary work experience.

Compulsory Task 2: Subject Knowledge Development

Your subject knowledge audit will help you to identify areas of subject knowledge that you need to work on before starting the course. Many of you have already begun researching areas of your subject knowledge or this has been set as a condition of your acceptance on to the course.  Becoming an effective teacher however is not just about having excellent subject knowledge. As you carry out your research, it would be useful for you to collect relevant resources and consider how you could use both knowledge and resources to teach effective lessons and activities.

RE is a subject required on the curriculum of all state funded schools in England, but is guided by non-statutory guidance from the DfE, rather than being on the National Curriculum.  Each local authority is required to set up a standing advisory council on religious education (SACRE) which agrees the syllabus for the local area.  Some of the terms that pupils are expected to learn are ‘enlightenment’, ‘khalifa’, ‘omnipotent’, ‘immanent’ and ‘free will’. 

Do you know what these terms and concepts mean? Consider how these are useful in teaching religious education? How could you explain these terms to an average 11 or 14 year old?

Familiarise yourselves with the curriculum guidance for your area (e.g. the Leicestershire Agreed Syllabus, the Leicester City Agreed Syllabus or the Northampton Agreed Syllabus) RE GCSE and A Level exam board specifications.

What to do:

  • After completing your subject audit, identify at least two areas of the curriculum to work on (one of these may have already been agreed at interview).
  • Research these areas but keep in mind that you will be teaching 11-16 year olds and not undergraduates.
  • Generate/gather key points about what you have read, including the terms and concepts mentioned above and include any relevant sources (images, text, video and audio) and create your own website using weebly.com (or any other online tool) to evidence your progression in this area. This is a free service (although more complex tools will be offered to you at a cost). An example of the kinds of pages you could create can be accessed via http://subjectaudit2.weebly.com which includes examples from RE. You are advised to not include reference to the University of Leicester or your own personal details if you choose to create a website.
  • Alternatively generate PowerPoint/s.  Whichever method you use make sure it is in electronic format and that you can share it.  Think like a teacher during the process by not writing degree level notes but by gathering information and resources that will be useful for you in your teaching.

Your record of this will be your curriculum audit and the website/PowerPoints that you generate. This is evidence towards Teacher Standard 3: Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge. 

PLEASE NOTE : The development of relevant subject knowledge is the responsibility of the student as limited time can be spent on this during the PGCE course itself.  

Compulsory Task 3: Reading

The PGCE RE course will refer to the following text alongside other academic papers for which you will be provided with links or papers on Black board

Holt, J. D. (2014) Religious Education in the Secondary School: An introduction to teaching, learning and the World Religions. London: Routledge.

Read Chapter 1 in this text, What is religious Education?  Consider what the role of religious education is? Be ready to share your ideas in the first week of the course.

It is advised that you join the National Association of Religious Education (NATRE) to be able to access the wide range of resources and journal articles that will be of benefit to you throughout the course. There is usually a reduction in subscription charge for student teachers and first year NQTs.

Find out more at https://www.natre.org.uk

Further reading:
 
Barnes, P. L,. Davis, A. & Halstead, M. J. (2015) Religious Education: Educating for Diversity (electronic resource – available on University of Leicester Library Search and Google Scholar)
 
Barnes, P.L. (2017) Learning to Teach Religious Education in the Secondary School: A Companion to School Experience. London: Routledge.
 
Barnes, P. L. (2014) Education, religion and diversity: developing a new model of religious education. London: Routledge.
 
Clarke, S., Hayes, J. & Parry, L. (2019) Explore RE KS3. London: Hodder Education.
(A student textbook but useful overview of KS3 topics with online dynamic resources option)
 
Holt, J. D. (2014) Religious Education in the Secondary School: An introduction to teaching, learning and the World Religions. London: Routledge.
(Read Chapter 1)
 
Orme, R. (2019) Key Stage 3 Philosophy and Ethics. London: Collins.
Please be ready to discuss with your tutor and your peers in the first week of the course:
– The work you have done towards your PIAP conditions/advice.
– Your subject audit and subject knowledge development.
– Your understanding of the key terms and religious concepts included in the curriculum guidance.
– Your ideas about the role of religious education.