PGCE - Subject Knowledge

I'm considering applying for a Secondary Computer Science & IT PGCE. My degree is in IT, and covered some aspects of programming, but obviously not as much as a CS degree.

I've been checking out the AQA and OCR syllabus and past papers, and while I'm confident enough with most of the GCSE teaching, I find the AS and A-Level work to be out of my scope.

My question is how much are you expected to know from the get-go? For those in CS/IT teaching, surely it's much harder if the schools you are placed at are teaching different programming languages than what you know?

I was going to shoot of an application for this September, but I'm considering waiting for next year, and spending this year getting up-to-scratch with programming concepts and A-Level work.

Advice? :smile:

Reply 1

Elmand

I'm due to start my Computer Science PGCE in September but I'll give you some of my thoughts.

- You may as well apply for this September if you're up for it. If your subject knowledge isn't up to scratch then you may just get placed on a Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) course to get you ready for September. Even if you aren't successful with your application, having experience of the application & interview process will be extremely valuable next year.

- As for teaching different programming languages, you have to remember that on the whole the programming will be fairly basic (Except for perhaps some A-Level Computing coursework). As a result, teaching a different programming language should not prove too difficult. If you have a good grasp of the core programming concepts, you should be fine.

Reply 2

AeroSky

OP

Original post by Elmand

I'm due to start my Computer Science PGCE in September but I'll give you some of my thoughts.

- You may as well apply for this September if you're up for it. If your subject knowledge isn't up to scratch then you may just get placed on a Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) course to get you ready for September. Even if you aren't successful with your application, having experience of the application & interview process will be extremely valuable next year.

- As for teaching different programming languages, you have to remember that on the whole the programming will be fairly basic (Except for perhaps some A-Level Computing coursework). As a result, teaching a different programming language should not prove too difficult. If you have a good grasp of the core programming concepts, you should be fine.

Thank you for your reply. I guess I've been 'spooked' a little from reading the A-Level past paper specimens for AQA's Computer Science course. Some of the questions I could not answer, which has worried me, as if I don't know the answer, how can I possibly teach sixth formers it?

At GCSE level, I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll just have to get up-to-speed with some of the areas I lack knowledge in for A-Level.

I've been picking up Python over the last few months as that seems to be what most schools are using. My background is more in Java and Objective C, but like you say, the principles and concepts are the same across the board.

Hopefully I'm just overthinking this.

PGCE - Subject Knowledge

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