Further Education is continually evolving, and it can be daunting for new starters looking to get into teaching and kickstart their career in the FE sector.
For those thinking of making a move into the FE Sector or those working in further education who are currently looking for training and development opportunities, the Education and Training Foundation has recently designed a course that may be of interest to you.
The course is designed for trainees or new teachers in FE and aims to support their smooth transition into FE teaching roles by helping to build their confidence, knowledge, and experience of the sector. However, teachers who have FE experience and want to develop their ideas, thinking, and understanding of the current evolving educational landscape, are also welcome to explore this support offer.
The course is called ‘Preparing for a career in FE teaching and training’ and the great news is that it is free training. The online ETF FutureLearn course is flexibly delivered with plenty of opportunities for social learning. It has been designed to provide you with insight into the diversity of the FE sector and the variety of teaching and training roles that will allow you to inspire and support learners. Watch the video below to learn more about how the course will work and if it is right for you.
The course can be studied flexibly in a way that best suits your personal and professional development needs. However, it is suggested that it will require approximately two hours of study per week for six weeks. Accordingly, the course is structured in six parts.
Week one will be introducing the FE sector and technical teaching to you, looking at how your prior skills and experience can be helpful in various FE settings. You will also get the chance to gain an overview of the sector and plans for its reform and growth.
Week two of the course will focus on learning, considering teaching and learning theories applicable to the sector, how good curriculum design can support the learner journey, and the characteristics of excellent technical teaching.
By week three, you should be fully in the swing of things, and this is when the focus will shift to your subject knowledge and core skills. Things like subject context knowledge and occupational identity are likely to arise in this particular week of training. Other topics will be covered, like the minimum core skills of English, maths and digital and obligations for teaching staff, including responsibilities around safeguarding and prevent.
Week four of the course focuses on the importance of effective and impartial careers education, information and advice for learners and advancing equality, diversity and inclusion through FE teaching. This leads nicely into week five, where participants will undertake an independent learning task.
Finally, in week six, you will be planning your next steps and reflecting back over the course content. You will experience the transition into teaching live as well as accessing support for brokering employment opportunities and undergoing preparation for applying for FE teaching roles, including interviews and micro teaches.
If this is of interest to you, please visit the ETF website to learn more about the course and register.
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