BSc (Honours) Mathematics with Education and Qualified Teacher Status (Three Year Route)

Three years full-time

UCAS code • XG11

This course is subject to reapproval

Location • City Campus
Subject area • Teacher education
Related subjects • Education studies • Mathematics

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At a glance

Train to become a secondary school maths teacher, and take advantage of the current shortage of qualified professionals in this role to get your career started as soon as you graduate. You study degree-level mathematics and gain experience teaching in secondary schools to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Key points
• Train in an area where there is a shortage of teachers.
• Teach mathematics at all levels in secondary schools and other education providers.
• Spend at least 24 weeks on placements.
• Learn in smaller class sizes of around 20 students.

What is mathematics with education and Qualified Teacher Status?
You study mathematics in depth to bring your expertise up to degree-level, while also learning how to teach mathematics to a standard that gains you QTS. QTS is the accreditation you need to be able to teach in schools in England and Wales.

This course

As a qualified maths teacher you will be in a position to take advantage of a current shortage of trained professionals in this subject area.

You benefit from the course’s strong partnerships with secondary schools in the area and many of graduates find employment in their placement schools.

Over the three years your time is balanced between university-based study and school-based experience. This combination teaches you to think critically about both the subjects you study and about how people learn. You complete research and reflection to support your studies and personal development.

You spend a minimum of 120 days (24 weeks) in school over the three years of the course. Some of these days occur as serial placements, where you are in school for one day each week. Others are spent in two longer ‘block’ placements where most, or possibly all, of your time is based in school.

You are taught alongside other education students by mathematics education tutors and other specialists with a deep interest and commitment to teaching and learning. Much of your learning takes place in small groups of around 20 students. This develops an atmosphere which encourages interaction with the tutor and your fellow students through discussions and activities.

When you are on your block placements, you have a school-based trained mentor to help your development. Your teaching skills improve through working with individual pupils, small groups and whole classes.

Key areas of study
Throughout the course, our emphasis is on helping you to develop
• your understanding of mathematics, starting from your own level
• your professional development and practice
• your personal skills and qualities

There may be opportunities to do a four week enrichment placement, which gives you the chance to experience education outside the British secondary mathematics classroom. You might work in a school abroad, in a special school, in a primary school, or alternatively in a museum.

Find out more about BSc (Honours) Mathematics with Education and Qualified Teacher Status (Three Year Route)

Student profiles

Placement videos

Related courses

How to apply

You apply for this course through UCAS.

Fees – home and EU students

The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees and funding see www.shu.ac.uk/study/ug/fees-and-funding

Fees – international students

2013/14 academic year

Typically £10,680 a year

2014/15 academic year

Typically £11,250 a year

The course fee may be subject to annual inflationary increase. For further information on fees, scholarships and bursaries see www.shu.ac.uk/international/fees

Assessment

• coursework which extends work from taught sessions • individual and small group projects • presentations • preparation of teaching materials • short tests • examinations • professional development profile

Course enquiries

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Is teaching for you?

If you are interested in pursuing a career in teaching then you may like to register for one of our taster courses. We offer a combination of mini taster sessions which are open to all and a series of more in-depth programmes targeted towards particular groups.

Mini taster sessions
Mini taster sessions are designed to give you a flavour of what teacher training involves, giving you the opportunity to meet with course leaders and have your questions answered.

We are running a series of mini taster sessions in March 2012. Find out more or register for a session.

Train to teach development programme
We offer a series of programmes, session's and one to one support to provide you with a more in-depth view of the teaching profession and advise you on your own personalised journey to initial teacher training. These are

• black, minority and ethnic individuals – one day introductory course on 6 February 2012

• men into primary – three-day course (including one day within a school environment), which runs between 12-14 June (tbc)

• secondary priority courses – for people interested in teaching subjects such as maths, physics and chemistry, with courses running between 5-7 March

We also offer small group sessions and one-to-one's for those who do not fall into one of these categories.

Please contact m.greaves@shu.ac.uk to register your interest.

Hear from taster course participants

'I would most definitely recommend this course to other interested parties. I attended in order to decide whether I still thought teaching was for me, and without having the unique opportunity to spend a day in a school I think I still would have struggled with my decision.

'It didn't seem to matter whether you were on the fence about teaching – as I know one of the attendees later realised teaching wasn't for her,
but having access to valuable information regarding getting into teaching, speaking to those from the teaching profession and spending time in a school, were, for me most useful. Since the course I have been able to research the numerous routes into teaching and I have decided I would like to pursue a PGCE Primary.'
Sharner Lal, taster course attendee

'I really gained a lot from this course. I got first hand information about what it is all about being a teacher in UK. I must acknowledge that the organisers of this course did tremendously well it was really fantastic. I had a whole day experience in a school where I had the opportunity to be in two different class rooms. It was a wonderful experience to see how
teaching goes on, classroom management, the use of ICT facilities, and the role of teaching assistant.

'This actually boosted my enthusiasm to go out there and teach. I got more insight into a practical responsibility of a teacher and the positive relationship a teacher builds with pupils.'
Ebenezer F Pobee, taster course attendee

Lindsay Radford

BSc (Hons) Mathematics with Education and QTS, 2012 graduate

2012 graduate, Lindsay Radford, works as a secondary maths teacher at Aldercar Community Language College.

'I wanted to teach because my own GCSE Maths teacher was such an inspiration to me. He made the lessons interesting and made me believe in my own ability for the first time. This made me want to give pupils the same confidence and determination to succeed that I was given. I also think that education is very important and to be a part of shaping the future of young people is an honour.

'Going home after a day at work knowing that you have made a difference to the pupils and taught them something new is what makes teaching such a rewarding profession. No two days are the same and each one comes with its own challenges and surprises from the pupils, so there is never a dull moment! Being paid for a job that I get such satisfaction from is just a bonus. There are also so many opportunities and directions you can go within your teaching career. You could focus on the pastoral side of things or become a curriculum manager for example.

'I chose to study at Sheffield Hallam because of the excellent reputation it has for training teachers. Very few universities offer a course where you can gain QTS within 3 years without having to undertake a PGCE. This saves both time and money and enables you to gain experience in schools over an extended period which is good preparation for the final placement year.

'The staff in the mathematics education department go out of their way to be helpful and always make themselves available outside of the time in University. The course helps to prepare you for teaching from the very beginning by encouraging you to reflect on aspects of your own learning and applying this to what sort of a teacher you aspire to be.

'There are also short periods of time in schools during the first and second year as well as chances to participate in mathematics activity days when secondary schools visit the university. All of this helps build your confidence for the final placement year where you spend most of the year teaching in schools. I found this the most challenging part of the course but also the most rewarding and the best way to discover myself as a teacher.'

Sarah Oldman

BSc (Hons) Mathematics with Education and QTS, 2011 graduate

'I am currently in my second year (completed my NQT year last year) teaching at Alfreton Grange Arts College (secondary and 6th form school) in Alfreton Derbyshire.

'I specialise in mathematics and have been very fortunate to have been given A-level classes both last year and this. This opportunity is allowing me to specialise further and progress within Key Stage 5 (KS5) - which is one of my targets in my performance management.

'I chose to teach for two reasons. Firstly I love my subject - I have a passion for Maths and take a genuine interest in sharing this with others (the students!). Secondly I wanted a job where I could interact with people, not stuck in an office pushing buttons. Teaching is a very interactive profession and provides loads and loads of opportunities to develop academically, professionally and socially, for example, practising communication skills between students, colleagues, unions and parents/carers but to name a few.

'The one of benefits of teaching so far for me has been the job satisfaction! There are times when the work you have to do outside of school (in the evenings and at weekends) can become a little much, but on the whole it's totally worth it!

'The best part of the job for me is the contact time with the students - the teaching time. This is for a combination of reasons, I love the interaction with the students (they can be very entertaining!) and I enjoy my subject. I am a creative person and teaching allows you to be creative within the classroom in delivering lessons. There's nothing more satisfying than when an idea you've had pays off and students make good progress within lessons.

'I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the university course. I think the thing that made it particularly great was the teaching staff. The support that the tutors offered on the course was fantastic - they were always available either in person or by phone/email. The class size was significantly smaller than other courses which meant that there were very few 'lecture' type sessions - a lot of the course was delivered within a classroom situation. This allowed for a lot more discourse between both the tutors and fellow peers. I think everyone felt very supported and we became close as a group of students being able to help and support each other.'