Diploma Further Education and Skills

This introduction to learning and teaching in the Further Education and Skills (FES) sector will provide you with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours needed to begin teaching your specialist subject. You will be introduced to the roles and responsibilities of teaching and training in the FES sector.

Working with expert practitioners and colleagues, including specialist and pastoral mentors, you will investigate and apply features of effective, contemporary, and evidence-based approaches to learning, teaching, and assessment in your specialist subject.

In this module, there is a particular focus on establishing high expectations for all learners, including raising aspirations; teaching learners with special educational needs; teaching learners who are speakers of other languages; and supporting learners with potential barriers to learning.

You will use evidence-based approaches to learning, teaching, and assessment, and make adaptations that enable you to stretch and support learners in safe, high-quality, and inclusive learning environments.

Continual practitioner action research is an essential element of developing your professional practice and becoming an effective practitioner. In this module, you will engage in this process by proposing an action research project, working with colleagues and external stakeholders to improve learner outcomes.

You will develop key research skills, including identifying a relevant research issue, analysing current literature, and evaluating research methodologies to determine the most effective approach for your context.

In this final module, you will consider curriculum design, quality assurance and continuous improvement, the impact of educational policy, and the influence of wider themes and drivers in the sector, such as sustainability and the increasing use of AI and VR, on your professional practice. 

You will carry out the action research project proposed in The Reflective Teacher and have the opportunity to refine your communication skills as you share your findings with peers and other stakeholders.