STRUCTURE OF PGDE PROGRAMME

Core Courses & Prescribed Electives

The main areas of study for the PGDE programme are classified under core courses and prescribed electives:

Core Courses :

Compulsory courses that must be passed to fulfill programme requirements;
Prescribed Electives :

Electives that form a certain field of specialisation in a particular subject. They add to the depth and/or breadth of knowledge and skills to be acquired by student teachers.

 

Each course is assigned academic units (AUs). Minimum AU requirements for completing the PGDE programme are shown in Table 1 below:

Table 1 : A Summary of the Academic Unit Requirements for the PGDE Programme

 

Programme

Specialisation Section

Year of Study

Core Courses,  Prescribed Electives & Practicum

Total

PGDE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching General Subjects at Primary Level

1

44

44

Teaching of CL/ML/TL at Primary Level

1

40

40

Teaching General Subjects at Secondary Level

1

40

40

Teaching of CL at Secondary Level

1

42

42

Teaching of ML/TL at Secondary Level

1

42

42

Teaching of Physical Education at Secondary Level

1

2

35

32

 

 

67

 

Contents of Programme

The Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme comprises four main components of study:

(a)    Education Studies
(b)    Curriculum Studies
(c)    Practicum
(d)    Language Enhancement and Academic Discourse Skills (LEADS)
 

Student teachers in the PGDE Secondary programme - Physical Education are required to offer a fifth component of Academic Subject.

Education Studies

Student teachers will learn the key concepts and principles of education that are necessary for effective teaching and reflective practice in schools. They will also have the opportunity for in-depth study of some significant aspects of education.

Curriculum Studies

Student teachers will specialise in the methodology for teaching at either the primary or secondary school level. These are designed to give student teachers the pedagogical skills in teaching specific subjects in Singapore schools.

PGDE (Primary)

There are three options in the PGDE (General, Primary) programme.  Student teachers opting for Option A will offer two Curriculum Studies areas and Subject Knowledge courses aligned to the two Curriculum Studies areas.  Those opting for Option B will offer Curriculum Studies areas in English Language and Mathematics as well as lower primary integrated courses. Those opting for Option C will offer three Curriculum Studies areas.

The following are PGDE (Primary) Curriculum Studies subjects:

The Teaching of Art
The Teaching of English Language
The Teaching of Mathematics
The Teaching of Music
The Teaching of Social Studies
The Teaching of Science

Those specialising in Teaching Chinese, Malay or Tamil Language at the Primary level have the following Curriculum Studies subjects:

CS1: The Teaching of Chinese/Malay/Tamil Language
CS2: The Teaching of Moral Education (Chinese/Malay/Tamil)

PGDE (Secondary)

PGDE (Secondary) student teachers will specialise in the methodology for teaching two subjects at secondary school level.

Those specialising in Teaching Chinese, Malay or Tamil Language at the Secondary level will offer the following Curriculum Studies subjects:

        CS1: The Teaching of Chinese/Malay/Tamil Language
        CS2: The Teaching of Chinese/Malay/Tamil Literature

PGDE (Secondary) Physical Education student teachers who are specialising in Teaching of Physical Education will take Curriculum Studies in Physical Education as their CS1 throughout two-year programme. In Year 2, they will offer another Curriculum Studies subject as their CS2.

Academic Subject

Student teachers who specialise in the Teaching of Physical Education will be required to read one Academic Subject which will be Physical Education.

Subject Knowledge

This group of courses helps to strengthen and reinforce the subject knowledge of the student teachers in the content for upper primary school teaching.

Practicum

This group of courses is compulsory and is to be taken by all student teachers.

Language Enhancement & Academic Discourse Skills (LEADS)

This component is aimed at improving the use of oral and written language in teaching.