Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills) / DET Wider Professional Practice and Development Syllabus

Wider Professional Practice and Development syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Wider Professional Practice and Development in Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills) / DET, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   The Education and Training Context

   3 topics

   • Structure and funding of the FE and skills sector
     • Key bodies: ETF, Ofqual, Ofsted, awarding organisations
     • Funding, accountability and policy influences
   • Professionalism and dual professionalism
     • Subject expertise alongside pedagogical expertise
     • Maintaining vocational and occupational currency
   • Quality improvement and self-assessment
     • Self-Assessment Reports and Quality Improvement Plans
     • Responding to inspection and external review
2. 2

   Reflective Practice and Continuing Professional Development

   3 topics

   • Models of reflection
     • Schön: reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action
     • Gibbs' reflective cycle and Brookfield's lenses
   • Planning and undertaking CPD
     • Identifying development needs from feedback and self-review
     • Maintaining a CPD record and personal development plan
   • Action research and evidence-informed practice
     • Small-scale practitioner enquiry
     • Using evidence to improve teaching and learning
3. 3

   Teaching Practice and Professional Evidence

   3 topics

   • Minimum teaching practice requirements
     • Meeting the 100-hour teaching practice requirement
     • Building a portfolio of practice evidence
   • Observation of teaching and learning
     • Observed and assessed practice; graded criteria
     • Acting on observation feedback to improve
   • Mentoring, coaching and peer support
     • Working effectively with a subject and practice mentor
     • Peer observation and collaborative development

Wider Professional Practice and Development flashcards for Diploma in Teaching (Further Education and Skills) / DET

24 of 50 cards from the Wider Professional Practice and Development deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What does FE stand for in the context of the UK post-16 education system?

   Further Education — education and training for learners aged 14+ (mainly post-16) that sits outside higher education, delivered in colleges, training providers and community settings.

2. Name the main types of provider that make up the FE and skills sector in England.

   General FE colleges, sixth-form colleges, independent training providers (ITPs), adult and community learning providers, specialist/land-based colleges, offender-learning providers, and employer-based/apprenticeship providers.

3. Which government department has overall policy responsibility for the FE and skills sector in England?

   The Department for Education (DfE).

4. What is the role of the ESFA in the FE and skills sector?

   The Education and Skills Funding Agency administers and distributes government funding to colleges and training providers, and oversees financial assurance and accountability.

5. List the main funding streams for the FE and skills sector.

   The Adult Education Budget (AEB), 16–19 (study programme) funding, the Apprenticeship Levy/apprenticeship funding, Advanced Learner Loans, and Higher Technical/HE funding.

6. What is the Apprenticeship Levy and which employers pay it?

   A 0.5% payroll tax paid by UK employers with an annual pay bill over £3 million, used to fund apprenticeship training; levy-paying employers access funds via a digital apprenticeship service account.

7. Which body is responsible for inspecting the quality of FE and skills provision in England?

   Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills).

8. What does dual professionalism mean for an FE teacher?

   Holding and maintaining expertise in two domains simultaneously: subject/vocational/occupational expertise and pedagogical (teaching and learning) expertise.

9. Define 'professionalism' as applied to teaching in the FE sector.

   A commitment to high standards of practice, ethical conduct, autonomy, accountability, ongoing professional learning, and adherence to the values and standards of the teaching profession.

10. Which body owns the Professional Standards for FE teachers and trainers in England, and how many standards are there?

    The Education and Training Foundation (ETF); the 2022 Professional Standards comprise 20 standards grouped into three domains.

11. What are the three domains of the ETF Professional Standards for teachers and trainers?

    Professional values and attributes; Professional knowledge and understanding; Professional skills.

12. What professional status can FE teachers gain through the Society for Education and Training, and what designations follow it?

    Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status, achieved via Professional Formation; holders use the designations 'QTLS' and can become Chartered/Fellow members of SET.

13. Define quality improvement in the FE context.

    A continuous, systematic process of evaluating provision against standards, identifying strengths and areas for development, and taking planned action to raise the quality of teaching, learning and outcomes.

14. What is self-assessment in FE, and what document is its main output?

    A provider's honest, evidence-based evaluation of its own performance against quality criteria; its main output is the Self-Assessment Report (SAR).

15. What is a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) and how does it relate to the SAR?

    An action plan derived from the SAR that sets out specific actions, responsibilities, timescales and success measures to address the weaknesses and development areas identified in the self-assessment.

16. Name the four-step continuous improvement cycle commonly used in FE quality processes (the Deming cycle).

    Plan – Do – Check – Act (PDCA), also known as the Deming or Shewhart cycle.

17. Distinguish internal quality assurance from external quality assurance in FE.

    Internal QA is the provider's own monitoring (e.g. observations, IQA of assessment, SAR); external QA is verification by outside bodies (e.g. awarding organisation EQA, Ofsted inspection).

18. What is the difference between reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action (Schön)?

    Reflection-in-action is thinking and adjusting practice while teaching (in the moment); reflection-on-action is reviewing and analysing the experience after the event.

19. List the stages of Gibbs' Reflective Cycle (1988) in order.

    Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, Action Plan.

20. State the four stages of Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle.

    Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualisation, Active Experimentation.

21. What three questions form the core of Borton's (1970) reflective model (later developed by Rolfe et al.)?

    What? (description), So what? (analysis/meaning), Now what? (action/implications for future practice).

22. Who developed the concept of the 'reflective practitioner', and in which key work?

    Donald Schön, in 'The Reflective Practitioner' (1983).

23. What is single-loop versus double-loop learning (Argyris and Schön)?

    Single-loop learning corrects actions within existing assumptions; double-loop learning questions and changes the underlying assumptions, values and goals themselves.

24. What does CPD stand for, and how is it defined?

    Continuing Professional Development — the ongoing maintenance and enhancement of a practitioner's knowledge, skills and competence throughout their career.

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