Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Curriculum, Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy Syllabus

What is a 'knowledge organiser'?

A single-page document that sets out the essential facts, vocabulary, definitions and concepts pupils must learn for a unit or topic, used to support teaching, low-stakes retrieval practice and revision.

What is 'curriculum mapping'?

The process of planning and documenting what is taught across years and subjects - showing the sequence, coverage and links of knowledge and skills - to ensure progression, avoid gaps and unnecessary repetition, and reveal cross-curricular connections.

What does the term 'pedagogical content knowledge' (PCK) mean and who coined it?

Coined by Lee Shulman (1986), PCK is the special blend of subject (content) knowledge and pedagogy - knowing how to make a particular subject comprehensible to learners, including the most useful representations, analogies and ways to address difficulties.

According to Shulman, name three categories of teacher knowledge.

Among Shulman's categories are: content (subject matter) knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and general pedagogical knowledge; he also identified curriculum knowledge, knowledge of learners, of educational contexts, and of educational aims.

Why are subject-specific representations, analogies and models important in teaching?

They make abstract or unfamiliar subject content accessible by connecting it to pupils' existing understanding; they are a core element of pedagogical content knowledge and help build accurate mental models.

What is a 'misconception' in subject teaching, and why must teachers anticipate them?

A misconception is a pupil's incorrect understanding or belief about a concept (e.g. 'heavier objects fall faster'). Teachers must anticipate common misconceptions because they can be deeply held, interfere with new learning, and need to be explicitly drawn out and challenged.

Give a strategy for addressing a pupil misconception rather than simply restating the correct fact.

Use diagnostic questioning to expose the misconception, create cognitive conflict (e.g. a demonstration that contradicts it), then guide pupils to construct and rehearse the correct understanding, checking it has replaced the false idea.

Define 'disciplinary literacy'.

The recognition that each subject (discipline) has its own distinctive ways of reading, writing, speaking and using vocabulary; teaching disciplinary literacy means showing pupils how to read, write and communicate like a historian, scientist, mathematician, etc.

Distinguish Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary (Beck et al.).

Tier 1 = everyday words known to most pupils (e.g. 'walk'). Tier 2 = high-utility academic words used across subjects (e.g. 'analyse', 'significant'). Tier 3 = subject-specific technical terms (e.g. 'photosynthesis', 'isotope').

What is the role of a subject mentor during teacher training (PGCE/ITT)?

A subject mentor is an experienced teacher who supports the trainee's development in a specific subject - modelling practice, observing and giving feedback, helping plan lessons, and deepening the trainee's subject and pedagogical content knowledge.

What is a 'subject association' and how does it support teachers?

A professional body for a specific subject (e.g. the Association for Science Education, the Historical Association, the Geographical Association) that provides subject-specific resources, curriculum guidance, research, journals and continuing professional development.

What is 'systematic synthetic phonics' (SSP)?

The DfE-mandated approach to early reading in which children are taught letter-sound correspondences (graphemes to phonemes) in a clearly defined, incremental sequence, and learn to blend sounds to read and segment sounds to spell.

In phonics, define 'phoneme', 'grapheme' and 'grapheme-phoneme correspondence (GPC)'.

A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in speech; a grapheme is the written letter or letters representing a phoneme; a grapheme-phoneme correspondence is the link between a written grapheme and the sound it represents.

In phonics, distinguish 'blending' from 'segmenting'.

Blending is merging individual phonemes together to read a word (c-a-t to 'cat') and is the skill for reading. Segmenting is breaking a spoken word into its component phonemes (cat to c-a-t) and is the skill for spelling.

What is the Phonics Screening Check, when is it taken, and what does it assess?

A statutory national assessment taken by pupils in Year 1 (and re-taken in Year 2 by those who do not meet the standard). It checks pupils' phonic decoding by asking them to read 40 words, including both real words and pseudo (nonsense) words.

Why does the Phonics Screening Check include pseudo-words (nonsense words)?

Because nonsense words cannot be recognised from memory or sight, so reading them correctly demonstrates that a pupil is genuinely decoding using phonic knowledge rather than relying on a learned vocabulary.

What has been the typical 'expected standard' (pass mark) on the Phonics Screening Check?

32 out of 40, the threshold a pupil must reach to be recorded as meeting the expected standard in phonic decoding.

Why is 'reading for pleasure' emphasised in the curriculum, and what does evidence suggest about its impact?

Reading for pleasure is promoted because research (e.g. OECD/PISA) links it to improved reading attainment, wider vocabulary, general knowledge and writing ability - associations that can be stronger than family socio-economic background.

Distinguish 'decoding' from 'comprehension' in reading, with reference to the Simple View of Reading.

Decoding is the ability to translate print into spoken words; comprehension is understanding the meaning of language. The Simple View of Reading (Gough and Tunmer) holds that Reading Comprehension = Word Recognition (decoding) x Language Comprehension - both are necessary.

State the Simple View of Reading as a formula.

$$\text{Reading Comprehension} = \text{Decoding} \times \text{Language Comprehension}$$ If either factor is zero, reading comprehension is zero.

What is 'number sense' in early mathematics?

A child's fluid, flexible understanding of numbers and their relationships - including counting, comparing magnitudes, subitising, part-whole relationships and place value - that underpins later arithmetic.

Define 'subitising' and distinguish its two forms.

Subitising is recognising the number of objects in a small group without counting. Perceptual subitising is instantly recognising small quantities (up to about 5); conceptual subitising is seeing a larger quantity as combinations of smaller groups (e.g. seeing 6 as two groups of 3).

State the five counting principles (Gelman and Gallistel) underpinning early number.

(1) One-to-one correspondence, (2) stable order (number names in a fixed sequence), (3) cardinality (the last number counted gives the total), (4) abstraction (any objects can be counted), and (5) order-irrelevance (the order of counting items does not change the total).

What is 'cardinality' and how does it differ from 'ordinality'?

Cardinality is understanding that the last number reached when counting represents the total quantity of the set. Ordinality concerns the position of a number in a sequence (first, second, third), i.e. order and relative position.

What is the concrete-pictorial-abstract (CPA) approach in early mathematics?

A sequence (associated with Bruner) for teaching maths concepts: first using physical objects (concrete), then representing them with pictures or diagrams (pictorial), and finally with symbols and numerals (abstract), building secure understanding before formal notation.

In curriculum design, what is a 'programme of study'?

The statutory content set out in the National Curriculum for each subject and key stage, specifying the matters, skills and processes pupils should be taught; maintained schools must teach these programmes of study.

What is meant by a curriculum being 'broad and balanced', and who must provide one?

A broad and balanced curriculum promotes pupils' spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development and prepares them for the opportunities and responsibilities of later life. All state-funded schools, including academies, must legally provide one.

Why is retrieval practice (e.g. low-stakes quizzing) linked to curriculum sequencing and spacing?

Retrieval practice strengthens long-term memory through the 'testing effect'; when combined with spacing (retrieving previously taught content after a delay), it consolidates earlier knowledge and supports the cumulative sequencing of new learning onto secure foundations.

What is 'phonological awareness' and how does it relate to phonics?

Phonological awareness is the broad ability to hear and manipulate the sound structure of spoken language (syllables, rhymes, phonemes) without reference to print. It is a precursor and complement to phonics, which connects those sounds to written graphemes.

Why is securing fluent decoding a curriculum priority before emphasising comprehension strategies in early reading?

Because effortful, slow decoding consumes working memory; once decoding becomes automatic, cognitive resources are freed for comprehension. Hence early reading curricula prioritise fluent phonic decoding so that meaning-making can flourish.