Category: Professional Learning

ADDITIONAL TEACHING QUALIFICATION UHI

Additional Teaching Qualification (ATQ) in Computing Studies (2023) at the University of the Highlands and Islands

The Additional Teaching Qualification (ATQ) in Computing Studies aims to develop the skills and knowledge required to enable qualified secondary teachers to deliver the Computing curriculum in addition to their main subject.

The course comprises four modules*, designed to build competency in delivering the school computing curriculum from National 4 to Advanced Higher:

• Website design and development;

• Database design and development;

• Software design and development;

• Computer systems.

Each module will be delivered and assessed at SCQF level 8, and carry 20 SCQF credit points.

Working, learning and collaborating with a group of fellow teaching professionals provides a great opportunity to share experience and develop an ongoing support network. You will also be mentored by current computer studies teachers. Although the focus of the course will be on computing skills, you will be encouraged to explore teaching methodologies and to develop and share learning activities, resources and ideas to put these into practice.

On completion of the award, you will be required to undertake some supervised teaching in a school before full dual qualification will be recognised by GTCS. Support from your local Council and your school will need to be in place to ensure your GTCS recognition.

* To complete registration for computing studies as a second subject you will be required to apply to the GTCS. You will then be asked to complete a specified number of days of teaching Computing Studies in school to complete full registration.

Entry Requirements

Applicants must be a GTCS registered secondary teacher. You will require the support of your school, particularly in relation to teaching time allocated to this subject to allow you to meet GTCS requirements for registration as a dual qualified teacher.

Fee: £215 per module

The programme leader, Gordon Macpherson, can be contacted on email with this link: gordon.macpherson.ic@uhi.ac.uk

Course Structure

Each of the four modules will focus on a specific area of the Computing Studies curriculum, introducing the skills, knowledge and understanding assessed at National 5 and Higher:

  • Website design and development will develop knowledge, understanding and problem-solving skills related to modern web design and development. You will learn best practice techniques when building websites using HTML, CSS and JavaScript and explore how web development projects are planned, implemented and distributed.
  • Database design and development will develop knowledge and understanding of the design and implementation of relational database management systems. Databases underpin most modern software products and systems, along with recent developments like machine learning, data science and artificial intelligence. You will learn how to create, modify and interact with common databases found in industry.
  • Software design and development will develop knowledge, understanding and problem-solving skills related to modern software development. You will learn best practice techniques when building software using a relevant programming language. The Agile development process will be explored, looking at how projects are planned, implemented and delivered. You will be able to describe the appropriate use of common data structures and implement algorithms to search and sort data.
  • Computer systems will cover the fundamentals of computer systems and how hardware and software elements interact. Subjects covered will include data representation and number systems, computer structure, environmental impact of such things as intelligent systems, robotics, cyber security and professional issues.

* To complete registration for computing studies as a second subject you will be required to apply to the GTCS. You will then be asked to complete a specified number of days of teaching Computing Studies in school to complete full registration.

 

Course Delivery

The course will be delivered online, via the university’s virtual learning environment (VLE), over 4 semesters, commencing January 2023.

The VLE allows you to access course materials and take part in online discussion at a time to suit your individual circumstances. You will also participate in scheduled tutor-led activities and discussions, facilitated synchronously through virtual classroom technology. You will need admin rights access to a computer in order to install software and carry out coursework, together with broadband to access the VLE.

Note: you may not be able to rely on resources provided by or within your school.

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CYBER SECURITY CLPL UHI
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ADDITIONAL TEACHING QUALIFICATION UHI
Additional Teaching Qualification (ATQ) in Computing Studies (2023) at the University of the Highlands and Islands

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COMPUTING STUDIES CLPL UHI
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COMPUTING STUDIES CLPL UHI

The CPD Award in Computing Studies for Teachers (2023) at The University of the Highlands and Islands

The CPD award in Computing Studies for teachers was created for primary teachers and secondary teachers for 1st and 2nd year pupils to give the confidence and skills to teach computing to pupils. More than 50% of our current cohort are primary school teachers. The course is open to any teacher with the relevant entry qualifications (degree and existing teaching qualification) who have an interest in computing or cyber security.

There is normally a weekly lecture and support session that lasts for approx. an hour, or more if required, with further e mail support available. The sessions are certainly beneficial as they allow you to ask questions there and then.

However, the course is designed to be taught when is convenient for all the students and all lectures and tutorial session are recorded for viewing at your leisure.

There is only one module delivered each semester with no time off required during the school day. The lectures are recorded for students unable to attend in person. All activity is carried out online the majority of which happens asynchronously. The modules have a notional 200 hours per module over the semester. It would depend on your previous experience on whether you needed all that time. If you were able to set aside a day at the weekend or a couple of evenings for study, you would not be far off what is required for achieving the award.

The course will be starting either week beginning 23rd January 2023 or 4th September 2023 dependant on applications, with the next module being the Database and Computer Systems module which will be delivered over 14 weeks.

You can apply to join the course with this link or searching for the Computing Studies for Teachers CPD award at https://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/ under courses.

The price is £215 per module, and this can be paid on a module-by-module basis. As the modules are 20 credits each if you were to do two in an academic year you may be eligible for SAAS funding. It is suggested contacting SAAS directly if you are planning to start next semester and confirm whether you would be eligible for funding.

The course does not carry any GTCS accreditation.

The programme leader, Gordon Macpherson, can be contacted on email with this link: gordon.macpherson.ic@uhi.ac.uk

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ADDITIONAL TEACHING QUALIFICATION UHI
Additional Teaching Qualification (ATQ) in Computing Studies (2023) at the University of the Highlands and Islands

The Additional Teaching Qualification (ATQ) in Computing Studies aims to develop the skills and knowledge required to enable qualified secondary teachers to deliver the Computing curriculum in addition to their main subject. The course comprises four modules*, designed to build competency in delivering the school computing curriculum from National 4… Read more

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Coding Success

Coding Success programme launched

Coding Success is a new programme designed to excite 8 –
14 year olds about STEM, providing teachers with engaging
curriculum linked lesson plans and free LEGO® Education
SPIKE™ Prime kits for your classroom.
Fully funded by BAE Systems, the Royal Navy and the Royal
Air Force, Coding Success offers 600 non-selective state
schools the opportunity to take part – fuelling the passion of
young people and encouraging the next generation of
scientists, engineers and technicians.
The programme is linked to the national curricula in England,
Wales and Scotland, delivering the requirements that all
children can program. Developed in partnership with The
Smallpeice Trust and Raising Robots, Coding Success brings
together teacher training with LEGO® Education to inspire
the next generation around STEM.

Key benefits

• Attend CPD sessions with qualified teachers who are LEGO® Education Academy
Certified Trainers
• Receive two LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime kits for your school to keep
• Six lessons’ worth of coding activities, with videos, resources and more
• Fully funded by BAE Systems, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force
• Learn new coding languages in the classroom
• Optional extension activities with Python to further challenge your students

Apply now

With 300 primary and 300 secondary school places available, places will be allocated on a first
come first served basis against criteria to help ensure a good regional spread and encourage
participation from a wide range of students. Participating schools will need to attend online
training, deliver six lessons to 60 students and complete programme evaluations.
Applications open on Monday 26th April and will close on Friday 28th May 2021.

Please visit www.codingsuccess.co.uk for further information.

COMPUTING SCIENCE GENDER BALANCE LESSON PLANS

Computing Science Gender Balance Lesson Plans

Research tells us that more boys achieve computing qualifications than girls. There can be many reasons for this and in order to help you mitigate some of these gender imbalances we have curated this folder of lesson plans and resources to support them. They have been curated to help you ensure your Computing Science lessons are as accessible and engaging to learners regardless of their gender.

Find out more abour Improving Gender Balance support here.

TEACHERS’ REFLECTIONS ON ADDITIONAL TEACHING QUALIFICATION IN COMPUTING

Jonathan Henderson, Lasswade Primary School, Midlothian, @MrHenderson321
Emma Hedges, Victoria Primary School, Falkirk, @MissHedgesVPS

We are delighted to be part of the first cohort of a new program of CLPL aimed at up-levelling primary teachers’ skills in delivering the Technologies curriculum. This online program leverages some of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI)’s existing courses for cross-qualifying existing secondary teachers into Computer Science but provides primary teachers with the expertise necessary to deliver the computing curriculum up to SCQF Level 3. This course has been designed and supported by the British Computer Society, Microsoft, Education Scotland and the Scottish Government.

Currently, we are in Week 4 of the first 12 week module on Databases and Computer Systems, with a second module planned to start in September which will focus on Coding and Web Technologies. So far we have learned about Software, Hardware, Numbering Systems and Logic Gates, and we will soon be moving onto learning about databases and SQL. The work for each week is split up into sections which has contributed to making the course manageable to fit in around a full time teaching job. Each week has involved gaining new knowledge via videos and Sways. There have also been interactive elements such as mini quizzes and using what we have learned to complete tasks such as calculations involving binary numbers. There has been a feeling of satisfaction when we have been able to use our new found knowledge, or from learning from our mistakes, to complete these tasks.

We have also been given the opportunity to complete an additional entry-level Cisco course about Linux which many participants have signed up to complete.

So far, it has been fascinating to go further into subjects which are beyond the normal scope of the primary curriculum and refresh and update our understanding of computing. Through being provided with this opportunity we are once again in the role of the learner. This has been an interesting experience and has made us consider the different ways in which we can share what we are learning to the wide range of needs of our learners, as well as with our colleagues.

We are also enjoying the opportunity to network with colleagues from across Scotland as well as across primary and secondary education. It has been interesting to learn about the different backgrounds of our colleagues who are also enrolled on the course and to be able to interact with them online either on the UHI learning space or on Twitter. With the submission date of our first assessment approaching, we’re very much focussed on doing our best in order to get the most out of the course both for ourselves and for our pupils.

Find out more about the qualification here

IMPROVING GENDER BALANCE AND EQUALITIES IN COMPUTING SCIENCE

Computing Science (CS) is a creative, enjoyable and exciting part of our curriculum. All learners can enjoy the challenge of solving problems with coding, developing their understanding of how systems work or discovering how the world uses the vast amounts of data we now generate digitally. That’s why we have compiled these resources to help you ensure every child can engage with CS.

IGBE POSTS

GENDER BALANCE IN COMPUTING