Professional Development for Educators - MTL / MEL

The Professional Development for Educators course is designed to boost your professional learning in your school, college or place of work.

You’ll already be making your mark in the working world, but eager to put the polish on your qualifications.

What's covered in the course?

The really attractive aspect of this course is that it frees you up to gain a further qualification without giving up your job - that's because our course is delivered only in schools, academies or colleges on a part-time basis - so our highly experienced tutors bring their expertise to you.

This is a practice-based course designed to support your professional learning and development as a teacher. We only deliver this course in school, college or other educational settings to groups of teachers. Currently we work with over 500 teachers in 35 school-based groups across the West Midlands and further afield.

This course is personalised and linked to your workplace practice. You'll enjoy the flexibility to choose the areas of research and study on which you wish to concentrate as you move through the course. There is also an emphasis on online learning, so you will access this course in a blended delivery format. Our staff will support and guide you around module choices and research methodologies.

As a work-based course, it will focus on your day-to-day practice, whether you work in a school, academy, college or other educational setting, in whatever role. We value collaboration in the development of teachers and leaders to maximise your impact on the individual pupils, students or adult learners, or organisations and communities with which you work.

The course supports continuing professional development and is rooted in a concept of partnership, which incorporates professional respect and promotes learning at all levels. You’ll be involved in action research, class observation and textual analysis of policy documents and there is a strong emphasis on practice-led enquiry.

Through developing you as an educator or manager, our Professional Development for Educators will enable you to embrace change and successfully meet new challenges and opportunities in your professional practice. You'll build on your previous workplace learning and practice and be able to take increasing responsibility for your own development within a wider professional community.

Please note that completion of this course does not lead to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Why Choose Us?

• The MTL or MEL integrates seamlessly with your current job
• You could use evidence or credits from previous study (such as a PGCE) as accreditation towards your MTL/MEL through accreditation for previous credited learning (APCL)
• Your increasing knowledge of educational theory will help you to reflect critically and evaluate your practice
• The benefits of shared thinking through group sessions are balanced with a focus on individualised support to develop your own professional learning
• The programme reflects the current government's emphasis on practice in teacher education
• You’ll develop skills of enquiry and the use of evidence, in relation to the impact of professional practice on the outcomes for learners within the work context

UK students

How you'll learn

This programme is delivered to groups of teachers and/or managers within their own workplace, whether that is a school or college. Delivery is via a combination of face-to-face teaching, online blended learning and independent study.

Applicants may be eligible for accreditation of prior learning, either experiential or certified which can be discussed on an individual basis. As a result, there is no mandatory module apart from the Dissertation.

You'll be able to choose from a wide variety of modules focusing on key areas of interest for educators and educational managers. All the modules are linked to your personal, team and institutional development priorities. You'll have the opportunity to use your increased knowledge of educational theory and practice to complete your own research.

Research projects are agreed with and supported by your tutor. This allows you to focus developments that really matter to you, your learners, your colleagues and your community.

The outcomes of these projects are shared and submitted as assignments, with the intention that they support real understanding, change and improvement in your workplace practice.

Where possible, we encourage practitioners to work collaboratively on research projects, although assignment submissions are individually written-up.

Enhancing employability skills

Employability is enhanced through the MTL/MEL as Masters Level qualifications are valued across a range of professional settings including early years, education and social care. On a personal level, completion of this course supports you to develop the critical, reflective and reflexive perspectives that will enhance your confidence and agency when teaching and/or engaging in management and leadership.

Your MTL/MEL will enable you to:

• build on previous professional learning and workplace practice
• take increasing responsibility for your own professional development through personalised and collaborative learning that draws appropriately on agreed content areas and workplace priorities
• develop professional attributes, knowledge, skills and understanding together with practice-based enquiry skills in relation to the subject and phase taught or your leadership role
• develop skills of enquiry and the use of evidence, in relation to the impact of professional practice on the outcomes for learners within the work context
• be at the forefront of professional practice in a specialist field in a subject, phase or aspect of teaching and/or leadership and be able to demonstrate effectiveness in enabling learners to make good progress (MTL) or in a leadership role, enabling  individual and institutional progress (MEL)
• exhibit the characteristics of a confident and effective professional learner, able to stimulate and support a collaborative learning culture among immediate colleagues and within a wider professional community
• become a proactive member of a wider group of experts in the chosen specialism (MTL) or a leadership role (MEL)

Our Facilities

We are constantly investing in our estate and are currently in the process of spending £340 million on new learning facilities.

As part of these plans, the University's Education provision will join the rest of the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences at our City South Campus in Edgbaston during 2018.

This is the third phase of the University's project to move all teaching and learning to two campuses, City Centre and City South. By moving our Education provision, we are creating a hub for the provision of public service contracts and professional development at City South Campus and improving the student experience with a stronger sense of community and more consistent support services and facilities.

Campus

In addition to classrooms, a lecture theatre, social learning spaces, an open access IT suite and cafe facilities, the new £41 million extension to our City South Campus offers a range of specialist teaching and learning facilities for specific subjects including science, design and technology, drama and physical education.  

Departments

All our departmental facilities replicate the school learning environment.

• Art and Design
• Design and Technology
• History
• English
• Mathematics
• Religious Education
• Music
• Drama