Secondary school teachers of the future will soon find it a lot easier to take their first step towards a new career thanks to an online training initiative created by the University of Plymouth and education communications experts, Twofour Learning.

The pilot, virtual teaching taster course is aimed at people thinking of a career as secondary school maths teachers.

The idea is that, the University of Plymouth would offer an alternative to the current three-day sessions, which help prospective students to get a feel for teacher training before they sign up for a course.

In the existing taster courses funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), prospective teachers spend two days at a teacher training provider and the third day in a school.

Twofour Learning uses new media technology to create unique learning resources specifically for the education sector:  ‘We are committed to applying the principles of convergent media to create new and engaging learning environments and to make learning accessible for all,’ said Head of Twofour Learning, Richard Wallis.  ‘By creating an experience which gives potential trainee teachers a chance to experience school life on line, we hope to fire them up to apply to join a profession where media is increasingly influencing and changing the way school children communicate.’

In the pilot course, although prospective teachers would still spend one day at a school to get a real taste of life in the teaching profession, they would spend the rest of their time working through material online and getting feedback and support from university tutors and other participants.
The virtual pilot has been funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools, as part of a campaign to increase the recruitment of secondary school maths teachers.

Content for the course has been provided by the University of Plymouth, with the immersive learning environment created by Twofour.

“A lot of people have family or work commitments or may live in a remote area and so can’t do a three-day course. We’ve tried to make the virtual taster course as interactive and flexible as possible so that people can do it in their own time and their own home and still have contact with tutors and other prospective students,” said Professor Linda la Velle, from the University of Plymouth’s Faculty of Education.

The scheme will be piloted with five schools across the South West and 20 prospective students.  If successful, it could be rolled out nationally and be extended to other subjects.

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