Module Catalogue 2024/25

EDU2005 : Representations and Images of Teaching in Literature, Film and Television (Inactive)

EDU2005 : Representations and Images of Teaching in Literature, Film and Television (Inactive)

  • Inactive for Year: 2024/25
  • Module Leader(s): Mr Karl Cain
  • Owning School: Education, Communication & Language Sci
  • Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Semester 1 Credit Value: 10
Semester 2 Credit Value: 10
ECTS Credits: 10.0
European Credit Transfer System
Pre-requisite

Modules you must have done previously to study this module

Pre Requisite Comment

None

Co-Requisite

Modules you need to take at the same time

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module aims to develop students' knowledge and understanding of:

• how representations of the fictional or semi-fictional school teacher in different media forms constitute a distinct;
genre with its own defining conventions and characteristics;
• the historical evolution of the fictional school teacher genre since the nineteenth century;
• how particular modes of characterisation and narrative structure, as well as literary and cinematic techniques;
shape the representation of the fictional school teacher in different media forms and texts;
• how the representation of the school teacher reflects, is shaped by and can be understood in terms of, particular discourses about teachers, schools and Headteachers in their historical and cultural context;
• how the media representation of the fictional school teacher contributes to the construction of the social, professional and cultural identities of the school teacher and how some texts have challenged these identities;
• how particular beliefs and values in relation to social class, gender and children / childhood play a key role in determining the representation of the fictional school teacher in different media forms.

Outline Of Syllabus

This module aims to equip students with a knowledge and understanding of how school teachers have been represented in popular culture since the 19th century in a range of fictional media forms and texts: and how this representation reflects and is shaped by particular discourses and ideologies. Fictional media representations of school and schooling constitute a distinct genre with its own defining characteristics and conventions. From the genre’s ‘formative’ stage in the nineteenth century novels of Dickens, Bronte and Hughes, through to twentieth-first century cinematic and television representations, the image of the fictional school teacher has developed alongside the idea of teaching as a profession, educational reform and contemporary context. What has characterised the fictional representation across all the media forms of the ‘school’ genre since its formative stage has been the degree of consistency in relation to a particular discourse about ‘good’ teachers, schools and Head Teachers reflecting dominant ideologies in relation to social class, gender and children / childhood.

So how have these different media forms portrayed the school teacher? What are the defining characteristics of the genre? What were the prototypical characters and plots and how have these developed? What has shaped these particular representations over time? What have been the continuities and discontinuities? What is the nature of the prevailing discourse and its underlying ideologies? Such questions form the core of this module.

This module will appeal to those interested in representation and the construction of knowledge and identities in popular culture. No previous knowledge of historical, narrative, film or television analysis is required.

Learning Outcomes

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

• A knowledge and understanding of how teachers and teaching have been represented in a range of media forms since the
19th century in Britain and the United States.(A2; A3; C6)
• An appreciation of the complexity of the term, ‘culture’ and an understanding of how it has developed in relation to
perceptions and conceptions of teachers, teaching and schooling. (A2; A3)
• An understanding of the relationship between discourse, culture and identity of the teacher.(A4)

Intended Skill Outcomes

• An ability to analyse a range of written and visual texts for the images of teachers and teaching they portray as
well as the possible underlying views of teachers, teaching and schooling they may represent. (B1; B2; C6)
• Be able to critically evaluate arguments and evidence from a range of primary and secondary sources in both written
and visual forms. (B4; C5; C8; D1; D5)
• Be able to work with others in group situations and articulate ideas and arguments to an audience in seminars and
during presentations. (C4; D2; D4; D6; D7)

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities
Category Activity Number Length Student Hours Comment
Guided Independent StudyAssessment preparation and completion352:0070:00In class test preparation and essay writing
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesLecture181:0018:00N/A
Scheduled Learning And Teaching ActivitiesSmall group teaching181:0018:00Seminars
Guided Independent StudyStudent-led group activity101:0010:00Oral presentation and preparation meetings
Guided Independent StudyIndependent study841:0084:00Essential reading and consideration of responses to questions shared before seminars.
Total200:00
Teaching Rationale And Relationship

This module aims to help students develop their understanding of how teachers and teaching have been portrayed in different media forms since the 19th century. Lectures set the media and historical contexts in which representative texts will be illustrated and analysed to explore the images of teachers and teaching portrayed in order to identify particular discourses and ideologies. During each lecture there will be opportunities for students to work in small groups to discuss and compare the meaning of these representations, particularly in relation to contemporary understandings, attitudes and concerns about teachers and teaching. This is further extended by the student-led seminar sessions which are intended to reinforce and assess key skills and knowledge outcomes listed above.

Reading Lists

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Exams
Description Length Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Written Examination602A30In house test
Other Assessment
Description Semester When Set Percentage Comment
Essay2M703,000 words
Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Formative assessment of students’ progress will occur throughout the seminars as well as more formally through the individual and group feedback provided consequent to the 'mock' In class test undertaken in the first semester.

To apply knowledge and understanding of relevant approaches and written and visual texts in order to identify, explain and compare contemporary and historical representations and images of teachers and teaching, particularly in relation to culture and identity. This will form the discipline content for the 'In-house class test' after the teaching in Semester 1.

Students will be actively involved in sustained opportunities to develop their research, oral and written communication/ presentation skills. This will provide essential preparation for the assessed essay, which is to be submitted after the teaching in Semester 2.

Timetable

Past Exam Papers

General Notes

Original Handbook text:

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