The Diploma in Teaching: the qualification and text book
By Ann Gravells & Gavin Lumsden
The qualification
The Diploma in Teaching (DiT) replaced the Diploma in Education and Training (DET) from 01 September 2024. It’s offered by several awarding organisations (AO) via colleges and training providers at level 5, and by universities and higher education institutions (HEI) and their college partners at levels 5, 6 and 7. The amount and level of study and research required for levels 6 and 7, and the difficulty and complexity of the assessment activities, will differ from that at level 5.
The qualification can be offered in different ways, for example, one year full-time, two years part-time, in-person, online, or a blended learning approach. A holistic approach should be taken to the delivery and assessment of the content, and therefore aspects of several units or areas could be covered at the same time.
It includes 250 hours on placement (150 teaching hours with age 14+ [a minimum of 100 hours should be in a specialist subject]) and 100 hours in other duties e.g. meetings/continuing professional development/observing others (20 of these hours should be at a second location from the normal teaching practice).
Differences between the Diploma in Education and Training (DET) and the new Diploma in Teaching (DiT)
The principles of teaching remain the same. However, emerging ideas and contemporary theories, along with innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the use of technology have been included. Education for sustainability is an area which is included, as is more emphasis on subject specialist teaching (referred to as pedagogy within the qualification). The DiT does not contain the minimum core which the DET did.
The structure of the qualification (e.g. units, learning outcomes and assessment criteria) is based on a framework and qualification specifications differ depending upon which AO or HEI is used to register trainee teachers. The content is therefore not nationalised like the DET was.
The content of the qualification is based on the Occupational Standards (OS) from the Learning and Skills Teacher Apprenticeship (LST). All the Standards must be met by trainee teachers for them to be successful at achieving the DiT qualification. The DET was not based on a set of standards.
Context
A group of employer representatives from across the FE sector developed the LST Occupational Standard, which was approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). The standard specifies the expectations of a competent practitioner in the sector.
The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned The Education and Training Foundation (ETF) to produce the updated framework that enables trainee teachers to reach the standards of occupational competence set out in the LST Standard.
It is therefore now possible to match the content and structure of FE initial teacher education (ITE) qualifications to what employers have said they want from successful trainee teachers. This also allows training programmes and qualifications to be mapped to the Occupational Standard. Trainee teachers can take the qualification route or an apprenticeship route to becoming a qualified teacher.
You can find out more here.
Text book
Ann and Gavin have co-written a text book to support the qualification. This book will be the starting point for anyone working towards the qualification or the apprenticeship programme. Trainees can then move onto further more theoretical text books to progress their study and learning.
The book is written in an easy to understand way for new teachers, and contains lots of hints, examples, and activities which relate to the content of the qualification and the apprenticeship.
Book Details
Achieving your Diploma in Teaching (FE & Skills)
Ann Gravells & Gavin Lumsden
August 2024
ISBN: 9781529690484
About the Authors
