Not passing an assignment during your Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) can be stressful, particularly with other coursework at university and teaching placements.
But a failing grade does not always mean that your teacher training career is over. Students may have a decent grasp of classroom teaching but may have difficulty with academic writing, critical analysis, referencing, or understanding assessment requirements.
The next steps will vary according to your university's requirements and the nature of the assessment. Knowing what to do after a failed submission can help you to remain calm after the submission, utilise the feedback, and get ready for the next assessment.
What Does Failing a PGCE Assignment Mean?
Failure in a PGCE assignment indicates that the work submitted has not achieved the minimum standard set by the University/teacher training provider. This can occur if an essay does not provide enough academic evidence, fails to answer the question correctly, or shows an understanding of educational theories and teaching strategies.
The criteria for passing and assessment vary from institution to programme. Some providers are based on numerical grades, and others may have other assessment systems in place. Details will be explained in your course handbook.
The expectations for assessment may differ from one programme to another. For instance, subjects related to primary education and child development, curriculum planning and classroom practice, could be emphasised in a PGCE Primary assignment, while subject-specific teaching might be more strongly featured in a secondary pathway.
Please read your result in conjunction with the tutor's feedback. This will help you know if the issue relates to academic writing, content knowledge, referencing or specific learning outcomes. Knowing the exact cause of the outcome is the first step to improvement.
What Happens After You Fail?
When you have failed, your University will give you feedback, typically stating which aspects of your work were missing from meeting the assessment criteria. Please take note of this feedback before attempting to alter it, as it may assist you in understanding problems that occurred with your failed PGCE assignment.
Your institution may provide you with a resubmission or other type of reassessment option. This provides you with a chance to review the areas where you are not as strong as you want to be and show your tutor you have met the learning outcomes.
But it is not always guaranteed that reassessment will take place. The number of attempts, the deadline for submitting and any restrictions on resubmission will vary according to the rules of your programme. Some institutions will use a capped mark for reassessed work as well.
If you are permitted to resubmit, ensure that you understand what you are required to do – whether you are allowed to rewrite the original work or undertake another assessment. If there is anything that is not clear, please make contact with your module teacher or course administrator.
Failure to resubmit on time may cause additional problems, so make sure to check when the resubmission is due. If your initial submission has been impacted by illness or other serious situation, please enquire with your university regarding its mitigating circumstances or extensions procedure.
Can a Failed Assignment Affect Your PGCE?
If an assignment fails, this may have an impact on your academic pathway, depending on the assessment and your institution's rules. There are some assignments which are related to certain learning outcomes that are compulsory and prerequisites for a student to complete his/her programme or to move to the next level of study.
If you do not pass one in-course assignment, your University might give you the chance to rewrite that particular assignment and proceed with the remainder of the course. Other times, however, a decision on progression may be postponed until the outstanding assessment is met.
Failure to meet key programme requirements, repeated failures or failure to meet reassessment deadlines may have more serious consequences. Your provider will discuss what they would like you to do and if there are any more attempts available. If you fail one of your assignments, this does not mean that you have failed the whole PGCE.
Why Do PGCE Students Fail Assignments?
Students can receive a failing grade for a number of reasons if they are studying for the PGCE.
Common reasons include:
Not answering the question
Unsupported claims and limited engagement with research can reduce the strength of an argument.
Sometimes it's not enough to just describe educational theories. Students might also be required to analyse and synthesise concepts
Weak paragraphs, transitions, and lack of logical organisation
Problems of referencing, such as missing citations or an incomplete reference list.
Failure to meet assessment criteria
Checking each of these items may help you concentrate on making the changes that are most important.
How to Improve After a Failed Assignment
Feedback is more than just a word-for-word recap of what you did wrong with your last paper; it begins with an understanding of what went wrong. Here are some steps to help you come up with a better strategy.
1. Carefully read your tutor's feedback
Look through each comment and mark out the specific weaknesses mentioned. Ask for clarification if any feedback is difficult to understand.
2. Check the marking criteria
Make comparisons between your original submission and the assessment rubric. Review and assess to see if you have covered all parts of the question and demonstrated all learning outcomes.
3. Strengthen your research and referencing
Provide relevant support to arguments from academic books, peer-reviewed journal articles, and appropriate educational research. Verify the reliability of your sources and ensure that you cite them in the correct style of referencing as outlined by your university.
4. Improve critical analysis
Instead of just describing a teaching theory, evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, and practicality of the theory. Where necessary, contrast various viewpoints and show how the findings apply to actual classroom situations.
5. Plan before rewriting
Outline with an introduction, logical main points, and conclusion. Give each paragraph a purpose and make sure that it serves towards answering the question posed. Referencing a PGCE assignment example will help you appreciate the format and style of academic writing
6. Get the Right Academic Assistance
If you are confused, it is better to hire professional PGCE Assignment Writing Help to make sure that you are doing everything as per the guidelines.
Conclusion
A failure in a PGCE assignment is undoubtedly disheartening, but it definitely does not mean the end of your training program. Read the assessment, take note of the university policies, and work on strengthening your next assignment.
