Ed Podesta

Ed Podesta

Personal profile

Biography

Ed is the Phase Coordinator of the Secondary Education ITT Team. After completing a Bachelors degree in Law, he went onto complete a PGCE Secondary History at the University of Oxford, a Post Graduate Diploma in Innovation in Education (PGDIE) at the University of Warwick and a Master of Science in Education Research Methods at the University of Leeds. He is currently in the first year of his PhD studies at the University of Leeds, investigating teachers' curricular autonomy.

Ed joined Leeds Trinity University in 2015. Before he joined Leeds Trinity University he had a variety of difference roles in secondary schools and universities.  Ed has been as history teacher, a head of department in the history department at a secondary school, a PGCE tutor at the University of Oxford and held roles delivering Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for middle managers at Secondary school. 
 
In his first and second year at LTU Ed taught modules on the accelerated Education Studies degree and was also the School Direct Lead for the Dixons City Academy School Direct PGCE where he taught subject knowledge and application, professional studies and research methods courses.
 
Since 2016 Ed has led the PGCE Secondary programmes, overseeing the work of the PGCE team as they continue to develop their courses. The PGCE was revalidated in 2015-16, after which Ed oversaw the successful implementation of these programmes. Ed subsequently led the redevelopment and re-validation of Secondary ITT programmes in 2019/20.  Also in 2019/20 Ed led the L7 teaching team at ICE in the re-validation of master's level programmes to create a flexible framework that allows for cross-discipline collaboration and agile development of future accredited and non-accredited provision.
 
Ed Lectures at Level 6 and Level 7 on the professional studies element of the secondary PGCE, and has also taught on modules on the history education element of undergraduate and post-graduate primary QTS courses, and undergraduate modules relating to the philosopy of education. He marks and moderates the Level 7 assignments of the Secondary PGCE and Primary PGCE as part of those teams.  He supervises and assesses Masters disserations on topics focused on history of education, education policy and sociology. 
 
Ed has been blogging about history since 2006 at www.onedamnthing.org.uk and runs a 6th Form Italian History Podcast at www.onedamnthing.co.uk/italy. He has written several history school-textbooks, on diverse topics such as the Unification of Italy, Restoration England, London in the Second World War and Victorian Policing.

Teaching and Administration

Ed has taught modules across most levels with the Post-Graduate, Secondary Education and PGCE departments. These modules have included:
Secondary Education Level 4 – Learning and Development
Secondary Education Level 5 – Working with Others
Initial Teacher Education - Professional Studies
Children, Families and Young People - Philosophy of Education
MA Education Masters Supervision
MA Education - Investigating Professional Practice

Research interests

Ed has a specific interest and expertise in Continuing Professional Development, Curricular Development and Assessment practice in schools. His areas of interest also involve:

  • History of Education - especially local studies relating to impact of Education reforms on communities.
  • Cross curricular reform at Key Stage 3 and the role of knowledge
  • Teacher beliefs and attitudes
  • Use of published textbooks in classrooms
  • Ed started his PhD studies at the University of Leeds in 2019, researching teachers' curricular autonomy.

Ed has also presented at professional workshops and conference presentations. At the SHP conference in 2010 he presented Preparing to teach new curricula. He recently ran workshops for Philip Allen on teaching the new OCR History A level Specification, and on preparing students for the new OCR AS level exams in History. He is an examiner for the OCR board. He can be consulted by external organisations on the following topic areas:

  • Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
  • Curricular Development
  • Assessment practice in schools
  • Cross curricular reform at KS3

Education/Academic qualification

Master of Science, Education Research Methods, University of Leeds

Award Date: 19 Jun 2014

PGCE, Secondary History , University of Oxford

Award Date: 30 Jun 2003

Bachelor of Arts, Law (LLB) Hons 2:1, The University of Sheffield

Award Date: 30 Jun 1996

External positions

Trustee, Thackray Medical Research Trust

1 Feb 2017 → …

Teacher of History, The Grammar School at Leeds

Sept 2014 → Aug 2015

History Teacher and Head of Department, Little Heath School

Jul 2003 → Aug 2013

Solicitor, Stevens and Bolton LLP

Sept 2000 → Jul 2002

Trainee Solicitor and Solicitor, Clarkslegal

Sept 1998 → Sept 0200

REF 2029 UOA

  • UOA23 - Education

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