This module is designed to engage participants in the ways that learning happens and is currently understood. It requires participants to adopt a scholarly/ theoretically informed approach to planning and delivering teaching and learning activities rather than being driven by situational factors, habit or personal preference. It will draw on particular models such as constructive alignment and learning taxonomies to ensure that there are sound principles to accompany selected theoretical frameworks.
MA1: Develop a scholarly approach to planning and delivering teaching and learning activities
MA2: Base teaching practice on sound theoretical principles
MA3: Develop as reflective teaching practitioners
By the end of the module, a student will be able to:
LO1: Describe clear learning outcomes with reference to established learning taxonomies and frameworks.
LO2: Apply the principle of constructive alignment to plan an effective session including teaching, learning and assessment activities.
LO3: Plan and facilitate learning practices informed by your chosen framework and the principle of constructive alignment.
LO4: Critically evaluate their peer's teaching and learning practices by considering their chosen framework and the principle of constructive alignment.
LO5: Reflect on their own teaching experience to consider their educational preferences and how these align with their chosen framework.
The overall delivery of the module will be through a blended approach, combining face-to-face workshops and on-line activities and tasks. Such delivery will be based on broadly constructivist and adult learning principles with knowledge being ‘made’ and shared in the room with some negotiation of the methods used being handed to the learners. The processes will therefore be partly student-led in terms of scope and pace consistent with engagement with the module learning outcomes. The face-to-face workshops will be structured around an experiential learning cycle:
Learners will start by describing a prior experience(s) of planning and delivering learning in small groups.
In the group setting, students will reflect on the nature of the teaching and learning taking place in their selected teaching activity.
With the help of the tutors, students will use these experiences to contextualise approaches to learning and taxonomies of learning.
Students, again in groups, will use one approach to learning to derive a plan for a taught session.
After the first study day and ahead of the second day, students will use the knowledge and experience from the first day to draw up a plan for teaching. There will be materials available on Blackboard to guide and facilitate this. On the second study day students will again enter the experiential learning cycle:
First, students will deliver their taught sessions to their peers, again in small groups.
After each individual session, students will discuss and reflect on how the session went
Tutors will help students to draw some common observations and conclusions from the experience
After study days, study will continue in Blackboard groups via discussion boards. Discussions will be geared towards analysing the teaching session conducted on the second teaching day and considering how it might be improved using the tools and approaches highlighted in the course. Again, materials will be made available to enable and guide this.
Study Day 1 - As above, students will engage in reflective discussions of their experience of planned learning and teaching. Teaching staff will facilitate these discussions in order to draw out key themes relating to LO1 and LO2.
We anticipate questions about:
Epistemology – what learning is, and what kinds of learning are there?
Roles – what are the respective contributions of teacher and learner, and are there different kinds of teacher and learner?
Practices – what kinds of teaching and learning activities are there, and how does a teacher select from them appropriately? We will lead from these discussions into specific educational theories and associated practices, specifically:
Approaches - behaviourism, cognitivism, reflective learning, constructivism, andragogy.
Learning taxonomies - Biggs SOLO taxonomy, Bloom’s taxonomies.
The roles of teachers and learners with regards to different knowledge types and contexts eg Biggs’ three levels, Harden and Rosby 12 roles, Fox’s 4 roles.
Practices: learning outcome description, constructive alignment, activation practices. Independent Study: Students will then prepare a microteaching session ahead of the second study day.
Guidance will be given and supported with online material. They will use the concepts and practices they find relevant to their session to do this.
Study Day 2 - As above, students will engage in micro-teaching in groups of 4 or 5. These sessions will form the basis for peer evaluation and reflection.
Online Study - Following the face to face study days students will be supported to reflect on their microteaching sessions through online discussion and also to consider and develop their evaluations of their peers’ teaching sessions.
An account of their own taught session including their LOs, chosen approach and intentions, with a reflective commentary. (2,400 words) - 60%
Evaluations of peer teaching sessions as a sample of critical application of theory to practice. (1,600 words) - 40%