TE5510 - Educational Research & Enquiry 2

You will learn through university-based sessions which aim to underpin professional learning with academic knowledge and critical understanding. Lectures, seminars and tutorials will provide you with opportunities to develop an appreciation of the importance of integrating practice and formal theory. Your learning will be situated in a distinct ‘community of practice’ where experiential, collaborative and individualised strategies will enable you to develop the personal, professional and transferable skills associated with outstanding newly qualified teachers. In addition to tutor led sessions you will be directed and supported in your individual study as you seek to develop a critical and well-informed understanding of the nature of early and primary education in contemporary society. You will be encouraged to make full use of established social and professional networking tools in addition to the online resources provided by the University to enhance your learning and support your academic and professional development, a central aspect of this will be the utilisation of the eLP.

Successful academic achievement requires a system of robust support and guidance to help you focus on your learning needs. In addition to the pastoral support you will receive, the tutors involved in delivering this module will provide guidance and academic counselling to ensure that you are able to confidently engage with the academic rigour of this module. This dialogue will be face to face in lectures, seminars or tutorials and is an essential aspect of the programme’s assessment for learning strategy. Extensive support is also accessible online as part of the University’s commitment to technology enhanced learning. This employs the use of the e-learning portal (Blackboard including Pebble+) and social networking and collaborative tools.
A central feature of the academic support available to you is the service provided by the University Library. This 24/7 service caters for all your learning needs, has extensive access to electronic texts and tutorials that will directly support the development of academic skills aimed at improving your critical thinking and analytical writing.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Explore, reflect upon and analyse the key elements, issues and debates surrounding the notion of an early primary or primary teacher in a range of educational and social contexts.
2. Explore implications for practice from your reflections upon the contexts and perspectives of a variety of settings across the relevant age phase(s) to; analyse the issues surrounding your role and responsibilities in relation to your own developing practice.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
3. Ground discussions in your reflection upon both relevant and recent literature from some historical, national and international perspectives, your experiences and emerging philosophies across the relevant age phase(s).
4. Deepen your understanding of the progression in development of the whole child, and the implications this has for professional practice across the relevant age phase(s).

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
5. Reflect upon and analyse a range of theories, philosophies and ideologies about education, starting the process of developing your own ideas surrounding the education of the young child across the relevant age phase(s).

Summative Assessment

2 components of equal weighting:
Component 1: Draft Research Proposal
Identify an issue, drawn from your placement experience, which would be a potentially interesting area to research, and draft an ‘Initial Project Proposal’
(1500 words)

Component 2: Annotatated Bibliography
You will submit an annotated bibliography where you select 10 references which would provide a theoretical background to the research question/aims identified in component 1.

You would identify such things as why you have selected this source? How might it be relevant to your potential study? What are the implications of what you’ve read for practice?
(1500 words)

N/A

Educational Placements 2
Professional Studies 2
Curriculum Studies 2
Enhanced Curriculum Studies 2

The aims of this module are to develop both your knowledge and understanding and your reflection and analysis of the key elements and debates surrounding the notion of an early years and primary teacher in a range of educational and social contexts.
The module develops your understanding to enable you to start articulating your own emergent philosophies and key principles of early years and primary education. You will reflect upon and analyse major principles behind child development, teaching and learning. Specific systems and early years and primary environments will be analysed for their effectiveness in child development and progression across the full primary age range. Further consideration of the range of contexts and agencies involved in the development of the whole child will be debated. You will be developing your understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the early years and primary teacher by combining elements of your understanding gained from your practical experience with your emerging philosophies and your reference to literature in the field.