TE6671 - Educational Research & Enquiry 3

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. As you embark upon your dissertation you will be allocated a supervisor who will support and mentor you via individudal and group tutorials until its submission. 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:
• Systematically utilise your knowledge and understanding of key concepts and principles of professional practice to articulate your own theories, philosophies and ideologies and critically analyse the implications of these ideas and beliefs; across the relevant age phase(s) of education.
• Critically consider and appraise present initiatives, by for example government and local authorities, that impact upon the relevant age phase(s) of education.
• Develop a systematic and critical approach to enquiry through the planning, undertaking and presentation of a piece of work/small-scale research project that involves the application of ethical educational research techniques.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• Ground the small-scale research in the relevant and recent literature in the relevant age phase(s) from historical, national and international perspectives;
• Develop further the ability to critically evaluate your learning on the programme so far, in order to develop a deeper understanding of interrelationships and the ways in which these bear upon the matter under investigation.
• Increase your independence and flexibility in approach to study and hence enable you to be more actively involved in, and prepared for, relevant ongoing professional development including study for a masters degree.
• Demonstrate correct use of all aspects of Standard English, e.g. spelling, punctuation and grammar

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• Ensure that you understand the nature and role of ethics and behave and carry out an ethical project in line with the University ethical policy on research. (IPSA)
• Exercise your communication skills in various ways through such strategies as negotiating access; gathering, recording, analysing and interpreting evidence; revising, editing, reporting, and presenting.
• Pursue an independent enquiry arising from the relevant age phase(s) in which you have developed a particular interest, identifiably relevant to your professional needs.

Summative Assessment
1 component – 100% weighting

Dissertation (7500 – 9000 words)

You will select a focus which is of interest to you and complete a research project related to early years and/or primary education with the support of a dissertation supervisor.

N/A

Educational Placements 3
Professional Studies 3
Curriculum Studies 3

This module aims to enable you to engage in small-scale research through studying an aspect of early years and/or primary education. It gives you the opportunity to critically reflect upon major issues relating to the development of a coherent and flexible understanding of education and your potential future role as an early years or primary teacher.
The module develops your critical understanding and knowledge to enable you to articulate carefully considered emergent philosophies and key principles for early years and primary education in relation to your own practice. You will critically reflect upon and analyse major principles behind child development, teaching and learning. The module supports your ability to use your understanding of child development and issues of progression across the age range to devise appropriate curricula and critically interpret the national requirements and initiatives. You will be developing your understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the early years and primary teacher by combining elements of your practical experience with your philosophies, reference to literature in the field and your research. In this module you will engage in a piece of small-scale research in an area of interest to you which has arisen from your experiences on placements in educational settings. The dissertation will form the assessment for this module.