EQ227-15 Reinventing Education
Introductory description
This interactive, workshop-based, module (formerly an IATL module) works from the perspective that transformation in society is fundamentally linked to how the role of education is perceived and organised within society. Through exploring interdisciplinary literature and perspectives on the role of education in society, the module challenges existing modes of educational delivery and content and explores alternative educational approaches. Through a range of activities and discussions, students reflect critically on their educational experiences and perspectives of 'what works' educationally and what needs to be changed or rethought. During the module students design and justify new ways of doing education that they believe provides a better fit with our diverse and evolving world.
Module aims
The module aims to encourage students to:
- Understand a range of radical critiques and alternative theorisations of education
- Examine real alternatives to traditional state models of education
- Think about how recent sociocultural, economic and political changes impact on the educational structures and practices
- Consider and develop alternative approaches to education, making use of existing theories and research
- Reflect on their own experiences as a learner in a variety of different contexts and settings
- Think about what education could and should be
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
The module will consist of 10 two hour workshops, and ten 1 hour lectures. The 2 hour sessions will be discursive and exploratory -their content will be based on students' prior experiences in various educational settings and on their feedback on core readings. Activities are designed to stimulate debate across subject disciplines and to build an interdisciplinary learning culture on the module. Assessment activities promote further discussion and encourage students to work together to reimagine educational structures and practices. Group presentations, and subsequent reflective and critical discussions, form a major part of the module.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- Explore and consider literature from a range of disciplines to assess different approaches to education and their stated and implicit aims.
- Recognise ‘education’ as complex, divergent and wide-ranging –taking place in many different formal and informal settings
- Consider the main complexities and implications of the questions 'What is learning?' and 'what is teaching?', taking into consideration a wide range of pedagogic practices, theories, experiences and personal reflections.
- Develop an understanding of pedagogic philosophies and practices and how those practices can be adapted for future challenges and settings.
- Reflect on their own and others’ experiences as participants in a creative and interdisciplinary learning process.
- Make a compelling case for (and defend) new and innovative educational structures and practices which meet the needs of the twenty-first century.
Indicative reading list
Reading lists can be found in Talis
Specific reading list for the module
Interdisciplinary
This module used to be housed in IATL and its core focus was to generate interdisciplinary exploration of the concept of education. With it now being based in Education Studies this focus remains the same. Each time the module recruits the hope is it will continue to be made up of a well-balanced and cross-sectional cohort of students drawn from STEM, Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts disciplines.
International
This module adopts a global approach to understanding education. Policy, practice, philosophy and innovation will be considered from diverse international perspectives on the module
Subject specific skills
- Decide where and how they might publish their work in academic and journalistic contexts, and present it to a wider audience. This has been down previously through forging strong and direct links with ICUR and the Reinvention Journal within the module pedagogy.
- Appreciate the value of understanding different disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives, especially in relation to their subject specialism
- Leverage a confidence and competence in interdisciplinarity for further study, work and citizenship
- Develop an understanding of their own pedagogic philosophies and practices and how they can adapt those practices for future challenges and settings.
Transferable skills
- Articulate arguments orally and through well-argued writing, supported by wide reading and research
- Collaborative skills (across disciplines) of listening, giving and receiving feedback, and achieving resolution
- Creativity
- Critical reflection
- Interpersonal and communication
- Problem solving
- Research skills
- Time management
Study time
| Type | Required | Optional |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 10 sessions of 1 hour (7%) | |
| Seminars | 10 sessions of 2 hours (13%) | |
| Tutorials | (0%) | 3 sessions of 30 minutes |
| Project supervision | (0%) | 4 sessions of 15 minutes |
| Private study | 80 hours (53%) | |
| Assessment | 40 hours (27%) | |
| Total | 150 hours |
Private study description
Independent study hours include background reading, completing reading/other tasks in preparation for timetabled teaching sessions, undertaking research using the library resources, follow-up reading work, working on individual and group projects, the completion of formative tasks and assessments, the preparation and negotiation of the student designed assessment, the completion of summative assessments.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group A
| Weighting | Study time | Eligible for self-certification | |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment component |
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| Elevator Pitch | 10% | 5 hours | Yes (extension) |
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A 'pitch' that clearly identifies an area of education worthy of being modified. The pitch should briefly reference academic sources that influence the 'pitch', alongside current research findings connected to the educational theme, as well as a brief outline of a proposed practical educational innovation. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Assessment component |
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| The RoundTable | 20% | 10 hours | No |
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Students are allocated ten minutes to lead an interactive workshop with peers and tutors. In their ten minutes they must achieve three things. 1. They must present their SDA idea. 2. They must lead an interactive discussion or activity where they invite and gather feedback on their SDA idea. 3. They must reflect upon, and try to summarise, the key feedback and findings they have gathered from their Roundtable workshop. |
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Reassessment component |
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| My SDA Proposal | Yes (extension) | ||
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If the student has not been able to successfully complete the in-person RoundTable exercise they will complete a Poster that academically and critically provides an overview of their SDA plans. As well as stating key critical questions and observations that lie at the heart of the SDA the student must also make their theoretical influences clear and comment on how they have used reflective practice to shape their SDA as it has gone through different stages of design and refinement. The student will present their poster to the module leader at a mutual convenient time. |
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Assessment component |
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| Student Designed Assessment (SDA) | 70% | 25 hours | Yes (extension) |
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Students have to respond to the statement 'One's learner's educational utopia is another learner's dystopia – with accompanying critical narrative. |
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Reassessment component is the same |
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Feedback on assessment
Detailed feedback will be provided electronically to each student within 4 weeks of the completion of the task.
Anti-requisite modules
If you take this module, you cannot also take:
- EQ300-15 Shaping Educational Change
Courses
This module is Optional for:
- Any Warwick student with course leader approval