• Year 1 – Semester I
• Year 1 – Semester II
• Year 2 – Semester I
• Year 2 – Semester II
• Admissions Information
• Application Package

MEd Programme

Year 1 - Semester I (16 Weeks)

Core Courses:

Core Course 1: Teaching, Learning and Curriculum

The aim of this course is to develop an understanding of curriculum and to relate it to effective classroom practice. This will be done through critical reflection on readings/discussions in classroom and data-based reflection and analysis on practice. This will enable CPs to contribute to improving their own classroom practices, and effectively and flexibly improving teaching and learning in schools (classes I-VIII or equivalent; age 6-14 years) in their own educational context(s).

The course will cover the following themes:

• Educational paradigms/orientations - empirical, interpretive, critical perspectives;
  
  
• Knowledge of contexts both at macro- and micro-levels and their inter-relationship;
  
  
• Theories of curriculum development, teaching, learning and pedagogy (along a continuum: traditional to child-centered);
  
  
• Practicum that focuses on praxis, that is, theory informed practice and practice informed theory;
  Introduction and enhancement of participants' study skills and reflective practice skills.
  
  
• The content will be taught in a variety of ways, including reading relevant literature (eg research studies), group and whole class discussions, classroom observations, teaching and reflections.

Core Course 2: Introduction to Educational Inquiry

The course aims to develop an understanding of the significance of inquiry in education and enable the CPs to become critical consumers of educational research for enhancing professional practice. The CPs will be introduced to major paradigms and approaches in educational research. This will be done through a discussion of important concepts such as worldview and validity and reliability as interpreted by different research approaches. In addition, selected methods of investigation within the qualitative and the quantitative paradigms will be introduced. The focus will be on the implications of using these methods for the nature and quality of data collected and the validity of research findings.

Specifically, the course is organized around the following four themes:

• Reading and analyzing research articles/reports; identifying and reviewing relevant literature for a research question/problem;
  
  
• Basic assumptions and distinguishing characteristics of quantitative research; experimental method and quantitative survey;
  
  
• Basic assumptions and distinguishing characteristics of qualitative research; case study and action research;
  
  
• Issues in educational research -- validity, generalisability and ethical considerations.

CPs will read and critique selected research articles and reports throughout the course for developing a deeper understanding of the nature and use of educational research and different research paradigms and related methods.

Core Course 3: Assessment of Student Learning

The course aims to help course participants conceptualize and articulate processes and issues involved in student assessment with an assumption that assessment of student learning is a process to improve teaching and learning in schools. The course aims to advance CPs' beliefs and practices from traditional assessment framework that merely measures and certifies the limited knowledge outcomes to address broad learning outcomes, that is, cognitive, affective and psychomotor. In addition, the course aims to improve the participants' content knowledge of assessment as well as introducing them to practical assessment strategies.

The course will focus on the following themes:

1. Meaning, purpose and principles of assessment;
   


2. Formative and summative assessment and their implications;
   
   
3. Development and analysis of various assessment tasks;
   
   
4. Development of assessment criteria, marking scheme and feedback;
   
   
5. Issues related to assessment for/of students' learning.

Elective Courses:

Elective Course 1: Environmental Education

The aim of this course is to enable CPs to help and guide their students to take care of the Earth - our home. Teachers and teacher educators are strategically placed to provide the awareness, knowledge, skills and values that enable individuals to pursue life goals in a sustainable manner. This elective module will help CPs understand their roles in educating students and colleagues about the environment they live in and the role they can play together in creating a sustainable environment for all. The module is divided into the following six themes:

• Definition and scope of environmental education;
  
  
• The natural and social environment: A complex relationship;
  
  
• Human impact on environment: Global environmental issues;
  
  
• Sustainable development;
  
  
• Environmental education: Approaches and strategies;
  
  
• Environmental management practices.

Elective Course 2: Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs

This course aims to give CPs an opportunity to explore issues in the education of children with special needs from different perspectives:

• The development and abilities of the child;
  
  
• The practical approaches the teacher can use in the classroom;
  
  
• The (micro) political climate that helps or hinders the inclusion process.

Cross-linkages are made throughout the course to emphasize how these perspectives are interstated. Additionally, CPs will learn how catering to the needs of children with special needs can improve their general teaching skills and practices. The course is offered in ODL mode, which gives CPs a higher level of independence and flexibility. A number of face-to-face and email activities are also offered to help CPs to learn from each other and to structure their studies effectively. The course consists of the following themes:

• An overview of child development;
  
  
• An introduction to special needs;
  
  
• Viewpoints and approaches to the education of children with special needs;
  
  
• Assessing children with special needs;
  
  
• Curriculum adaptations and teaching strategies;
  
  
• Collaboration and teamwork for school improvement.

Elective Course 3: Gender in Education

This course aims at increasing participants understanding of the gender dynamics of schooling/ teaching and learning processes in their own contexts. The subsequent aim of the course is to encourage them to work towards gender equality in and through education by reconsidering their own potential as role models and agents of change. The course content is divided into three themes.

• Introduction of key terms and principles of gender and education, and of gendered analysis of education systems, structures and experiences;
  
  
• Critical look at gender issues in education from the larger perspective of development;
  
  
• Discussion of relationships between/among advocacy and awareness raising initiatives, interventions and policy development for reducing gender gaps in education at international, national and local levels. The course will end with the role of teachers as change agents. These themes will be developed through short presentations; class, group and panel discussions; role-plays, group presentations, jigsaw readings etc.

Elective Course 4: Introduction to Histories and Cultures of Muslim Societies

This course aims at increasing CPs' appreciation of the socio-cultural mosaic of Muslim societies by understanding Muslims contribution to the knowledge of and education for human civilization. CPs will be exposed to the knowledge base of the cultural and intellectual expressions manifest within Muslim societies in particular. The subsequent aim of the course is to encourage CPs to work towards enriching the Islamiat and Social Studies school curricula. The course is divided into three themes:

Muslim Societies: Past and Present

This theme will introduce CPs to the historical evolution of Muslim societies. Starting with the spread of Islam in different geographic and cultural contexts, passing through the cultural permeation and interaction in making of Muslim societies, the theme will end with the geo-political realities of what constitute Muslim societies today.

Knowledge and Learning in Muslim Societies

Theme 2 will explore the notion of knowledge and the process (s) of learning in the context of Muslim societies. Through tracing the intellectual traditions that emerged as the societies evolved, this theme will highlight the contributions of Muslim thinkers to the body of universal knowledge. Moreover, the historic role of Madrassah as an educational institution in the context of Muslim societies will also be discussed. The theme will end with a critical analysis of the concepts of knowledge and learning in today's Muslim societies.

Artistic and Architectural Expressions in Muslim Societies

Theme 3 of the course will discuss the artistic expressions of the Muslim societies. This theme will start with the role of literature and poetry and will end with the discussion of the art of calligraphy and the architectural expressions in Muslim societies. These topics will be developed through short presentations, class and group discussions, role-plays, group presentations and field visits where applicable.

Year 1 - Semester II }