MEd Programme
Year 2 - Semester I (16 Weeks)
Core Courses
Core Course 6: Pedagogical Leadership
The aim of this course is to develop knowledge and skills of pedagogical
leadership to enable CPs to become agents of change in teaching
and learning in schools. Pedagogical leadership provides necessary
conditions for institutional capacity building for improving the
quality of education. CPs will gain new understandings and skills
in leadership of teachers, schools and systems with a specific focus
on building learning communities. The following themes will be taught
through lectures, group discussions, critical analysis of readings,
workshops led by CPs and a school observation visit:
- Concept of pedagogical leadership and implications for school
improvement;
- Capacity-building at personal, interpersonal and organizational
levels;
- Teachers and head teachers' role in curriculum enrichment and
improvement;
- Leadership of the learning community including improving student
learning.
Elective Course 5: Research Methods
This course aims to prepare CPs to conduct their dissertation research
using the qualitative and/or quantitative design. The course will
seek to build on the core course titled "Introduction to Educational
Inquiry". The course will focus on concepts and methods of qualitative/quantitative
research. CPs will be engaged in `hands-on' activities discussing
the concepts and methods so that they are able to develop research
design in qualitative and /or quantitative research paradigm. Reading
of articles and discussion of important concepts in qualitative/quantitative
research will be an important part of the course. The course is organized
under four interlinked themes:
- Developing conceptual framework, research questions and purpose(s);
- How to answer research questions? Research design and methods
for data collection. Focus will be issues of entry negotiation,
sampling procedures and ethical considerations in research. Two
commonly used methods -- Observation and Interview -- will be
discussed in detail with practical activities to allow CPs a first
hand experience of using these methods;
- How to make sense of the data collected? Analyzing and interpreting
the data. Opportunities will be provided to have hands-on experience
of collecting data, and analyze and interpret data using techniques
such as categorizing and finding patterns;
- How to present/report the findings? The CPs will have opportunities
to present their research plans to others and refine them further
in light of the feedback received.
Elective Course 6: Project Management for Education
The aim of the course is to equip CPs with knowledge and skills
of project management to enable them to implement and evaluate an
educational development project in the next semester. This course
will be offered as an elective to CPs who opt for the Development
Project. During the course CPs will learn about various stages of
the project cycle - identification, designing, implementation, monitoring,
and evaluation.
In the final semester of MEd CPs will put their knowledge and skills
from this course into practice by designing, implementing and evaluating
a development project in an educational setting. CPs will write
a project report and the report will be examined by internal and
external examiners. The course will cover the following themes:
- Notion and nature of project development;
- Conceiving and designing an educational project;
- Project implementation;
- Project monitoring and evaluation;
- Project report.
Specialization: Teacher Education
English Language Teaching Course II
This course aims to give CPs an opportunity to explore and understand
the principles and practice of teaching and learning English at
the lower secondary level (Classes VI-VIII) in bilingual and multilingual
contexts.
The course will introduce CPs to the theory and practice of English
language teaching at the lower secondary level. The course participants
will be enabled, through the use of a variety of techniques such
as mini research and teaching practice in the field, group discussions
and presentations, to relate their new learning with their prior
understandings in teaching English at the lower secondary level,
as well as create linkages between teaching English to young learners
and to adolescents in an ESL/EFL set-up. The course will focus on
the following themes:
- Reconceptualizing English language learning and teaching;
- Theory and practice of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing;
- Theory and practice of grammar and integrated skills;
- Effective ways of teaching literature;
- Developing language curriculum.
Assessment, evaluation and selection of materials will be integrated
with theory and practice of different topics and skill areas.
Course II: Mathematics Teaching
This course will focus on the development of mathematical thinking
and understanding of teachers, teacher educators and children. Also,
explicit attention will be given to relating mathematical thinking
to wider use of mathematics in society. The content of the course
would look at four main areas: mathematics content knowledge and
its use in society; pedagogical processes; becoming a teacher educator
with an explicit focus on how teachers' learn; and meta-cognition.
Like strands in a woven plait, these content areas will run through
the course.
The course is designed with a view of learning as an interactive
process whereby learners construct knowledge through active participation.
To enable CPs to engage actively in the process of learning the
tutors will teach as they would expect the CPs to teach. This means
that there will be a variety of teaching strategies used and opportunities
created for the CPs to work individually, in small groups and in
whole class. Doing mathematics themselves, reflecting on the processes
and skills required in developing mathematical thinking, and working
in mathematics classrooms will be an integral part of the course.
Course II: Science Teaching
The aim of this course is to build on the knowledge and experiences
gained by the course participants (CPs) during the Primary Science
Course I. As in the previous course, CPs will be exposed to and
engaged with current theories/practices and trends/issues in science
education. Concurrently, CPs will be taught selected central science
topics/themes, in light of the current approaches to teaching and
learning, of science at lower secondary (classes VI-VIII or equivalent)
level.
During the course CPs will review and critique (selected) literature
on current theories, orientations, trends and problems of science
teaching/learning in light of own context. CPs will also engage
in learning about matter, energy, and their interaction to develop
a better conceptual understanding of concepts of school science
for classes VI-VIII or equivalent. CPs will teach a reasonable number
of science lessons to lower secondary classes students (based on
the National Curriculum); reflect on their practice, individually
and collectively, to enhance their own content, more importantly
their pedagogical content knowledge
Course II: Social Studies Teaching
The aim of this course is to enable CPs to further develop their understanding
of the nature and goals of social studies as introduced in the primary
course and what it means to be a social studies teacher in a rapidly
changing and challenging world. The course also aims at enhancing
CPs content knowledge in the disciplines of Political Science, Economics,
Anthropology, and build on understandings of Geography and History,
dealt with in the previous course. Additionally, it will equip them
with a repertoire of teaching strategies suitable to secondary classrooms
so as to facilitate teaching and learning in the real classroom. The
content will focus on CPs improving their practice through reading,
critical reflection and research. The content will focus on the following
themes:
- Nature and goals of Social Studies;
- Understanding various philosophical and curriculum orientations
- recognizing one's present orientation - formulation of personal
rationales for teaching Social Studies;
- Understanding the knowledge, skills, attitudes and actions embedded
in the various disciplines that comprise Social Studies and how
these can be used to enrich the curriculum so as to realize the
goals;
- Enhancing content knowledge and learning how to learn;
- Learning new and developing teaching strategies used to teach
Social Studies (lecture, questioning,discussion, concept attainment,
cooperative learning, enquiry);
- Learning and developing social studies skills (map and globe
skills, critical thinking skills, information location, gathering,
processing and presentation skills);
- Understanding current, local, national and global issues and
learning how to incorporate these in the Social Studies curriculum;
- Learning new and effective student assessment and evaluation
practices;
- Engaging in curriculum enrichment processes (lesson, unit planning),
and teacher development processes (reflective practice, peer coaching
and action research).
Specialization: Educational Leadership and Management
Course 3: Strategic Planning and Development
The aim of this course is to develop CPs' understanding of strategic
planning and development for enhancing school performance. The following
themes will be addressed through lectures, discussion, jigsaw reading
and simulations:
- Notion of strategic planning and development;
- Purpose and scope of strategic planning and development ;
- Characteristics of effective strategic planning and development;
- Strategic development models;
- School development plan.
Course 4: Monitoring and Evaluation
This course aims to develop CPs' understanding of monitoring and
evaluation processes and strategies and implications for school
development. A variety of teaching methodologies will be used including
lectures, group discussions, in-school observations and focused
readings to cover the following themes:
- Concepts of monitoring and evaluation;
- Current monitoring and evaluation approaches;
- Alternative monitoring and evaluation approaches;
- Benchmarking and performance indicators;
- Viable framework of monitoring and evaluation.
Year 2 - Semester
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