EDUC45830: Education Enquiry

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• This module aims to encourage students to think critically about and reflect upon their own professional practice - to become enquirers in their own professional context(s) and into their own practice. Students will be supported to think about links between education research, theory and practice, thinking critically about how these can be integrated in order to support their own professional learning. Students' critical reflection on their own practice will usually focus on one area of practice that the student has identified as important to them, in their professional practice and context.

• The module will encourage reflexive practice and enquiry, in order that students can understand and consider the effects of different approaches to changing their developing practice (rather than simply evaluating it).
• The module will provide students with an overview of the theoretical underpinnings of education research (including some wider debates in education research and methods). Students will be encouraged to make and explore links between theory, research and practice.
• The module will introduce to students a number of approaches to facilitate critical reflection on their own practice, provide opportunities to discuss these reflections and explore how they might influence their own professional learning.
• The module will introduce students to practitioner enquiry and research, students will be encouraged to be flexible, reflexive, embracing of change, critical and informed.
• The module will introduce students to a range of approaches to practitioner research, associated research design and methods.
• The module will provide support for students in the development of a critically reflective portfolio, that is relevant (personally and/or professionally) to the student.
• The module will introduce students to ethics in education research, with a particular focus on the ethics of researching one's own practice and of the ethics associated with researching with children.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Knowledge and understanding of the theoretical underpinnings and applications of practitioner enquiry and research.
• Knowledge and understanding of a range of approaches to educational research including research design and methods.
• Knowledge and understanding of the value of critical reflection and reflexivity in relation to educational research and their own professional learning.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Identify and critically evaluate literature to explore links between educational research, theory and practice that are relevant to the students own professional practice.
• Apply a reflexive approach to practitioner enquiry and demonstrate how this contributes to the students own development as a professional and the potential for wider impact.
• Develop a research idea, engaging critically with literature (empirical and conceptual), that supports the student's own professional learning. The research idea may support the development of student's Master's level dissertation research ideas.

Key Skills:

• Engage critically with research literature, including, for example: searching, synthesising, summarising and critiquing literatures; these will include differing theoretical standpoints.
• Engage with theory, practice and research evidence.
• Organise, plan and present research ideas.
• Formulate, analyse and solve problems.
• Be reflective and reflexive.
• Learn independently, in co-operation and collaboratively.

• Teaching and learning will be delivered via workshops which will be supported by online resources. The approach to teaching will be blended, making use of in person, online live and asynchronous online learning activities/interactions where appropriate. Teaching will enable the key ideas of the module to be considered, students will follow up on teaching material in reading and independent study time. Online resources will enable staff and students to continue their interaction between teaching sessions. The module will be collaborative and discussion focussed, enabling students to develop their understanding of the ideas and consider them in a range of professionally relevant contexts. Activities in teaching sessions will include a variety of active learning approaches including discussion, group work, presentations, question and answer sessions and individual tasks. Assessment for the module comprises participation (with specified workshop preparation and follow-up tasks linked to workshop activities) and a formative portfolio.

Formative Assessment: The interactive nature of the workshop sessions, with discussion, small group work, individual questioning, student presentations etc provides opportunity for peer and tutor formative feedback. The summative assignments will be introduced early in the module to enable ongoing discussion during the teaching sessions and beyond. The formative assessment for the summative portfolio will involve students developing plans for their summative portfolio.

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