Curricula

Objectives

The purpose of the course

This course supports the development of your expertise in facilitating of learning combining theoretical knowledge with practical tools and exercises. We also discuss the importance and formation of teacher’s identity and agency, how to support their development as a facilitator of learning. You will gain skills and competences on how to facilitate learning in varying learning environments, e.g. in digital environments and working-life contexts.

Course competences

During this course you will develop facilitating learning skills, learning environment skills, interaction skills, agency skills and reflection skills.

Facilitating learning skills consists of:
Teachers’ theoretical and philosophical understanding of learning.
Ability to plan, implement and assess meaningful learning processes.
Take into consideration the diversity of learners.

Learning environment skills refers to:
Teachers’ ability to develop varied, motivating and accessible learning environments.
Ability to utilise different digital resources to support learning.

Interaction skills refers to:
Teachers’ capacity to work in different interactive relationships and partner networks in an ethically sound manner.

Reflection skills means
Teachers’ ability to recognise and critically assess their values, attitudes, ethical principles and work methods as a facilitator of learning.

Agency skills refers to
Teachers’ proactive approach to set aims for their own professional development.
An ability to make appropriate and pedagogically sound decisions related to their work.
An ability to participate in a joint knowledge building working in partner networks to develop teachers’ and their organisation’s practices.

The learning objectives

You become familiar with learning as a phenomena. You are able to plan, implement and evaluate meaningful and theoretically and ethically sound learning processes in different learning environments. You can interact the way that promotes learning in a variety of situations. You become familiar with the different learning environments of vocational education and training. You are able to reflect upon your own actions as a facilitator of learning.

Content

Familiarisation with different learning environments and learning as a phenomena. Planning, implementing and assessing learning processes. Observing and analysing peer students’ facilitation of learning, as well as giving and receiving feedback of learning facilitation. Assessing and reflecting upon own teacher competences.

Learning materials and recommended literature

Dochy,F. & Segers, M. 2018. Creating impact through future learning. The high impact learning that lasts (HILL) model.

Lonka, K. 2018. Phenomenal Learning from Finland. Edita Publishing.

Teaching methods

The familiarisation with vocational and professional learning environments takes place via cooperative learning with peers who already work as teachers and/or operate in working life. The planning, implementation and evaluation of teaching projects can be carried out independently or by working together with your fellow students. The members of the learning circle group act as peer instructors by supporting the planning and implementation phases.

In addition to the planning, implementation and evaluation of learning process, you will observe your peers practical training sessions and participate in feedback discussions.
You will collect evaluation material for your portfolio to support the summative self-assessment throughout the course.

The course is offered in hybrid and online learning environments for which attendance is required. The mode of study is based on designing and analysing authentic facilitation of learning situations. The course includes peer analysis, self-assessment and pedagogical reflection activities through digital applications and competence analysis discussion with the teacher educator.

Practical training and working life connections

This course includes practical training that is a part of teacher education. Those students who already work as teachers, will implement practical training at their own teaching context, and the others in an environment that is relevant to achieve that the objectives set for the teacher education studies.

Alternative completion methods

This course offers three different pathways to follow depending on your experience in teaching. The first path is intended for students with no or limited teaching experience, the second for those who have already been working as teachers for some time, and the third one for those with long and extensive experience in teaching.

Acquiring competence

Path 1: If you have just started or are about to start to work as a teacher, you can acquire the competences by completing the learning assignments included in the course. You will start the course by familiarising yourself with different learning environments, a teacher’s work and student groups together with your peers. You will familiarise yourself with different theoretical approaches and facilitation of learning with the help of literature, online materials and participating in the hybrid tutoring sessions. You will plan, implement and evaluate sufficiently extensive teaching projects in an educational institution and/or other relevant learning environment.

Path 2: If you have already worked as a teacher, you can use the learning assignments to develop your learning facilitation competences that are based on your personal competence development plan. You will plan, implement and evaluate sufficiently extensive teaching projects focusing on pedagogical aspects that are particularly relevant to you as a teacher. To acquire the required skills and knowledge, you need to familiarise yourself with the relevant literature and online materials as well as participate in the hybrid tutoring sessions where fundamental aspects related to the facilitation of learning will be discussed

Path 3: If you have an extensive teaching experience with update pedagogical knowledge, you may already have acquired competences required for this course.

Demonstrating competence

You can demonstrate the competences required of this course in different ways, depending on your personal background and objectives.

Path 1: If you have no or limited teaching experience, you can demonstrate the competences required by completing the learning assignments included in the course. The essential evaluation materials contain planning, implementation and evaluation of authentic learning facilitation situations.

Path 2: If you work as a teacher, you can decide with your teacher educator what kinds of learning assignments and other evaluation materials are needed to demonstrate the required competences. The evaluation materials always contain planning, implementation and evaluation of authentic learning facilitation situations.

Path 3: If you already have extensive experience of teaching, competences in development of learning and sound pedagogical knowledge of different learning theories, you can verify your competences with skills demonstrations. This includes a demonstration portfolio and examples of authentic plans, implementation and evaluation of learning facilitation sessions. Based on the demonstration portfolio and observation of learning facilitation sessions, your teacher educator will make a decision on whether the course can be fully accredited or whether some competence areas need to be expanded.

Student workload

The total scope of the course is of 14 ECTS credits that requires about 378 working hours from you. The actual workload of the course depends on your background and the amount of work put in the learning assignments.

Content scheduling

The course work begins in autumn 2020 and is guided by your teacher educator. You will separately agree upon the times of your authentic teaching project with your teacher educator and a potential mentor teacher at the educational organisation.

Further information for students

The assessment is qualitative and is based on learning objectives. The methods for assessing the learning process include different types of feedback (including self-assessments, peer and mentor teacher assessments), and assessment discussions with the teacher educator.

Competence assessment is criteria based and the teacher educator makes the assessment decision once all the learning tasks have been completed. The assessment material consists of the learning tasks of the course and self-assessment tasks, observations and assessment discussions related to learning facilitation situations.

Evaluation scale

Pass/Fail

Evaluation criteria, pass/failed

The criteria for assessing the approved level are as follows:

Facilitating learning skills:
- You are aware of the theoretical and philosophical starting points for learning and you able to analyse and justify your own theory-in-use of facilitating learning.
- You can plan meaningful learning processes that are based on set learning objectives
- You take the diversity and personal goals of learners into account when planning, facilitating and assessing learning.
- You able to facilitate learning of your students and assess their skills and competences in a way that supports learning.

Learning environment skills:
- You are familiar with different professional learning environments and you are able to operate in them the way that promotes learning.
- You can develop and renew safe learning environments in cooperation with other relevant parties.

Interaction skills:
- You are able to work constructively, inspiringly and ethically in different interactive situations with students and other stakeholders.

Reflection skills:
- You can identify and assess the ethical basis of your own actions and thinking.
- You able to assess you own facilitation of learning skills and set new goals for the development of facilitation competence.

Agency skills:
- You make decisions on the facilitation of learning process and the development of learning environments based on professional pedagogy and other relevant information.
- You have an investigative, curious and positive but critical approach to novelties and changes in curricula, learning facilitation and the development of learning environments.