Curricula

Objectives

The purpose of the course

During this course, you will set yourself objectives related to teacher education and professional development, follow the progress of your studies, participate in the discussion of your learning circle, and finally assess the outcomes of your studies.

Course competences
In this course you will develop your reflection skills, agency skills and interaction skills.

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

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

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

On this course, you will set personal learning aims related to teacher education studies to develop your professional agency as a facilitator of learning. You can evaluate your competences in relation to aims set and those of the teacher education as well as set new goals for your professional development. You will assess and reflect your own learning process and give feedback to peers to support their learning.

Content

Tasks related to a personal competence development plan (CDP), reflective learning diary, peer and self-evaluation, participation in small group (learning circle) work, portfolio work and final assessment discussion.

Learning materials and recommended literature

Brown, A., Kirpal, S. and Rauner, F. (Eds.) 2007. Identities at Work. Dordrecht: Springer.

Teaching methods

In the framework of this course, you will design and continuously update a personal competence development plan (CDP) to evaluate your own starting points for teacher education studies. You will also follow and reflect the development of your competences through compiling a portfolio and keep a reflective learning diary,

This course also includes, as one learning assignment, participation in tutoring days and learning circle activities with your fellow students to receive and give peer support.

In the final phase of your studies, you need to write a summative self-assessment to assess you competences as an expert of learning and have a final evaluation discussion with your teacher educator.

Alternative completion methods

Acquiring competence:

During this course, you will acquire the targeted competence by setting yourself objectives related to teacher education and making progress accordingly, by documenting and evaluating your own learning process, and by giving feedback to your fellow students to support their learning.

Participation and collaboration in learning circles group activities as well as tutoring sessions is very important. The tutoring sessions are designed to support personal development as a facilitator of learning.

Demonstrating competence:

You can demonstrate the competences by completing the learning assignments that comprise the CDP, the portfolio, participation and contributions to the learning circle group tasks and tutoring days as well as the final assessment discussion and the material related to it.

Student workload

The total scope of the course is 189 h (7 ECTS credits x 27 h of work by the student), consisting of face-to-face, independent self-directed learning and contributions to learning circle group work.

Content scheduling

The course starts at the very beginning of your studies and lasts throughout your studies.

Further information for students

The assessment is qualitative and is based on learning objectives. The methods for evaluation of the learning process are feedback and self-assessment.

Competence assessment is based on criteria and the assessment decision is made by the teacher educator once all the learning tasks have been completed.
The assessment materials consist of the CDP, the portfolio, the learning circle group work, and the summative self-assessment and the final assessment discussion.

Evaluation scale

Pass/Fail

Evaluation criteria, pass/failed

The criteria for assessing the approved level are as follows:

Reflection skills:
You are capable of evaluating your learning process and competences in relation to your own objectives and those of the teacher education.

Agency skills:
You set yourself objectives related to teacher education, develop your professional agency as a teacher and are able to set new goals for your professional development.

Interaction skills:
You can document your learning process for others and give feedback to other students to support their learning.