Theoretical Perspectives on Learning HT24
Oct 23, 2024 - Dec 31, 2024
2.5 credits
Spots remaining: 6
Full course description
CLS900-2: 6, 13, 20, 27 November; 4, 11 December, 9:00-12:00 [TimeEdit]
Use the following Promotion Code on the next page to enroll in the course: DIPLOMA
Enrolment opens at noon May 2nd.
Course syllabus for CLS900 – Theoretical Perspectives on Learning
Syllabus adopted 2022-03-02 by Jens Kabo, Diploma coordinator, EER, CLS
2,5 Credits
Grading: Satisfactory/not satisfactory
Education cycle: Second-cycle
Department: 62 - COMMUNICATION AND LEARNING IN SCIENCE
Teaching language:
English
In course package:
Diploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Examiner:
Jens Kabo
Eligibility:
Bachelor’s degree, 180 higher education credits or equivalent
Course specific prerequisites
CLS926 University Teaching and Learning or equivalent course
B2 CEFR in English (https://www.coe.int/en/web/portfolio/self-assessment-grid)
Aim
Participants are expected to gain awareness of different theoretical perspectives on learning and increase their ability to use these perspectives to develop their teaching practice in support of student learning.
Intended learning outcomes
After completion of the course the participant should be able to:
• Discuss their interpretation of major aspects of different theoretical perspectives on learning.
• Design teaching and learning activities from different theoretical perspectives on learning.
• Compare and contrast the implications and relevance of different theoretical perspectives on learning for a particular teaching and learning situation from their own practice.
Content
Learning is a central aspect of human existence and activities, including higher education. Despite millennia of thinking and debating, no grand theory of learning has successfully been formulated and today multiple complementary and competing theoretical perspectives exist, which actually is a good thing due to the great range of possible learning experiences and situations. In this course, we will explore a selection of theoretical perspectives on learning from the last century with an emphasis on implications for teaching practice aimed at supporting student learning.
Readings will be a mix of texts focusing on the general nature and central ideas of each theoretical perspective and texts focused on specific ideas and/or tools derived from the corresponding perspectives. Theoretical perspectives covered in the course will include behaviourism; cognitive perspectives on learning such as constructivism and conceptual change; metacognition and sociocultural perspectives on learning, such as situated learning.
Organisation
For this course, we use a flipped format where participants prepare for each session through individual reading and the time in the classroom is dedicated to together attempting to grasp the various theoretical perspectives on learning through discussion seminars and trying the perspectives in practice through role play.
During the first day of the course, participants will be divided into small teaching teams. Each teaching team will be assigned one of the main theoretical perspectives covered in the course. Their task will be to draft a 20-minute learning activity that exemplifies principles from their assigned perspective on learning. They will then lead a role play where they try out their learning activity in practice with the other course participants as their students. Most sessions will follow the same format with the first part dedicated to role playing and debriefing one team’s learning activity and the second part dedicated to discussing the next theoretical perspective based on the course readings.
Examination
A successful completion of this course will be judged on the following:
• Attendance and preparation for the face-to-face sessions.
• Design and delivery of a 20-minute learning activity.
• Completion of a concluding reflective essay with the focus on comparing and contrasting the implications and relevance of different theoretical perspectives on learning for a particular teaching and learning situation from one’s own practice.
Literature
There will be a selection of texts to read, which will be made available to participants.