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Course & Unit Catalogues


ED52047: Understanding learners and learning

[Page last updated: 15 August 2024]

Academic Year: 2024/25
Owning Department/School: Department of Education
Credits: 10 [equivalent to 20 CATS credits]
Notional Study Hours: 200
Level: Masters UG & PG (FHEQ level 7)
Period:
Modular - no specific semester
Assessment Summary: CWRA 100%
Assessment Detail:
  • Learning stories: A critical analysis of learning in practice (CWRA 100%)
Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Requisites:
Learning Outcomes: By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
  • critique the concept and practice of learning from different theoretical, cultural and practical standpoints and the ethics, values and assumptions underpinning them
  • identify how learning is interconnected with context including socio-cultural, historical, economic and ecological
  • explain key ideas about learning contributed by psychologists, in particular sociocultural perspectives, to our understanding of the process of learning
  • through collaborative engagement with others (students/colleagues/peers) critically relate learning theories to your own and others' ideas about learning
  • critically apply new knowledge about learning and learners to pedagogy and to transforming educational practice for globally challenging times.



Synopsis: Explore the process of learning from different psychological and social perspectives. During this unit, you'll review your own and peer learning experiences as learners and educators, and develop personal and professional insights into how we learn. You'll critically reflect on how learning occurs to consider implications for educational practice. This includes how knowledge about learners and learning can be used to improve inclusion, equity and adaptability for globally challenging times

Content: Part 1 Critically analysing learning processes How do we learn? Implicit and tacit ideas about learning from different cultural and social perspectives, for example, Indigenous, European, Confucian, Islamic. (SDG4) How do place and context (including social, cultural, and environmental) influence learning at both individual and collective levels? (SDG4, 10) How can psychological theories of learning illuminate the process of learning I? This focuses on the historical roots of learning theory including behaviourism and cognitivism, and the reach of these theories in practice. (SDG 4) How can psychological theories of learning illuminate the process of learning II? The second part focuses on socio-cultural historical perspectives on learning and how these differ, as well as the reach of these theories in practice. (SDG 4) What influences learners' motives and motivations for learning. (SDG 4) Part 2 Transforming learning in globally challenging times How can learning be transformational for individuals? (You will consider and select from a range of topics, for example, decolonising learning, learning for social justice, participatory/ emancipatory learning). (SDG 13, 10, 4, 3, 5 ...) How can learning be responsive to challenges at the global scale? (You will consider and select from a range of topics, for example, learning in a digital/globally connected world, learning for sustainability in times of climate change, global learning). (SDG 13, 10, 4, 3, 5 ...) How can learners improve their 'learning power' for lifelong learning in challenging times? A focus on metacognition. (SDG 4)

Course availability:

ED52047 is a Must Pass Unit on the following courses:

Department of Education

ED52047 is Optional on the following courses:

Department of Education

Notes:

  • This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2024/25 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2025/26 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2024/25.
  • Courses and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
  • Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
  • Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.