BSc Education

Year of entry: 2023

Course unit details:
Primary Science, Arts and Humanities Education

Course unit fact file
Unit code EDUC34552
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 3
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

The course will cover the following areas:

  • The key elements of the aims, enquiry skills and knowledge of the national curriculum in science, humanities, and the arts. This will commence with a focus on the English national curriculum, and students will be encouraged to compare with another country’s primary curriculum
  • The use of a reflective framework to understand yourself as a learner, reflect on your own experiences in education, and the influence they have had on your own philosophy of education
  • A focus on learning theories to explore the teaching and learning strategies that work in the primary context
  • What enquiry skills are, and how can they be applied in the primary context in England and other countries
  • What child-centered learning is, and how this influences the planning, teaching and assessment process.
  • Inclusion. How to ensure all children can access the learning.
  • The benefits and limitations of cross-curricular and topic planning
  • Learning outdoors – making connections with the world outside the classroom, the mental health benefits and how experiences support learning further in the classroom.

Aims

This unit aims to:

  • Develop student’s understanding of science, arts, and humanity subjects within the primary education system, and the ways it can be taught
  • Use a reflective framework to critically evaluate the student’s own experiences as learners in the primary school
  • Develop their understanding of how subject knowledge and enquiry skills may be taught in primary Science, arts and humanities e.g., discreetly or through topic-based approaches
  • Examine, and experience learning theories as applied to a primary setting and how these can affect engagement, motivation, and learning
  • Use constructivist pedagogies to plan for a topic-based unit that supports pupil learning and engagement
  • Conduct a critical analysis between two countries’ national curriculums and/ or teaching methods for a specific age group within the primary age range in science, humanities or the arts
  • Explore how child-centered learning supports inclusion of all children
  • Further their understanding of how outdoor learning for example, at educational centres, provide memorable experiences that can bridge the poverty gap and support attainment. This will include a virtual/ live trip to an educational setting.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

  • Compile evidence from different primary national curriculums in science, humanities national curriculum to develop understanding of skills and knowledge and how it may differ across countries.
  • Discover how topic planning and outdoor learning support primary aged children further – particularly in areas of poverty and deprivation
  • Formulate an argument around child centered learning and make links to key learning theories, and their own experiences and philosophy of education
  • Organise areas of science, humanities, and the art to modify an original topic-based plan and create their own topic-based plan
  • Build their understanding of how different pedagogic approaches are applied in different countries
  • Examine and make sense of different curriculums/ pedagogic approaches

Intellectual skills

  • To critically reflect upon their own teaching and/or learning in relation to primary education and analyse the influence this has had on their own philosophy of education
  • Demonstrate their ability to critically apply and evaluate key ideas in primary science, humanities and arts education
  • Expression and Decision-Making – to be able to make a reasoned argument for a particular point of view– able to draw reasoned conclusions from their research and own experiences

Practical skills

  • Communication skills through self and peer review, identifying strengths and making constructive suggestions for improvement where appropriate.
  • Interpersonal skills through team activities
  • To apply the primary knowledge and skills of science, humanities or the arts to a practical educational setting
  • Evidence topic-based primary planning in science, humanities and the arts

Transferable skills and personal quailities

  • Independent working skills
  • Information Retrieval – ability independently to gather, sift, synthesise and organise material from various sources (including library, electronic and online resources), and to critically evaluate its significance.
  • Presentation – capacity to make oral presentations, using appropriate media for a target audience
  • Teamwork – recognising and identifying views of others and working constructively with them
  • Applying Subject Knowledge – use of discipline specific knowledge in everyday situations
  • Research – ability to plan and implement an effective research project.

Teaching and learning methods

The course will blend tutor-led input in seminars, with group work which is largely student-led but independently assessed, and practical work outside the classroom.

Students will create and present a topic-based plan in a primary school context on A2 format and write a critical analysis of their curriculum experiences as part of their assessment.

Assessment methods

Assessment task Word length or equivalent Weighting

Individual Poster Presentation of a topic-based plan using science and the foundation subjects

A2 poster - 1000 words 25%

Conduct a critical analysis between two countries’ national curriculums and/ or teaching methods for a specific age group within the primary age range in science, humanities or the arts

3500 words 75%

 

Recommended reading

Cross, Borthwick, Beswick, Board, Chippendall (2016) Curious Learners in Primary maths, science, computing and DT.

Department for Education (2014) The National Primary Curriculum in England. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum

Cross and Bowden (2014) Essential Primary Science

National Curriculum Expert Group, (2013). Characteristics of a genuine D&T experience within the school curriculum: Principles for guiding and evaluating practice. Available at https://www.data.org.uk/media/1130/school-curriculum-principles-for-dt.pdf

Ofsted, (2013). Maintaining curiosity: science education in schools. Manchester: Crown copyright.

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Karen Beswick Unit coordinator

Additional notes

Activity Hours allocated
Lectures/visits 26
Tutorials 4
Directed reading 70
Independent reading 25
Assessed work 75
Total 200

 

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