Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching

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In this subject, students will plan and implement a small-scale innovation aimed at improving their teaching, drawing on challenge-based learning principles. Enacting strategies to resolve challenges means learning is an active, social process of collaboration characterised by dynamic interaction between the challenge, the facilitator and their learners, immersed within the learning environment. Potential links with action research and facilitator/mentor support are elaborated during a reflective process.

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In this subject, students reflect on their understanding of the key activities involved in designing curriculum and assessing learning in higher education. Students will explore the design of curriculum with regard to the provision of clear and appropriate learning outcomes and the alignment of learning activities. Assessment, both summative and formative, will be investigated as part of this process of design. This subject draws upon a community of practice approach, with students sharing learning and best practice by networking among facilitators, peers and the wider educational community. By fostering this community of practice, students begin the journey of lifelong learning that will equip them to instruct changing, diverse audiences.

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In this subject, students will engage with a range of digital technologies designed for use in higher education learning and teaching contexts. Students will experience these technologies from a dual perspective: as a learner, and as a teacher/facilitator in a higher education context. In both roles, students will approach digital technologies from a critical perspective, exploring the opportunities and limitations provided by these technologies. Alongside this exploration, students will also engage with key theories and practices for teaching in an online environment, ensuring that their practical explorations are informed by broader discourses of technology in higher education.

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In this subject, students will explore, analyse and interpret key learning theories relevant to the higher education context, and participate actively in a range of contemporary teaching approaches as part of a community of practice. A focus within the subject will be the application of these theories to students’ own practice as higher education practitioners and their professional identities and aspirations. Students will begin to consider issues, challenges and opportunities within their professional contexts, and plan for their ongoing development.