| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 15 |
|---|---|
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 15 |
1. To understand the main approaches to research in educational psychology and special needs, and theoretical/ epistemological basis of each
2. Understand the ways research is related to the concepts of educational psychology and to the way the individual has been conceptualised.
3. To develop structure and change students own critical research skills.
4. To look at key research issues including ethics, validity, reflexivity, and voice as they relate to the professional context of the educational psychologist.
Original Summary:
This module further develops the skills needed to look critically at research and further skills required to carry out a research project in educational psychology. This module leads from EDU8158. Teaching sessions vary each year, and tutorials are used to develop student ideas, understandings and approaches.
The curriculum of taught sessions will vary each year, and the timetable may not always be set before the start of the academic year in order to respond both to the needs and interests of the students but also to key issues in the discipline that arise. This module consists of 1-2 days of taught sessions and tutorial assistance to develop the assignment. Past content has included the following:
Title
Liz Todd – Research issues –ethics, reflexivity, validity etc
Simon Kometa - Revising some basic stats and using SPSS to work with actual data on children to produce descriptive statistics, frequency tables, correlation, t-test, scatter plots etc
Ian Hall – Using Nvivo in Research Analysis
Liz Todd - Theory of Change as a Research Tool –
Prof Ann Briggs - Using modelling in qualitative research
Dr Kate Wall and Dr Pam Woolner Visual research data
Dr Laurence O’Connor - DEdPsy ex-student Using mixed methodology – quantitative and qualitative in an educational psychology doctorate
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Academic Staff Contact Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 2 | 2:00 | 4:00 | 4:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 6 | 1:00 | 6:00 | 6:00 | Tutorials |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 5 | 2:00 | 10:00 | 10:00 | N/A |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Fieldwork | 1 | 134:00 | 134:00 | 0:00 | N/A |
| Total | 154:00 | 20:00 |
Rationale and relationship to learning outcomes:
The module is taught in semesters 1 & 2. The module takes the form of 1-3 day sessions to engage with the presented material. The teaching methods include short lectures, interactive workshops, peer presentations where appropriate, discussions and face-to-face tutorials to develop the chosen assignment. The content is changed each year, and the timetable may not always be set before the start of the academic year in order to respond to the needs and interests of the students.
The teaching methods include short lectures, interactive workshops, and discussions. The content is changed each year, and the timetable may not always be set before the start of the academic year in order to respond both to the needs and interests of the students but also to key issues in the discipline that arise. The teaching methods are designed to encourage engagement with new ideas and practices with inputs from key speakers but also to give time for participants to discuss and debate their own ideas. Students will be encouraged to bring ideas from both reading and practice to both the taught days and the tutorials.
The tutorials to develop the assignment play a key role in the learning on this module, in developing critical thinking about ideas and about literature. The assignment requires the development of a chosen research issue in educational psychology. This could be a focus of empirical research conducted by the student or could be an issue that has arisen out of some empirical research. The assignment is on an area chosen by each student in order to be relevant to their work situation and interests. Almost all students are working as educational psychologists whilst taking the DEdPsy and the assignment, developed in close communication with the supervisor, is designed to be relevant to the areas the student is interested in developing within his or her educational psychology practice. Students are expected to attend all face-to-face teaching sessions and to seek tutorials with their supervisor.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 1 | M | 100 | 5000 words |
Written formative and summative feedback is given to each student. Students are then required to indicate how they have addressed points for development.
We assess students’ achievements by means of a written assignment (5k words) that is submitted on 8th June. The assignment asks for critical engagement with an issue of methodology. It is likely but not required that some pilot research may take place as part of this assignment. Marking (at M level by course tutors, see appendix) and feedback assess the:
• Use of relevant literature;
• Coherence and Quality of Discussion;
• Implications for Professional Practice;
• Presentation
This assignment can be combined with EDU8163 or EDU8162 to create a single 10,000 word assignment.
The assignment is on an area chosen by each student in order to be relevant to their work situation and interests. Almost all students are working as educational psychologists whilst taking the DEdPsy and the assignment, developed in close communication with the supervisor, is designed to be relevant to the areas the student is interested in developing within his or her educational psychology practice.
The assignment is designed to enable students to investigate the implications of research methodology for the ways in which findings become understood and impact on the development of ideas and concepts. We hope this will further the development of a critical approach in reading, research and practice. We also hope this will help to choose an appropriate methodology for the thesis.
These criteria enable this assignment to contribute strongly to the learning outcomes, the development of knowledge in educational psychology and of critical engagement with literature and research.