Engaging With Student Diversity (P02203)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : EDU-P-P02203

This course will consider different dimensions of diversity among university students and will explore the challenges and opportunities for teaching and learning they offer. The overall goal is to encourage among participants a critical awareness of the need for inclusive language, practices and procedures in the design of effective learning environments.

Student diversity manifests itself on a variety of dimensions, including, for example, financial status or SES of students, whether they are the first in their family to attend university, whether their first (or preferred) language is English, whether they need to work to support their studies, culture and ethnicity, age, family status, ethical and religious beliefs, (degrees of) disability, gender, lifestyle, ways of meaning-making, or styles of learning to mention but a few. While some dimensions of diversity are immediately obvious others are not visible and hence far less evident. This makes it even more important for teachers to develop an understanding of and sensitivity towards the kinds of diversity they might encounter in their classes and employ inclusive practices that are welcoming for all.

Next to providing opportunities for participants to engage with the educational research literature on student diversity and critically examine how they might overcome the challenges associated with diversity through inclusive language, practices and procedures in their own teaching, the course will also examine the significant opportunities for student learning offered by diversity and invite participants to explore ways in which they might capitalise on this opportunity so as to enrich the student learning experience.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Pre-requisites : For new lecturers participation in the two day orientation to teaching at the University of Edinburgh offered by the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Assessment is a course requirement.

? Special Arrangements for Entry : Pre-course reading, in-course reading as well as assignment preparation complement face-to-face teaching/learning activities to a total of 100 notional effort hours.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Education, (The Moray House School of Education, Schedule C)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Full Year (Blocks 1-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 6 hour(s) per week for 2 weeks

? Other Required Attendance : 44 hour(s) per week for 2 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

On completion of the course participants will be able to:
- demonstrate a critical awareness of the different dimensions of diversity and how they are represented in the UK, Scotland and Edinburgh student population
- identify and critically examine the pedagogical challenges as well as opportunities student diversity poses for university teachers
- identify the challenges and opportunities student diversity on campus offers for students
- develop creative responses to the above challenges and critically evaluate the extent to which the learning environments in their own departments are welcoming (or unwelcoming) of student diversity and employ inclusive language, practices and procedures
- develop principles with regards to programme, course and/or session planning that demonstrate sensitivity towards student diversity

Assessment Information

The assignment for this course is a critical review (2500 words) of the extent to which aspects of diversity are being addressed in the teaching, learning and assessment practices employed within the school, drawing appropriately on the educational research literature on diversity.