THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh Medical School : Medical Education

Postgraduate Course: Agile course design for professional education (MEED11030)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh Medical School CollegeCollege of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course typeOnline Distance Learning AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course combines theory and practice in supporting students to design a course that is underpinned by key pedagogical principles, irrespective of whether it is primarily online, on-campus, blended, or a hybrid model. By framing education as never fully digital nor fully on-campus, we will encourage students to think beyond simple binaries and methods and consider the possibilities and limitations of agile course design. Among other things, this perspective requires students to: examine the complex contexts in which their own learners learn; the ways in which physical, digital, and social elements combine in learning and teaching activities; and what that means for planning and delivering courses.
Course description This course is primarily driven by the process of designing a course for a specialist professional area. This might be an actual course that will run with real students but will also be of benefit as a hypothetical exercise. The course is structured as a series of practical activities that you will undertake as part of a course design process and documentation. Activities will also include reflection and dialogue with tutors and fellow students about design theories and considerations of the aims and context of your own course, as well as of those of your peers.

Each week, the activities will form part of a design template that will eventually be submitted as a key component of the assignment, along with a theoretical rationale and reflective account. Tutor and peer feedback will be provided on these activities throughout the course.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Flexible
Course Start Date 09/08/2021
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 8, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 8, Online Activities 65, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1, Formative Assessment Hours 1, Summative Assessment Hours 30, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 83 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Ongoing formative assessment (including peer and tutor feedback) will support the development of a course design template which will be submitted for the final summative assignment, worth 100% of the mark.
Feedback Students will be given ongoing feedback on their designs in the form of tutor and peer dialogue in response to weekly activities. They will be provided with audio and textual feedback on their summative assignments which will help them to make further refinements to their course design templates after the course.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Consider the physical, digital and social aspects of their educational context and their inter-relationship.
  2. Appreciate the importance of complexity, uncertainty, and learner autonomy within educational aims and outcomes.
  3. Critically evaluate the role of technology in learning and teaching and how it is embedded in educational and professional practice.
  4. Effectively design a course for their context, underpinned by sound theoretical principles.
  5. Critique their own and others¿ designs, based on a holistic evaluation of aims, methods, environments, tools, resources and learning activities.
Reading List
Beetham, H. (2013). Designing for Active Learning in Technology-Rich Contexts. In: Beetham H and Sharpe R (eds) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Principles and Practices of Design. New York.

Knight PT (2001) Teaching in Higher Education making Complexity and Curriculum: A process approach to curriculum-making. Teaching in Higher Education 6(3): 369¿381. DOI: 10.1080/1356251012006122.

Fawns T (2019) Postdigital Education in Design and Practice. Postdigital Science and Education 1(1). Springer: 132¿145. DOI: 10.1007/s42438-018-0021-8.

Goodyear P and Carvalho L (2019) The Analysis of Complex Learning Environments. In: Beetham H and Sharpe R (eds) Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age: Principles and Practices of Design. New York: Routledge, pp. 49¿65.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Enquiry and lifelong learning
Aspiration and personal development
Outlook and engagement
Research and enquiry
Personal and intellectual autonomy
Personal effectiveness
Communication
KeywordsCourse design,curriculum,agile,postdigital,learning environment,online learning
Contacts
Course organiserDr Tim Fawns
Tel: 0131 242 6536
Email: T.Fawns@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Debbie Spence
Tel: (0131 6)51 6536
Email: Debbie.Spence@ed.ac.uk
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