Rationalising a Scheme of Work for Teaching and Learning
I am course leader on the Foundation Degree for Early Years at the further education institution in which I work. The foundation degree is delivered in collaboration with a higher education institution. There are fourteen modules on the course and I teach on up to ten of these modules over a two year programme of study. The course is delivered through a blended learning approach, encompassing both face-to-face and online ‘Moodle’ sessions, the latter being the name for the college’s virtual learning environment. The scheme of work (Appendix 1, pp8-15) that I have chosen for the purposes of this assignment relates to the module, ‘Perspectives on Play’, which is the first module taught on the first year of the foundation degree. There are a total of eight face-to-face and seven Moodle sessions occurring weekly on the Module.
There were thirteen learners who took the module on the first year of the course. The learners were all white Caucasian and female, with ages ranging from twenty to forty-seven years of age. The learners were working in a variety of early years settings including a childminder, playgroups, day nurseries, a reception class and a children’s centre. One learner had been diagnosed with dyslexia but emphasised during an initial assessment interview that she had developed her own strategies to enable successful academic study whilst undertaking her recent Advanced Levels. Another learner had not been able to achieve English at the relevant Level 2 standard. All of the learners had access to a computer and the internet, but only 4 of the learners had any experience of an online virtual learning environment. Initial assessment also revealed differences in learners’ personal, cultural and institutional backgrounds. Keeley-Browne (2007) states that one of the core professional values expected of teachers in the school context is that of demonstrating awareness and consideration for the social, cultural, linguistic, religious and ethnic
There were thirteen learners who took the module on the first year of the course. The learners were all white Caucasian and female, with ages ranging from twenty to forty-seven years of age. The learners were working in a variety of early years settings including a childminder, playgroups, day nurseries, a reception class and a children’s centre. One learner had been diagnosed with dyslexia but emphasised during an initial assessment interview that she had developed her own strategies to enable successful academic study whilst undertaking her recent Advanced Levels. Another learner had not been able to achieve English at the relevant Level 2 standard. All of the learners had access to a computer and the internet, but only 4 of the learners had any experience of an online virtual learning environment. Initial assessment also revealed differences in learners’ personal, cultural and institutional backgrounds. Keeley-Browne (2007) states that one of the core professional values expected of teachers in the school context is that of demonstrating awareness and consideration for the social, cultural, linguistic, religious and ethnic
References: Business Management Directorate, Recruitment Team (2010) Job Description: Senior Early Years Practitioner, Gloucestershire County Council Boud, D., Keogh, R., and Walker, D Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) (2008), Guidance for Assessment and Learning, Initial and Diagnostic Assessment: A Learner Centred Process, Skills for Life Improvement Race, P. and Pickford, R. (2007) Making Teaching Work: ‘teaching smarter’ in post- compulsory education, London, Sage Publications Ltd.