Creating educational settings : designing a university course

The International Studies in Education Programme taught in English in the School of Education at the University of Iceland, enrolled its first group of students in fall 2008. One of three required courses in the autumn term is Educational Settings. The purpose of this research was to explore the dev...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Allyson Macdonald 1952-, Auður Pálsdóttir 1965-
Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:Icelandic
Published: 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1946/11040
Description
Summary:The International Studies in Education Programme taught in English in the School of Education at the University of Iceland, enrolled its first group of students in fall 2008. One of three required courses in the autumn term is Educational Settings. The purpose of this research was to explore the development of the pedagogic discourse of this course from conception to enactment for three student cohorts (2008, 2009, 2010), using concepts from Basil Bernstein’s sociology of education. We wanted to assess the influence the design of the course had on the pedagogical practice. The aims of the course were that students became aware of development and diversity in educational settings and of the issues involved in establishing and maintaining such settings. The challenge was to design the course in such a way that it was itself an ‘educational’ setting. In the article we discuss the case-study approach to the design of the course. Data are drawn from the experience of the authors in teaching the course, course assignments and discussions saved on the electronic learning management system Blackboard, examination scripts and notes and interviews with seven students in summer 2011. Students themselves became a part of the different settings and became aware of their own role in shaping their learning and development. Alþjóðlegt nám í menntunarfræði sem kennt er á ensku við Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands hófst haustið 2008. Eitt af þremur skyldunámskeiðunum að hausti heitir „námsaðstæður“ (e. educational settings). Tilgangur rannsóknarinnar var að skoða með hliðsjón af kenningum Basils Bernsteins þróun orðræðu frá þeim tíma að stungið var upp á námskeiðinu fram til dagsins í dag er námskeiðið hefur verið kennt þrisvar sinnum (2008, 2009, 2010). Við vildum meta áhrif hönnunarinnar á framkvæmdina. Markmið námskeiðsins er að gera nemendur meðvitaða um þróun og fjölbreytni í námsumhverfi og velta fyrir sér ýmsum þáttum í mótun námsumhverfis og hvernig megi halda utan um það og viðhalda því. Áskorunin fólst í að hanna ...