You will cover 2 or 3 modules within your first semester depending as to whether you are studying Full or Part Time. We ensure that the teaching is interactive, informative and we value your views! We use a range of strategies such as discussions, case studies, videos, and seminars to engage you in your learning.
The Independent Learner (Full and Part Time Students)
20 Credits (Compulsory)
This module will introduce students to theories of learning and will relate these to their own experience of education and the workplace. Generic key transferable skills, such as communication, information technology, problem solving, working with others and improving one’s own learning, will be introduced, practised and applied to work-based tasks. In addition, a range of activities associated with information skills will be offered. The nature and demand of work-based learning will be analysed and compared to academic study, with reference to the role played by directed and self-directed study on this type of course. Students will audit their own skills, identify aspects that need improving and devise plans for self-development in those areas.
Child Development: Theory and Practice (Full and Part Time Students)
20 Credits (Compulsory)
This module will develop student’s knowledge and understanding of child development and learning. The module will focus on language, cognition, physical and social and emotional aspects of development. It will provide students with theories of development and learning, and relate these to aspects of learning and teaching. Theorists considered will include, among others; Piaget, Bruner, Skinner, Vygotsky, Bronfenbrenner and Chomsky. It will also explore theories which focus on the impact of biological and maturational processes on human development. The role of the EY practitioner will be discussed in relation to supporting child development and next steps for child in their setting. We will also consider individual factors that impact on child development and learning such as health, environment, personality and self-esteem.
Constructs of Childhood (Full Time Students)
20 Credits (Compulsory)
Childhood is defined largely through the attitudes, beliefs and values of particular societies at particular times. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this module will promote an understanding of how childhood has changed or is different and continues to be socially constructed. This leads to a number of contested discourses for example: Romantic, Puritan, and Utilitarian which continue to influence policy and practice in the Early Childhood context. This module will also make reference to students own experiences of childhood and will explore how this, alongside other constructs, are influenced and represented through a variety of means such as media imagery, children’s literature and artefacts from a range of sources. Students will be encouraged to consider the potential implications for their practice in Early Childhood in respect of dominant discourses around childhood.
