ED2BHH-Head and Heart: Education for Wisdom and Community

Module Provider: Institute of Education
Number of credits: 20 [10 ECTS credits]
Level:5
Terms in which taught: Autumn term module
Pre-requisites:
Non-modular pre-requisites:
Co-requisites:
Modules excluded:
Current from: 2023/4

Module Convenor: Dr Geoff Taggart
Email: g.taggart@reading.ac.uk

Type of module:

Summary module description:

Without the fantasy of endless economic growth, in an era of ‘deep adaptation’ to climate crisis, what is education now for?  Which aspects of education and human development help us to become better people? Can technology help us to become wise? What exactly should teachers be role models of? What might transformative learning look like and how might we model it in our personal and professional lives? 

This module presents an alternative vision of education for social sustainability from a global and anthropological perspective. It characterises education as a fundamentally human endeavour to make life meaningful for oneself within a community of shared values. It is seen as transformative, enlarging and changing perspectives, and is also holistic, involving mind, body and the human spirit. It is mythopoetic, recognising that knowledge is conveyed and retained most meaningfully through story and imagery. In this paradigm, although educational means may be technological, involving robots and computers, the ends are primarily ethical.  Moral behaviour occurs as a natural outcome of care and nurture by family and community and each generation of learners is welcomed into their cultural inheritance as an act of inclusive hospitality, a recurrent metaphor throughout the module. 

This vision of education informs the teaching style, the content and the expectations of you, the learner. Sessions take the form of interactive presentations and appropriate disclosure about your own beliefs and values is encouraged.  A key part of the module involves visits to local places of worship as examples of community values in practice. These visits represent opportunities for us to cultivate an openness to learning and to reflect upon our own perspectives.  As it is hoped that these perspectives will be enlarged and shaped by your experience on the module, your reflections will be central to the written assignment.

Aims:

This module aims to enable students to: 

• Broaden and deepen their understanding of educational aims and purposes


• Understand, experience and critique the educational paradigm presented.  For example, visits to local religious sites affiliated to minority ethnic groups give students an embodied understanding of education as openness to difference and the transformation of perspectives.


• Reflect upon these encounters and compare them with their own educational experiences.

Assessable learning outcomes:

Students will be assessed on their ability to:

• Critically evaluate different aims and philosophies of education


• Present, reflect upon and discuss experiences of transformative learning


• Demonstrate a critical understanding of the ways in which technology can both advance and undermine education


• Compare and contrast different approaches to ethics in education


• Demonstrate an understanding of a mythopoetic approach to curriculum by engaging their own creativity

Additional outcomes:

Students will develop their transferable skills. They will gain valuable experience in engagement with diverse cultures which fosters attitudes of tolerance and inclusivity.

Outline content:

• Theories about the aims and purposes of education (e.g., functional, existential, cosmopolitan)


• Education as hospitality (e.g., Levinas, Derrida)


• Early childhood and moral development (e.g., attachment theory, triune ethics theory)


• Care ethics in education (e.g., Noddings)


• Examples of cultural values and narratives (e.g., Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism)


• Technology and humanity (e.g., Heidegger)


• Pedagogy of transformative learning (e.g., Mezirow, Cranton, Dirkx)

Global context:

The module is contextualised within an understanding of global climate crisis and examines the implications for a more post-industrial, ‘human scale’ education.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:

The module is a combination of interactive classroom presentations, local visits, creative writing and structured dialogue. 

Contact hours:

	Autumn	Spring	Summer
Lectures	10
External visits	10
Guided independent study:
Wider reading (independent)	120
Wider reading (directed)	10
Advance preparation for classes	10
Completion of formative assessment tasks	10
Essay preparation	30
Total hours by term	200	0	0
Total hours for module	200

Summative Assessment Methods:

Method	Percentage
Portfolio	100

Summative assessment- Examinations:

Summative assessment- Coursework and in-class tests:

One 2500 -word portfolio comprising reflections on the content of the module submitted in week 8  of the autumn term.

Formative assessment methods:

Feedback given on first draft of the reflective account submitted.

Penalties for late submission:

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/cqsd-old-site-documents/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Assessment requirements for a pass:

A mark of 40% overall. 

Reassessment arrangements:

Resubmission during the summer resit period.

Additional Costs (specified where applicable):

1) Required text books: 

2) Specialist equipment or materials: 

3) Specialist clothing, footwear or headgear: 

4) Printing and binding: 

5) Computers and devices with a particular specification: 

6) Travel, accommodation and subsistence: £10

Last updated: 30 March 2023