EDM104: Child Development and Education

Module code: EDM104

Module provider: Institute of Education

Credits: 20

Level: Postgraduate Masters

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Daisy Powell, email: d.a.powell@reading.ac.uk

Module co-convenor: Professor Holly Joseph, email: h.joseph@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module will provide students with an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the development of children from infancy to adolescence and to apply this to educational settings. The module will provide a detailed overview of key theories of child development, with a focus on those aspects of development most relevant to the classroom. This will allow students to reflect on ways in which development is impacted by both genetic and environmental influences, and how this may in turn impact on teaching and learning.

• To develop an understanding of classic and contemporary psychological theories of cognitive development and how these relate to education
• To develop an understanding of contemporary accounts of the development of language, literacy and number skills and how this relates to education
• To develop an understanding of the ways in which empirical evidence can inform the development of interventions to enhance pupil learning
• To develop an understanding of the social and emotional development of children and how this relates to education
• To develop an understanding of the nature of different developmental trajectories including neurodiversity
• To reflect critically on research relating to child development and its relevance to teaching and learning

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

• Demonstrate an ability to read, understand and critically evaluate contemporary research on child development
• Demonstrate an ability to critically analyse educational policy in relation to child development
• Demonstrate an ability to critically evaluate their own professional practice in the light of evidence

Module content

Specialist knowledge and understanding will cover topics such as those outlined below:

• Theories and approaches to understanding child development: changing understandings of childhood, from Piaget and Vygotsky to the information processing theorists
• Methodologies used to research child development
• Cognitive development: attention, memory and learning - implications for educational settings
• Language, literacy and numeracy development - implications for educational settings
• Social development - implications for educational settings
• Neurodiversity and developmental differences
• Assessment and diagnosis

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

• Tutor-led lectures
• Group discussions, seminars and readings
• Practical workshops focussed on assignments

Study hours

At least 15 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

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

Assessments with numerical marks

• 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 three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/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.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Essay plan (plan for assignment 2), to include a draft of a full paragraph (500 words) to enable feedback on writing style and APA style for citations/references.

Reassessment

Additional costs