Learning and Teaching MSc

**The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2024). For complete and up-to-date information about this course, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas.** <br/><br/>This is a professional development course for qualified teachers who are currently working in schools or similar educational settings. It focuses on developing your pedagogical practice in schools and classrooms, through engagement with and in research.<br/><br/>The MSc is part-time, intended for teachers, in both primary and secondary schools and further education, and including school leaders, who are interested in developing a research-informed approach to their existing practice. It focuses on the processes of learning and teaching, and is rooted in your own practice in school (or a similar educational setting). It is not possible to enrol if you are not currently working in a school (or similar setting) and is unsuitable for those in higher education.<br/><br/>The course is built around four main themes:<br/><br/><br/>- Teachers and learners<br/><br/><br/>- Curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment<br/><br/><br/>- Responding to pupils<br/><br/><br/>- Schools, equity and achievement<br/><br/><br/>The course involves attending in-person teaching weekends and carrying out investigations in school, which are supported by set readings.<br/><br/>Throughout the course there is a strong emphasis on collaboration within your school and across the course. The University’s Virtual Learning Environment is used to support the school-based tasks and sustain critical discussion with peers. In addition to attendance at the seminars, all students are expected to engage in online activities, reporting and reflecting on their reading and school-based investigations.<br/><br/>In the first year of the course, you will be required to attend five teaching weekends at the Department of Education in Oxford over a Friday afternoon and Saturday. Supervision will mainly be offered within small subject-specific support groups, and from a University supervisor with expertise in a particular subject. In the second year, you will largely work with a specialist supervisor on your own project. You will be expected to attend an additional teaching weekend at the end of September as well as the annual conference held for course participants in Oxford in June.<br/><br/>Research in the department is organised around three major themes:<br/><br/><br/>- Language, Cognition and Development<br/><br/><br/>- Policy, Economy and Society<br/><br/><br/>- Learning: Pedagogy, Learning and Knowledge.<br/><br/><br/>Within each of these themes there are several research groups and centres. All staff and doctoral students belong to one or more of these research groups, each of which has its own seminar programme to which graduate students often contribute. In addition, the department as a whole sponsors regular seminars and public lectures which attract distinguished national and international speakers.