I am course leader on the Foundation Degree for Early Years at the further education institution in which I work. The foundation degree is delivered in collaboration with a higher education institution. There are fourteen modules on the course and I teach on up to ten of these modules over a two year programme of study. The course is delivered through a blended learning approach, encompassing both face-to-face and online ‘Moodle’ sessions, the latter being the name for the college’s virtual learning environment. The scheme of work (Appendix 1, pp8-15) that I have chosen for the purposes of this assignment relates to the module, ‘Perspectives on Play’, which is the first module taught on the first year of the foundation degree. There
Within the Baktian notion of ‘dialogism’, the learner plays an active role in constructing a personal understanding of curriculum through dialogic interaction in collaboration with others - the intersubjective nature of language is underpinned and its use as a social system (Lyle, 2009). Bakhtin also posited that truth is not to be found inside the head of an individual, but ‘...is born between people collectively searching for truth, in the process of their dialogic interaction’ (1984, p110, cited in Lyle, 2009).
In a group discussion following relevant activities throughout the module, learners were encouraged to reflect upon how learning from the activity would benefit their personal and professional context and their setting. This provided further opportunity for self-evaluation, reflection (Boud et al, 1985), peer learning and feedback to take place. All these are integral towards ensuring that learning takes place (McAlpine and Weston, 2002), and in the case of the latter, that learners remain motivated (Black and Wiliam, 1999, cited in QIA, 2008). Discussion also provided the opportunity for the learners to utilise essential Functional Skills in ‘Speaking and Listening’. Although I have identified in my Professional Development Record for this course that I consider myself to be good at embedding Functional Skills and the minimum core subjects of ICT and English into my lessons, I am less proficient at being