About this course: One focus of the course is to help you develop strong relationships with families to enable them to support children’s learning. Positive relationships with your students enable you not only to teach them but also to get to know them as individuals. Positive relationships with colleagues and school leaders are necessary to help the school improve. This course is part of the Foundations of Teaching for Learning program which is designed to assist people who are currently teaching but have had no formal teacher education improve their understanding of their role and work as a teacher. This set of courses will enhance your knowledge and understanding about learning and teaching and what makes a teacher a professional. Practical activities are provided to assist you in using what you have learned to improve your teaching practice. While these are optional, it is strongly recommended that you undertake them if at all possible. Of particular importance is a guide to the development of a portfolio to help you organize and document your thinking about what you have learned. In addition, you may be able to use the portfolio to access other opportunities in the future. Announcement for all learners: Course instructor Tony Townsend will be actively participating on the course discussion forums for six weeks from Monday 14 September. Announcement for US based teachers: Coursera and its partners are proud to offer eligible teachers in the US free Course Certificates for this course and other high-quality teacher professional development courses, through the Connected effort announced by President Obama. To participate in this opportunity, US district leaders simply need to approve Coursera teacher professional development by completing a brief form at: www.coursera.org/tpd. US Teachers interested in this opportunity are also encouraged to follow the link to learn more and www.coursera.org/tpd. Once a district’s form has been verified, the district leader will be notified and teachers in the district will receive access to free verified certificates for Coursera professional development. Coursera and the Commonwealth Education Trust thank educators for the hard work they do every day and hope this opportunity will assist US teachers to continue developing their craft in a meaningful and flexible way.
Created by: Commonwealth Education Trust
Taught by: Fawaz Shareef, Director of the Institute for Research and Innovation
Villa College, Male, Maldives
Taught by: Tony Townsend, Professor Educational Leadership
University of Tasmania/Griffith University, Australia
Taught by: Professor John MacBeath, Professor Emeritus
University of Cambridge, UK
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
The importance of relationships for educational settings
Relationships are critical to everything we do. They impact on our learning and how we see the curriculum and its assessment. They make a difference to our learning by ourselves and with others. They will enable us to work well, or not so well, with other peop...
4 videos, 4 readings
Graded: Quiz 1
WEEK 2
Developing positive teacher-student relationships
This week we are going to focus on establishing relationships with students. We will start by considering the connections between how and what we think and how we behave. Sometimes we behave habitually, but sometimes, if we want to change our habits, we have t...
5 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Quiz 2
Graded: Peer Assessment One
WEEK 3
Working with your colleagues and school leaders
This week we will focus on the concept of school improvement and effectiveness. There are several important factors that contribute to the success of a school. We will identify what these factors are, and look at each of them in detail. We start by looking at ...
4 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Quiz 3
WEEK 4
The importance of parent involvement for student success
This week we will consider the importance of establishing good relationships with the parents of your students. We will focus on why we need to involve parents in the education of their children and how we can go about it. The first two lectures are themed on ...
5 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Quiz 4
Graded: Peer Assessment Two
WEEK 5
It takes a whole village to educate a child: Working with your community
This week we consider the importance of looking beyond the school and establishing relationship with the outside community. Students are much more likely to do well if the community values education and provides good policies, appropriate levels of funding, an...
4 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Quiz 5
WEEK 6
Recognising diversity: Social, Cultural and Values differences in the school
This week you are going to have the opportunity to think about the issue of diversity in the classroom. Some of you might think that your classroom is not really a diverse place because all of the students come from your home country. However, diversity goes w...
5 videos, 1 reading
Graded: Quiz 6
How It Works
Coursework
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Help from Your Peers
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Creators
Commonwealth Education Trust
The Commonwealth Education Trust invests in primary and secondary education and the professional development of teachers throughout their careers. Through education it seeks to enhance the opportunities for children from all walks of life to contribute to the sustainable development of their communities.
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