Learning Environments and Operating Cultures (5cr)

Objectives (course unit)

Teacher student
- conceptualizes and evaluates their observations of various learning and operating environments from the perspective of teaching and facilitation of learning
- evaluates the taught curriculum in different learning environments
follows teacher’s code of ethics
- can justify their practical theory for teaching
- uses different communication methods and tools and evaluates them from a pedagogical perspective

Content (course unit)

A Learning Environment can be understood as a place, space, community or operating practice where we learn to operate, understand new things or evaluate various situations and solve problems.

An organisation's operating culture consists of patterns guiding its operation and behaviour as well as official regulations and unofficial rules, values and principles. The official operating culture in an organization and the one that is realized in practice are not always the same. By investigating the operating culture we can influence learning, facilitation and development of the operation of the whole community.

How can different work environments be assessed and transformed into learning environments?
What is an authentic, constructivist learning environment which supports different types of learning like?
What factors contribute to wellbeing in learning and working environments?

Assessment criteria, pass/fail (course unit)

Pass: Teacher student
- combines theoretical data with their own experiences and observations
- reflects their observations, actions and experiences and evaluates their significance to their own competences and knowledge
- participates actively in the group learning process by sharing expertise, searching for information and collaboratively creating knowledge online and at face to face meetings
- analyzes and evaluates their learning results and choices made
- uses different communication methods and tools and evaluates them from a pedagogical perspective

Fail: Teacher student
- describes theoretical knowledge and experiential knowledge and observations separately
- discussion is shallow, presents disconnected facts and/or paraphrases literature
- does not participate in the group processes actively and/or has not submitted the learning tasks according to instructions
- knows only the most common communication methods

Assessment methods and criteria

Learning journal and individual tasks for individual evidence of learning
Active participation and contribution to not only one's own but the whole group's learning

Assessment scale

Pass/Fail

Teaching methods

Students study individually, in pairs and in small groups online and face to face on contact days. These student-centred methods include:
- planning, monitoring and assessing own learning
- searching for information
- reflecting on new information and knowledge
- preparing individual knowledge resources in different forms for group discussion (Book club discussion)
- collaborating in knowledge building and in presenting the results (answer to the key question)
- keeping a personal learning journal where own reflection and teacher identity building becomes visible

Learning materials

To be negotiated with the group

Student workload

5 x 26,7 h, of which around 40 hours are face to face to contact. The major part of the work is either individual study or collaboration in small groups online.

Content scheduling

Different kinds of learning environments
Factors contributing to learning in a learning environment
Own practical theory of teaching (teacher's creed)
Operating cultures and the affect on learning and collaboration
Teacher identity
Teacher's code of ethics

Practical training and working life cooperation

This course is linked with Learning Environment and Networking Practice.

International connections

This is an international group and we offer collaboration with TAMK partner univeristies when possible.

Further information

The underlining principles are participatory pedagogy, authentic learning and sociocultural learning theory.

Assessment criteria - pass/fail (Not in use, Look at the Assessment criteria above)

Pass: Teacher student
- combines theoretical data with their own experiences and observations
- reflects their observations, actions and experiences and evaluates their significance to their own
competences and knowledge
- participates actively in the group learning process by sharing expertise, searching for information
and collaboratively creating knowledge online and at face to face meetings
- analyzes and evaluates their learning results and choices made
- uses different communication methods and tools and evaluates them from a pedagogical
perspective
Fail: Teacher student
- describes theoretical knowledge and experiential knowledge and observations separately
- discussion is shallow, presents disconnected facts and/or paraphrases literature
- does not participate in the group processes actively and/or has not submitted the learning tasks
according to instructions
- knows only the most common communication methods