| Unit name | Educational Interventions and their Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Unit code | EDUCM0076 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Williams |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Education |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
An intervention is an action taken to improve a given outcome. This action may be focused on the needs of a particular set of individuals (i.e. targeted) or delivered to a whole group (i.e. universal). Much research in education is focused on interventions at the individual, classroom, school, and community-level. Taking a broad notion of what education encompasses, this unit will critically consider the role of interventions in supporting best outcomes for participants. Drawing on staff expertise across the school, in this unit we will showcase examples of successful educational interventions and review the findings of relevant intervention-based research. Students will develop a systematic understanding of interventions, including the complexities of scaling, sustaining and evaluating interventions; an understanding of ethical issues related to interventions; understanding of research methods used in interventions; and the role of impact and dissemination in guiding intervention-focused research – which emphasis placed on communicating to specialist and non-specialist audiences. Throughout the unit, we will consider the interface between theory, research and practice – discussing best practice principles in the design and implementation of educational interventions such as the synthesis of evidence to inform intervention delivery, stakeholder consultation and engagement, and sustainability of delivery and impact. Following groupwork in class, assessment activities will focus on designing and evaluating interventions.
Upon successful completion of the unit, students will be able to demonstrate that they are able to:
This unit will consist of approximately 20 hours of class time. This will involve a combination of lectures, class discussion, debates and group presentations. In addition to delivering and discussing core content, classes will also focus on research design and using research to explore concepts. Students will be expected to critically engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis.
ILOs 1-5: Intervention design: group presentation (50%)
Students will work in groups to develop an intervention (including the rationale, ethical considerations and methodology) for addressing an issue related to education.
Formative task: As a group, students will present this intervention to the class (equiv. 500 words) and formative feedback will be provided by the tutor and class members. This feedback will be used to inform students’ summative task.
Summative task: Integrating the formative feedback generated from the group presentation, each student will individually submit a 1500 word summary and critique of the intervention that was presented.
ILOs 1-6: Intervention dissemination: Policy Report 1500 words (50%)
Students will work individually to identify a range of intervention(s) around a particular topic then write a policy report to critically assess the different findings and to disseminate this research to the public (including specialist and non-specialist audience).
As well as these summative tasks, students will be expected to engage in a number of formative tasks within class which will include: the critique and discussion of journal articles, research design and intervention evaluation.
To be confirmed
