About This Course
Explore the principles of effective teaching through international research, critical debate, and reflective practice. This module empowers education professionals to deepen their understanding of pedagogy, evaluate diverse approaches to learning, and develop ethically grounded, inclusive strategies that respond to real-world challenges and promote equity across a range of educational settings.
Who is this course suitable for?
Practitioners currently working within the education sector. This may include, but is not restricted to:
- Senior leaders
- Teachers
- Teaching assistants
- ALNCos
- Practitioners working in the local authority
- School improvement partners
- Estyn staff
Why study this course
By the end of the module the student should be able to:
- Explore and analyze the contested definitions of inequality, inequity and diversity.
- Critically examine how social inequality is (re)produced in society and the role that education plays in that re-production.
- Analyze theories of prejudice and discrimination and examine the application of these theories to educational settings.
- Critically explore the challenges of, and potential solutions to, prejudice and discrimination in a variety of educational settings.
How long does this course take to complete?
This short course runs over eleven weeks. Students will be expected to work through self-guided workbooks and attend two 7-hour online weekend teaching days.
Information about any assessments
The assessment has two parts: a 10-minute presentation critically reflecting on the theory, design, and/or implementation of an innovative pedagogical approach, and a 3,000-word critical reflection aligned with the content of each slide.
Course Content
What will you study on this course?
Learners will critically examine the pedagogical theories and international research that shape effective teaching and learning. The module investigates diverse educational settings and explores how pedagogical approaches can support a wide range of learner outcomes. Students will engage with global debates on the principles underpinning effective pedagogy, including the role of context, learner diversity, and curriculum design.
Through this module, learners will deepen their understanding of how social inequality, prejudice, and discrimination are reproduced within education systems, and explore how pedagogical choices can either reinforce or challenge these dynamics. Students will critically analyse contested definitions of inequality, equity, and diversity, and assess how these issues intersect with teaching practice.
Designed for education professionals, the module fosters ethical, reflective engagement with one’s own pedagogical approach, encouraging learners to apply evidence-informed strategies within their own professional contexts. Emphasis is placed on developing inclusive and responsive teaching practices that address the challenges of inequity while supporting learner wellbeing and achievement.
By the end of the module, students will be equipped to critically evaluate their teaching, explore solutions to barriers in education, and contribute to more equitable, inclusive learning environments grounded in sound pedagogical theory and research.
Further information
All online workbooks are available bilingually. Where possible, online synchronous sessions will be offered in both Welsh and English. However, please note that if there are insufficient Welsh-speaking participants to enable meaningful discussion, you may be invited to join an English-medium session.
Course Cost
The cost of this course is £975.00
Entry Requirements
Applicants must hold an undergraduate degree in any subject. To be able to complete reflective activities within the workbooks and assignments, applicants must also hold a current role within the education sector.
Level of English language skills
Fluent
Level of Welsh language skills
Fluent if you are completing the course via the Welsh Medium.
Not required if you are completing the course via the English Medium.
Application
How to Apply
Please make sure you read and follow the step-by-step application guide as this will specify which sections of the application form are compulsory for the type of course you want to apply for and save you time.
Please prepare the following information (in a Word document):
- Current employment details;
- Years of experience, and employment history (where relevant)
- Name of staff member and organisation that have approved your funding for this module.
This will speed up the process of completing the application form.
To apply for this course, you need to create an account in our APPLICANT PORTAL
You will need access to the email address you specify while creating your account to confirm it.
After creating an account, you will see a homepage with several tabs:
- Personal
- Programme
- Info
- Contact
- Education
- Employment
- Language
- Finance
You need to complete all sections before submitting your application.
When a section is complete, a ‘tick’ symbol will appear below it.
- Click on ‘Non-graduating applications / Stand alone Modules’, then select ‘Non-graduating Undergraduate’.
- In the next section, select Non-Graduating Taught Modules in Education Click Save and Continue.
- On the next page, the default for the first question is Full Time. You need to change this to ‘Part time’:
- You now need to input the module code. Exploring pedagogies: the code is XME-4305; XMC-4305 (depending on language medium). This section must be completed for your application to be processed.
- You also need to state the start date. Please make your selection, then click ‘Save and Continue’.
- IMPORTANT: You do not need to write a personal statement to apply for this course. Instead, please upload the document including employment, experience and education information that you have created prior to starting the application that contains the name of your current employer, the number of years of experience you have, and your highest qualification to date. Click Save and continue.
You only need to enter the details of your highest qualification to date, e.g. if you have a postgraduate qualification, please only only include this.
You will be asked for evidence of the qualification. Please either upload a copy of your qualification if it's easily accessible, or upload the Word document again (that you prepared earlier).
Please scroll to the bottom of the page and click on ‘I have no employment history’ (as you have already provided this in your Word document).
If you are funded, please answer the questions as follows:
- How will you finance your studies? Sponsored
- Exact name of funding authority:
- Country: United Kingdom
- Give details of the amount of the award? Fully funded.
- Sponsorship will cover: Tuition Fees
- Have you been awarded this funding? Please select ‘yes’ * Note that you will be required to upload evidence of the funding. If you wish to confirm ‘yes’ to this question, but do not have any written confirmation to upload, you can upload your Word document here again.
If you are self-funding, please provide all details as appropriate.