MOCP510 - PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION - 3 creditsThe course aims to develop students' understanding of the educational implications of western and eastern philosophies such as Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, Constructivism, and Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Significant aspects of each philosophy will be included and discussed such as curriculum, preferred methods, ethics, and aesthetics. Emphasis will be placed on how historical influences, settings and ideas have influenced and continue to have relevance for education and life today. The course focuses on developing the main ideas of students' in education and provides tools to use in thinking about issues related to education. It helps students in developing skills in critical and reflective thinking by evaluating the dominated philosophy of education in the formal, informal and non-formal sectors in Palestine as well as to develop their own philosophy of education.Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP511 - CREATIVE & CRITICAL THINKING - 4 creditsThe course will increase the participants` understanding of creative and critical thinking, working on improving creative problem-solving skills, and enhancing the ability to promote these skills in a variety of educational settings. It will provide opportunities to practice using critical and creative thinking to generate and evaluate knowledge, clarify concepts and ideas, seek possibilities, consider alternatives, and solve problems. Consideration will be given to the implications of learning beyond the individual and into the community. The various historical constructions of creative thinking influenced by configurations of power and influenced by politics, economics and culture will be analysed in relation to wider political struggles embedded in global capitalism to challenge student perceptions. The course will present different ways in which creativity and critical thinking can be nurtured and how educators and practitioners utilize in developing their own practices.Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP520 - CURRENT DEBATES IN EDUCATION - 3 creditsThe course gives students the opportunity to engage in critical and lively debates around large issues related to the educational sector and further develop an engaged and informed understanding. Debate issues will be selected to cover a wide variety of national, regional and global such as social justice, technology, behaviors and attitudes of students, parent involvement, funding among many. Students will be required to bring their own knowledge and understanding of the different theoretical perspectives to discuss contemporary trends and examine them critically. Throughout students will create a better understanding of the educational system in Palestine and the major factors influencing it through reflections. It will also enhance skills in collecting data, analysis, interpretation, communication, and dialogue. Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP521 - DRAMA IN EDUCATION - 3 creditsThe course introduces participants to the philosophies underpinning drama as a creative educational approach. It provides comprehensive knowledge about the use of different models of drama to become creative educators, practitioners, and facilitators who make learning creative and engaging by putting the learner at the centre of the teaching- learning process. It also aims to develop participants' confidence and self-esteem by taking part in creative techniques such as improvisation, role-playing, and still- imaging. The course aims to create an inclusive, equitable, safe and inspiring space for learning, and to promote enjoyment and appreciation through experimentation and purposeful involvement in interactive learning environments. Participants will be able to express themselves actively by voice, body and word and have the ability to use drama in formal and non-formal education contexts. Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP523 - MUSIC EDUCATION - 2 creditsThe course enables students to explore a broad understanding of the concept of music education and its contemporary approaches. It introduces a range of theoretical frameworks such as creative composition, musical learning or music making to be explored, which will be applied in educational and professional practices. Ideas about culture and creativity will be critically evaluated within contemporary musical pedagogies and the exploration of the potential of creativity through its application in inclusive, equitable music making contexts will be considered. The theory and practice of contemporary pedagogies will be explored as will trends in Music Education and the opportunities offers students to discuss and question traditions of music making and music pedagogy and how they can be applied in a wide variety of formal and non-formal learning contexts.Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP525 - PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH METHODS - 3 creditsParticipatory action research (PAR) has challenged the traditional research methodologies by arguing that the engagement of the community in the research process will lead to a better change and improvement in views and practices. As a result, this course will focus on the main elements of conducting qualitative research in general and focusing on PAR in formal and informal settings, such as conducting the needs assessment, building rapport with the community and the strategies used for developing cooperative activities. The course will shed light on methodological and ethical dilemmas that should be considered while conducting PAR such as the role of the researcher, the power relationship between the researcher and the community. It will help participants learn about planning PAR from the idea of allocating the problem to a written and publishable research. An initial connection will be made with arts-based research.Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP531 - CULTURE AND PRACTICE THROUGH ARTS BASED RESEARCH - 2 creditsThe main aim of this course is to introduce arts-based research methods and methodologies to students and consider how the processes stemming from these can be used to generate learning. The connection will be made with participatory action research through the emphasis placed on forms of inquiry that value inclusion and equity in exploring participants' own understandings of the world. Distinctions and overlaps will be made between arts-based research and qualitative social science research and the strengths and limitations of each will be considered. In this course students will develop their skills using a range of arts-based research methods, learning when and how they can be used appropriately and commensurate with the specificities of the inquiry they undertake. Students will be able to carry out research drawing directly on the criticality latent within the arts to expand and strengthen their working practices. Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP532 - CREATIVE LEARNING PRACTICES II: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES - 2 creditsThis course aims to enable students to engage with distinct forms of creative learning practices and identify the different theories and models of creativity that inform in order to better understand the potential relevance. Students will learn to compare and contrast a range of perspectives with an understanding of the cultural and historical contexts from which they have emerged. Students will participate in activities designed to illuminate the arts, the inclusive, equitable learning environments they can create, and the relationship of creative practices to democracy and pedagogy, and the conditions by which this affiliation is established. Systematic reflection will take place on the types and means of creative learning and research methods in which they have participated and experienced through the course. It is in this way that students will come understand how it can be integral to learning and their work as educators.Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP533 - CREATIVE LEARNING PRACTICES I: VALUING CONTEXT - 3 creditsThis course aims to extend the students' range of experiences and understandings of creative learning practices. It works by engaging them with examples from different international and educational contexts and providing inclusive, immersive engagement in live local contexts. They will participate in practices using arts-based methods to reflect specifically on the nature of cultural learning generated through the arts, whether it be performance or artistic activities in community settings or with students in schools and colleges. It will encourage critical ways of understanding and working with an awareness of the social and cultural dynamics which underpin inclusive, equitable education through the arts. Students will be prepared to anticipate the tensions and contradictions that emerge when people come together to learn.Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP610 - COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & PRACTICES - 3 creditsThe course will introduce students to the different approaches to community engagement and applications at different contexts. It will introduce students to the difference between the concepts related to community engagement, such as ‘civic learning', ‘community partnership', and ‘community participation'. It will expose students to the different approaches to community engagement, its strengths and weaknesses. In this regard, students will learn about the assessment tools that are used to evaluate the effectiveness of community projects. The outcome will help students to design community engagement projects that best meet the needs of their students or communities.Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP611 - THEATRE IN EDUCATION - 2 creditsThe course equips students with the techniques of Theatre in Education as a tool for teaching, learning and investigation in formal and non-formal settings. It develops students' understanding of using theatre as a critically creative medium by actively participating in developing a theatre production to promote change in the immediate community and society. They will consider how theatre in Education can create an inclusive, equitable safe learning space for both young people and adults in which other worlds can be envisaged. Through this learner-centered approach process they will investigate assumptions, challenge stereotypes, surface questions, address problems, test hypotheses, and consider the application of lessons learnt in their own context.Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP615 - EDUCATION PLACEMENT - 2 creditsThe course involves two parts: a professional placement and a series of lectures focusing on critical reflection, experiential learning, and professional development within education in different settings formal and informal. In this course students will have opportunity to take a relevant experiential placement in a school or community setting as an opportunity for personal, professional and academic development. It aims to develop the students' awareness of the educational settings in Palestine and to think and work actively in raising the community awareness towards inclusive, equitable creative pedagogies and community practices. The course will give students the tools to reflect critically on their practical experience and to consider how this relates to the wider issues, processes, practices, and theoretical ideas that they have studied in this program. An assigned supervisor will help students find the best placement which is related or sometimes different from their previous practical experience and specialization. Students will be encouraged to think about the variety of settings and to consider placements which will challenge their existing assumptions, perspectives, and skills. Pre Requisite: No prerequisiteMOCP620 - RESEARCH AND DISSERTATION - 5 creditsThe culmination of the MA programme is research and dissertation writing. It aims to develop students' skills in designing and carrying out research project that can be action research or desk-based focusing on an educational or community context or topic, reflecting critically on what they have learned in this programme. In this course students will work intensively on applying their acquired skills in academic research and writing; the final dissertation and presenting the final project. A supervisor will support students on chosen research projects in its different phases from planning to writing the final dissertation. The faculty will be supervising the work of a group of students (2-4) who are writing a research proposal, carrying out a research project and writing a dissertation.Pre Requisite: No prerequisite
E-mail: info@bethlehem.edu | Phone: +972-2-274-1241 | Fax: +972-2-274-4440 Bethlehem, Palestine