Public Courses

The quality of our teaching inevitably has an impact on the behaviour of our students. This unit considers some of the factors that can contribute to misbehaviour in the classroom and some of the steps that we can take as teachers to re-engage students with the learning process. This unit considers...

How does a child’s mind and behaviour change as they develop over time? In this unit four theories of child development are explored. Each theory views child development from a different perspective and all have underpinned psychological research for many years, and continue to do so today. By...

Are you interested in English language education? This unit examines the use of language as a cultural tool which allows humans to become involved in a two-way process of constant change. The unit will help those within the teaching environment to relate theoretical discussion to professional...

It is important to learn from classroom discussions, both for pupils and teachers. This unit will help you, as a teacher, to evaluate such discussions in order to help students develop their understanding and use of spoken language. The ability to use language as a tool for constructing and sharing...

This unit introduces you to the contested area of educational inclusion. You will look at differing perspectives on inclusion, in particular the way that medical and social models have influenced and shaped current thinking. You will also think about barriers to inclusion and the difference between...

It is part of a teaching professional’s skills to understand the needs of a diverse population of students. This unit introduces the challenges for disabled students who may use computers in different ways when taking part in eLearning or may need alternative teaching methods. It covers the...

This unit will help you to identify and use information in education, whether for your work, study or personal purposes. Experiment with some of the key resources in this subject area, and learn about the skills which will enable you to plan searches for information, so you can find what you are...

Are you interested in creating your own open educational resources? This unit will help you to write a learning unit and provide you with links to various resources for open-learning materials. You will learn about the different purposes of self-instruction and receive advice about the techniques...

Mentoring, observation and interviews are three important strategies in developing student teachers. This unit, which gives a flavour of the Open University's flexible PGCE course, introduces student–teacher centred strategies both inside and outside of the classroom involving mentors, pupils,...

Teaching with a global perspective is becoming increasingly important as the world becomes a smaller place. This unit provides a resource for teachers in both primary and secondary schools to understand why the inclusion of the global dimension in the primary school curriculum is important.