Online Education 2025-2026

The course is part of the BA Childhood Practice and can only be taken by students having access to an Early Years setting where migrant children are being educated.

The course focuses on challenges migrant children and their families face – a small research project on preparing a case study with one of the migrant children in the student’s setting is integral to the course.

This course has been developed as part of the EU ERASMUS+ project KINDINMI, the University of Aberdeen participated in.

The course is part of the BA Childhood Practice and can only be taken by students having access to an Early Years setting where migrant children are being educated.

The course focuses on challenges migrant children and their families face – a small research project on preparing a case study with one of the migrant children in the student’s setting is integral to the course.

This course has been developed as part of the EU ERASMUS+ project KINDINMI, the University of Aberdeen participated in.

The Inclusive Principles In Action course is premised on a fundamental belief that all learners have the right to an education that meets their needs through systems of shared responsibility. The course helps students review and enhance the learning experience through opportunities to examine existing practice in the light of new knowledge and insights. This enables students to reflect on experiences and different perspectives by exposing these to sustained discussion and critical appraisal.

The course aims to bridge theoretical understanding and practical teaching skills, emphasising reflective practice and continuous professional improvement.

This course integrates theoretical knowledge and understanding of how to plan inclusive learning experiences with demonstration of practical teaching skills in accordance with the professional standards for lecturers in Scotland’s colleges.

This mandatory course is part of the in-service Teaching Qualification for Further Education professionals. The course brings together ideas of critically reflective practice, effective facilitation of learning and the development of metacognitive skills for learning. It will support you to develop collaborative and reflexive approaches to continuing professional development.

This mandatory course is part of the in-service Teaching Qualification for Further Education professionals. The course will support you to learn from current practice to inform future practice. The course emphasises the role that reflection and evaluation of practice has on professional development, in line with current GTCS Standards for College Lecturers. You will consider the role of evaluation, and in particular self-evaluation as tool for professional growth. Following observation of a lesson that you have planned, you will undertake a professional dialogue with your course tutor which will form the basis for reflection and critical self-evaluation, taking into account the diverse characteristics of learners and yourself as a learner. You will demonstrate personal professional growth by identifying the implications of your findings for your future practice and professional development.

This mandatory course is part of the in-service Teaching Qualification for Further Education professionals. Participants will:

- Examine the broader context of teaching, exploring how social, political, economic, legislative, and technological factors influence education

- Engage in professional enquiry to understand the pedagogical implications of these external factors

- Reflect on personal professional development and teaching practice

- Develop critical thinking skills to respond effectively to the changing educational landscape

- Evidence own practice as aligned with current professional standards for college lecturers.

The course aims to equip educators with the insights and skills needed to adapt and excel in the dynamic field of further education.

This course provides a range of learning contexts, delivered both through on-campus and online learning, to acquire knowledge and understanding of current issues in Scottish Education relevant to Early/First level.

Students will engage with educational theory, policy and literature in order to further underpin the development of professional practice.

This course will support students to develop the skills required to engage with practitioner research and enquiry. 

This course provides a range of learning opportunities, delivered both through on-campus and online learning, where students will engage with inter-disciplinary contexts for learning across the curriculum, including opportunities to explore diversity, global citizenship and sustainability.

Students will develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the nature of the curriculum in the early years, including subject specific content and skills, including the importance of play and active learning. Approaches to planning for learning, teaching and assessment will be explored through core curricular areas.

This course provides a range of learning opportunities, delivered both through on-campus and online learning, where students will engage with contexts for learning across the curriculum in the Upper Stages of Primary School.

Students will develop a broad knowledge and understanding of the nature of curriculum, including subject specific content and skills. Approaches to planning for learning, teaching and assessment will be explored through core curricular areas, highlighting the importance of Literacy, Numeracy and Health and Wellbeing.

 As part of the PGDE (Primary) programme, this professional placement provides further opportunity for students to apply and develop their knowledge of issues in Scottish Education and pedagogical theory. Students will develop the skills to support them as a critically responsive practitioner as they transition into their induction year.

As part of the PGDE (Primary) programme, this professional placement provides an opportunity for students to apply their knowledge of issues in Scottish Education and pedagogical theory in a practical context within Upper Stages of Primary School.

This course follows the same teaching approach as the first two courses. Its distinctive feature is understanding how and why we get caught up in habitual patterns of thinking and behaviour. Mindfulness and Compassion provide the foundation for clear seeing into the hidden mechanisms that give rise to conditioned reactions; and seeing how these have their roots in the subliminal level of mental activity. Practice is developed through Insight meditation and reflection. The module also draws on insights from evolutionary psychology, neuroscience and Buddhism.

The course is assessed by a written assignment (6000 words). 

During this online course, models of participation are examined in order to develop a clear understanding of the processes, skills and attitudes that underpin effective participatory practice. The key issues of literacy and literacy difficulties are then considered to provide a framework for understanding the perspectives of the learner and the importance of a collaborative approach with all.  This course is designed to support critical reflection; facilitate professional development; inform and transform practice; and enhance children’s experiences and learning.

This course aims to enable participants to reflect critically on their own professional, participative practice and to consider a range of influences and perspectives in the field of literacy difficulties.  In particular, it will include a critical consideration of the following:

• the principles underpinning effective participative practice;
• models of participation;
• the distinction between ‘deep’ and ‘functional’ collaboration;
• the role of underlying values and attitudes in the genesis of participative practice;
• the impact of power relations, and institutional factors on participation and learning;
• strategies for enabling participation;
• pupil and parent perspectives on learning and participation
• interprofessional working, learning and participation
• different theoretical perspectives on literacy difficulties, including historical developments
• perspectives, needs and rights of pupils and parents
• importance of emotions in learning
• strategies for making the curriculum more accessible
• the wider implications of literacy difficulties within an inclusive and collaborative educational framework

This online course is designed to enable participants to link educational practice, evidence, and theory to design, deliver and evaluate courses for undergraduate and taught postgraduate students. It encourages participants to take a critical, scholarly stance on different approaches to learning, teaching and assessment. Sessions are designed to facilitate participants’ engagement with pedagogical literature and support their professional development in teaching and/or learning support.

Participants will examine neurodiversity not as a deficit, but as the breadth of human functioning and learn how neurodiversity is defined in theory, research and practice. Through reading, discussion & reflection, participants will respectfully problematise several models of disability and strive to cultivate an intersectional perspective on educational approaches for pupils who ‘think differently’. Students will also consider how neuro-normativity has shaped the educational context.

This course invites you to critically explore the intersection of digital technologies with pedagogical theories, focusing on problem-based and collective pedagogies. It offers an opportunity to apply theoretical insights in digital learning experiences, while also considering the ethical dimensions of digital pedagogy. Through critical analysis and practical application, you will develop a deep understanding of how technology transforms educational practices.

This stand-alone course is to be offered as CPD to both primary and secondary teachers and covers key fundamental principles and underpinning theory to equip you to safely and effectively implement mindfulness in your classroom.  Reviewing best practise in areas such as ethics, safeguarding and dealing with adverse and religious affects, along with the underpinning purpose, science and impacts of a range of common practises you can build an informed mindfulness strategy and a mindful teacher presence for your classroom.  

This stand-alone course is to be offered as CPD to both primary and secondary teachers and covers key fundamental principles and underpinning theory to equip you to safely and effectively implement mindfulness in your classroom.  Reviewing best practise in areas such as ethics, safeguarding and dealing with adverse and religious affects, along with the underpinning purpose, science and impacts of a range of common practises you can build an informed mindfulness strategy and a mindful teacher presence for your classroom.  

The course aims to bridge theoretical understanding and practical teaching skills, emphasising reflective practice and continuous professional improvement.

This course integrates theoretical knowledge and understanding of how to plan inclusive learning experiences with demonstration of practical teaching skills in accordance with the professional standards for lecturers in Scotland’s colleges.

This mandatory course is part of the in-service Teaching Qualification for Further Education professionals. The course brings together ideas of critically reflective practice, effective facilitation of learning and the development of metacognitive skills for learning. It will support you to develop collaborative and reflexive approaches to continuing professional development.

This module is offered to all who wish to enhance their knowledge and skills in trauma-informed educational practices. This includes specifically classroom teachers, existing principal teachers, guidance teachers, faculty heads and senior managers within schools as well as community educationalists.

The module covers aspects of all areas below:

• Trauma-informed educational policies from Scottish, UK and international perspectives
• Developing a trauma-informed ethos and leadership
• Trauma-informed pedagogies
• Trauma-informed curricula

The online course, Activities, Knowledge, and Values is designed to expand participants’ sense of contemporary issues and challenges in higher education. It addresses eight topical themes, which are delivered as synchronous interactive sessions in this core course for the PGCert in Higher Education Teaching & Learning programme. The course also includes an authentication of teaching practice activity, which builds upon the peer observation of teaching in the first PGCert course.

This dynamic course empowers educators to integrate technology into classroom instruction effectively. Through practical strategies and hands-on activities, students will learn to enhance lesson plans, cater to diverse learning needs, and evaluate the impact of technology on student outcomes.

This course helps educators develop a deeper knowledge of how to support all learners to achieve their best. The course delivers content that supports innovative and inclusive pedagogies such as inclusive practice, trauma-informed practice, playful learning approaches, and digital learning, all through a lens of practitioner enquiry to enhance practice.

This course provides teachers and practitioners with the opportunity to explore a range of research, theory and pedagogy that is supportive of an inclusive, play-based environment. Students will explore the principles and practices of inclusive play pedagogy and their role in this complex, engaging and meaningful environment; emphasising the importance of creating play spaces that celebrate diversity and promote a sense of belonging for all children. Learning on this module will be underpinned by relevant policy, international research and opportunities to enquire within the setting in which participants are professionally employed.

The second compulsory taught course on the PG Cert, ‘Activities, Knowledge & Values’ will address 5 themes (each delivered in a two-week block), which will be delivered as 5 synchronous interactive seminars (90 minutes). There will be fortnightly, asynchronous discussion-board activities, short video recordings, and topical readings. Overall, this course will balance theory with reflective practice in learning and teaching in higher education.

This mandatory course is part of the in-service Teaching Qualification for Further Education professionals. The course will support you to learn from current practice to inform future practice. The course emphasises the role that reflection and evaluation of practice has on professional development, in line with current GTCS Standards for College Lecturers. You will consider the role of evaluation, and in particular self-evaluation as tool for professional growth. Following observation of a lesson that you have planned, you will undertake a professional dialogue with your course tutor which will form the basis for reflection and critical self-evaluation, taking into account the diverse characteristics of learners and yourself as a learner. You will demonstrate personal professional growth by identifying the implications of your findings for your future practice and professional development.

This mandatory course is part of the in-service Postgraduate Teaching Qualification for Further Education professionals. The focus is on developing a comprehensive understanding of educational practice. Participants will:

- Examine the broader context of teaching, exploring how social, political, economic, legislative, and technological factors influence education

- Engage in professional enquiry to understand the pedagogical implications of these external factors

- Reflect on personal professional development and teaching practice

- Apply critical thinking skills to respond effectively to the changing educational landscape
- Evidence own practice as aligned with current professional standards for college lecturers.

The course aims to equip educators with the insights and skills needed to adapt and excel in the dynamic field of further education.