Programplaner og emneplaner - Student
PHUV9510 Knowledge and Misinformation: Teaching and Learning in a Digital Society Course description
- Course name in Norwegian
- Kunnskap og desinformasjon: Undervisning og læring i et digitalt samfunn
- Study programme
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PhD Programme in Educational Sciences for Teacher Education
- Weight
- 5.0 ECTS
- Year of study
- 2024/2025
- Curriculum
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FALL 2024
SPRING 2025
- Schedule
- Programme description
- Course history
-
Introduction
Children and young people are growing up in an increasingly digital society, and research is needed to understand how they navigate and live with ubiquitous technology permeating the fabric of their everyday lives. Digital technology can be a powerful tool for transforming learning. It can help affirm and advance relationships between educators and students, reinvent our approaches to learning and collaboration, shrink long-standing equity and accessibility gaps, and adapt learning experiences to meet the needs of all learners. Simultaneously digital technology can bring with it several challenges, such as the spread of misinformation, online harassment, and overall ethical concerns. Ultimately digital technology can tremendously impact how people communicate and engage with each other while also increasing the knowledge available. This course seeks to deepen understanding of how digital technology, schools and society interact.
Historically, the culture of education has tended to be local, rooted in neighborhood schools, yet the problems facing education today are no longer confined to local issues and concerns. This is partly due to the increasing use and importance of digital technology in society, which now means that the boundaries of the classroom have been expanded and can include input, information, and knowledge from outside the classroom. What happens outside of school can also affect what happens inside the classroom. As a result, educators are confronting challenges in a variety of areas, from the onslaught against democratic practices the rise of nationalism and populism, as well as the continued inequities made all the more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In this course, we are concerned with an understanding of, in general, citizenship but particularly, digital citizenship. For practitioners, scholars and policy makers, it is crucial to understand how education and society can enable children and young people to manage and be resilient to many of the challenges that arise due to digital technology including issues such as safety, health, cyberbullying, and misinformation (fake news) while also being aware of their rights and responsibilities in the digital world as digital citizens.
This course will be taught in English.
Learning outcomes
After completion of the course, the student will have acquired the following learning outcomes, defined as knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
The student
- has knowledge of the historical and epistemological issues connected to different perspectives on the role of digital technology in terms of information and misinformation
- has and understanding of the methodological, philosophical and interdisciplinary topics that are embedded in digital spaces and can distinguish between related methodologies and philosophical standpoints
- understands and can critically evaluate the mechanisms and research around the challenges facing education in relation to digital spaces
Skills
The student
- can identify, examine and analyse current issues and challenges facing education in addressing issues around the influences of digital technology and polarised discourses
- is able to analyse and discuss complex methodological, philosophical and interdisciplinary issues in their own thesis in light of the course content
General competence
The student
- can recognize how trends and patterns in micro, mezzo and macro discourses shift practices in education
- can identify and discuss relationships and conflicts between more general scientific theories and this particular field of research
- can critically evaluate complex issues related to the effects of digital technology on information and misinformation
Content
Coursework requirement are:
1. 80 % attendance on the course.
2. Each participant presents orally his/her research project in a plenary seminar with focus on research methods and analysis, 10 minutes each.
Teaching and learning methods
Course sessions include lectures, discussions, small group exercises, and text feedback sessions. The course is planned to take place over three consecutive days. In lectures and discussions, students will be introduced to relevant theories and methods. Candidates are expected to participate in all learning activities. Candidates are expected to give oral feedback on other students’ work.
Course requirements
Preparations for the course
Candidates are expected to read the syllabus and prepare a ten-minute presentation on their dissertation work related to the course topic before the course to be able to participate in discussions and activities.
The coursework requirements
Mandatory participation, an oral presentation, a paper draft and oral feedback to a co-student’s paper.
- Mandatory participation: During the course days, full participation is required. If a participant has attended at least 75% of the course, but less than 90%, they must submit an extra paper of at least 2000 words, plus a reference on a given topic.
- The oral presentation is to be prepared before the course starts and presented on the second day of the course. The oral presentation should be no longer than ten minutes. The topic of the presentation must relate to the course topic in a way that is relevant to the student’s PhD projects. Following the presentation, there will be a five- to ten-minute discussion.
- The oral presentation will serve as the foundation for a paper draft. The paper draft should be a minimum of 1000 and a maximum of 1500 words.
- Oral feedback: Each student will comment orally (3-5 minutes) on one co-student’s presentation.
Assessment
The candidate will write an individual paper based on the presentation and the comments by the student and staff, of 3500 words (+/- 10%) plus a reference list. The paper must be written in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish.
New and postponed examination
In case of a failed exam/valid absence, the candidate may have a new exam under the same conditions when a new/postponed exam is arranged. If the paper is graded with "fail", the candidate must submit a revised version within a given time limit.
Permitted exam materials and equipment
All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.
Grading scale
Approved by the Doctoral Committee 28.03.2019. Minor changes approved 27.04.2020.
This PhD-course is open for candidates at the PhD Programme in Educational Sciences for Teacher Education, PhD candidates from other relevant programmes, and academic employees.
Language: English (or Norwegian, dependent on the language of participants and course holders).
The classroom is the most important arena for research on learning and teaching. This includes the implementation of curricula, the teacher-student relationships, the students’ different learning conditions, the use of different teaching methods, classroom and group organization, students with special needs, teacher collaboration and more.
The course will focus on central research methods used in classroom research: Observation, including video observation, various forms of interviews, re-use of data and analysis of data. The main aim is to introduce the participants to observation and interview as research methods in the context of classroom research, to provide an insight into research designs and analytical approaches, and to build participants` capacity to create and implement adequate research designs on their own.
The course is organized by the research group "Classroom research" (Klasseromsforskning) at the Faculty of Education and International Studies, Department of Primary and Secondary Teacher Education.
Examiners
On completion of the course, the candidate will have achieved the following learning outcomes:
Knowledge
The candidate
- is in the forefront of qualitative classroom research
- has in-depth knowledge of observation and interview as central research methods
- can evaluate the expediency and application of different methods and processes in classroom research (different traditions in observational methodology, interview methodology, observation design, interview design and approaches to analysing data)
- has in-depth knowledge about ethical challenges concerning classroom research
- has in-depth knowledge of validity, reliability and generalizability in qualitative classroom research
- can assess the appropriateness and application of various observation and interview methods in qualitative classroom research
- can contribute to the development of different approaches to analysing observation and interview data in the filed of classroom research
- can contribute to the development of new knowledge, new theories, methods, interpretations and forms of documentation in the field of classroom research
Skills
The candidate:
- can professionally carry out classroom observation and interviews
- can design and carry out research and academic development related to classroom observation and interviews
- can develop, create and implement different observation and interview designs at a high international level in the context of classroom research
- can challenge established knowledge and practice within classroom research
General competence
The candidate:
- can identify and establish constructive connections between theories, research methods, empirical data, analysis and findings
- can identify relevant ethical issues regarding the use of classroom observation and interviews
- can present their research with high academic integrity
- can participate in discussions around methodological benefits and challenges related to the use of observation and interviews in qualitative classroom research
Admission requirements
Lectures and seminars
- in lectures, the focus is on theoretical and practical perspectives on observation, interviews and analysis of data in the context of classroom research
- in seminars, the candidates must be prepared to present and discuss their own research project/field of interest including research design, methods, data analysis, and ethical considerations relevant to classroom research, and to provide feedback on other participants’ contributions
Preparations for the course
Students are expected to read the syllabus as described in the provided reading list before each course seminar to be able to participate actively in discussions.