All courses offered in the Interdepartmental Postgraduate Program (both compulsory and elective) are embedded within the framework of the most contemporary pedagogical methods and techniques that traverse Education, Psychology, New Technologies, and the Biosciences. In particular, the courses focus on theoretical, research, and specialized training in the field, while defining the applied role of the modern educator and special educator, in all contexts where differentiated instruction and universal design for learning are implemented, in line with current international developments and practices.
In today’s Learning Society, the aim of education is not only the teaching of useful and essential knowledge in every subject area, but, above all, the development and cultivation of strong cognitive, metacognitive, social, and communication skills for every learner.
Within this framework, the purpose of this postgraduate course is to enable learners, through theoretical presentations/lectures, practical applications, and experiential workshops, to design—using modern practices—and to implement with their groups/students innovative programs following the project-based learning approach, as well as to evaluate them with dynamic processes and tools at all stages, in primary and secondary schools as well as in preschool education settings.
Upon successful completion of the course, students are expected to:
- Understand the principles and characteristics of the project method that distinguish it from other methods.
- Possess the necessary competencies to design, implement, and evaluate a project.
- Be familiar with participatory teaching techniques and be able to apply them in their teaching practice.
- Implement educational programs for students with disabilities and/or special educational needs, in both formal and non-formal learning environments.
- Be able to solve, flexibly and promptly, problems that may arise during the implementation of a project.
- Be familiar with alternative forms of intervention (theatre, music, visual arts) in the education of individuals with diverse educational needs.
General Competences
- Searching, analyzing, and synthesizing data and information, using the necessary technologies
- Deepening understanding of the application of principles of differentiated pedagogy and universal design for learning
- Familiarity with Experiential and Inquiry-Based Learning through the use of primary sources (conducting research, field studies, etc.)
- Project design and management
- Teamwork
- Work in cross-thematic/interdisciplinary environments
- Promotion of free, critical, and creative thinking
COURSE CONTENT
- Design and Implementation of Programs using the Project Method in educational and pedagogical contexts
- Basic pedagogical principles of the Project Method
- Differentiated Instruction: Principles, Types, Strategies/Methods, Tools, Tiered Assignments & Final Products
- Creative approaches and techniques for raising awareness of diversity in school and broader contexts
- The role of the teacher in pedagogical and organizational differentiation of teaching in mixed-ability classrooms
- Encouragement of student initiative
- Creative approaches and techniques for raising awareness of diversity in school and broader contexts
- Intertextual and Intervisual approaches to works of art in applied fields