Adult Education Essentials: Student-Centred Course Design

Empower adult learners through interactive learning

The benefits of using student-centred learning approaches are now widely recognised within adult education.

On this four-week course, you’ll learn how to engage adult learners and encourage them to take ownership of their own learning. You’ll delve into models of student-centred design, integrating them into your own learning context.

Create an authentic, active learning experience for every learner

Active learning environments focus on constructing knowledge through guided interaction, structured activities, and hands-on assignments.

You’ll explore ways to embed active learning into your teaching frameworks, allowing for learning that is both meaningful and relevant to your learner’s life and experiences.

Investigate course design principles including the ADDIE model of teaching and learning

Student-centred teaching principles focus on learners’ needs and how they can apply their knowledge in different contexts.

You’ll discuss the advantages of a learner-centred classroom and explore theoretical models of course design, learning how to put these theories into practice.

With this knowledge, you’ll be able to explain your course design, built on a foundation of student-centred learning principles.

Improve learning outcomes using constructive alignment techniques

Constructive alignment ensures that learning activities and intended learning outcomes remain linked throughout planning and delivery.

By using this model in your course design, you’ll be able to communicate to learners what their expected outcomes are and how they will achieve them, building trust and rapport.

By the end of this course, you’ll have explored theories of student-centred course design, gaining practical tips and techniques to develop authentic content that encourages reflective learning.

This course is designed for facilitators and educators who work with adults and have little or no formal training or qualifications in adult teaching. It is suitable for those who are considering working with adult learners and require further teaching and learning development.

• Introductions and Models of Practice
• Introductions and overview
• Assumptions about adult learners
• Models of practice
• Reflecting on Week 1
• Student-centred course and programme design
• Understanding student-centred teaching and learning
• Models of course design
• Reflecting on Week 2
• Planning student-centred learning
• Active and authentic learning
• Constructive alignment
• Developing Learning Outcomes
• Reflecting on Week 3
• Teaching as inquiry
• Inquiry-based Learning
• Problem-based learning
• Reflecting on Student-centred course design