The course aims are as follows:

1. Improve the quality of teaching and learning, through the establishment of strategic decision-making, the prioritisation of high-quality learning strategies and smarter working practices to ensure the key priorities of the primary curriculum are addressed.
2. Facilitate and support teachers to use SSE Guidelines to become more reflective practitioners and make informed decisions about their pedagogical approach.
3. Showcase best practice of a core set of teaching and learning principles and approaches including effective assessment and lesson planning, effective use of ICT; and active learning approaches which will improve student outcomes.
4. Promote the potential of digital technologies to enhance teaching, learning and assessment.

This course will provide participants with information and resources which will enable them to advance the pedagogical methodologies set out within the primary curriculum.

'Work Smarter, Be Happier – Managing Workload Effectively & Efficiently’ has been facilitated in schools and education centres across the UK and Ireland.

It is an investigation-based course which explores key elements of effective and efficient teaching and learning. It covers the themes of classroom management, marking and feedback, lesson planning, teacher self-care and prioritising time to give teachers the tools to build their practice around the national priorities of SSE.

This course is delivered in a practical, solution-focused, participant-led manner; and showcases effective teaching and learning strategies including the use of ICT, which can then be applied in the classroom. Participants are given the opportunity to reflect on their practice using self-assessment linked to the SSE Quality Framework and implement positive changes during the course.

Past participants have said that the course was “inspiring, motivating and thought-provoking” and that it provided them with the tools and resources to prioritise effective learning strategies to ensure that the tasks which would have the greatest impact on teaching and learning are focused on.

Module 1 - Introduction

To gain understanding of the pedagogical principles dealing with activity and discovery methods and environment-based learning.

To assess current practice using the Quality Framework of SSE.

Module 2 - Assessment

To acquire the skills to promote assessment as an integral part of teaching and learning.

To realise the potential of digital technologies to enhance assessment and understand how to use them.

Module 3 – Expectations & Aspirations

To gain understanding of how to ensure that the child’s immediate environment provides the context for learning.

Module 4 - Planning

To equip participants with the skills to plan lessons which encourage the active involvement of children in a learning process that is imaginative, stimulating and integrates ICT in teaching and learning.

To realise the potential of digital technologies to enhance teaching and learning and understand how to implement them.

Module 5 Strategic Decision-making

To understand the value of mental health education and self-care for students and teachers.

To support teachers prioritise the advancement of:

Learning which is most effective when it is integrated

Skills that facilitate the transfer of learning

Higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills

Collaborative learning