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Intelligence, Personal Characteristics and Educational Success

Explore character traits and educational outcomes, the merits of digital-first, and the importance of teacher-pupil relationships.

334 enrolled on this course

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  • Duration

    2 weeks
  • Weekly study

    8 hours

Investigate nature vs nurture and the impact of character on educational success

In this course, you will have the opportunity to explore the nature vs nurture debate in relation to intelligence, the effect genes have on environmental choices, and the way average intelligence has increased over time.

You will also explore the impact of personal characteristics such as will-power, self-esteem and self-confidence on educational success, and the influence of digital-first technologies on school management.

You will also have the chance to use your learning so far to examine the lessons on character development and leadership expressed in the famous poem ‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling.

What topics will you cover?

  • Week 1: Intelligence: Nature vs Nurture
  • Nature vs nurture
  • Genes vs environment test and answers
  • Findings from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS)
  • The nature of nurture
  • The Flynn effect
  • Knowledge, wisdom, and a moral framework
  • Implications for schools of the research on intelligence
  • Gardener’s Multiple Intelligences theory and its critics
  • Learning styles
  • Observing a Modern Languages lesson
  • Week 2: Personal Characteristics and Educational Success
  • Character
  • Self-esteem
  • Will-power
  • Mindsets (Carole Dweck)
  • Self-efficacy
  • Theory to practice
  • Character - caught rather than taught
  • Self-confidence – outweighs ability as a predictor of success
  • Confidence and character education – implications for schools?
  • Digital-first technology
  • Expertise
  • Integrating course content to Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Investigate the proposition that education has become more concerned with the needs of the individual rather than society.
  • Evaluate the role of pupil character, self-esteem, will-power and self-efficacy on educational success.
  • Evaluate the impact of digital-first approaches on educational outcomes.
  • Evaluate the importance of human-to-human interaction and the value of student-teacher relationships on educational success.
  • Apply and integrate learning on the short course in a case study on a poem with universal appeal.

Who is the course for?

This course is for students of the MA Educational Leadership.

Who developed the course?

Coventry University

Coventry secured 5 QS Stars for Teaching and Online Learning in the QS World University Ranking 2020 and has received No. 1 in the world for Massive Open Online Courses in MoocLab’s World University Ranking 2021.

  • Established

    1992
  • Location

    Coventry

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control

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