Learning requires the simultaneous activation of a grid of cognitive processes. Modern developments in Cognitive Science allow us to take a systematic approach to modeling, studying and researching learning. The Natural Sciences provide a more developed and complex area of knowledge, with widely accepted possibilities of prediction and interpretation. Therefore, learning in this area presents particular challenges both for the person concerned and for the supporting educational system. Many educational systems define as a key priority the understanding of the natural world and the skills of scientific analysis and systematic reasoning for the majority of students. Primary and Secondary Education Officers in the Natural Sciences need research training. The program aims to create researchers in the field of Science Learning, who will combine the required knowledge from the Natural Sciences, cognitive psychology and research methodology, in order to produce the data that will support the ongoing upgrading of educational policy.

 

 

The general purpose of the program is the integrated training of researchers of learning in the Natural Sciences. Participants in the program will acquire basic and applied research skills, develop strategies for evaluation and reform of Educational Policy and acquire critical analysis skills in the field of Learning Natural Sciences and their evolution.

The program is designed so that the education of students is based on three axes: cognitive development, epistemology and learning in Natural Sciences. In addition, students acquire the skills of educational research, design and development of teaching materials and utilization of new information and communication technologies in the teaching of Natural Sciences. With the successful completion of the program, it is expected that students:

* They will have become familiar with the literature of learning in natural sciences and modern theories of cognitive development, design and implementation of educational programs in natural sciences.

* They will have developed skills of reviewing and critically analyzing the literature on specific research issues.

* Have become familiar with a range of qualitative and quantitative methods and have gained experience of applying these methods in the collection and analysis of data and, more generally, in promoting the study of basic and applied questions in Science Learning.

* They will be able to formulate exploratory questions, determine the level of clarity of questions and choose appropriate methodology for their study.

* Will be able to systematically apply the available research data and, taking into account the needs and limitations of the education system, will develop detailed recommendations for educational reforms, with the aim of continuously improving the effectiveness of the learning process in the Natural Sciences.

 

 

In the master's program will be accepted applications of graduates of the Department of Education Sciences of the University of Cyprus or corresponding departments abroad. Graduates of natural sciences departments, polytechnic schools of the University of Cyprus or universities and polytechnics abroad will also be accepted. The program requires the completion of courses, corresponding to 120 or 124 ECTS, and distributed as follows:

 

* 15 or 19.5 ECTS in common core classes
* 60 ECTS in direction courses
* 33 ECTS in Master's thesis
* 12 ECTS in seminars seven courses

(75 or 79.5 ECTS) + thesis (33 ECTS) + seminars (12 ECTS) = total 120 or 124.5 ECTS