Duration
18h Th
Number of credits
| Master of education, Section 5: Social sciences | 3 crédits | |||
| Master of education, Section 4: Social sciences | 3 crédits |
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the first semester, review in January
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
This teaching unit aims to lay the didactic foundations of an active learning approach and those of the final exam (public lesson, see ZENS0298 Disciplinary didactics: social sciences, part II).
Designing active research questions (ARQs). This teaching method aims to put students in contact with the institutions of the social security system, social assistance, etc., through a process of solving everyday problems. Students are invited to meet with stakeholders or professionals who will enable them to provide a relevant response to the problem presented to them. Each student must first respond to an ARQ given to them, communicate the response to the member of the teaching team in charge of the ARQ, then, based on a debriefing, compose three original ARQs.
The design and testing of a lesson sequence addressing a question relating to the institutional mechanisms of citizenship in Belgium.
Each student is invited to design a 15-minute lesson sequence addressing the question assigned to them by random draw. The different sequences are tested during the Disciplinary Didactics: Social Sciences course (Wednesday afternoons), with the other students playing the role of secondary school students.
A debriefing follows each experiment. Written feedback summarizing the key points of the various debriefings conducted during a single class session is presented at the beginning of the following session. This feedback provides the basis for identifying the different stages in constructing a learning sequence, for identifying the essential principles to be kept in mind during the didactic transposition exercise, and for synthesizing them into a lesson sequence preparation grid.
Designing a lesson sequence preparation grid: Following the various experiments, students are invited to individually design a lesson sequence preparation grid. This one-page grid summarizes the different steps in designing a lesson for upper secondary school students.
Drafting a Public Lesson Preparation File
The theme of the public lesson (final exercise in the social sciences didactics program) is randomly selected at the beginning of the program (deadline: October 1, 2025).
The actual design of the public lesson is central to the work carried out as part of the ZENS0298 Disciplinary Didactics: Social Sciences course (Part II). The work completed during Part 1 aims to lay the essential foundations for this public lesson. For the content of the final public lesson file, consult the corresponding teaching commitment.
Each student will appropriate the theme by conducting a bibliographic search, compiling a list of bibliographic and web references, and selecting from these references the elements deemed useful in designing the public lesson (deadline: October 8, 2025).
To help him in this research, two sessions of the Special Didactics in Social Sciences course will be dedicated to how to effectively conduct bibliographic research (status of the sources consulted: scientific literature/grey literature/press articles/other sources; use that can be made of them in the context of a social sciences lesson), to the use of documents presenting statistical data and to the use of audio and video media.
The public lesson preparation kit also contains:
- a text of up to two pages presenting the essential aspects of the treatment of the topic from a social sciences perspective (deadline: October 22, 2025);
- a detailed presentation of three cases, situations, or problems related to the topic that should be introduced into the lesson to support learning (deadline: November 12, 2025).
The preparation of the public lesson preparation kit is subject to individual support: each student is supervised by a member of the social sciences teaching team.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
Each student must demonstrate:
- their ability to conduct personal research using both bibliographic sources and resource people;
- their mastery of the content (theory and cases, situations, or problems) related to the theme of the public lesson;
- their ability to present in a coherent and orderly manner the essential teaching principles in constructing a social sciences lesson sequence;
- their ability to develop a coherent and well-argued dossier presenting the orientations taken for the public lesson.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Mastery of disciplinary knowledge and the French language.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Practical work sessions based on the principle of learning by doing and supervised by the instructional team.
Each student presents a lesson to their classmates on a topic related to the institutional mechanisms of citizenship in federal Belgium. Each presentation is followed by a debriefing and an introduction to the teaching methods that have been implemented.
A summary feedback package covering the key points in the preparation and management of a lesson sequence is distributed and read to students at the beginning of each work session and made available electronically on the course's eCampus page.
Individualized support is provided in preparing the public lesson preparation file: analysis of individual work completed, discussion of choices, and critical feedback.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Attendance is mandatory given the nature of the learning process.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
No lecture notes, but written feedback provided by the instructors at the end of each experimental session.
Each student will strive to assimilate the content of this feedback and synthesize it in order to capitalize on the lessons learned from successive experiments. This regular and sustained use of feedback will prevent students from "starting from scratch" at the beginning of each experimental session.
This feedback should also be used to create the preparation grid for a lesson sequence.
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
Prerequisite:
Attendance is mandatory during the social sciences didactics course work sessions.
Serious deficiency will be imposed on students who repeatedly and unjustifiably fail to attend class sessions or arrive late to class sessions. Only exceptional, duly justified absences will be excused. This requirement is also part of an apprenticeship in the professional obligations imposed on teachers (see Articles 14 and 15 of the Decree establishing the status of subsidized staff members in subsidized private education; Article 10 of the Decree establishing the status of subsidized staff members in subsidized official education).
Individual presentations will be assessed based on interim assignments, a final report, and a written quiz.
Interim Assignments:
To be considered, these assignments must be submitted by the set deadline. Students are required to strictly adhere to these deadlines, otherwise they will be penalized with a zero mark for late submissions.
If none of the interim assignments are submitted by the set deadlines, the student's performance in course ZENS0098 will be penalized with a mark of 0/20.
Assignment Content and Deadlines:
1. List of bibliographic and web references related to the topic of the public lesson. A grade of 10 points if the work is submitted on time; 0 points if the work is submitted late. Due date: Wednesday, October 8, 2025, 12:00 p.m. (electronic format).
2. A text of no more than 2 pages presenting the essential aspects of the treatment of the topic from a social science perspective. A grade of 10 points if the work is submitted on time; 0 points if the work is submitted late. Due date: Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 12:00 p.m. (electronic format).
3. A detailed presentation of 3 cases, situations, or problems related to the topic that should be introduced into the lesson to support learning. A grade of 10 points if the work is submitted on time; 0 points if the work is submitted late. Due date: Wednesday, November 12, 2025, 12:00 p.m. (electronic format).
A total of 30 points.
Written test: This written test aims to verify students' understanding of the essential principles in preparing a social studies lesson. This open-book test consists of a critical analysis of an example of a lesson plan grid that presents significant flaws. A total of 20 points.
A total of 20 points.
Final report for the Special Teaching in Social Sciences course, Part 1. Due date: Friday, December 5, 2025, 12:00 p.m. (electronic format).
If the final report is not submitted by the set deadline, the student's performance in the ZENS0098 course will be assessed a grade of 0/20.
This report must contain:
1. Three original QRAs: one grade out of 30 points (i.e., one grade out of 10 points per QRA).
Please note! Writing QRAs requires significant effort.
All QRAs must be completed by the set deadline. QRAs are submitted electronically to all members of the teaching team, in a single PDF file and based on the specific instructions provided.
Each student must schedule at least one appointment with the member of the teaching team responsible for supervising the writing of the QRAs. The purpose of this supervision is to determine the topics covered by the student, review the initial formulation of the problems addressed, and suggest areas for correction, addition, or amendment.
If the student does not schedule an appointment or does not attend the scheduled appointment, the grade assigned for the QRA section is 0.
2. A one- or two-page document presenting a social studies lesson plan: a mark out of 60 points.
3. A document of up to 4 pages presenting a first draft of a scenario for the public lesson. This scenario forms the basis for organizing the teaching practicum lesson (B). A mark out of 60 points.
For a total of 150 points.
The overall mark is based on 200 points, then reduced to a mark of 20 points.
Work placement(s)
The approach is based on practical work and exercises carried out by and within the group of students in training.
For the practical internship, see the corresponding educational commitment.
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Classes resume on Wednesday, September 17, 2025.
Classes begin at 1:30 p.m. Sessions will be held in the Faculty of Law buildings (Building B31, Sart Tilman), at the Medialab (Level +3, left wing of Building B31).
Contacts
Jean-François Guillaume, Professeur.
Jean-Francois.Guillaume@uliege.be
France Heuveneers, Assistante pédagogique
fheuveneers@uliege.be
Edgar Tasia, Assistant
edgar.tasia@uliege.be
04/366.35.03
Bureau 1.90, Bâtiment B31, Quartier Agora, Place des Orateurs, Université de Liège, Sart Tilman